Full Metal Panic!
Full Metal Panic! is a series of light novels written by Shoji Gatoh and illustrated by Shikidouji. The series follows Sousuke Sagara, a member of the covert anti-terrorist private military organization known as Mithril, tasked with protecting Kaname Chidori, a hot-headed Japanese high school girl born with strange abilities that attracts the attention of various antagonistic groups.
Individual chapters are published on Monthly Dragon Magazine, followed by a paperback compilation released by Fujimi Shobo's Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. The novels are split between stories focusing on Sousuke's mission as a soldier of Mithril and comedic side stories centered on his life at Jindai High School.
The series has been adapted into different media; including four anime television series: Full Metal Panic! by Gonzo in 2002, Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu and Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid by Kyoto Animation in 2003 and 2005 respectively. An OVA was also released in 2006; and the newest television series, Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory by Xebec, premiered in April 2018. The series also had several different manga series.
Tokyopop licensed the novels for English-language publication in North America and released parts of the series, while ADV Films licensed and dubbed the first season and the spin-off. The second season was licensed by Kadokawa Pictures USA with ADV Films producing the dub yet again. Mandalay Pictures acquired the film rights to the series in 2009. At Anime USA 2009, Funimation announced that it had acquired the rights to the first and second series of Full Metal Panic! and both were re-released and remastered on DVD and Blu-ray in 2010. The series began airing in North America on November 22, 2010, on the Funimation Channel. The Fumoffu series made its North American television debut on the Funimation Channel on November 15, 2010.
A spin-off to the light-novel series called Full Metal Panic! Another was serialized between 2011 and 2016. Another received a manga adaptation split in two series. The light novels have sold 11 million copies.
Synopsis
Setting
The series is set in an alternate history, based upon actual world events around the late 20th century to the early 21st century. The story begins in Heisei 10, where the Cold War has yet to end. China has split into a north and south, with Hong Kong being split much like Berlin. The major differences between real life Earth and the Full Metal Panic! universe are:- China has split into the People's Liberation Committee and the Democratic Chinese Alliance along the Yangtze River. Kowloon is a North Chinese territory, while Hong Kong Island is held by South Chinese forces. Combat in Hong Kong is prohibited by terms of a recent peace treaty.
- A nuclear warhead was used in the 1991 Gulf War. This triggered the Fifth Middle East War.
- Following the beginning of the fifth Middle East war, the Soviet Union successfully reinvaded Afghanistan, which is called "Helmajistan" in the anime series.
- Mikhail Gorbachev was assassinated and Perestroika was halted.
- Distinct military technology such as Arm Slaves and Black Technology were developed.
Plot
The series follows Sousuke Sagara, a member of a covert anti-terrorist private military organization known as Mithril, tasked with protecting Kaname Chidori, a spirited Japanese high school girl. He moves to Japan to study at Chidori's school, Jindai High School, with assistance from his comrades Kurz Weber and Melissa Mao. Having never experienced social interactions, Sousuke is seen as a military maniac by his schoolmates as he interprets everyday situations from a combat perspective. He comes to relate with Chidori who realizes that Sousuke is protecting her, but he does not reveal the reasons due to orders as well as the fact that he does not know why Chidori is being targeted by different organizations.Development
When starting the series, Shoji Gatoh commented that as the series' theme was "Boy Meets Girl". Gatoh worked in the order to keep that as the focus regardless of the several other conflicts the story presented. Gatoh and Shiki Douji had a close relationship in the making of the novels. Gatoh gave Douji freedom in the design of the characters such as Sagara and Leonardo who were given multiple traits. On the other hand, Gatoh also gave Douji references for "gentlemen" featured in the story.In the making of the series Gatoh did not find difficulties in creating a balance between sci-fi and realistic elements since multiple Japanese series like Tetsujin 28 and Mazinger Z already provide the demographic a mixture between those elements. Originally, Douji felt that the characters were too realistic. Believing the teenage demographic would not like them, the author changed them so that were seen as cooler characters. While the duo did not have difficulties with the novels' serious storylines, they still had problems with comedy.
Chidori and Sousuke's relationship was based on Japanese comedy due to how the two interact. To create a more interesting dynamic between the two leads, Gatoh wanted to change the ways Sagara and Chidori interact as he was tired of female characters requiring to be protected in the making for the light novels. As a result, Chidori instead supports Sagara multiple times.
