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As a fan of sci-fi, I’ve watched my fair share of mecha anime over the years. However, the one that I’d say is my favorite,Full Metal Panic, actually doesn’t feature the robots as heavily as some fans might like–but that’s precisely what makes it great.
Full Metal Panicfollows Sousuke Sagara, a former child soldier who now works for the anti-terrorist organization Mithril, who is assigned to bodyguard a young Japanese schoolgirl by the name of Kaname Chidori. Kaname is a “Whispered,” a special person who has an incredible intuitive understanding of technology, and is considered capable of creating technology far more advanced than modern day tech. Many evil organizations are after the Whispered and their knowledge to further devious plots, so Sousuke must protect Kaname from these groups for the sake of the world–and Kaname.
Full Metal Panic Puts Characters Before Robots
The Series Focuses on Characters and Relationships First
You might notice that I didn’t even mention the giant robots in that description of the series; in fact, the series' mecha, known as Arm Slaves, don’t even make an appearance until episode 5. However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t integral to the plot. The Arm Slaves were created using knowledge gained from the Whispered, and Kaname’s Whispered specialty seems to be these robots, making her a top target. The Arm Slaves are a fairly realistic take on the genre, being much smaller than their counterparts in other series and developed and deployed much like modern military equipment.
While the series absolutely does pay a lot of attention to its robots and how they’re portrayed, the story is always first and foremost about its characters. Sousuke’s background as a child soldier in Afghanistan is a fascinating one, completely unlike any other anime protagonist, and he has the trauma to prove it. It being so rooted in real history gives him a very different spin even compared to other heroes with tragic pasts, and it adequately explains how he’s so well-trained at such a young age.
Sousuke’s relationship with Kaname, which develops quite slowly, is at the center of the story, and its gradual progression from her annoyance at his presence to absolutely caring about him and trusting him completely is well executed. Kaname herself can be a bit of a divisive character, as she’sone of the most violent “tsundere” type charactersout there, and it’s often unwarranted. Despite protecting her being the driving goal of the series, Kaname is surprisingly able to fend for herself, although there’s obviously only so much she can do against armed opponents.
Full Metal Panic Offers A Richly Built World That’s Grounded in Reality
Full Metal Panic’s Setting is Pretty Unique Among Mecha
Full Metal Panicis set in a world that’s not too different from the real world, one that diverged from history as we know it due to the presence of these Whispered, who only came into being in the 1980s. As a result, it has a complex and richly developed alternate history, which is expanded upon much more in the light novels upon which the anime is based. In this world, the Soviet Union continues to exist, for example, in part because of their success with developing Arm Slaves.
This modern day setting gives it a very different feel frommost other mecha anime, which tend to take afterGundamand have complex but wholly fictional worlds. It helps the robots to feel more realistic, as they’re used and deployed in much the same way that other pieces of high-tech military hardware are, and often in conjunction with standard military tech like tanks and planes. Yet, despite that, the Whispered add an almost mystical element to the series, as this small group of people possess some extraordinary abilities, such as the capacity to communicate with one another telepathically.
Full Metal Panic Doesn’t Overpromise On Its Robots
The Series' Slow Introduction of Arm Slaves Keeps Expectations in Check
While many other Mecha series would start off with flashy battles between giant robots to get fans excited about what’s to come, this often tends to set a bad example of what the series will actually be like. Big battle scenes, after all, are expensive to animate, and must be budgeted for carefully; not every episode can have a major battle. By delaying the introduction of the Arm Slaves until episode 5, the beginning ofFull Metal Panicgives an accurate representation of what the series will primarily be like–a story about Sousuke and Kaname’s life, first and foremost.
I’ve certainly been disappointed before by series with epic battles in the first episode, only to find out that there won’t be another one for half a dozen episodes or more. I felt much more like I knew what I was in for withFull Metal Panic, and it turned out that delaying the introduction of the mecha was a great idea. When giant robots actually start fighting, you know that things have really gotten serious. Fights are easy to follow, and while they get a little more sci-fi as the story goes on, they manage to accurately convey the feeling of danger that the characters are experiencing.
It can be easy to forget in fandom spaces sometimes, which often focus on minutiae and details about the robots, that a mecha anime ultimately needs to tell a good story, and have good, solid character development. While there areplenty of great mecha seriesout there that can do that, it often feels like the robots are the star of the show, not the humans who pilot them. I feel thatFull Metal Panicmanages to strike a good balance between its mecha and characters, keeping the robots from eclipsing the human characters who provide the story with meaning.
Those who come to the mecha anime genre just for the big fights may not agree with my perspective here, but I can say I rememberFull Metal Panic’s characters with much warmer feelings than almost any other mecha series, and that’s ultimately what I want from any story, giant robots or otherwise.
