AnimeVision

6 - Still Alive
While most of the hostages have been picked up by Mithril's rescue operation, Kaname, Sousuke & Kurz are still stuck on the ground - Kurz is believed lost after his AS was destroyed in his battle with Gauron, while Kana & Sousuke were too slow in getting to the rescue flights & were left behind. Now they have to find a way to get away - but with enemy reinforcements on their way, Kurz injured & Gauron still alive, that may not be too easy...

7 - Boy Meets Girl
Having taken safe delivery of the Arbalest, it's up to Sousuke to clear the way for their return to the de Danaan. Unfortunately, Gauron & his supercharged AS stand between them and their escape. Meanwhile, Kaname continues to show signs that she knows far more about military technology than she thinks she does, or should...

8 - Part-Time Steady
Back to normal high-school life for Kaname & Sousuke, and Kana's facing the wrath of the girlfriend of her latest stalker.. er, suitor. Shirai's fallen madly for Kaname & has been pestering her to go out with him - the problem is he forgot to break up with current girlfriend Mizuki first. There's nothing as bad as a woman scorned, so it's trouble for both Sousuke and Kana as Mizuki gets her feelings out of her system...

Damn impractical mech design - all that long hair on Gauron's mech has got to get in the way at times. And he really needs to learn how to die with good grace...

Anyway, the primary focus of this disc is unfortunately the military side of FMP!, which sadly for me isn't as enjoyable as the highschool comedy. Your mileage may vary, of course... It's not that I'm against mecha action, I just wish the show would decide what it's going to be. Like Ai Yori Aoshi, FMP! is a bit schizophrenic, but where romance & comedy mesh quite well, the way FMP! switches gears between comedy & action jars a lot.

So with that in mind, while the first 3 episodes on the disc were just okay (even when liberally sprinkled with shots of Kana's underwear), the final episode, with its return to the high-school setting, was very welcome & great fun to watch. Seeing Sagara trying his best to be a good boyfriend, with his typical military precision, was well worth the cost of the disc.

Overall, I guess you have to take the bad with the good. FMP! is a good show, despite it's flaws, and worth watching. I just wish they'd be a bit more even-handed between its two personalities...