Media
Light novels
The light novel series Full Metal Panic! is written by Shoji Gatoh and illustrated by Shikidouji. It was serialised by Fujimi Shobo in its monthly magazine Gekkan Dragon Magazine since June 1998 and published under the Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint in tankōbon format since September 1998. Gatoh often found delays in writing of the novels, which led to delays to the publication of the series' volumes. The series focuses on Sergeant Sousuke Sagara's arrival to the Jindai High School where he was assigned to protect the student Kaname Chidori while also acting as a student.A total of twelve full length volumes have been released from September 18, 1998, to August 20, 2010. In parallel to the twelve volumes, nine standalone light novels of the series have also been published from December 17, 1998, to August 20, 2011. Finally two more volumes titled Side Arms focusing on the past of some characters and the birth of Mithril and Amalgam have been published on April 20, 2004, and July 20, 2006. In contrast to the full length volumes, short story collection focuses on the comedy elements from the series. In January 2010, Gatoh wrote another of these stories in celebration of Gekkan Dragon Magazines 300th issue, which has been included in the last short story collection volume. Another series of spin-off novels, Full Metal Panic! Another, has been released by Naoto Ōguro with supervision of Shoji Gatoh, and also illustrated by Shikidouji, from August 20, 2011, to February 20, 2016, consisting of thirteen volumes and set years after the original series' ending. The light novels have also been adapted into various manga, as well as three anime television series and an OVA episode for which Gatoh was also part of the staff.
Tokyopop licensed the Full Metal Panic! series for North America release, publishing the first regular light novel on September 11, 2007. The latest released volume is the fourth on February 1, 2011, which is a compilation from the original fourth and fifth full-length volumes from the series. No short story collection volumes nor side story collection ones have been published and the company has shut down its publishing operations in North America on May 31, 2011. In 2015, at Anime Expo and San Diego Comic-Con, Tokyopop announced that it would be relaunching its publishing operations in North America in 2016 and that they will consider light novels, but nothing has been disclosed about Full Metal Panic! novels publication.
On March 18, 2019, J-Novel Club announced that all the original 12 novels will be translated again and released in English. The series was released as e-books starting that year, with the final volume released in 2021. Hardcover "Collectors Editions," each compiling three novels per volume, were released by J-Novel Club from 2020 to 2022. On July 1, 2022, J-Novel announced that they were translating the short stories. They were released as e-books starting that year, with the final volume released in 2023. On October 3, 2023, Podium Audio released an audiobook version of the first volume.
On May 19, 2023, Kadokawa announced that a new Full Metal Panic! series will be published, centering on Sousuke and Kaname two decades after the events of FMP! The first volume of the series, titled Full Metal Panic! Family, was released on January 19, 2024.
Manga
The Full Metal Panic! light novel series has been adapted to manga on multiple occasions. The first manga series: Full Metal Panic?, was serialized in Monthly Comic Dragon by Retsu Tateo. This manga was collected in nine tankōbon volumes published from August 30, 2000, to July 1, 2005. Announced in July 2003, Full Metal Panic! became one of the first manga series licensed by ADV Manga. They released all of the volumes between November 10, 2003 and April 11, 2006.A parallel series titled Full Metal Panic! Comic Mission which focused more on the comedic elements from the franchise was also written by Retsu Tateo and ran for seven volumes between November 1, 2003, and September 1, 2006.
Full Metal Panic! Overload! was a spin-off series by Tomohiro Nagai. Five volumes were released between January 30, 2001, and April 1, 2003. Overload was licensed by ADV Manga in December 2004, and all of its volumes were published in English between June 6, 2005, and May 24, 2006.
Tomohiro Nagai also wrote Full Metal Panic! Surplus which is a single tankōbon manga published on July 1, 2003, focused more on the action elements from the franchise.
Full Metal Panic! Sigma, written by Shoji Gatoh and illustrated by Hiroshi Ueda, focuses on the missions of Sousuke as a sergeant. The first volume was published on August 1, 2005, and the final volume: the nineteenth, was published on September 20, 2013. The story and events of this manga adaption are based on the fourth Full Metal Panic! light novel and onwards.
A manga adaptation of the Full Metal Panic! Family novels with illustrations by Ohige Kamisori began serialization in the Monthly Dragon Age magazine on December 9, 2024.