Shark Fujishiro of Seto no Hanayome (372) trounces Kino of Kino’s Journey (189). Too bad for Kino here. Guess she just wasn’t able to jump the shark. Probably a good thing, though.
Next is Maebara Keiichi vs. Michishio Nagasumi. I’ve never liked Keiichi and still haven’t seen Seto no Hanayome, so this battle is pretty “meh” for me.
Story:
The peaceful(?) high school days of Kaname Chidori and her secret bodyguard Sousuke Sagara are interrupted by the appearance of a homegrown terrorist network in Tokyo, its plan nothing less but the total destruction of the city. If terrorists weren’t enough, Sousuke also has to protect his deceptively young, beautiful, and bumbling commanding officer, Tessa. But not even Sousuke may be able to protect himself from the love feud between Chidori and Tessa.
Impressions:
The first novel in the Full Metal Panic! series was by no means a bad book, it was a good adventure tale, but I am glad to say that the second novel improves on it to create an even more enjoyable book. While this volume lacks some of the concrete villains that made the previous volume compelling, it more than makes up for it with fun characterizations. The introduction of Tessa is perfect here, as her dynamic relationship with Kaname provides a lot of the books comedy. The interactions between the three, along with the erstwhile terrorist Takuma, really help drive the story along without feeling tedious. The later parts of the book are mostly serious with a bunch of fighting and a good mecha battle, and are detailed with the same gripping energy as the rest of the book. My only complaint probably is that the villains really are pretty aimless, but there is a hint of the larger story at the end.
Tokyopop’s treatment of the book is the exact same as last time, both good and bad. The original cover is kept along with all the inside inserts, but the same tacky bullet hole images fill every page and the inserts lack any color. It’s a good effort overall, I just wish they would fix the inside pages already. Anyone who’s seen the anime, or just looking for a good light adventure novel, should check out FMP! It’s a good series that is only getting better with every volume.
