Full Metal Panic Invisible Victory - Episode 2 Discussion / Poll

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by dasvik

It might seem - or even be - a bit forced, but take into consideration that he didn't want to mutiny in order to change the commanding officer, because he didn't like her or because he wanted a better job. It was nothing personal, he might've even liked her, but in this case he thought she's made a wrong decision, which will cost him - and others - their lives, and he wanted to get out of this predicament alive, no matter the methods. It was just that, some kind of survival instinct, taken to the extreme. Once the situation was cleared by Tessa (through the power of the captain's speech ) he returned to his previous feelings, of respect for his commanding officer - or more than that.

Or maybe he's simply one of those guys who finds women who point guns at him irresistible.

I thought it was mix of:
- genuine fondness (as you said, it wasn't personal, and he probably came to admire her strength, even if it was pointed at him);
- a ploy to defuse the situation (because it's not like the others could forget what he just tried to do);
- gallows humor (because the situation still looks pretty bad).

[HunterSeeker]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

I thought it was mix of:
- genuine fondness (as you said, it wasn't personal, and he probably came to admire her strength, even if it was pointed at him);
- a ploy to defuse the situation (because it's not like the others could forget what he just tried to do);
- gallows humor (because the situation still looks pretty bad).

But then it's hard to find anyone who doesn't like Tessa among the TDD forces, I mean, even Mao wants her.

Anyway, Speck-at-mutiny only speaks out everyone's fear: the situation is extremely dire. His name was only mentioned since DBD (TSR) so we assumed he was inducted into Mithril after Gauron's rampage on TDD, so he didn't really saw his (or theirs') life in any real danger before; as such he wouldn't have known first-hand how she bring the team away from troubles before. And since they're mercenaries it's also logical for them to work for the highest bidder: who would think they can prevail against such overwhelming odds? It's not like Mao or Clouseau work without their doubts so he just speaks for all their mind at once: are there any alternative methods to survive this? We're speaking about fighting 3 Benemoths without Sousuke and Arbalest.

But like others had said, Tessa made it clear that their foe won't accept anything else other than their corpses, so she and others will work a way out or die trying; she showed her resolve to survive this AND this encourages others to do the same. And from what the novel wrote, Clouseau cracks the joke is to ease their mind so they can put their creativity into use------and it will show soon enough.

[Ghostfriendly]

Speck is ironically rather oblivious to the danger of proposing mutiny to soldiers whose friends and comrades were killed by mutineers. Also lucky to escape a bullet in the foot, given Tessa's poor aim; but she certainly showed her strength of resolve, more so than if she'd had told her men to threaten him. 'And a little child shall lead them' indeed, Tessa-chan is still love.

CGI car chase was very dynamic, but more like a computer game than a proper scene due to the poor background detail. I guess they're rushing through so many scenes, they couldn't spend too much money on each; hopefully the climatic scenes get plenty of time and budget. I really wouldn't mind if they spend less on some dialogue scenes, and enough on action scenes for something really impressive.

[LeoXiao]

It may just be that they're constrained by the number of episodes they have to adapt each novel, but to me it seems like there hasn't been a single scene or moment that hearkens to the original FMP (suspense-building stuff like the conversation Gauron had with the KGB men on the bridge, for instance, or the first scenes of the Afghanistan episodes where Sagara is effectively outcast by his team) -- the suspenseful, almost meditative feeling of gradual buildup to action isn't there; instead, we get a bunch of action right off the bat that is hardly supported by the level of character development presented. Even taking what we have so far as simply being episodes 14 and 15 of The Second Raid, there's pretty much no downtime between the defeat of Gates and Amalgam's Zero Hour, and nor is it properly prefaced.

The suggested mutiny and Tessa's pre-empting thereof came across as an attempt to shoehorn in an element of what happened in last arc of the first season rather than a genuine point of drama. It came out of the blue and disappeared as soon as it came.

Again maybe it's just because of the time constraint but I think that somehow IV is so far lacking the essence of what made FMP FMP. Still good to see being adapted but I have to be honest.

