Anime: Fullmetal Panic? Fumoffu

I actually watched Fumoffu before watching FMP or TSR so I can attest that this hilarious alternative series, about a military soldier attempting to blend in with Japanese society and high school life, can definitely stand on its own. Fully enjoyable without knowing anything about the characters from FMP. This series is purely a delight to watch and a great show to entertain guests with.

Animation:
Crisp and colorful. The characters are all drawn very nicely and the overall look is very pleasing; this is definitely among the best for it's time.

Sound:
The OP/ED are both above average for me and the BGM is extremely well done. Voice acting is the same as FMP and TSR, all excellent.

Story:
This is not a plot-driven series. It's all about short, humorous clips (some last as short as half an episode) from the day to day school life of Chidori and Sosuke. I typically don't like fillers but this is definitely an exception. The humor in itself is enough to keep the viewer intrigued.

Character:
In terms of development, well, there isn't much of it. There are a few Sosuke-Chidori moments but nothing significant enough to put a romance label on this. The series does introduce a few new side characters that are quite interesting but are totally nonexistent in TSR. The real point is just an explication of what it means to be out of touch with society. Sosuke's antics never grow old.

Value:
When humor is in dire need, Fumoffu answers. This is definitely good for re-watch as the humor is still just as funny, all in a short package too!

I am very skeptical about giving 10 as a score simply because achieving perfection IS NOT POSSIBLE. The thing is, every now and then I come across something that does what it is supposed to do SO WELL that whatever minor mistakes that it have pale in comparison to the rest, and the result is truly a 10... Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu is one of those rare cases.

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Story
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This will be a bit brief, but not because there isn't any, simply because the show exists of short bursts of story development instead of a coherent big arc, this makes for a "non continuum" world but at the same time help flash out one of the best aspects of Fumoffu, it's randomness.

You never know what to expect from the next minute of the show, and when they manage to keep this feeling untouched for twelve episodes it's hard to complain about the plot or the lack of it, specially because this characteristic puts the mood on the exact pace and you are never confronted with one dull moment.

On any other show, I would count this as a bad thing, but since this works so wonderfully in the context , here, it is actually one of the strongest selling points.

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Art & Sound
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Art wise it is on par with what you would expect from an anime from 2003, but don't mistake this comment as an average one because backgrounds are done beautifully and the animations are simply gorgeous! There is one particular episode where the subject is rugby when the animation really got me breathless, it's VERY good.

Now, when we take into consideration the style of the show we can up the bar a couple of notches, specially on the characters. Each one of them have a special care with expressions, and when we consider each character is rich and detailed, the fact that so much attention went to portraying each one specific characteristics really shows a well rounded job. It is so good that from time to time I had to rewind a few scenes just to take a closer look on their faces, specially Sagara's ones (him jumping on the pool specially comes to my mind right now).

The sound does it's job, and while I didn't like much the theme songs I can't build up a strong enough case to complain about them either, sure enough, it keep up in terms of quality with the rest of the aspects of the show but never outstands on its own.

Now, one thing that the audio department does really well is the VA's. The voice in this show is unparalleled, and even with the insane amount of uniqueness the art manages to portray for each character, the voice of them is never behind and the synergy between the two is really really great.

Anyway, taking detailed backgrounds with smooth animations and astonishing character expressions makes up for a near 10, and since the audio while nothing astonishing in it's own merits (aside the voice actors) manage to keep up, it's hard not to be amazed by the level of quality the show achieved on this category.

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Characters
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Fair enough, some characters might fall on stereotypes every now and then (moe) but the fact is, each one is unique and vibrant enough to be excused from these moments, specially when the other 90% of the time they are simply groundbreaking.

From Sosuke with it's uneasiness caused by all the attritions between himself and his surroundings to Chidori and her love / hate affair with his actions, going all the way trough Tessa with it's cute and yet somewhat extreme attitudes toward everything (especially Sagara) all of them worth a few paragraphs of text to explain how great each one are, and how much attrition everyone goes by (without exceptions) always being thrown around contexts that doesn't suit them... it's like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole all the time, it's just priceless!

Luckily since all the characters (main and support) are simply so good I can save some time and resume everyone with one word: outstanding. Even if all the other aspects of the show are top notch, the characters alone are what make Fumoffu so damn good!

...and I don't even have to take my time talking about Bonta-kun, all you need is a picture of him and you will understand why he is so freaking cool!!!

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Enjoyment & Value
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It's a show to have a blast the first time you see it, and even after a couple or runs still find amazing! Not only that, but it is so damn good, that the roughly 24 minutes of each episode are not enough, and I constantly got myself re watching scenes to take notice of small details I missed on the first way trough.

Sure, it is not a serious anime, but it is probably the best and funniest fanservice anime I have ever saw, and use the term "fanservice" with caution because todays iterations of it consist nothing more then slapstick and tons of unnecessary sex... Fomoffu takes a more elegant and yet much better route while also keeping violence, sex and FUN to extreme levels.

