Full Metal Panic Invisible Victory - Episode 12 Discussion / Poll

[Klashikari]

Welcome to the discussion thread for Full Metal Panic Invisible Victory, Episode 12.

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[Illsteir]

After nearly a decade since its debut in the novel, we finally get to see the Laevatein in action.
And it's... too short. It doesn't even feel like it's 5 minutes and 52 seconds long like in the novel. The fight choreography isn't bad but not great either. The battle would've benefited the use of dynamic camera action - the edge of 3D animation vs 2D hand drawn. I wish they showed the battle in the Amalgam pilots' POV so you can feel their awe and dread as the're being picked apart one by one.

I nearly teared up when they played Tomorrow and Karenai Hana and BGMs from the previous seasons.

I'm glad that Sousuke and AL's dialogue regarding the Leavatein's lack of modern essential parts wasn't removed as it's missing in Sigma and in the PS4 game.

Delays and production problems aside, I really enjoyed Invisible Victory. I really hope that the follow up and animated conclusion to Full Metal Panic! will be announced soon

[serenade_beta]

Hah? This is the end? Not 2-cour? Not to the end of the story?

And hah?
What, "Uhh, duhhh... Oh, if we play the old songs, it will make the viewers emotional! Surely that will cover our butts!"? By just slapping them near the end?
And despite not even using Mikuni for this season?
So stupid. I couldn't even bear to listen to the entire song while watching the credits to this season.

And next time (assuming there is one for some reason), actually choose somewhere that can survive animating 1-cour if you are going to try and revive an old series.

[HunterSeeker]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

Hah? This is the end? Not 2-cour? Not to the end of the story?

And hah?
What, "Uhh, duhhh... Oh, if we play the old songs, it will make the viewers emotional! Surely that will cover our butts!"? By just slapping them near the end?
And despite not even using Mikuni for this season?
So stupid. I couldn't even bear to listen to the entire song while watching the credits to this season.

And next time (assuming there is one for some reason), actually choose somewhere that can survive animating 1-cour if you are going to try and revive an old series.

Yeah, ask Kadokawa or someone else to pump more money for production and some studios will pick it up!
Seriously. These two episodes clearly show that it's not XEBEC who can't produce quality animations, it's due to lack of resources from far above so they have to prioritize important scenes (compare combat scenes to others). The after-credit lines clearly hinted about it; it's not they don't want to finish it even by two-cour, it's something else barring them. What reason do you think this fourth season was pushed back for more than ten years?

As for the episode itself, Laevatein's first battle really pumps up my adrenaline. It's nowhere dynamic enough like Arbalest in the last of TSR, but it fits its purpose enough to show how overpowered it is to the grunts. The drama scenes sometimes look odd, but that two from Chidori (facing Leo and the confession) can't asked for better------and for that the confession hits the line well enough and we waited for goddamn so long for this.
And yeah, playing Shimokawa's songs just nailed it. No offense to those from IV but "tomorrow" sheds a ray of hope to their future. (Though some of us already knows the highway to hell haven't ended yet)

Overall, despite all those bashing and other things (while I agree with some of them) I like IV for what it delivered, XEBEC really did their best for what they got. Since the last two novels involve comparatively less combat and more conversations, I do hope they can pick up the rest of them, it's easier than action-packed three novels anyway.
Unfortunately it seems they're going to air a new series of Fafner soon so I guess the second cour won't happen until next year. Let's hope for it.

[Dop]

So... they're leaving it there?
Just hope we're not waiting umpteen years for more. Hope even more they get the budget to animate it properly.
Then again I think before this was announced most people had given up on there ever being another season.


Enjoyed it though, despite the occasionally shonky animation which I would hope gets fixed up before physical release.

[Subzero00]

Originally Posted by HunterSeeker

Yeah, ask Kadokawa or someone else to pump more money for production and some studios will pick it up!
Seriously. These two episodes clearly show that it's not XEBEC who can't produce quality animations, it's due to lack of resources from far above so they have to prioritize important scenes (compare combat scenes to others). The after-credit lines clearly hinted about it; it's not they don't want to finish it even by two-cour, it's something else barring them. What reason do you think this fourth season was pushed back for more than ten years?

