Full Metal Panic Invisible Victory - Spoiler Thread

[FeistyDreams]

Oh, there's TONS of material for another 2 Fumoffu's minimum lol. It just doesn't fit with where the main story is going.

[dasvik]

I'm glad we now have a release date. Also, I'm not much of an otaku and never heard of this Xenec studio, but their animes seem ok - maybe not Kyoto quality, but not bad.

However, I have a noob question: what's an "audio drama"?

[Illsteir]

It's like an audio book but not all audio dramas are book adaptations.

While on topic, since "Dancing" is getting an audio drama, does that mean it's not gonna be included in the new season?

[dasvik]

Originally Posted by Illsteir

While on topic, since "Dancing" is getting an audio drama, does that mean it's not gonna be included in the new season?

That's what I was wondering myself... what's the deal with this audio drama? And why DVMC, specifically?

[MisterBaka]

Okay, time to open up my Andrew W.K. collection and Party Hard.

My only setback is that I haven't watched a single Xebec anime so I don't know how to feel about them >_<

[Dextro]

Originally Posted by Ulin

Yep, but with where the story is going from where it was left, there is not much material to make another fumoffu

They didn't need to set it chronologically after TSR, they could just say it happened at the same time as the original Fumoffu and be done with it

[HunterSeeker]

Originally Posted by dasvik

That's what I was wondering myself... what's the deal with this audio drama? And why DVMC, specifically?

ADVMC is basically a bridge between TSR and 4th Season but with only a few action scenes, so I guess they choose Audio Drama so not to leave it out while saving time/$ from not animating it. I'm disappointed for not seeing the part Mardukas kicking ass got animated though.

[FeistyDreams]

From the viewpoint of a storyteller, putting VMC in with the start of the main series at this point would be disastrous, the pacing would be alllll wrong to go from VMC to OMO. I was really hoping for an OVA at the very least, and for now I'll hope that VMC will get an OVA bundled with the physical release of FMP!IV.

The dream: Origin story OVAs bundled with the small physical releases. VMC OVA with first full FMP!IV physical release.

Somehow after all this time I can still be an optimist when it comes to FMP! lol

[Azel]

So I thought I'd post this here as it's a novel spoiler, but it's a question about the upcoming anime...

So it seems all but confirmed that DVMC is going to be skipped and we'll be heading straight into COMO with the anime. Towards the end of COMO, the Jindai students find out who Sousuke is, his classmates are quite upset but specifically one person is pretty pissed - Onodera. Now, in the novels, this makes sense as Ono-D is played up to be Sousuke's school best friend, but in the anime, this role is pretty much taken by Shinji.

So do you think the anime will change this scene too, and have Shinji lash out at Sousuke, rather than Ono-D? From an anime only perspective it would seem kinda odd for Ono-D to be so mad at Sousuke since he's been nothing but a vaguely present side character. He's never been that significant, he wasn't in the first series at all and again in TSR all the significant school friend scenes were with Shinji. Ono-D is only really prominent in Fumoffu and they barely interact even in that series.

So, wouldn't it make more sense to the story to have Shinji get mad at Sousuke for hiding who he really is? I wonder if the animation will take this early change into consideration now that it will be leading to a pretty significant scene for those characters.

[dasvik]

They could use Shinji instead of Ono-D, but at the same time it's pretty clear all of his classmates felt betrayed by him.

Ofc, in any classroom you have some colleagues with whom you interact more and have a better relationship and some with whom you don't. But what he was hiding was not something trivial, he was hiding the fact that he was a spy. And maybe that could've been overlooked if it hadn't actually affected them directly. But because of him and Mithril, they were kidnapped twice...

So that being said, they could still use Ono-D as the guy with a more "fiery" temper who feels the need to speak his mind, even if he isn't Sousuke's best friend. Shinji, as he's been portraied so far in the series, seems a bit too shy for such an outburst and anger.

[Alf]

Ono-D was the one to burst out not only because of his friendship with Sousuke, and also because he had a thing for Kyoko who got tied to a time bomb. While that is not particularly emphazised in anime, that should work for side characters.

