Full Metal Panic Novel Discussion

[Angrypokstick]

Originally Posted by tsunade666

Glorious combination.

Though I'm not updated on the story. Last time I checked is the manga of fullmental sigma.

Is FMP another the next on the story?

Yes,fmp another is a gaiden sequel. It takes place 11 years after the end of FMP main time line. The story follows a Japanese teen turned mercenary AS pilot working in a PMC outfit called DOMS founded by Melissa Mao. Kurz and Mao have a daughter together except they been divorced like 3 times now. Kaname , Sousuke and tessa are only mentioned in passing in the story so far.

Though tessa's story post fmp is Explorered further in a different short story. All you need to know is that tessa walks around with mini AS guarding her like they did with her brother, she went to the homeland of bunny to visit his grave and met a local kid(only about 3 years younger than her) named Rony who reminded her greatly of bunny and Sousuke( Al apparently agrees with her on this) . She then took Rony back with her to America. 10 years later, Tessa is apparently working for America in some capacity and still lives with Rony, who is now a junior team leader in a US Navy Seal team. Rony has been a major character since vol 6 of another since his team has been ordered to help the MC's faction of the reborn DOMS from the shadow( there was a hostile business take over and DOMS have been divided into 2 between the smaller faction loyal to Mao and the other faction who is bigger and have majority of the shareholders of DOMS no longer loyal to Mao.)

[MisterBaka]

here was a hostile business take over and DOMS have been divided into 2 between the smaller faction loyal to Mao and the other faction who is bigger and have majority of the shareholders of DOMS no longer loyal to Mao

Can you tell me anything abouth that Russian character, Stepan Mikhailov? he seems to be featured prominently in the pictures, so I imagine him being something of the underboss, second in command of the bad guys team. Am I right?

[Angrypokstick]

Originally Posted by MisterBaka

Can you tell me anything abouth that Russian character, Stepan Mikhailov? he seems to be featured prominently in the pictures, so I imagine him being something of the underboss, second in command of the bad guys team. Am I right?

he is a freelance mercenary guns for hire type. He trained and took care of Kikuno her brother Akira for the last couple years. I will get into more details later. I plan to do a detailed character description and mech description sometime in the future.

[MisterBaka]

I will get into more details later. I plan to do a detailed character description and mech description sometime in the future.

Oh, please do! I don't know about others, but I'm starving for info.

[Angrypokstick]

Originally Posted by MisterBaka

Waitaminute... "-stan" is a Central Asian affix. It's Kazakhstan! They are making a story about a corporate-sponsored coup in Kazakhstan. Awesome.
But... Really? REALLY???
What the hell is with all the Russia in my FMP? I'm flattered, but seriously... are we supposed to be the good guys here? Lina, Mikhailov, secondary characters with Russian names - is this Gatoh and Ooguro's idea of an exotic nationality? XD Or is it just the hottest country in the news right now?

Originally Posted by MisterBaka

Spoiler for Pics:

And is that Clara crying being comforted by Tessa's boy-toy? Does that mean Mao died?....... Where's that gasoline can I saved for Gatoh?! >(

in case you are wondering why clara is crying at the end, its because the New DOMS assault team got ambushed by a Spetnaz Group using heavily modified ZY99 shadows while they were being extracted by Friendly helicopters.
Adelina and her Blast Raven was the first AS to be picked up by a Transport chopper which immediately got shot down with her still inside and crashed into the side of a mountain exploding into a huge fireball. The remaining 3 DOMS AS got so overwhelmed by the spetnaz that their only course of action that offered a chance of survival was to jump off a cliff and roll down the mountain side thousands of feet below ( If you watched the movie Lone Survivor you will have a good idea of what just happened). And then of course geotron and Evil DOMS shows up after and kills everyone including the Spetnaz Team and most of the Coup faction. Fortunately Rony's Navy SEAL team was observing the whole engagement but for obvious reasons they can not attack a Russian Spetnaz Team in the open, so instead they went and found Tatsuya's team and their AS in the bottom of the mountain and dragged them to safety. The actual reason Clara was crying is because Adelina 's fate is unknown, Her AS's Signal and transponder was lost when she crashed and Rony's team saw Geotron Forces securing Adelina's crash site , so even if she is alive the enemy have her now.

Also This is a scan you missed which is right after kikuno pulled Tatsuya 's AS out of the ground after they jumped.

Spoiler for image:

[MisterBaka]

its because the New DOMS assault team got ambushed by a Spetnaz Group using heavily modified ZY99 shadows while they were being extracted by Friendly helicopters.

Does that mean that the Good DOMS were supporting the coup in that country?

