[Editorials]

Flame Hazes and misanthropic medics: in defence of the tsundere

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Full Metal Panic, Over-analysis, Shakugan no Shana]

I’m not a huge fan of character archetypes at the best of times but if I had to pick one out that offers the most potential the tsundere is possibly the lesser of however many evils there are out there. Unlike the moe personality types and similar stock characters that I’ve grumbled about in months past, the tsundere concept has more going for it than the straightforward aggressive->gentle personality change or sensitivity behind a façade of belligerence. I’ll admit that these two are its main defining features, which is why many of us roll our eyes at yet another convenient blanket term to argue over. Nevertheless, it offers some things that stock characters rarely do: character development and some measure of depth.

You wanna argue with that? I thought as much

The tsundere is an extreme personality type and is somewhat over-used but it brings about effective insight into - and evolution of - a character’s personality when done right. Unfortunately I’ve yet to see the idea used much outside of the teen comedy or harem genres, which is a shame when the possibilities cover a wide range of character backgrounds and storylines (I’m not on about female characters exclusively, either). It’s also a manifestation of a character with depth; someone often suffering from some sort of inner conflict whose thoughts and feelings are, for whatever reason, not reflected in their words and actions. Both of these scenarios are to my mind interesting in themselves, and certainly shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand purely because the tsundere term is used to label a character or fit them into a pigeonhole.

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[Anime Reviews]

Full Metal Panic? FUMOFFU episodes 10-12: Full Metal Mania

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Full Metal Panic]

FMP? FUMOFFU reaches its end with three full-length episodes that feature down-and-out yakuza, a dubious school club challenge and misplaced biological weaponry…a normal day at Jindo High School for Sousuke and Kaname, then.

With only three episodes on this disc and the individual stories taking up the entirety of each one, there’s a slight feeling of being short changed in terms of quantity of material on offer here. To its credit though FUMOFFU is, and always has been, pretty consistent in terms of quality. Comedy is a subjective thing of course (making it all the trickier to review at times), but this outing offers more of the same that we’ve come to expect from the series.

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[Anime Reviews]

Full Metal Panic? FUMOFFU episodes 7-9: Full Metal Fervour

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Full Metal Panic]

Since I’ve already written the review for this for Anime UK News and I’m feeling especially tired today, I’ll just reprint that.

Kaname and Sousuke are drafted in to help the school’s flagging rugby team win their next match to prevent the school closing it down. When they see the state of the team and its collective morale however, it appears that they have their work cut out and Sousuke’s military-style training tactics might be the only way to assure success. Meanwhile Tessa takes some time out from her post as the Mithril submarine’s captain to pay a visit on her hard-working comrade and his short-tempered classmate…

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[Anime Reviews]

Full Metal Panic? FUMOFFU episodes 4-6: Full Metal Fracas

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Full Metal Panic]

I’m reprinting the review I’ve just written for Anime UK News since there’s no point rewriting something I’ve already written, especially @ this time of night…enjoy!

We have three more helpings of the FMP! comedy spin-off as undercover military operative Sousuke and his reluctant charge Kaname find themselves in more scrapes and madcap adventures. An art trip goes awry when Sousuke’s habit of turning everyday events into a military-style operation causes his classmates to rise up against him; Kaname goes to a theme park with an old friend, only to be tailed by a strangely familiar figure in a Bonta-kun outfit; an evening in an abandoned haunted hospital turns up a few surprises and irate school caretakers and creepy stalkers cause our heroes more problems.

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[Anime Reviews]

Full Metal Panic? FUMOFFU episodes 1-3: Full Metal Pandemonium

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Full Metal Panic]

I never could make up my mind about Full Metal Panic!. Sometimes it was a mecha drama with brilliantly animated scenes of combat in which the heroes of the peacekeeping organisation Mithril blasted the hell out of terrorists and saved the day; at other times it was a teen comedy in which one of the aforementioned Mithril agents was sent undercover at a high school to protect one of the students from an organised crime ring. I enjoyed the more serious side but even so the show as a whole was a bit inconsistent and lacked focus. Recently a spin-off series, Full Metal Panic? FUMOFFU has been given a UK DVD release and promises to deliver the comedy aspects of the show without the mecha storylines appearing at all.

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