As for the episode itself, Laevatein's first battle really pumps up my adrenaline. It's nowhere dynamic enough like Arbalest in the last of TSR, but it fits its purpose enough to show how overpowered it is to the grunts. The drama scenes sometimes look odd, but that two from Chidori (facing Leo and the confession) can't asked for better------and for that the confession hits the line well enough and we waited for goddamn so long for this.
And yeah, playing Shimokawa's songs just nailed it. No offense to those from IV but "tomorrow" sheds a ray of hope to their future. (Though some of us already knows the highway to hell haven't ended yet)

Overall, despite all those bashing and other things (while I agree with some of them) I like IV for what it delivered, XEBEC really did their best for what they got. Since the last two novels involve comparatively less combat and more conversations, I do hope they can pick up the rest of them, it's easier than action-packed three novels anyway.
Unfortunately it seems they're going to air a new series of Fafner soon so I guess the second cour won't happen until next year. Let's hope for it.

I totally agree with what your saying. It wasn't the best but could of been alot worse. Overall i enjoyed it. I really hope your right about the final core next year. I can't take another 10 years for the finale

[AC-Phoenix]

EP 12, otherwise known, as the episode where Tessa was seriously creeped out
Also was that TLC another one of these EMT jokes?

[Mad Pierrot]

Damn, while the couple had a emotional reunion, I didn't see a single "To be continued". Hope the DVDs and Bluray sell well to get episode V and maybe explain Sousuke's backstory briefly shown in the opening

EDIT: Still, I loved the scene where the mechas do samurai skills

[amehmood16]

Well, just as I had hoped the production rebounded for the better here. I was hoping after the disastrous episode 10 that they had saved their better staff for these last two episodes and I was mostly right. I think this 2-2.5 week break was probably Xebec's best utilized break time compared to the first and second recaps.

The direction improved and was mostly on point, the CG action was near flawless, Episode 11 in particular was so well done that I have rewatched the scene where Urzu team takes out the Codarls over and over again. Just so smooth and dynamic. The music direction was amazing. So many good utilization of old remixed tracks. I have a much better appreciation for COOL RUNNING, TUATHA DE DANAAN, and FIRE AT WILL after seeing them implemented in the respective anime scenes. I never really liked those tracks in from the past seasons. Lavaetein's debut was just as great as I had hoped. I absolutely love when he uses the Howlitzer Gun on the final Behemoth. I have also rewatched that scene multiple times. The voice acting was very good for these episodes and really brought out the characters emotions too. It's like the cast finally found their footing and got used to their voices. The final exchange was heartwarming and I cried after hearing Karenai Hana and Tomorrow. Xebec expertly used these two tracks not only to evoke nostalgia but to also highlight those two particular scenes narratively because the lyrics for the songs are a great fit. As expected the animation wasn't quite there but it's still a step up from episode 10, although not at the level of the COMO arc which had the best overall visual quality this season.

Well at the end all I can say is that a major disaster was averted following episode 10 and Xebec really stepped up to the plate. It wasn't perfect still but everything came together quite nicely and given all the problems I am very satisfied with this ending. It had its ups and downs but I can't say I didn't enjoy FMP IV.

Now to wait for the final season. Some people are wondering if it may not come but it definitely will. There's a stage event for FMP at the Fantasia Bunko fall festival. The same place where 3 years ago the fourth season was first announced. I'm sure we will get the latest info on the state of the FMP franchise and when the time is right the final season announcement. Now I will wait patiently for the blu ray to see any possible improvements/changes.

[germanturkey]

well shit. they can't just stop there. especially not after that radio chat.

also, nice throwback with the OG music. those songs were so much better than the proper OP and ED for this season.

[AC-Phoenix]

The Episode also puts Kalini's betrayal into question. - Why tell Souske to stop him by relying on his lip-reading skills, rather than outright tell him unless he is just pretending?

[dasvik]

Originally Posted by AC-Phoenix

The Episode also puts Kalini's betrayal into question. - Why tell Souske to stop him by relying on his lip-reading skills, rather than outright tell him unless he is just pretending?

You do know that "try and stop me" doesn't actually / literally mean "try and stop me", right? That's some kind of taunt or a challenge with nigh-impossible odds, not an invitation.

[frodonk]

There are no planned continuations of FMP at present huh..

Welp, see you all in 2030!

[grss1982]

Wait! This was the last episode?

Are we gonna wait again for a decade for a conclusion!!?!?!?!?!? NO!!!!!!@12!2!@1@12!