Also This is a scan you missed which is right after kikuno pulled Tatsuya 's AS out of the ground after they jumped.

Oh, thanks. Totally missed it. Tatsuya and Kikuno definetely have chemistry.

[Angrypokstick]

Originally Posted by MisterBaka

Does that mean that the Good DOMS were supporting the coup in that country?

To be honest i don't know, i took those off spoilers posted on a Chinese site, as the Chinese translation is only part way through Vol 7 i can't speak for anything in vol 8 with accuracy but apparently the situation is complicated and there is a plot/conspiracy in motion to fuck over both the Soviets and the States.
The new DOMS have many friends and just as many enemies within the higher echelons of the US government , which is why they have had cases of "mistaken" friendly fire from US forces in the past but at the same time they have guardian angels in the form of a Navy SEAL team watching their back thanks to some power play within the pentagon and the white House carried out by mithrill sympathizer and Tessa was the one that made sure it was Rony's Team that got the job of watching over Clara and the new DOMS.

[MisterBaka]

To be honest i don't know, i took those off spoilers posted on a Chinese site, as the Chinese translation is only part way through Vol 7

Oh, in that case could you elaborate on the basic plot of volumes 2 to 4? There hasn't been even a brief summary around here.

[SkoolRumble4Ya]

Hi everybody. I haven't check this forum for awhile. Can anybody tell me if they mention anything more about Chidori and Sousuke.

[Angrypokstick]

Originally Posted by SkoolRumble4Ya

Hi everybody. I haven't check this forum for awhile. Can anybody tell me if they mention anything more about Chidori and Sousuke.

read my second post on this page.

Originally Posted by MisterBaka

Oh, in that case could you elaborate on the basic plot of volumes 2 to 4? There hasn't been even a brief summary around here.

I will start from vol 1 anyways

Vol 1

Spoiler:

Tatusya Ichinose is an 17 year old high school senior at jindai(same high school as souske and Kaname). he works part time for his father's construction company as an PS operator. PS(power slave) are civilian utility versions of Arm Slaves. Tatsuya is a big fan of all things AS or PS and he has been playing around with his father's PS since he was 10. Also of note is that due to Tatsuya's crush on his English teacher Miss Katie O'Bryan, Tatsuya have devoted a large amount of time in learning English in an attempt to impress her, he has even gone out of his way to befriend other foreigners living in the area to get his accent right. In story, he is noted to be a very good english speaker and by later volumes he is noted to be able to speak flawless english like a native speaker. DOMS being an american based PMC of course have english as its primary spoken language and other than Melissa Mao and her daughter almost no one else in DOMS speaks Japanese.

In the beginning of the story, DOMS is hired on by the JSDF to train their troops in Unconventional Warfare and special tactics. During mock combat using paint rounds and non lethal melee mock ups, a Japanese type 96 AS opened fire on his teammates and DOMS operator Adelina Kerenskaya's ZY-99m Shadow using live ammo and then attempted to flee the training area. Adelina pursued and fought the Runaway type 96 using no weapons and their battle brought them out of the training area into a section of the highway that was undergoing road maintenance carried out by Tatsuya's father's company. The ensuing battle disabled Tatsuya's PS and wounded many workers including Tatsuya's father. Adelina in an attempt to protect the civilians from collateral damage was knocked down by the Runaway AS's cannons and received a concussion. Tatsuya managed to convince a wounded and delirious Adelina to give him her shadow's access code so he could pilot the Shadow in her place because he needs to save his sister from the rampaging AS. Of course Tatsuya is no match for the berserk Type 96 and lost a leg on his AS, but he demonstrated very good talent by maintaining movement and balance with only one leg and managed to wrestle the Type 96 down a ravine and into a river; submerging the Type 96 and immobilizing it in the water.

Afterwards, The JSDF arrived and found the Type 96 pilot to be in a coma and shows heavy signs of drug use. In the follow up investigation it was shown that All JSDF ammunition compounds reported that all military Ammo in japan are accounted for and the ammo found on the runaway AS are registered to the Egyptian army that was filed as stolen during transport by pirates 4 month ago.

Tatsuay's performance caught the attention of Melissa Mao-CEO of DOMS ,who offered Tatsuya a chance of trying out for a spot on one of the DOMS assault teams. At first Tatsuya was reluctant but Mao offered him a significant sign in Bonus(enough to cover most of the Ichinose family's debt.) and explained the his annual pay ($150,000 US in a year to start,not including bonus and danger pay during contracts) should he succeed in making the team of course. Tatsuya eventually agreed for the money, a chance to pilot an AS again and Because he has a fetish for pretty Blondes and Older sexy women like Mao.

