Directed by: Koichi Chigira
Original Work: Shikidouji, Shouji Gatou
Studio: GONZO Digimation
Genre: Action, Mecha, Novel, Science-fiction, School Life
Story:
Sosuke Sagara is an elite soldier who belongs to an independent special force named "Mithril". Mithril is a self appointed military force that fights terrorism across the globe. With technology that is far superior to that of normal nations, Mithril intercedes on behalf of justice. Sagara, a Second Lieutenant under Mithril's command, is assigned to the duty of protecting a girl named Kaname Chidori, who attends high school in Japan. To accomplish this task, he pretends to be a transfer student attending at Kaname's school. As Sagara settles into his new role as classmate, a massive plot unfolds beginning with the kidnapping of Chidori. What is Chidori's role in the conspiracy? Why does she seem to be born with knowledge of technology that has only been recently invented?
Storyline: 9/10
The anime works really well as a combination of action/adventure mixed with romantic comedy. Several of the episodes are mission driven military crusades involving intense mech battles while others are light-hearted slap-stick school scenes where Sousuke must learn proper high school etiquette. Some of the more humorous scenes include him attempting to understand the dating scene by failing miserably at a dating sim, and him giving Kaname a lovely set of earrings and a bracelet, only to inform her that the earrings are really flash grenades and the bracelet is a tracking device. Despite Sousuke's good intentions, he gets smacked by Kaname quite a bit. I was surprised by the excellent pacing of the storyline. Most animes lag somewhere along the way, but FMP worked really well to contrast Sousuke's life as a military mercenary with Kaname's life as a popular high school girl and still maintain flow.
Characters: 9/10
The animation is from the year 2002, but uts still top notch. Its vibrant and crisp and blended well with the rest of the anime's look and feel. The 3d water animation seems a little outdated though.With so much going on, you got a decent amount of character development in a short 24 episode series
Animation: 9/10
Yes, they could have dug deeper into many of the characters' pasts - for instance we learn that Kaname traveled abroad. We know Sousuke was part of a guerrilla movement in Afghanistan but the anime only skimmed the surface of his bio , and we know very little about Tessa and how she became captain of the multi-billion dollar Danaan. However, given the number of characters and the scenarios in which they interacted, Gonzo deserves credit for trying to give the characters real personalities rather than your typical caricature/stereotype.
Music/Soundtrack: 8/10
Both the opening and ending themes were by Mikuni Shimokawa. I liked both and thought they fit well with the anime. .
+ Opening Theme:
"Tomorrow" by Mikuni Shimokawa
+ Ending Theme:
"Karenai Hana" by Mikuni Shimokawa
English DUB: N/A
OVERALL SCORE: 10/10
Overall it gets an 8.5. I was surprised by the excellent pacing of the storyline. Most animes lag somewhere along the way, but FMP worked really well to contrast Sousuke's life as a military mercenary with Kaname's life as a popular high school girl and still maintain flow. Awesome music, top notch and decent animation and the story is cool.