Full Metal Panic Novel Discussion

[Nic007]

I speak french, so I'm not sure.... When you say "Novels". It's the mangas books with pictures or it's really a book with only texts?

[seiichi-san]

Originally Posted by Nic007

I speak french, so I'm not sure.... When you say "Novels". It's the mangas books with pictures or it's really a book with only texts?

They are actually light novels. This first novel "Full Metal Panic! 1: Fighting Boy Meets Girl" has 224 pages.

[<KS11>]

It's seem that now we have some dates!

http://www.fujimishobo.co.jp/panic/panic.html

[HunterSeeker]

Even if you all don't need me anymore:P Here're those subtitles by my crappy translation......(From up to below)

"A shocking new start for Full Metal Panic!"

"Hey you all mercenaries, there're little time left so let's make them accruate"
"We're not mercenaries. Members of PMC. Remember to say it right." (From HS: So Gatoh intends to pull Prince Ali to FMPverse? LOL.)
"Now, only I can stop it."
"Er......um......I'll do it. I will stop that AS!"
"It's about time. Let the situation begin."

Sounds like a promising story from these words. We'll see soon enough in August.

[thewinneher]

http://yaraon.blog109.fc2.com/blog-entry-1951.html

does this mean anything at all? TRANSLATIONS PLEEAAAASEEE

[selilychidori]

http://www.fujimishobo.co.jp/novel/index.php


Whats that Chidori face below i see!?!? SOME ONE TELL ME! ><

HUNTER! your a sight for sore eyes XD!
and yes Hunter, we always need you ^.^ good to see you here again!

[FeistyDreams]

Originally Posted by thewinneher

http://yaraon.blog109.fc2.com/blog-entry-1951.html

does this mean anything at all? TRANSLATIONS PLEEAAAASEEE

Nothing of note, same stuff we've heard already.

Originally Posted by selilychidori

http://www.fujimishobo.co.jp/novel/index.php


Whats that Chidori face below i see!?!? SOME ONE TELL ME! ><

HUNTER! your a sight for sore eyes XD!
and yes Hunter, we always need you ^.^ good to see you here again!

It's saying there's gonna be an article on the new series, as well as a spread and poster. I put in an order with Kinokuniya for this issue 'cause of that blurb. ^^ Should have it in 1-2 weeks. Import time varies with them, lol, guess it just all depends on when a shipment comes in and when it makes on one of the shipments.

[Sumeragi]

Basically, the FMP-world continues on August 20th. This should be fun.

[HunterSeeker]

ROFL.

[seiichi-san]

I'm excited for the new series to come out. I'm going start to learn Japanese next month. I hope I can learn it so I can read the new series without it being translated to English.

[cullenk]

Hadn't visited the board in a long time, but had just finished reading a fan translation of "Always Stand By Me." I admit I was feeling a little blue about saying goodbye to the Mithril gang, but this new project looks like fun.
I too am thinking they LOOK like the kids of Sosuke/Kaname and Kurz/Mao. That would be pretty cool.
Someone mentioned that Shiki Douji was repeating herself with that picture, but maybe that is a deliberate call back to the picture of Sosuke and Kaname?
And while Tessa said no to designing a new De Danaan, maybe she changed her mind?
Folks do that sometimes.
Going to have to bookmark this thread and keep checking back. Can't wait to see what develops!

[Fweedom]

fmp news is making want summer to fly by again >.<

Originally Posted by HunterSeeker

ROFL.

i see what you did! lol

[KiraYamatoFan]

Originally Posted by HunterSeeker

ROFL.

Left hand groping where it should not be...

[illuminatus8]

Originally Posted by KiraYamatoFan

Left hand groping where it should not be...

That was in the original; it's more the fact that the new AS looks like the 00 Gundam (the 00 Raiser wings really make it obvious in the shop).

00 was the first thing I thought when I saw it too.

We'll see what we get, I guess. I stand by my original statement that the story closed cleanly and any future stuff may be too derivative.

