Full Metal Panic! - Mission 06

Although this DVD has an aberration of filler scenes, it still contains much more plot development than any other anime series I have seen other than Evangelion. A.D. vision builds up suspense in episode 19 and episode 20 is perhaps one of the best in the series, releasing all the suspense into one final climax that will control the storyline of the 4 episodes after it. The final attempt to get Gauron is here, and will MITHRIL succeed? You won't know if you don't watch, and trust me, you want to watch.

Mission 06 is sort of a suspense DVD, a DVD that builds up the plot to a final climax. Thus while it's not too strong alone, in conjunction with Mission 07, this is a sure buy. The end of Mission 06 leaves plenty of plot connections open, plenty of open leads, that any viewer will be dazzled at the seemingly endless amount of ways that the producers can end this great anime. Once again the sound is stellar, the quality is spectacular, the music is awesome, and overall? Brilliant, just brilliant.


WATER WATER EVERYWHERE   July 9, 2004
Sesho (Pasadena, TX USA)
Volume 6 of Full Metal Panic continues the excellent mix of drama, action, and humor that has made it a hit anime. Episode 19 starts out in a makeshift bath chamber as Tessa, Mao, and Kaname relax in a blatant excuse for fan service. As Mao chugs can after can of what she assures the captain to be a non-alcoholic beverage she tells Kaname about how she first met Kurz and Sousuke the year before. Through a flashback she tells how they were part of a volunteer force to rescue the daughter of an island nation's president.

In Episode 20, the Mithril forces have to handle a hostage situation on an American military base. Terrorists have seized it and in addition to the hostages, the base is used to store chemical weapons. Not only do they have mecha, but they are also accompanied by Gauron in his AS, named "Venom", which is invulnerable to normal weapons.

In the last episode, Gauron is captured and taken on board De Danaan (Mithril's submarine) along with his advanced armor. You would think this would be the end of the series. Wrong! Gauron is set free by a traitor on the sub and proceeds to take control, setting up a final confrontation on the last volume of this great great series.

Once again, what can I say? The characters are great here. The comedy and human emotion that comes through this anime are much better than live action movies coming out of Hollywood. These cartoon characters have more lifeblood than the Star Wars prequels. Actually, weren't most of the characters in those movies animated too?

Highly recommended. If you liked this dvd I would also recommend the new series Gravion. It has a similar mix of mecha, humor, action, and drama.

Extras are skimpy:

Production sketches
Clean openings/closings
Japanese Piracy warnings