 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 16:9 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | ENGLISH DD 5.1 / 2.0 & JAPANESE DD 2.0 | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 320 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | TV MA | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 10/13/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 11/11/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | DAVEY C. JONES |
SYNOPSIS:
It's tough to keep your grades up without having to take off at a moment's notice to save the world. But for Sousuke Sagara, undercover high school student and member of the mercenary group Mithril, life in Tokyo seemed the same as always. But underneath the promising exterior spin the wheels of a conspiracy that threaten to destroy the peace. A new threat has arisen: Amalgam.
An unknown element with advanced mech technology, this mysterious organization has been running things from behind the scenes. As dissension spreads throughout the ranks of Mithril, Sousuke faces his own internal struggle. Spread thin between schoolwork and war, the powers that be have decided to lighten his load... beginning with Kaname!
Life and death hang in the balance as the clash between good and evil scale new heights. When the smoke clears, Sousuke's path will be the one that he forges for himself.
Contains all 13 episodes of the second season as well as bonus episode 000 and the special OVA Tessa episode!
REVIEW:
Like the first season, FMP’s TSR second season goes for hard core mecha action, spy suspense, and no holds barred battle lines. It hails back to the light novels by Shouji Gatou, getting back to the basics and bringing out a whole new suspenseful story for the soldier boy, the girl with the Whisper power, and the secret organizations that want them. Sousuke is still the same clueless soldier trying to figure out the intricacies of Japanese high school life while protecting the overbearing girl who may have captured his heart, the often amusingly abusive Kaname. She’s a Whispered, a person with the power to access and control Black Technology. He protects her from those who want to use her for dastardly reasons. This time in the anime a new organization and threat to world peace emerges and they have close ties to Sousuke’s own military organization – Mithril! A big thing that sets this second series apart from the first is the separation of Kaname and Sousuke. He is sent to deal with a rising crisis in China while she continues on with her everyday life, totally oblivious to assassins out to get her. Being without each other proves to be a big liability on both fronts. Sousuke is the only one with the ability to pilot the mega mecha Arbalest but his confusion and worry over Kaname unhinge him and leaves him vulnerable. He’s the best and maybe only hope to stop a civil war emerging in China, but he can’t do his job when his head is so far out of the game that he can’t even pilot his unit! Civil war in China is not the only concern. The shadow organization known only as Amalgam is coming out of the dark and it spells danger for Kaname and Mithril. Mithril now faces its biggest threat ever, Kaname is hunted down by assassins, and Sousuke is about to get the shock of his life when a very old and unfriendly face comes back from the dead to fight him again. The anime comes to a tension filled finale involving Gates, his plans for civil war, and unsettling stuff with twin sisters, all of it which could spell doom for Mithril, Kaname, Sousuke, and the world. The show packs a lot in such a short series and what a great job it does of it! The show flows like lighting in a bottle, you’re afraid to touch it but can’t let go and stop looking at it, and it is so cool. The animation is uber awesome with many unforgettable scenes like Kaname facing off against a machete bearing assassin in the hard rain, Mao taking out enemies in an evening dress, and most memorable of all, the reunion between Sousuke and Kaname. This box set differs from the last FMP TSR release in that it has been digitally remastered. The more vivid and crisper visuals are awesome! The colors really pop. The mecha battles in particular for FMP have always been a bar above the rest but with the sharper lines and more vibrant colors really comes out of the screen now.
EXTRAS:
There is a massively cool amount of bonus features one these four discs. Along with the usual clean opening and ending animation, trailers of other anime titles from FUNimation, there are commentaries from the Japanese voice cast on every single episode! It has video extras of location searches by the Japanese anime crew including the director and producer as they travel to Hong Kong and a tour of the Japanese Self-Defense Force, and a narrated short documentary on the evolution of the light novel and its relation to anime including interviews with publishers and the artist and author of FMP. Other bonuses include the short episode 000 and the full length special OVA episode which focuses on a humorous day in the life of Tessa.
IN SUMMARY:
FMP: TSR is as good if not better that the first series! It is mecha anime at its coolest! |