[Illsteir]

Add Innovator Eyes to the girl and we are all set

[meeiwen]

Originally Posted by HunterSeeker

ROFL.

Gosh i haven't been here in a while! What's going on?! And who are these kids??? Is this a new full metal panic? Like, new characters, plots, etc?

[FeistyDreams]

Did anyone else notice that FMPA is going to be released on the 1 year anniversary of the FMP finale? ZSBM2 had been released on 8/20, FMPA is going to be released on 8/20... Was this on purpose? ^^

[skladfin]

Hey guys, I'd like to offer my services to you.

I can write a whole essay right now, but I'll summarize it in a quick sentence.

I love FMP, I am Japanese, I am Canadian, I'm competent at writing, and I possess all FMP novels - I can translate them.


loved the series. In my opinion, FMP are the BEST lightnovels written in the history of entertainment.

Anyways, I'd love to translate them for all of you to read. However, I need to know which volume to begin (I believe volume 6 was last officially translated and released?)

Here's a writing sample of mine below to showcase my writing abilities:

　Typical


Wednesday
March 19, 2008
15:36
Kandahar, Afghanistan


“I'm willing to bet that pup’s a model, Paris quality.” Corporal Davis said and spat on the sand dust.

“Keep quiet.” Lieutenant McCarthy said, his voice scuffed by dehydration.

The patrol unit was a size of nine, each with their own desert camouflage gear and maple leaf patch velcroed onto the side of their arm. All but one were equipped with the C7 standard assault rifle. The odd man carried an obsolete AK assault rifle and wore only Khaki T-Shirt and pants. The eight other Canadian troops did not previously recognize the odd man. They were introduced to him a few hours earlier at the camp. The Colonel merely provided them with his name and agency, which even then told little.

Albert Hazelmere
Agency: Privately Contracted
Past Experiences: Recce

Lieutenant McCarthy did not trust this man, provided that he could even qualify being labeled a man. “Hazelmere” looked no older than eighteen, standing about five foot nine, he had thick brown hair, tanned skin, and his slim facial features mostly told that he was of European descent. However, his elegantly burnished pair of evergreen eyes gave him an unnaturally attractive look – almost effeminate. McCarthy assumed he was of mixed blood, though he wasn’t certain. If he had seen this man on the streets of Toronto, he would have presumed that “Hazelmere” was a high school student. Nonetheless, it was obvious to McCarthy that this “man” was a contracted mercenary, a professional soldier for hire. McCarthy had never liked contractors, much like most in his battalion. They worked strictly based on money, rather than a flag; loyalty came second to the bills. The fact that he belonged to no agency made him questionable at an even higher level. Mercenaries were not uncommon in the Middle East; many were ex-Special Forces soldiers from various countries. However, “Recce” was slang for “Reconnaissance”, and McCarthy felt that the provided information was extremely inadequate. “Recce” could be referred to any valid surveillance unit of any nation’s army. He also could not work out the National Defense’s intention in hiring this young man to do such a job instead of others, let alone question its legality and morals.

His combat gear was unusual. “Hazelmere” carried a stripped down, Soviet manufactured AKS74U compact rifle that was often used by the Talibans since the 70s invasion. Its metallic body bare, no optics other than the standard iron sights, and was covered with scratches and corroded rusts – its damage so extreme that the rifle itself looked two folds older than its user. He also wore no armor, instead he replaced the weight with a bandoleer sling wrapped around diagonally to his slim shoulders with fifteen 30 round magazines attached, sixteen including the one already attached to his rifle. 480 rounds far surpassed the amount carried by a regular infantry on a patrol mission. McCarthy could not comprehend why he carried this much ammunition.

As the unit gradually made progress in the near empty desert, the sun grilled brilliantly upon the unit, inducing atrocious amount of heat into their skin. There were some objects in the scene; mostly large dried rocks and abandoned shacks, but for the most part, the view remained flat. They stepped lightly towards the northern border of Kandahar tracing the A76 highway, where they would then revert back to camp and report their progress in addition to any findings. This wasn’t the first time McCarthy’s unit had performed the task, but it still kept him alert. Just a week ago, another squad from the Artillery Regiment was ambushed in the same area. Two of the eight men from the squad were killed within the first few minutes of the engagement. Two others were wounded and barely returned to camp with the support of reinforcements and helicopters.