Part 2 of Vol 1 was about Tatsuya using his extended summer break from school to travel to California and attend tactical courses at the DOMS training facility. Phase 1 of Tatsuya's training was mostly fitness, he did cross fit workouts and long distance ruck marches everyday while learning basics soldiering skills and how to operate various small arms such as pistols, assault rifles/carbines and LMG. Every DOMS Assualter must also be a highly capable infantry men in addition to being a good AS operator.
Phase 2 of his training saw Tatsuya officially learning how to operate various 2nd gen AS like the old RK Savages and M6 Bushnells and later on he learns to pilot 3rd gen AS such as Zy99 shadows and M9 Gernsback. this part more or less serves as an infodump to the readers about the history and techno babble of modern AS.

Throughout his training Tatsuya is introduced to the various members of DOMS assault team 3 that over saw most of his training. Douglas Baxter is the team leader and former US green beret. Bernard Beltrand is the team analyst and former French Army intelligence. Carlos Mendoza is the team assaulter and is former Colombia army and lastly there is Adelina Kerenskaya, another team 3 assaulter and a former child soldier in the Soviet militias formed to defend their rural towns and villages in the Caucasus regions from local Chechen raiders and other bandits from the south.

Among the team, only Carlos is very vocal about his displeasure of DOMS potentially hiring a Japanese highschool student with no past millitray experience but after being outsmarted by tatsuya in a mock AS battle he conceited and agreed that Tatsuya has potential. After completing his training and tests, and acquiring or loophole-ing various paperwork and state/federal laws that allows a technical foreigner to work with firearms in the United states, tatsuya was hired on as a reserve part time member of Assualt team 3, He will become a full member once he is at least 18 and have his US citizenship. at the end of Vol 1, Tatsuya returns to Japan to continue his last year in Highschool and he has alot of homework to catch up on for taking an extended summer holiday.

[MisterBaka]

I will start from vol 1 anyways

Wow. Thank you so much! You were right about starting from v1 since you gave previously unmentioned details.

Spoiler for the story:

Because he has a fetish for pretty Blondes and Older sexy women like Mao

Tatsuya felt like my kind of guy right away XD

Phase 1 of Tatsuya's training was mostly fitness, he did cross fit workouts and long distance ruck marches everyday while learning basics soldiering skills and how to operate various small arms such as pistols, assault rifles/carbines and LMG. Every DOMS Assualter must also be a highly capable infantry men in addition to being a good AS operator.

That is an incredibly smart plot point. So many stories today seem to forget that teenagers need to sweat and bleed in order to hold their own in a fight =)

Adelina Kerenskaya, another team 3 assaulter and a former child soldier in the Soviet militias formed to defend their rural towns and villages in the Caucasus regions from local Chechen raiders and other bandits from the south

This... this is incredible. Most people from the West wouldn't understand how AWESOME and at the same time panfully dark such a backround is for a Russian. I grew up during the Chechen wars, and being a child soldier fighting southern raiders and bandits in the militia... wow, you can't be more badass that that. It was a horrible tragedy, children suffering in those days, so Lina's past holds so much drama and sadness that it makes her even to Sosuke in my eyes.
My god. How did Gatoh and Ooguro managed to think of such a thing? They are awesome.
I love you, Lina.

[Angrypokstick]

Originally Posted by MisterBaka

Wow. Thank you so much! You were right about starting from v1 since you gave previously unmentioned details.

Spoiler for the story:

Tatsuya felt like my kind of guy right away XD


That is an incredibly smart plot point. So many stories today seem to forget that teenagers need to sweat and bleed in order to hold their own in a fight =)

This... this is incredible. Most people from the West wouldn't understand how AWESOME and at the same time panfully dark such a backround is for a Russian. I grew up during the Chechen wars, and being a child soldier fighting southern raiders and bandits in the militia... wow, you can't be more badass that that. It was a horrible tragedy, children suffering in those days, so Lina's past holds so much drama and sadness that it makes her even to Sosuke in my eyes.
My god. How did Gatoh and Ooguro managed to think of such a thing? They are awesome.
I love you, Lina.

I m more impressed that they agreed to the fact that is ridiculous how most anime/manga/Ln hand-wave the fact that every plot significant foreigner can speak perfect Japanese when real life is more or less the other way around.

Gatoh and Ooguro said that they were heavily influenced by western modern military fiction and non fiction books/ media prior to writing FMP Another. They also researched into PMC corporations and modern military history/technology.