It's addicting, and not only that, but one of the rare series that you will end up watching again and again and again but never getting dull or repetitive, and still after your twelve run or so still giggle from it's jokes, still relate to the characters and still want to watch it again by the end of it!

I want to hate Fumoffu. It's from a genre I have little fondness for, entirely unoriginal in concept, and has so little plot that I can barely tell one episode from another. And yet, I don't.

Fumoffu's main problem is, I suspect, the result of executive decree: as a side story, it's forbidden from altering the plot of the main Full Metal Panic any. For an action show this would be entirely acceptable - we could see a new villain, then a series of fights with them, ending in glorious victory for the protagonists, and even though the situation at the end is exactly the same as that at the beginning, it doesn't feel like a waste of a series. But in a romantic comedy the centre of the plot is the development of the relationship between the leads - and here is where Fumoffu falls flat. Chidori and Sagura should be going from barely knowing each other to a firm couple over the course of the events they experience, but instead they are artificially forced to make no real response to even quite dramatic moments together.

The short length of the series prevents this from dragging us too far into boredom and frustration, but even with only eleven episodes the lack of variety quickly becomes painful - the fact that the makers saw the need to include both a hot springs and a beach episode in such a short show speaks for a dangerous lack of originality. Each episode has the same essential plot - Sagura does something stupid, Chidori hits him, and then together they fix it. The first series of Full Metal Panic worked so well because of the interplay of serious action and school comedy episodes; a series made of one on its own seems hollow and empty.

Yet despite all this, I always looked forward to watching Fumoffu, something which I have to attribute to the wonderful characters. If we lay aside the indecisiveness forced on her by the series, Chidori has to be the most believable female character I have ever seen in a romance anime. By contrast Sagura is entirely unbelievable, but his determination and good-heartedness - together with the unfortunate situations the plot throws at him every single time - make him impossible to hate. This reversal - a realistic female dealing with a ridiculous male - gives a freshness which permeates through all their interactions; what would be generic tsundere behaviour from Chidori when faced with a more normal male lead becomes an entirely believable human response to someone who utterly hopeless at life, who she nevertheless loves in spite of herself.

This is not a show which lends itself to rewatching - the lack of plot advancement would loom far too large - but, through loveable characters, it manages to turn an awfully generic plot into a series which is a joy to watch. You may not miss out on any character advancement by skipping over Fumoffu, but you will miss out a lot of fun.

Animation: 7[br]The animation is decent, nothing spectacular. However the purpose of this anime isn't continue with the fast paced action of Full Metal Panic! but rather to entertain the viewers by making them laugh nonstop until their stomachs hurt. This style of animation is suitable to that effect. There are few repeated frames, in non-critical parts of the story, which are most likely used to save money. The special effects are quite good and enhance the story situations a lot by making them more hilarious. A decent amount of fan service is thrown in to make the show more enjoyable. A lot of stills are used in the OP and the ED has a lot of repetition but they are still fairly good and match the anime quite well. [br][br]Sound: 7[br]The Japanese voice actors are very good and match their characters perfectly. However the BGM isn't memorable at all. That being said, the BGM did match the mood of the situations perfectly although you’ll be laughing too hard to notice. The sound effects are perfect and make watching the animation so much better. Unlike the BGM, the OP and ED are pretty good. The music is catchy and enjoyable to listen to. Personally, I think the ED is better than the OP.[br][br]Story: 5[br]You better not be watching this anime, hoping it will continue with the story in FMP! Watch FMP! TSR for that instead. In fact, there is no story in this anime at all. You could watch most of the episodes out of order and still understand the plot. The story is based more on developing the characters in FMP! so you should watch that first. Did I mention how funny the episodes are?[br][br]Characters: 10[br]The characters make this anime great. As I said before, you should have seen FMP! first in order to fully understand this anime. An understanding of the characters will make you laugh so much harder. The lack of character development or their inability to change is a key point to this comedy. These characters are put in more “normal” situations compared to FMP! which helps gives a greater understanding of the characters.[br][br]Value: 8[br]This anime is definitely rewatchable. It’s the 3rd time I’ve seen this anime and every time it still makes me laugh. It doesn’t make me laugh as harder or long as the first time I saw it but watching Souske do the same illogical things over and over won’t get boring.[br][br]Enjoyment: 10[br]It’s highly enjoyable, that is why it is rewatchable. There are no mech fighting scenes in this anime but instead it makes up for it with pure silliness. If you thought the peaceful school interludes in FMP! were funny, you will love watching Fumoffu.[br][br]I hoped you liked my first anime review.[br]

Personally, while this anime is extremely highly rated by many people on this website, I don't see how it is good enough to be considered one of the top 15 anime of all time. The Second Raid is much better all-around than Fumoffu.

The animation in Fumoffu is done very well; however, the simple 2D backgrounds and lack of special effects or fight scenes bring the score down a bit: this anime doesn't really showcase the animation because of its genre. The character models, however, are quite good.

The soundtrack, in my opinion, is sub-par. The opening and ending songs are not very good, and are actually pretty boring. However, the voice actors did a tremendous job; I am positive it was extremely difficult to pull off Sosuke and Chidori's actions realistically.