McCarthy kept an eye on “Hazelmere” during the patrol as the unit separated into two smaller squads of four, each mainly eyeing east and west respectively. The men spaced a few feet away from each other and frequently repositioned themselves to decrease enemy advantage in the event of an ambush. “Hazelmere”, however, walked alone in the desert roughly two hundred feet away to the west of the unit. He strolled around on the sand with ease while the other troops struggled to keep their weight off the resilient sand. The difference in terrain familiarity was plainly evident.

“Hey kiddy!” McCarthy heard Corporal Davis yell in the desert, facing towards Hazelmere’s direction. “Shouldn’t you be home sucking on your mommy’s nipples!?” He continued to holler. Some of the other men let out a small chuckle while most, including McCarthy, glanced at Hazelmere’s direction for his response. The heat blurred out his shape and color, and McCarthy could hardly distinguish each separate limbs. Hazelmere continued pacing forward, and abruptly stopped behind the ruin of a stone built shack. The other men kept their comical stare on Hazelmere, and saw him slowly, and calmly, press a switch attached to his radio wire while turning his head towards McCarthy’s unit. McCarthy noticed Hazelmere’s dark tinted goggles, resembling a monstrous locust eye.

“Contact.”

McCarthy heard a plain, calm voice through his radio headset. He doubted what he had heard just now; the voice sounded too natural, too composed.

“CONTACT FRONT!!!”

Private Mossman suddenly screamed under the deafening heat. The other men of the unit instantly dashed out, crawling behind any nearest object they could find. Multiple rifle rounds began shredding everything in their way. Lifeless trees exploded into countless splinters, pieces of rock transformed into deadly ricocheting shards. Only the loudest and most desperate yelling could be heard over the gunfire.

“Move back! Move back damn it!” McCarthy hollered. He was confined to the rear of a large rock unable to make any movement. The sand around him splashed as shrapnel struck the dehydrated earth. He found himself frustrated at the situation. Too many of his men paid attention to Hazelmere, and not on the road. It was obvious that his unit had just waltzed headlong into a well-coordinated ambush, where Taliban’s knowledge of local terrain had given them excellent concealment and camouflage.

Taliban’s suppressive fire also made it tremendously difficult for McCarthy’s unit to retaliate. McCarthy noticed Corporal Davis behind a palm tree across from him. The Corporal’s face was sweating profusely, and mouth unmoving, utterly mute from the psychological shock. The Taliban usually initiated long range ambushes up to a few hundred feet away taking ineffective pot shots. This was different, it was ten times closer and the shock factor was clear. Each and every piece of lead that projected out of the blasting barrels were on target, effective. McCarthy could not find the rest of his unit. No chatter on the radio.

“FUCK! FUCK! Shoot back damn it! SHOOT BACK!!” His shrieking could not be heard under the oppressive amount of gunfire hailing towards them.

“October, this is Heckler One-One! Message! Over!” McCarthy screamed into the radio. He promptly received a response in a relaxed, authoritative tone.

“Heckler One-One, this is October, send message, over.”

“We have contact with unknown number of foot mobiles at grid TWO-NINE by SIX-SIX-ONE! Requesting immediate aerial elements! Over!”

“Heckler One-One, request denied, over.”

The words sounded extremely ignorant to McCarthy. An impulsive surge of anger overflowed his veins.

“October, I repeat! We NEED aerial assets!” McCarthy continued to scream at the radio.

A different voice spoke. This one sounded unnaturally calm, and spoke with a slight sarcastic tone. “Stop screaming into the radio.”

Dohn! Dohn! Dohn! Dohn!