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Isn't Amalgam worried that Chidori's going to die if they fire that many bullets in her general direction? Don't they want her alive?

I think the guy in charge of the operation is different from the guy who wants Chidori for himself (Leonard).

[HunterSeeker]

Originally Posted by LeoXiao

It may just be that they're constrained by the number of episodes they have to adapt each novel, but to me it seems like there hasn't been a single scene or moment that hearkens to the original FMP (suspense-building stuff like the conversation Gauron had with the KGB men on the bridge, for instance, or the first scenes of the Afghanistan episodes where Sagara is effectively outcast by his team) -- the suspenseful, almost meditative feeling of gradual buildup to action isn't there; instead, we get a bunch of action right off the bat that is hardly supported by the level of character development presented. Even taking what we have so far as simply being episodes 14 and 15 of The Second Raid, there's pretty much no downtime between the defeat of Gates and Amalgam's Zero Hour, and nor is it properly prefaced.

The suggested mutiny and Tessa's pre-empting thereof came across as an attempt to shoehorn in an element of what happened in last arc of the first season rather than a genuine point of drama. It came out of the blue and disappeared as soon as it came.

Again maybe it's just because of the time constraint but I think that somehow IV is so far lacking the essence of what made FMP FMP. Still good to see being adapted but I have to be honest.

Because IV assumes the audience had already watched the original and TSR (and even the original novels) so it needs little time to build up any other characters. So far it follows tightly to the novel almost word-to-word so they jumped directly into action; but since they haven't made AVDMC into anime (only an audio drama) so it may lead to the feeling of "no downtime since TSR". To me the whole thing is smooth enough.

Oh, and the Afghanistan arc was anime-original, it's not from the novel.

[dasvik]

Originally Posted by LeoXiao

I think the guy in charge of the operation is different from the guy who wants Chidori for himself (Leonard).

Actually Amalgam wants Chidori alive as much as Leonard. I won't go into more detail about it, since there's no point in posting something that will get deleted by admins. Anyway, I also wondered myself why were they shooting so much at the van and at S & C in the park, considering they want to take her alive.

As for the "feeling rushed" part, yes, it does feel rushed, but there are at least two things to consider.

First, the novel, COMO, also has very little build-up and a lot of action in it, it's basically what's already been said in the anime: Amalgam decides to get serious and start an all-out war with Mithril. That's pretty much the content of the source material: fighting, fighting and fighting, so there's not much else to animate besides that. There's no "S & C separation drama" like in EDBD / TSR or "submarine take-over plot" like in ITB / last arc of season 1.

And second, season 1 covered 3 novels + 1 original arc + some fillers in 24 episodes. First novel was animated into 7 episodes, second novel into 4 episodes and third novel in 5 episodes. TSR covered 1 - albeit big, two-part novel - in 13 episodes; even if you consider that as 2 novels it still ammounts to 6,5 episodes / novel. In comparison, from what we've seen from the trailers and OP, this season will have to cover 3 novels in 12 episodes, which is the most ammount of novel material / episode up until this point. So yes, some of the scenes feel rushed, and I would've liked them to be a bit more detailed, but it seems various restrictions will take their toll on the series. However, from what I've seen so far, it doesn't seem to be a big toll.

Originally Posted by HunterSeeker

Oh, and the Afghanistan arc was anime-original, it's not from the novel.

... and not a good one. Aside from learning some things about Sousuke's early years, it's pretty much a pointless filler, dragging on the first season.

[Sinestra]

finally got around to episode 2 and i keep thinking about is that god awful CG. That and the fact that our heros are getting their ass kicked. Next episode should be interesting now that Amalgam taken hostages and civilians have been hurt. Funny how they want Chidori alive but they were shooting at that car like mad. Episode also felt rushed and there is something about the OP that just doesnt get me excited like the previous ones. My favorite is still from the season 1.