The story is where this anime falls apart. There really is no story. All of these episodes would fit well as filler episodes in Full Metal Panic or FMP: The Second Raid. However, there is no overriding plot or conclusion through the anime, merely a bunch of amusing and seperate episodes.

However, a few of the stories within the episodes were quite good: I enjoyed the episode where Sosuke trains the Rugby team, and where Chidori is kidnapped and Sosuke must save her. Disregarding those few gems, most of the storyline in the anime was pretty simplistic, predictable, and weak.

The main characters were hilarious. Sosuke and Chidori, as usual, are both an amazing tandem and their antics amuse me to no end. However, the side characters leave much to be desired. Partly due to the fact that this is merely a bunch of comedic filler episodes, none of the side characters are explored or grow or develop in any way. Some of the side characters, like the chief of the karate club, actually seem pretty useless, and contribute nothing significant to the story or even the comedy; if you cut him out I wouldn't notice a difference in the episodes at all where he appears.

I did, however, enjyoy the episodes with Tessa, who freshened the series, which at that point had started to get a little repetitive.

For those who enjoy comedy with no plot, this anime is very good. The same goes for those who want to see more of the types of episodes shown in the first couple episodes of "Full Metal Panic". However, for those that either dislike those episode in FMP, dislike FMP itself, or dislike comedy without any plot, stay away from FMP: Fumoffu.

Also: if you are uninterested in comedy, and want to skip to the action/serious drama to be had in Full Metal Panic, watch Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid, which is the true sequel to the original FMP, and advances the storyline from where FMP left off.

Full Metal Panic! Fumoffu is the comedy spin-off series to Full Metal Panic which was a hit series, with great, memorable characters and a solid story with a fine balance of comedy and mecha action. For the sequel, the action and serious element of FMP! has been taken out to provide just a lighthearted look at the FMP! characters - giving a dissapointing result in my opinion.

Animation:
Kyoto Animation is best known for its work on AIR, which is a beautiful anime containing some of the smoothest, fluid animation and colourful backgrounds. Their work on FMP Fumoffu in comparison is quite decent. There is a good use of computer animation in addition to traditional handdrawn animation and as a plus point it is seamless. But mixed animation is something best left to GONZO, which did a far better job on the first season, Full Metal Panic!. The main thing that bothered me was Kaname's inconsistent character design. It doesn't even take that much to notice how differently she is drawn in Episode 2 compared to the others. Sagara, however has been much improved on and the other character designs were also up to the mark.

The backgrounds were drawn nicely as well, with vibrant scenery and good use of colour and tone. Overall a very good job on animation, just not as good as GONZO's work when it comes to character design though.

Sound:

Full Metal Panic! series has always been my favourite as far as sound is concerned. FMP Fumoffu has a pleasing and lighthearted score which compliments the story nicely.

Story:

My major complain with FMP Fumoffu is the story. I can overlook the character design, but the story has really been screwed up. The thing is that FMP Fumoffu has no story. It just shows Kaname and Sousuke's high school antics and relies purely on comedy for entertainment. And while that is not bad in any sense, the problem is that it isn't very funny. Most of the jokes aren't laugh out loud kind, and those that were just got a light laugh out of me. But I must admit some of them do bring a smile to your face, especially if you are a Full Metal Panic! fan. However, I just do not see what people find funny in this series. It's not that I don't have a sense of humour. I really like Excel Saga, for that matter. But who is supposed to laugh as things like this; Kaname, in one episode goes somewhat like this: "I think I'll get pregnant just by walking into the men's room". Who is supposed to laugh at lines like this? It's just stupid, and not Excel Saga -type stupid.

I just did not find the story entertaining or delivering what it set out to do. The only thing that made me go through the series was seeing Kaname's attempts to make Sousuke a normal highschool guy.

The other thing that bothered me was the fact that FMP! does not work on just one element, that is comedy in this case. What made Full Metal Panic! great and enjoyable was the mix of comedy *AND* action. If you take one of those elements and make a series off of it, it does not work in my opinion. And that's just the case with Fumoffu and why I prefer the few comedy scenes in the first season of FMP!

Parts of FMP Fumoffu I did enjoy were the scenes between Kaname and Sousuke, that advanced their relationship. Like the ending of the episode where Kaname and Sousuke go to a haunted house, and in the end Sousuke gives Kaname a ride back home on a bicycle. Or the bicycle chase where Kaname and Sousuke escape police officers and run away carefree in the open fields. These scenes were a nice touch and the only enjoyable parts of Fumoffu.

Character:

FMP Fumoffu's best point has to be its cast. Where would FMP be without Kaname and Sousuke's chemistry? Thankfully, that element has been kept intact in Fumoffu.


Value/ Enjoyment:

I did not like the story thus the anime has little value for me, even though I'm a big FMP! fan and really tried hard to like this series. However, I know I'm definitely in the minority when I say this, especially when it comes to FMP! fans. I see a lot of people really like Fumoffu, and I should tell them to not avoid this series after reading my review because people do like this series for the elements I did not enjoy.