McCarthy heard multiple 5.45mm rounds fired unexpectedly from a closer distance than before. He reflexively flung his rifle in the direction of the gun fire. However, it was not the enemy who walked into his sight.

Albert Hazelmere
Agency: Privately Hired

What he saw was beyond belief; Hazelmere fired his rifle while stepping frontward towards the enemy without utilizing any form of cover in the open desert. It seemed unbelievable to McCarthy that the Taliban did not shoot back at him. Hazelmere did not slow down. He shouldered his weapon and kept a constant rate of fire at the enemy while traveling through the desert. The stature of Hazelmere instantly made McCarthy feel insignificant.

***

Hazelmere did not use the full-auto function on his rifle. Single fire was adequate enough to pin down the entire enemy force simultaneously.
There is no need to hit them with each shot. Rather land the bullets close to them. Shock them, corner them, make them fearful, and teach them the fact that this is going to be their last moment of life. The rule was nailed down to his bones.

***

”What the fuck…” McCarthy watched as the Taliban force was being rendered incapable of reprisal. There was no additional rifle fire other than from Hazelmere’s rifle. He realized, it wasn’t that the Taliban didn’t shoot back, they couldn’t shoot back, there was a profound difference. The whole firefight had been entirely silenced by him, and him alone, absolute dominance.

Dohn! Dohn!, Dohn! Dohn!

Hazelmere was exceedingly proficient, single handedly suppressing at least five enemy positions while pacing through the desert with no cover. He used only semi-automatic shots. Two shots, next target, two shots, next target. In fact he pressed on the trigger so fast McCarthy had mistaken it for full-auto fire. The short, accurate, burst fire of two rounds easily compensated for the lack of manpower. Hazelmere’s presence felt demonic to McCarthy, and it was devastating to both him and the enemy.

“I would appreciate it if you guys can start shooting too.”

McCarthy heard the same calm voice over the radio and immediately came back to his conscious.

“COVERING FIRE!!”

McCarthy screamed at the top of his lungs. The other soldiers followed his command. Simultaneous gun fires began ripping its way towards the enemy. The soldiers could not see where the enemy positions were, but they did not care. As long as they had the enemy pinned down, someone else could flank from one side.

***

Hazelmere quickly pulled out another magazine from his bandoleer sling and smacked the magazine release on his rifle. The empty magazine fell, and he rapidly rocked the new magazine in, and quickly power stroked the bolt which made it scream a metallic Klunk! Knowing he was coming into close range with the enemy, he began side-stepping diagonally towards a large rock which they took cover behind.

One step, two steps, three steps.

With the rifle shouldered, he continued shifting his foot towards the rock with his rifle pointed towards it. He inched in closer and closer, with his trigger finger tighter. No hostiles. The friendly soldiers had them pinned down with their covering fire.

Thirty feet, twenty feet, ten feet.

Hazelmere stepped straight past the rock, and instantly saw three insurgents crouching behind it. The insurgent closest to Hazelmere noticed him and began raising his rifle.

Dohn!

Blood speckled vastly over the insurgent in between the two others.

Dohn!

The insurgent between the two others fell abruptly on the sand clusters.

Dohn!

He did not hesitate shooting the last man directly in the face like the others.

He saw two more Taliban insurgents directly across from him squatting behind a sand hill two hundred feet away. The distinctive muzzle noise of his rifle mistakenly identified him as part of their ambush squad in the most likely case. He quickly aimed his rifle and aligned the tip of the iron sight with the body mass of the hostiles.

Dohn! Dohn! Dohn! Dohn!

Four rounds in the back, four explosive clouds of grit dispersed. He realized he killed one. The other insurgent began trembling like a leaf after a shot in the throat. The carotid artery was punctured and exploding. Unable to breathe – he choked on his own clot of blood, the body involuntarily initiated random muscle spasms from the lack of oxygen and sudden loss of lifeline. Hazelmere watched as the soldier desperately strangled himself to stop the bleeding. Ribbons of blood leached out between his fingers, painting his neck and clothes like coils of pure crimson snake. The shimmering sand encircling him slowly dyed a flat red. Hazelmere’s expression remained impassive as he kept his rifle shouldered and assessed the area for additional threats. He saw no more, and the covering fire from the friendly forces ceased.