Tatsuya's infantry training was more or less a very condensed and short version of modern Special Forces selection training and his Firearm course were more or less taught like as if Ooguro took the training scene right out of a magpul/vtac/Haley strategic training video.

[MisterBaka]

I m more impressed that they agreed to the fact that is ridiculous how most anime/manga/Ln hand-wave the fact that every plot significant foreigner can speak perfect Japanese when real life is more or less the other way around.

Gatoh and Ooguro said that they were heavily influenced by western modern military fiction and non fiction books/ media prior to writing FMP Another. They also researched into PMC corporations and modern military history/technology.

Tatsuya's infantry training was more or less a very condensed and short version of modern Special Forces selection training and his Firearm course were more or less taught like as if Ooguro took the training scene right out of a magpul/vtac/Haley strategic training video.

That's why FMP is the best. It actually relies on research and imaginative realism. Again, most of the Russian military elements in Gatoh's books were correct, he only stumbled in political topics and myths like sending Kalinin's superior to the GULAG in his backstory. Oh, and failing in the electronics department with the scenes of AS hacking. Still, the fact that the Cold War never ended was amusing.
I was a little worried about this special flavor the original books had when I found out that Gatoh wasn't going to write the new ones himself. But so far it seems that Another managed to capture that magic. It's good to know that, despite the questionable visual design choices (I may be mistaken but did I see a picture of Kikuno in an AS pressure suit with cleavage and nekomimi? Not that I don't find her fanservicable... Also, Arabic AS loin cloth is too Gundam) they keep to the spirit of reality in what they describe.

[Angrypokstick]

some general knowledge for Another.

D.O.M.S.（Dana O'shee Military Service）
One of the top 10 premier PMC company based out of North America. Their main Head quarter and training facility is based out of California . Located 200km North east of LA and near the US army National training center Ft.Irwin. The company was founded by Melissa Mao and her then Husband Kurtz Weber using leftover Mithril and Almagam slush founds. The company recruits internationally for Candidates using mithril's old profiling data. After a decade of service the DOMS have earned a reputation for outstanding service and through great care in the field, have avoided any sort of political and media fallout that so commonly plagues large name PMC companies. As a result, DOMS services are highly sought after. Internationally, DOMS primary clients are the US government and other NATO allies , providing them with security contracts or Training contracts. Domestically, DOMS offers Corporate/personal VIP security and specialized tactical courses for Civilians, Law enforcement and Military.

AS-X Raven Series Arm Slave.
Prototype 3rd gen Arm slaves developed domestically by EHI manufacturing of Japan. the Raven is Japan's first attempt at putting their name on the international Arms market. Previously EHI only produced weapon systems and AS for the JSDF, for obvious reasons these weapons have no international buyers because these weapons are considered untested in combat in the hands of the domestically bound JSDF. EHI believes that the Raven can make Japan into an internationally recognized country in terms of a quality current generation Arm slave. After several years of pleas with the UN and abusing loop holes found in The Arms Trade Treaty of japan and other international trade agreements, EHI was able to secure the right to export limited numbers of the Raven series. The Ravens are Japan's first Palladium arc reactor powered AS, due to the trade treaty the Raven does not carry or store any internal weaponry and must be armed locally on delivery. Melee weapons are shipped along with the Ravens because they are legal but they cannot be concealed or stored inside of the Raven, thus the raven have no anti-amour knives. The ravens are also modular configurable to make up for the fact that it carries no internal weapon systems.
Within Japan the Raven is referred to as the Type-11 "Samurai". The designer distinctively wanted to make sure that no one can mistake this Arm slaves as anything but a product of japan by emphasizing its "Samurai" styled Armour design.
On paper the Raven series appears to be average and below average in performance. Even the under-powered international export version of the Soviet Zy-99m appear to outperform the Raven. the only notable feature of the Raven is its borderline ridiculous power output of its Palladium arc reactor. The reason for this was that the extra power is used to activate EHI's proprietary "God-Speed" thrust vectoring maneuvering boosters located on its shoulder guards and other key locations. The raven is capable of changing directions in midair and can achieve limited flight/ super jump or to sprint on land at speeds in excess of 400Km/h. this is all achieved through prototype thrusters that propel itself by firing off electro magnetic ion pulses. in theory these thrusters are only effective in Space but due to the raven's high power arc reactor, its practical to a point in atmosphere.
the god speed system is heavily taxing to the AS's reactor and batteries, pending a better software update that improves control and power regulation, the system is only to be activated to decisively end a battle or in emergencies. Also this system is controlled rather awkwardly by the pilots's fingers via HAT switches and eye movement, the controls are far from perfect and would require the average pilot weeks before they can become proficient in its use.
After a Lengthy debate period. Japan have decided to hire the DOMS to field test the Raven series in all areas of combat operations. all technical support staff required will be provided by EHI in order to facilitated maintenance and adjustments. DOMS team 3 was selected for the Job, and over time EHI have provided 4 different Raven configurations.