In all seriousness though the ARX-8 is one OP AS. Love the part were the waldo arms are in action and Souske's reaction was to shrug. LOL

And that dialogue between Al and Souske about special equipment for modern warfare. Comedy gold!

So what AS was it that Kalinlin took from Gavin Hunter? If they had the ARX-8 all along? A decoy?

[FlareKnight]

I will say it kind of feels this season like they want to have their cake and eat it too with Chidori. Give her the big emotional freakouts which aren't unreasonable for the situation. Have her hit a low point and then seconds later have her flip flop to finding some sense of determination or accepting that she was acting in an extreme fashion. It happening once, oh sure. But it feels like every scene with her is Chidori flip flopping. "Well goodbye" "Actually screw that."

I'm glad though Chidori is willing to draw the line at millions dying for her rescue. Thousands apparently is still within an acceptable amount . Thank goodness though she's willing to accept some casualties considering those that died this season in Sousuke's attempts to find and rescue her.

The action though was fine and holy crap the new unit is OP as all heck. But hey this season did show a lot of the M9s doing good work. So maybe it's fine to let Sousuke have some glory along the way.

It was kind of funny watching them try to fit as many different classic FMP songs as they could into the last part of this episode. Just run through those tracks!

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Well, everyone pretty much already said what I wanted to say, including how very nice it is to hear Shimokawa Mikuni's songs again.

Here's hoping that if Kadokawa decided to do another season, they'll be more generous with the budget so that XEBEC or other studios can make FMP their priority project or even provide it the deluxe treatment. At this point, XEBEC did Future Card Buddyfight better than FMP based on the available resources. Kadokawa & team must pull out all the stops for the very last season (if it will happen at all) for all the money that FMP have brought them.

All in all, I'm grateful for Xebec's work on FMP IV as they have showed much of their dedication amidst very limiting situation. And the series itself is quite enjoyable despite the grim stage in the overall story.

[Applehell]

Caught the last two episodes. Much better than ep 10 and despite production and story structural problems I enjoyed the this season as whole. So happy Chidori recovered after that deluge of sophistry from Leonard. Leavatein looks great too, though I don't remember Al's personality being so, um humorous?

Unfortunately this kind of ending you have get another season and address. It just doesn't work on it's own even as a seasonal without a sequel justifying it. Had they killed or captured Leonard it would have felt much more satisfactory, even without Chidori being recused, but as it stands not much about current got accomplished as from dealing with Kurama early on.

[Mazryonh]

Don't tell me we'll have to wait even more years than last time to see an animated continuation to FMP. What if Chidori's seiyuu, Satsuki Yukino, dies in the interim? Who would replace her? It just wouldn't be the same and would put a different vocal soul in the character.

Where did the anime's budget troubles come from? Didn't Gatoh Shouji, the author, already make Kadokawa enough money via writing FMP and Amagi Brilliant Park for a real budget to be thrown at this show?

[HunterSeeker]

Originally Posted by Mazryonh

Don't tell me we'll have to wait even more years than last time to see an animated continuation to FMP. What if Chidori's seiyuu, Satsuki Yukino, dies in the interim? Who would replace her? It just wouldn't be the same and would put a different vocal soul in the character.

Where did the anime's budget troubles come from? Didn't Gatoh Shouji, the author, already make Kadokawa enough money via writing FMP and Amagi Brilliant Park for a real budget to be thrown at this show?

You have to understand the anime industry in Japan nowadays are different to that of 13 years ago. Not only number of airing animes doubled in number, investments to each barely scratch that of the past, while shortage of manpower surfaced in recent years. Not even big IPs like Gundam are safe from this. So IV happened is nothing short of a miracle, even though we expect they'll finish it once and for all in one run.

As for the seiyuu problem, it's rather unpredictable (look at Dragonball Super's Bulma, or other sick seiyuus all for a sudden) but it does raise concern if it drags on for too long. For that matter, we already lost Chikao Ohtsuka, VA of Count Maroly, who have a notable in the last book.

[dasvik]

What I don't get is why so many people are panicked that we'll have to wait again for a long time for the next season.

Yes, a new season wasn't announced at the end of IV... does that mandatory means that we'll have to wait 10+ years? Why can't it mean 1 year? Or 2? Or 6 months?