[Azel]

Originally Posted by dasvik

They could use Shinji instead of Ono-D, but at the same time it's pretty clear all of his classmates felt betrayed by him.

Ofc, in any classroom you have some colleagues with whom you interact more and have a better relationship and some with whom you don't. But what he was hiding was not something trivial, he was hiding the fact that he was a spy. And maybe that could've been overlooked if it hadn't actually affected them directly. But because of him and Mithril, they were kidnapped twice...

So that being said, they could still use Ono-D as the guy with a more "fiery" temper who feels the need to speak his mind, even if he isn't Sousuke's best friend. Shinji, as he's been portraied so far in the series, seems a bit too shy for such an outburst and anger.

All very good points, I agree they will all feel betrayed after being put in danger by him. I didn't think of that. Perhaps as you say, Ono-D is simply the fiery one able to speak out loud what they're all thinking, but I recall there being at least some aspect of it being Ono-D feeling betrayed because they were friends and he felt he never really knew him at all. Perhaps that's revealed at their reunion when he forgives him again - I haven't read the novels/sigma in a while so perhaps I'm remembering it wrong. To be honest, thinking about it now, it will almost certainly be Ono-D because if it's Shinji that will ruin the utterly heartbreaking scene where Sousuke watches the video Shinji made for him and Chidori to see on the internet letting them know they're waiting for them.

At the Anime-Expo panel, Gatoh said that the new series just goes straight into things, there's no explanation/introduction of characters, they will be just heading into the story under the assumption you have seen all previous series so maybe they won't care about such minor details anyway!

[dasvik]

"I'm sorry for keeping quiet," he concluded quietly, and one of the students, his shoulders shaking, said:
"Wait..."
It was Sousuke's closest friend, Koutarou Onodera.
"'I'm sorry' you say...? You need to say that to Tokiwa. She's still in the hospital, with tubes in all her body"
[...][...][...]
"I've got business with this guy!! Weren't we friends!? Or were you just fucking with me!?"

This is what's mentioned in COMO about what you asked, so it's said plainly that Ono-D was Sousuke's best friend, though I don't recall any relevant interaction between the two in the main stories. Maybe there was something in the side stories, or Gatou simply wanted to mention that Ono-D was Sousuke's "best friend" even without any anterior "proof".
Anyway, as pointed by Alf, Ono-D was also mad for Tokywa being injured - I've forgotten about that aspect.

[Dextro]

Here's a review of the first recap movie. Plenty of spoilers so don't open if you want to go in fresh. There's a new scene at the start but that's about it:

What’s New and Different in the First Full Metal Panic! Compilation Film @ Anime Now!

[Yu Ominae]

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/dai...visual/.126109

New KV for the 3rd director's cut film.

[Klashikari]

I'm not sure if I'm alone regarding that subject, but I really think skipping Dancing Very Merry Christmas was quite a very bad move for the rest of the plot in general.

For one, I don't think people will understand how Sousuke could be that bold with Kaname at the end of episode 1 by holding her hands (sure enough, Sousuke realized his longing for her at the end of TSR, but it is kind of weird without having the christmas scene between the two).
But the real issue is Kanlinin. Even if they somehow made Mardukas suspecting him in a very brief instant in IV, this might look like coming out of nowhere, whereas DVMC outright shows him plotting with Leonard.

I realize there was a drama CD for it, but that's not exactly the same thing and it wasn't really actively advertized either. I believe and 2-3 Episodes OAV would have helped quite immensely, and it would also gives more characterization for Sousuke, Kaname and Tessa to boot.

[Dash_Hunter]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

I'm not sure if I'm alone regarding that subject, but I really think skipping Dancing Very Merry Christmas was quite a very bad move for the rest of the plot in general.

For one, I don't think people will understand how Sousuke could be that bold with Kaname at the end of episode 1 by holding her hands (sure enough, Sousuke realized his longing for her at the end of TSR, but it is kind of weird without having the christmas scene between the two).
But the real issue is Kanlinin. Even if they somehow made Mardukas suspecting him in a very brief instant in IV, this might look like coming out of nowhere, whereas DVMC outright shows him plotting with Leonard.