Blaze raven- melee and multirole

Spoiler for img:

Blast raven - long range support

Spoiler for img:

Phantom raven - EW-support/flanker/

Spoiler for img:

Aegis raven - Defensive-close support

Spoiler for img:

Spoiler for Raven plot:

All ravens are equipped with a simple imitation TAROs Lambda driver derived from the ARX-7 Arbalest that crashed in Tokyo 10 years ago. Due to the very short amount of time EHI scientist had to study the Arbalest wreckage they only have but a glimpse into the inner working of the Black science used to create the lambda driver.
the TAROS drive on the ravens are only capable of reading the the pilots thoughts and converting it into action rather than shaped energy like the original Lambda driver. this is the true reason why the Raven series appears to react faster and the controls more smoother to the pilots during high stress combat. the god-speed thruster were also always intended to be controlled by the pilot's mind.

[nooneagain]

hey guys, Is FMP: Another a separate series from the rest, with different main characters?
anybody know the real age of sousuke? it was stated in the wiki that his exact b-day is unknown and it was just presumed to be july 7 1984

[FeistyDreams]

The faster-seeming reaction time on the Raven... I, I had actually planned on using something pretty much exactly like that for a long time, and started a fanfic project using it some time ago. Well then. Good to know my idea was completely plausible in the FMP-verse XD

@nooneagain: Yes, FMP!Another is a separate cast, minus a few that show up, but they aren't the focus. The new group is.

Sousuke's exact date of birth is never confirmed, but it's probably sometime early-mid 1981 (1984 is anime timeline, the original timeline would be '81) July 7 is what he put on his paperwork, presumably to make it easier to remember - Uruz 7, born 7-7? Coincidence? Yeah, right, definitely sounds like they were making it easy to remember, lol. At the start of FMP, he's about 16/17, by the end he's 18, maybe 19. At the start of FMP!A, which starts up 11 years after the end of the original, Sousuke would be about 29/30. Except we don't see him at all, lol. I believe at least 8 months has passed in FMP!A, so by now he's about 30/31, where the series currently stands.

[nooneagain]

Originally Posted by FeistyDreams

The faster-seeming reaction time on the Raven... I, I had actually planned on using something pretty much exactly like that for a long t

Sousuke's exact date of birth is never confirmed, but it's probably sometime early-mid 1981 (1984 is anime timeline, the original timeline would be '81).

hmm idk but is it safe to say that maybe he is younger than what is listed as his bday? I feel like he is younger than he is officially ...
can you describe the main characters in FMP: Another? if you don't mind.

[FeistyDreams]

Actually, they give impression that he may be a little older. In the side story "Voice From the North," Kalinin is thinking about something that happened "13 years ago" at a time when Sousuke is assumed to be 17. When he mentions young Sousuke, he thinks of him as being "4 or 5 years old" -- If he was 4, then it matches up, but if he was 5, then he's close to a year older than what we expect. It's because of that that I tend to believe he was probably born earlier in the year rather than in the middle/later.

But, well, we have no solid answers, so if you like thinking of him as being younger, there's nothing that says you're wrong!

Ahh, as for the main characters, I think you'll find some better information than I can give within the last 2 pages. Their names are Tatsuya and Adelina "Lina", so look for those names.

[nooneagain]

Originally Posted by FeistyDreams

But, well, we have no solid answers, so if you like thinking of him as being younger, there's nothing that says you're wrong!

Ahh, as for the main characters, I think you'll find some better information than I can give within the last 2 pages. Their names are Tatsuya and Adelina "Lina", so look for those names.

can't find them on databases of some sites like wikia or myanimelist

[Angrypokstick]

Originally Posted by nooneagain

hmm idk but is it safe to say that maybe he is younger than what is listed as his bday? I feel like he is younger than he is officially ...
can you describe the main characters in FMP: Another? if you don't mind.
can't find them on databases of some sites like wikia or myanimelist

word of god is that Souske is 16/17 at the beginning of the story. since Tessa is roughly the same or younger than souske, Tessa is 28/27 in Fmp Another since she is born in 84 and it is currently 2011 in another , so i would assume Sosuke to be around that age as well.
FMP another is mostly unknown in the west so only Japanese and Chinese Wikia have comprehensive entries in them. Myanimelist is shit.
Also read my post about vol 1 on the last page for the description on most of the the MCs.