Your average high school romantic comedy…with giant robots and terrorists

// Synopsis: On the surface, Kaname Chidori appears to be a normal, popular high school student. Unbeknownst to her, a group of terrorists believe she possesses the special powers of “the Whispered,” and they’re out to kidnap her. Enter Sousuke Sagara, a young, hotshot agent from the stealthy anti-terrorist organization Mithril. Will he be able to protect Kaname without her finding out what’s really going on? Or will he just drive her crazy as he tries to fit in as her awkward, gung-ho, war-crazed classmate?

// Review: This had a good balance of action and high school hijinks. Chidori has an unexplained latent power that terrorists are after so Mithril sends a young officer as a body guard who doubles as a student. This sets up for all of the situational comedy as the laid back clueless Sousuke constantly infuriates the spitfire Chidori. The other half of this title involves Souske trying to master piloting a prototype mech and thwarting a personal enemy with a similar mech who does know how to use it.

/ This series can’t seem to make up it’s mind about what it wants to be. Some episodes involve dramatic missions where Sousuke is being hunted by a childhood friend turned terrorist, while trying to command squad mates that don’t trust him. Then there are episodes where he and the class nerd go on pantie raids. The drama makes the humor seem disjointed and the comedy makes the serious stuff hard to take seriously. In the follow up, Full Metal Panic Fomoffu, they seem to pick a side by staying close to the manga and opt for high school comedy.

// Wrap up: Pretty decent animation, story, and characters. It won’t set the world on fire, but it will keep you entertained.

Entertainment rating: 3