After securing Kaname Chidori’s safety and deciding to stay in his position as her bodyguard, Sousuke Sagara continues to try to live out a normal high school existence. However, off another defeat at the hands of Sousuke and Mithril, Amalgam has decided to become more aggressive in both its fight against the anti-terrorist organization and in capturing Kaname. Meanwhile, the man who is perhaps Amalgam’s most dangerous agent of all, Leonard Testarossa, warns his sister and the others that war is coming.
It’s been thirteen years since we’ve had a full-fledged Full Metal Panic series—that Invisible Victory exists at all is blessing. But I wonder if other viewers will have the same problems I had, which have to do directly with that time gap. The new series feels like it was made in 2005, in terms of animation quality, the same distracting CGI the series has always had, and the sensibility of the show: Leonard’s grandstanding fits anime from a decade or two ago, but feels out of place now. Of course, all that is part of the charm of the franchise, part of what made me love it originally, the light novels (which I’ve almost completely forgotten) in addition the series and OVAs. And it was exciting to see Sousuke and Kaname’s relationship progress, and especially to see Kurz do his thing while the rest of the unnamed Mithril forces hopped to attention (a rare dose of comedy in the hyper serious opening episode). And it’s that love for the characters that’ll keep me watching. I’m in it for the long haul—after all, I even watched TSR twice, so finding out what happens to our cast (or going “oh yeah!” as I recall the light novels) in a show from a different era is, well, not a problem.
Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory can be streamed on Crunchyroll.