[Klashikari]

I'd argue IV isn't totally innocent, mostly for the following part

Spoiler for missing part before IV, impossible to get in the anime as of now:

IV actual plot isn't the direct continuation of TSR, but rather a volume after it. TSR spans over 2 volume, both Ending Day by Day (4th and 5th). However, IV starts with Continuing on my own, which is the 7th volume.

While some characterizations and stuff are missing, but could be make up for it, there is a glaring plot continuity there. Simply put, the plot thus far has shown Amalgam trying to abduct Kaname -only once-, which was the plane hijack.
Following that attack, Amalgam had other objectives: Test of the Behemoth class AS through A21 terrorist group, nuke smuggling (anime exclusive), Danaan hijack, arms trafficking with the Balic government (anime exclusive), capture of the Arbalest at Nanking (Anime exclusive, tying with Bruno's betrayal which was originally tied to Danigan and Nguyen in the danaan hijack incident in the novels).

It has to be noted that Kaname being targeted in TSR was mainly Gauron going completely rogue and doing whatever he wanted.

As such, it is indeed weird for Amalgam to go completely wild like that "just" for Kaname. And this is where Dancing Very Merry Christmas alleviates that issue, as they basically made a very big covert operation to seize her once again. With that failure + the rest up to now, their extreme shift of action makes more sense in that regard.

But aside of that continuity issue, the rest is pretty much as Dasvik and HunterSeeker said: IV direction pretty much expect the audience to have the original series or the LN in mind before going there.
There is absolutely no need for a recap whatsoever, and it would be absurdely out of place considering how Amalgam goes extremely brutal here.

The only way to do some sort of "slow but steady" plot resuming would have been DVMC, but alas, they just don't have time (and probably resources) to adapt it.


Regarding why Amalgam goes completely batshit insane against Kaname, it is very possible they are fed up to the point that her being alive isn't really that big of a concern. If they can capture her, that's all good, but if they lose too much resources and fail in the end, that won't cut it.
As such, I'd say that their primary goal is to crush Mithril, and "try capturing" Kaname as a bonus. If she dies in the ordeal "so be it", basically. If anything, they already got major technology and weaponry advantage in general, so if Mithril is annihilated, that should be plenty enough for them.

[laughingwalls]

Originally Posted by Haak

I'll chime in with everyone else and say that the CGI wasn't great even though the choreography was good. If it has to be CGI then Orange Standard is a must.

The CGI is fine. The sound track just needed Priscilla - "Love is in Danger" in that scene.

[Yu Ominae]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

Regarding why Amalgam goes completely batshit insane against Kaname, it is very possible they are fed up to the point that her being alive isn't really that big of a concern. If they can capture her, that's all good, but if they lose too much resources and fail in the end, that won't cut it.
As such, I'd say that their primary goal is to crush Mithril, and "try capturing" Kaname as a bonus. If she dies in the ordeal "so be it", basically. If anything, they already got major technology and weaponry advantage in general, so if Mithril is annihilated, that should be plenty enough for them.

I'd have to agree with what he has on why Amalgam agents aren't hesitating to put a bullet in Kaname.

[Mad Pierrot]

Man, today I watched a lot of death flags considering how many mecha pilots were fighting. Akame ga Kill! ruined me XD

Still, it was quite a good episode. I hope the next one focuses on Kyoko since the fact she was a hostage left me a huge impression since last week.

[Yu Ominae]

Checking back on the TSR Mithril Report booklet inserts (I have the ones translated by Funi and I took a gander at the Japanese version online years ago since someone placed the scans up and they were more complete than Funi's. Not sure if it's still online) and I found the coordinates of the Merida Island base.

Kadokawa mentions that it's 20°50 longitude north and 140°31 latitude east.

[Illsteir]

Originally Posted by Yu Ominae

Kadokawa mentions that it's 20°50 longitude north and 140°31 latitude east.

Punching those coordinates in Google Maps will get you this.

[Yu Ominae]

Saw the map. So yeah, it may be somewhere near the vicinity of Guam.

[HandofFate]

who doesn't want to see a badass Tessa. I think the people try to mention mutiny every attack because they want to see dom Tessa again.