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R2 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Wednesday, 21 May 2008 16:00 |
 Take the original Full Metal Panic!, remove annoying villians (Gauron), Arm Slaves, and anything else resembling the action side of the series, and ramp up the comedy - and you're left with Full Metal Panic? FUMOFFU! I challenge anyone to keep a straight face for this one - comedy series can be very hit or miss depending on your sense of humour, but FUMOFFU seems to hit all the right buttons...
One thing that always bothered me about the original Full Metal Panic! series was that it never seemed sure if it wanted to be a serious action series or a comedy, which left the whole thing feeling just a little disjointed. FUMOFFU looks to correct that issue, by jettisoning anything remotely serious and concentrating solely on the fun stuff - so it's back to high school for Kaname and Sousuke, and not an Arm Slave in sight. If you want the serious side of the story, you'll have to wait for FMP! The Second Raid to appear. Me, I'm perfectly happy with the comedy mayhem.
The whole comedy aspect comes from Sousuke being completely out of his depth in high school - he's been fighting wars of one sort or another since he was a kid, so dealing with normal people in a normal setting is so completely abnormal to him that he has absolutely no concept of how to react, and just sticks to what he knows best - explosives and guns. If an everyday incident can be interpreted in both a threatening or non-threatening way, guess which way he goes. There are some rare flashes of common-sense in there - for example, the way he deals with Kana's kidnapper by persuading the kidnapper's little brother to help him out - but for the most part it's just slapstick comedy that hovers right on the edge of believability.
Depth and story? Not a bit of it, and it really isn't required. FUMOFFU is one of those series that just lets you switch off completely and forget about anything that's bothering you, leaving nothing but an idiotic grin. It's not entirely perfect, but it's pretty damn close. That said, it's also one of those series that invites short reviews, as once you know what to expect there's really not much else to say. Each disc in the set has its particular highlight - the snack stand wars on disc one; disc two's ponytail fetishist; the onsen episode on disc three, which is possibly the best example of its type ever; and the army of Bonta-kuns on disc four (there's just something completely surreal about a squad of cuddly mascots running down the street in full tactical gear) - all just tweak your funny bone just right and leave you wanting more. I'm not usually much of a fan of the physical / slapstick humour that the show majors in, but even I got a lot of laughs out of this. For great comedy, look no further.
For full episode summaries and screenshots, check out our reviews of the individual discs:
» Volume 1: Full Metal Pandemonium!
» Volume 2: Full Metal Fracas!
» Volume 3: Full Metal Fervor!
» Volume 4: Full Metal Mania!
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