I realize there was a drama CD for it, but that's not exactly the same thing and it wasn't really actively advertized either. I believe and 2-3 Episodes OAV would have helped quite immensely, and it would also gives more characterization for Sousuke, Kaname and Tessa to boot.

I completely agree 100% with everything you posted, I can only hope that that story arc is later brought back, maybe as OVA's or something similar.

That being said, as FMP fans I think we need to consider ourselves lucky enough to even have this new season at all, I mean it shouldn't have been easy to convince a company to bring back a franchise that has been dormant for over a decade, and which last animation project didn't sell that well, so I bet some compromises had to be made and probably not animating DVMC was a sacrifice Shoji Gatoh had to accept.

[dasvik]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

I'm not sure if I'm alone regarding that subject, but I really think skipping Dancing Very Merry Christmas was quite a very bad move for the rest of the plot in general.

For one, I don't think people will understand how Sousuke could be that bold with Kaname at the end of episode 1 by holding her hands (sure enough, Sousuke realized his longing for her at the end of TSR, but it is kind of weird without having the christmas scene between the two).
But the real issue is Kanlinin. Even if they somehow made Mardukas suspecting him in a very brief instant in IV, this might look like coming out of nowhere, whereas DVMC outright shows him plotting with Leonard.

I realize there was a drama CD for it, but that's not exactly the same thing and it wasn't really actively advertized either. I believe and 2-3 Episodes OAV would have helped quite immensely, and it would also gives more characterization for Sousuke, Kaname and Tessa to boot.

Well, in DVMC Kaname has more "inner dialogue" about her feelings regarding Sousuke, than him. Sure, Sousuke tells Tessa that he likes Kaname more than he likes her, and then they have that scene at the end of the novel, but in COMO he's kinda making the "let's hold hands" proposal as suddenly as in the anime. And I think his talk with Hayashimizu played a big part in it, it wasn't just from a simple romantic feeling. Anyway, it could prolly be a lot to discuss about this, but considering the events of TSR, I don't think it comes off as strange for him to ask her to hold hands.

However, explaining Kalinin turning traitor just like that will be tricky, especially since his motives are only revealed at the end of the story (from what I recall, but I could be wrong). I'm guessing they could show him recalling his meeting with Leonard in some sort of flashback or so, and explain it like that.

What I'll regret not seeing from DVMC is Sousuke getting angry at Al for his hilarious comments, while at the same time becoming more familiar and having better synchronization with it.

And what I'll trully, trully regret not seeing is Mardukas' badass scene when he's left in charge of the de Danaan and fights those 3 Leviathan ships. That part of the novel trully showed that he isn't "just another nagging technicality monger", to put it in Tessa's words.

[pwnagemaster]

Dasvik, you forgot the most important part. Maid Tessa.
If DVMC is never animated, we'll never get to see maid Tessa animated. That is the greatest tragedy.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

I'm not sure if I'm alone regarding that subject, but I really think skipping Dancing Very Merry Christmas was quite a very bad move for the rest of the plot in general.

For one, I don't think people will understand how Sousuke could be that bold with Kaname at the end of episode 1 by holding her hands (sure enough, Sousuke realized his longing for her at the end of TSR, but it is kind of weird without having the christmas scene between the two).

From the POV of anime-only watchers, it seems to work just fine especially for those who still remember TSR. You can look at many forums, comments and even Youtube reactions done by anime-only watchers and almost none of them have a problem when they saw Sosuke mustered his courage and asked to hold hands (some of them even said “It’s about damn time”). Sure, adapting DVMC will make it better but skipping it is far from a bad move, especially when making the 4th season of FMP is already a nigh-impossible job to begin with.

Originally Posted by Klashikari

But the real issue is Kanlinin. Even if they somehow made Mardukas suspecting him in a very brief instant in IV, this might look like coming out of nowhere, whereas DVMC outright shows him plotting with Leonard.

I experienced Kalinin’s 'betrayal' before I experienced DVMC, and I think it works just fine for me. I actually like the relative surprise element when Kalinin does what he does. Let’s see how it works for anime-only watchers.