Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu Volume 3

Kaname and Sousuke are drafted in to help the school’s flagging rugby team win their next match to prevent the school closing it down. When they see the state of the team and its collective morale however, it appears that they have their work cut out and Sousuke’s military-style training tactics might be the only way to assure success. Meanwhile Tessa takes some time out from her post as the Mithril submarine’s captain to pay a visit on her hard-working comrade and his short-tempered classmate”¦

In true FUMOFFU style the rugby team episode had me in stitches. Sousuke’s decidedly individual approach to whipping the lads into shape was as shocking as it was funny – had the expletives not been bleeped out to great comic effect as they were, it probably would not have managed to get away with a 12 certificate! The transformation from wimpy losers to hardened sporting brutes is a truly memorable sight, but of course Sousuke takes things a bit too far.

The two-part “Goddess in Japan’ story arc is probably the highlight of this disc. With not one but two attractive young female classmates to protect, poor old Sousuke may have been tasked with an impossible mission. Tessa doesn’t exactly go out of her way to prevent Kaname getting jealous and her naivety of school life (which almost matches Sousuke’s at times) only makes matters worse. Of course, it’s laugh-out-loud funny and the appearance of Tessa, Kurz and Melissa will please fans of the original series as well.

The second part of this story had me groaning with disappointment at first: it turned out to be the classic fan service-filled “hot springs’ episode, an apparent comedy anime staple these days. Cue communal bathing, strategically-placed plants and household objects that would do Love Hina proud and of course Kurz’s plan to get a glimpse of the action. For some reason, Sousuke seems to be oblivious to the events that are unfolding and, for once, is sitting back and enjoying the holiday. As Kurz drags the other guys into his shady mission though, it soon becomes clear that Sousuke has planned for his lecherous buddy’s behaviour well in advance!

It is perhaps inevitable that a series such as FUMOFFU would include a hot springs episode (after all, having Kaname, Melissa and Tessa in the same scene with Kurz in the background, it would have been too good an opportunity for the writers to pass up) but I found it much less tiresome and predictable than I expected it to be. For all the gratuitous camera angles, the whole episode doesn’t exactly go to plan for Kurz and co and leads to them really hamming up the military melodrama while trying to complete their “mission’. As unnecessary fan service episodes go, this was the funniest example I’ve seen in a while.

In Summary

FUMOFFU continues to deliver the laughs as it enters its second half and there are even appearances of some characters from the original FMP! series. At that point in time the jokes could have become repetitive but the arrival of Tessa, Melissa and Kurz injected new life into the formula and as a result this instalment is consistently and outrageously funny.