Full Metal Panic! Mission.04 (2002)
Animation Production: Gonzo/Digimation
Released by: ADV Films
Official Website: Full Metal Panic
Episodes: 13-15
By Keith "JC" Hayward

Introduction

Clocking in at three episodes Full Metal Panic Mission.04 is a satisfying DVD comprised of two entertaining episodes that are both comedic & moving, and a third story that is part one of a saga that seems to kick off another important arch in the life of Sgt. Sousuke Sagara and the return of his most dangerous foe.

Story

“Suit up! There’s plenty of AS (“Arm Slave” – human-controlled armored suit) action in this newest installment of Full Metal Panic! When tempers flare between Sergeant Major Mao and Captain Testarossa, there’s only one way to settle the score: an AS duel. The stakes are high, the price of failure a fate worse than death—a naked lap around the track on the Mithril base. Later, even high-schoolers Shinji and Kaname get a turn behind the controls of an AS!

But the summer fun grinds to a halt when Sousuke is called away for a top-secret mission at his old stomping grounds, where painful memories threaten to bury him alongside his fallen comrades. Will he make it out alive?” -- ADV's Full Metal Panic Page

Review

Unlike the last FMP release, Mission.04 contains a wider variety of stories and situations for our cast of characters. The previous episodes took us from the start of one story arch all the way to it’s climatic end, while this one instead shifts from the serious fight for world peace and takes a break for two of its three episodes to dip into the hearts of some of the more obscure characters in the FMP’s roster.

The first episode deals with the comedic catfight the brews between Captain Testarossa and her subordinate, Sgt. Major Melissa Mao that results in the two going head to head in Arm Slaves. Melissa choosing the top of the line Gernsback M9 model while Tessa opts for the easy handling of the clunky Bushnel M6. Before the fight however, we get to witness a bit of tension between Sousuke and Tessa as she asks him to be her personal coach and trainer in learning how to pilot an Arm Slave. It’s brief, but definitely entertaining, and before you know it the fight is on. Tessa uses her tactical wits in making the most of her surroundings for best cover and angle for fire, while Melissa goes all out using every fancy trick in the book to take out her friend as fast and humiliatingly as possible. While the battle is imbalanced, the way it plays is gripping nonetheless and ends with a sincerely touching display of affection between two friends driven to quick anger. Having it all played out on the battlefield in the end they come out of it with a deeper respect and understanding of one another.

Next episode deals with a character that I doubt’ll ever get another moment in the sun, so it’s good to see even an extra stand in the spotlight. Shinji Kazama and his classmates attend the annual festival where his father, who works for the Narashino Self-Defense Force Corps, faces off along with his men against the five year reigning champions of the festival, the boastful, Nerima Self-Defense Force Corps. With a little help from a mysterious pilot in the form of masked Sousuke Sagara, the Narashino Underdogs just might stand a chance against the “Red Dragon” of Nerima. Frustrated at not being on a beach during her summer vacation and once again being among yet even more robots, even Kaname leaps into the cockpit of one of the Nerima Arm Slaves to exact her revenge on Sousuke for dragging her there. It’s an all out fun battle for the crowd and even with Sousuke’s crack skills it comes down to Shinji and his new found respect for his father that decides the end of the match.

Last episode of the three takes us off vacation, leaving Kaname at the beach where she wants to be and Sousuke back into the field of battle. The latest intelligence reports have come in that Gauron who was last thought to have been taken down is alive and well, operating with a terrorist group in the harsh desert lands where Sousuke grew up. Sousuke is assigned to join the Gauron Assasination Team as a soldier experienced with having faced Gauron and his prototype Arm Slave, theCodarl on equal terms. Too bad the covert team of roughneck pilots he’ll be battling alongside could care less about his experience or pertinent battle information he might have on the formidable Gauron, because when the first shots are fired, things quickly go south as everyone but Sousuke underestimates their enemy and find that the stakes are much higher than they ever anticipated. Only Sousuke and his Arbelest’s experimental Lamada Drive are a match for Gauron and he’s the only one who can get the team out alive and divert a catastrophe of nuclear proportions.

Full Metal Panic! Mission.04 includes the following episodes.

Episode 13 – “A Cat and A Kitten’s Rock & Roll”
Episode 14 – “Is Narashino Burning?”
Episode 15 – “The Wind Blows At Home, Part 1”

Final Thoughts

I’m surprised I don’t see this anime talked about more among my internet haunts and message boards, because this is a continuously a fantastic anime to follow; as it's packed with plenty of fast robot action, drama, and enough plot to keep your mind working as you follow the show’s swift and sometimes “panicked” pacing. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Full Metal Panic is definitely an anime for fans who love anime.

Keith "JC" Hayward