***

McCarthy was glad. He surprisingly felt alive. You never actually appreciate the value of your life until the moment you risk losing it, as any experienced soldier would say.

They are fucking dead, and I’m still alive.

The thought crossed his mind. He was at a combat high, adrenaline still pumping hard through his veins. And his Adam’s apple made the difficult trip up and down.

Dohn!

He heard a rifle fire that produced a glazing pain on his left arm.

“Fuck! There’s still one more!” McCarthy instantly dug himself into the ground and began low crawling towards a sand hill nearby.

***

Hazelmere threw away his cumbersome rifle and immediately dropped to a shallow squat. He then proceeded to pull out his FN 5-7 pistol from his belt holster and pressed on the radio wire and spoke.

“Don’t shoot.”

His arms steadied to bring up the iron sight in line with his right pupil. A barrel stuck out from the rear side of a small tree trunk about three hundred feet away. His finger pulled on the trigger twice, and the pistol violently jumped in his hand as it shredded pieces off the tree trunk. The exposed barrel burrowed itself back into the broken tree. He then began sprinting directly towards the tree trunk with the pistol arm still aiming towards it. His other arm proceeded to grab the knife sheathed in his back pouch. He kept a constant rate of fire down range while sprinting.

Two fifty feet, Two hundred, One fifty, One hundred

The tree trunk rushed closer in Hazelmere’s vision in a blur. He closed in within fifty feet of the tree trunk in less than a few seconds. He then fired the last few rounds off his pistol and tossed it aside.

Ten feet

He slowed down abruptly, and began walking casually with bare open arms. He then stretched out his mouth, exposing his canine and screamed, in the loudest, and most disturbingly animal like manner,

“C’MON!!!!!!”

He looked as he was if begging mercilessly at the insurgent to kill him. The insurgent did not reciprocate. At that moment, McCarthy realized this man was mad, and the mercenary proceeded to practice nothing less than brutal violence.
Hazelmere grabbed on to the top of the tree trunk with his left hand and helped himself jump over it. He noticed the insurgent clutching his rifle in utter fear. Still in the air, Hazelmere swung his right knee full force towards the insurgent’s face. He heard a satisfying guh! as the insurgent flew out of his cover and fell on his own weight.

“Ahhhhh, Aghhhhhhhhh!”

The insurgent groaned out in pain. His loose jaw exposed a pool of red liquid with a canine swimming inside it. Hazelmere walked towards him under the desert heat, and grabbed the insurgent by his neck, then forcibly pulled him off the ground. His neck felt unusually soft, probably a broken bone.

“Ghaban! Neek Hallak!” The man cursed Hazelmere. He only returned the words with a fist in the man’s cheek. Guh! A dry, raw knuckle to skull contact, the noise itself sounded excruciating. The man instantly fell unconscious, and Hazelmere loosened his grip on the soldier’s neck. The unconscious body landed on the cushion of the sand.

“Take him for interrogation” Hazelmere said to McCarthy who was now beside him.
McCarthy silently nodded and ordered one of his men to shoulder the insurgent. He saw Hazelmere walk away to pick up the weapons he had thrown away during combat. McCarthy was still at a combat high. He felt time passing by slowly, and his vision much clearer than usual. The firefight was over, but the adrenaline rush did not seem to slow down. Blood oozed out from his left arm where the bullet skinned him, but he felt no pain. McCarthy swallowed his spit and watched Hazelmere pick up his rifle at a distance.

That man, The combat wasn’t over, at least not in his subconscious mind.

That man is a monster

The continued adrenaline rush was not from the combat, but from his own instinct. The neurological system would not stop recognizing the man in his vision as a threat.

