Full Metal Panic!: The Second Raid – The Complete Series continues the shonen action/comedy/mecha story of Sousuke Sagara, a no-nonsense mercenary officer in Mithril, and Kaname Chidori, a seemingly normal high school girl who actually has the ability to access black technology. The also deals with Mithril and the daily attempts at Sousuke trying to fit into normal Japanese society. Since Kyoto Animation split this The Second Raid from Fumoffu, this title deals more with the military action-oriented side, though it still has a number of comical moments as well. The Second Raid introduces some new villains; young twin sisters, Yu Fan and Yu Lan Xia; Gates, a possibly mentally unbalanced and unpredictable man, and Leonard Testarossa, the older brother of Teletha “Tessa” Testarossa, Captain of the submarine Tuatha de Danaan which Sousuke is under.
In the digitally remastered version, the Japanese, along with the English, audio is given 5.1 stereo surround sound.
Highlights:
Since Fumoffu handled most of the comical stuff, The Second Raid was able to devote its time to telling the story without any major filler stuff, with the exception of the OVA episode. While there were moments set in the high school, each of them was built towards a specific purpose; to build up the tension within Sousuke's character when he is finally forced to leave. The entirety of the season is built around developing Sousuke's character as he is forced into a life-altering change for what appears to be not the first time. This time because of his conflicting want to be by Chidori's side and try to live a semi-normal life (what he thinks is normal is always the case), but at the same time be ready to aid Tessa and his comrades aboard the submarine piloting his Arm Slave. The tension continues to wind tighter and tighter as he is forced to leave Chidori's side when he believes she is in danger and can no longer focus and abandons his post only to find a prostitute in Hong Kong that looks similar to Chidori. As if that weren't enough he meets up with his old arch-enemy Gauron who torments him further still to the point that he no longer feels. In the end though, after hitting rock bottom, Chidori is the one who comes and rescues Sousuke from his mental exhaustion and breakdown allowing him to find a path through which he can achieve his goals.
The new antagonists for this season were quite good. First you had the twin sisters and Gates. The twin sisters are fanatical about their work serving Gates only as long as it suits their goal their “Sensei” set out for them. There are also some parallels made during the season to their lives and Sousuke's early childhood life. Gates, on the other hand, is known to be an eccentric genius, though with several other disorders. He is shown to be worthy of the label genius by being able to plan Mithril's moves up until the end. Gates also appears to have had sexual relationship with the twins, though its unclear whether it was coerced or they went along with it under orders from their sensei. Finally, Leonard remains the most mysterious of the group likely because he is the only one definitely left alive (Gates's arm slave was seen destroyed, but it had been revealed just prior that one of the effects of the Lambda Driver was to protect its occupant even if the machine was obliterated).
Overview:
The Second Raid is a lot more intensive than the first season as well as being more complex. This time you have two sets of antagonists: Amalgam; and, as the series progresses, the twin sisters. While there is a definite conclusion, this season seems much more of a partial climax than the first. They know Amalgam is out there, but not what their goals are. In addition Sousuke has developed a closer relationship with Tessa and Chidori, but still hangs on the edges of both not wanting, or knowing, how to get closer at the moment.
The animation quality for the series was superb. Kyoto Animation did a great job at bringing the action series to life. While Gonzo's animation for the first season was good, it cannot compare to the second season, most notably the action sequences (FMP was one of Gonzo's first projects so it is somewhat understandable). At to the digitially enhanced audio, I was surprised to find both the Japanese and English were digitally remastered. Usually it is just the English that gets the treatment in North American DVD releases. As I prefer the subtitled to the dub for this series for most of the actors that is a pleasant surprise.
The extras in the series were nice as well. The episode 0 was originally made as a teaser for the Japanese DVD release and so its very long and a portion of it shows scenes from later on in the series. It's a nice added bonus that they brought it over and dubbed it, but it's nothing major. The OVA episode, though, is a full episode dealing with Tessa. More in the theme of the comedic elements of the series it shows a rather average day on the submarine, except that Tessa had gotten drunk last night and is trying to remember what went on. It is a rather comical and has a relaxed pace, especially as it comes after the intense combat episodes before it. Tessa is one of the more popular characters in the series, but she is often overlooked for the more relaxed episodes due to her being on the submarine, especially in this season. Giving her her own episode kind of makes up for that, as well as appealing to all the Tessa fanboys out there.
Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid is a series almost anyone could like. If you're a mecha fan, there's plenty there for you. However, if you're not, there is still enough comical slice-of-life entertainment and a lot of good character development. Short of the blu-ray version, the digitally remastered version is best out there, especially if your don't have the equipment or money for blu-ray.
ComicsOnline gives the digitially remastered Full Metal Panic!: The Second Raid – The Complete Series 4.5 out of 5 fully operational Lambda Drivers.
