Well…shit. Sadly having read the Full Metal Panic novels quite a while back I was prepared for this particular development and thus wasn’t quite as effected by it as I would have been. bUt I am certain to anyone who is watching this unspoiled that the way this episode started would have caught them completely off guard. But yes indeed, the girl who helped out our protag for the past few episodes and acted as surrogate female lead has been gunned down and is dead. I find myself in two minds over this particular twist as it has its positives and negatives. For one Nami’s death was unexpected as hell and this may be the very first time I seen someone get taken hostage and actually followed through on killing them. Think back to any other time you see this situation and without doubt you would imagine the girl getting out alive with absolute certainty. Yet nope, the countdown happens and just right before it ends at which you think something is going to save her, the villain decides to throw her forward and shoot her in the back. Shouting that the same fate awaits Chidori once he returns to headquarters.
It helps establish our villain in this arc and give Sousuke cause to throw away his recent no killing policy and just go full Rambo. But on the other hand, it is a very “women in refrigerator” twist. RIght from the start Nami was raised to be a sacrificial lamb, simply because killing off the actual main cast would have been far too cold. Her entire purpose is to give Sousuke motivation, development and drive with her death. That’s rather…hmmm. In the previous episode where Kyouko go hit by shrapnel that at least served a purpose in destroying the safe haven of the school and showing the danger that Sousuke and Kaname present by remaining. Nami on the other hand, she was literally tossed in there to die. I normally don’t tend to take matters of gender roles in fiction jinto account as it is fairly murky waters that depends on the opinion of the observer but if I was challenged on this plot point being somewhat sexist I fear I might not have a rebuttal.
But that aside, the previous episodes may have been lacking with the downtime from the main plot but this episode was an action extravaganza. I mean truly the choreography of these fights was exceptional with the pure calculated moves of Sousuke just tearing through every opponent he faced. I have been praising the hell out of the mecha animators and they truly went all out for this. The action was fast and furious, never slowing do a moment to have the protagonist monologue in his head, as a matter of fact that may be the best aspect of this episode. The final confrontation between Sousuke and Kurama was sublime, barely a word of dialogue yet plans unfolding on screen through pure animation. Sousuke shooting the ground to raise smoke to cover himself while he moved position, Kurama dropping a grenade on the stairs as he ran, Sousuke quite literally casually kicking aside the grenade and even the mind games with the door and Sousuke’s bloodtrail. I loved it, may be the best action sequence i seen in quite a while. I even like this villain even though he’s mid boss level at best. While a bit of a gimmick I like the detail that he quit smoking and has taken to chewing carrot sticks to get over his addiction. I also like his high degree of professionalism with his job and knowing that the police chief would be worthless.
But I really like that he fully admits that he hated killing Nami but it was just an effective means to ensure that Sousuke would hunt him to the ends of the earth first and give him time to plan an ambush. Any other villain I can see getting practical orgasmic over killing defenseless women but this guy was at least decent enough to hate having to resort to it. Even at the end when Sousuke won and he was going to die without giving him a thing, he tell Sousuke what he knows after Sousuke reveals that he did it all out of love for Chidori. Which he finds stupid but is moved enough to let him know where to look. Oddly enough I can’t seem to hate this guy. Anyway with another volume covered we won’t be getting a episode next friday as the animation team takes a well deserved break. I get the feeling this series is pushing Xebec to it’s limits and they truly are bringing their full A game to this. My hope is they can make it to covering the last of the FMP novels as to leave FMP unfinished again after all these years would be a serious shame. Though I am worried that this series may not be doing as well as it should due to a lot not watching it thanks to the need to watch all previous seasons, not to mention the really strong lineup this season of competitors with lower bars of entry. I hope in Japan this series is getting the attention it deserves and i know I sure as hell will be buying the blu-ray.