Albert Hazelmere

McCarthy knew, the average duration for a squad level firefight in Afghanistan lasted three hours – this one took no more than three minutes. Six men doubling his age attempted to kill him with their existence, and six men had their blood drawn and not a single drop from him.

McCarthy noticed Corporal Davis standing beside him, still nervous with cold sweat running down his arms and face. An agitated pace took over his speech “Shit Lieutenant, that kid just fucking walked in and fucked them over hardcore.”

They unexpectedly heard radio chatter through his headset. It was the same calm voice, with a slight sarcastic tone,

“You didn’t need reinforcements.”

At any rate, if all of you can approve, I would love to proceed with the translation project . I can get one volume done in... perhaps 2 months or so, working on it off and on after work.

So, what do you say?

[FeistyDreams]

<3~

All of the main-story novels have been translated, but the end of BOMF, all of CMMD and all of ANOT, could use a revamp. We love Shutazen for making them available in English, but the translations are rough and raw.

Other than that, short stories would be wonderful. I've started working on a few, but I'm lazy, slow, and need to use excessive amounts of reference materials. Cinderella Panic!, Bachi Atari no Lethal Weapon, Captain Amigo to Ougon no Hibi, Mato Hazure no Emotion, and the entirety of the Side Arms 2 Kyokuhoku Kara no Koe volume have been translated. A friend of mine has almost completed Jikankire no Romance, as well, though she hasn't worked on it for some time (busy with school and life).

I sorta have started Kagemusha no Showbiz and Yakusoku no Virtual. More like I've skimmed through and translated the occasional scene that caught my eye, or the easy stuff. I keep my things in GDocs, and I'd be more than happy to add you as an editor to them. You can feel free to send me a PM, if you wanna learn more (and find more ways to contact me outside of the forums) you can click on my sig. It'll take you to an LJ I have set up specifically for spreading FMP news, material, and occasional translations.

(As for the writing excerpt, I'll read it in depth tomorrow, as I was off to bed, I skimmed briefly and it looked good, but as a note, dialogue should read like
"Blahblahblah," he said.
"Blahblahblah," [Name] said.
"Blah!" he said.
"Blah?" he said.
and so on. And if you're like me and use the double-space after a full stop, you do NOT treat it as a full stop, and thus use only ONE space after dialogue, even if you're using a proper pronoun - which obviously requires a capital letter and can seem like a 'new' sentence, which it shouldn't be. I'd give an example, but interwebz eats double-spaces. XD)

It's a pet peeve. =P)

*ahem*

And after the random grammar lesson, I'll gladly offer my services as a beta/editor. That I (tend >.>) to do far more promptly. I... just realized I am far behind in some editing I promised someone else. X_X;; (I don't want to sound like I'm whining, but... health issues. Migraines make studying words a mite bit difficult, and I get them nigh daily. *ahem* Plus side is I think my neuro found a med that works! And the roommate that has literally triggered 7+ on pain scale migraines for me might FINALLY be leaving! I might be back in action soon!)

::Edited to Add::
Oh, oh, oh! If you want a simple project to start to showcase, from that link that is my sig, you can find some downloads of 2 untranslated chapters from the original FMP manga's Comic Mission release. There had been 3 stories printed in the Comic Mission version that didn't make it in the original run. 1 has been translated, but the other two haven't. You don't have to worry about the added work of typesetting, I and a friend can take care of that. ^^ The scans are as good as I'm going to get, though. I only have one copy of those volumes and they're out of print, so I'm NOT tearing them up. If for any reason you need clearer views at any of the kanji, let me know and I can look up the kanji in my dictionary, or rescan with focus on making it clearer. I feel like I got them all good, but I could be wrong. ^^

[skladfin]

Thanks for the warm reply Feisty!

I'd love to challenge myself to translate either CMMD or ANOT (or as you've mentioned, one of the Comic Mission release to start small).

Though I'm still new to the forums(this forum, not to the entire system), and for some reason can not find your sig. It doesn't seem to show up, could you possibly provide a link to the fully translated main story novels? I'd love to see how the past translations were done.

Thank you!