Full Metal Panic! Volumes 1-3 Collector's Edition

Full Metal Panic! Light Novel #1-3

by Shouji Gatou, Shikidouji (Illustrator), Elizabeth Ellis (Translator)

Full Metal Panic Collector's Edition Omnibus collects novel volumes 1-3 and features story by Shouji Gatoh and art by Shikidouji. Sagara Sousuke isn't your typical high school student. He reads military enthusiast magazines; he responds to questions with "affirmative;" he brings grenades to school in his bag. Though everyone at school takes him for a hopeless military geek, Chidori Kaname thinks there might be something more to him. When their plane is hijacked in the middle of a field trip, Kaname's instincts will prove correct: Sousuke is an elite, mech-piloting mercenary... and he's here to protect her!

Genres: Light Novel, Manga, Science Fiction, Fiction

500 pages, Imitation Leather

Published February 4, 2020

About the author

Shoji Gatoh ( 賀東招二), born on July 11, 1971, is a Japanese author from Shiga Prefecture, Japan. He is best known for the creation of the Full Metal Panic! series that included light novels, manga and anime. He is not only an author but also an anime scenarist, for example "The Day of Sagittarius" of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and three episodes of Lucky Star.

Reviews

[[boredom.is.overrated] · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preface: I’m a bit biased because this is my favorite anime, so keep that in mind when reading my review.

If you love this anime, reading this original source material will really help flesh out some of the motivations of the characters. Characters, including Sousuke, Gauron, Kurama, Tessa, and Kaname, all have clues about their back stories that either were ignored or glossed over in the anime. For example, the book goes into much more detail about why Kaname, who is just a high school student, lives alone in Tokyo.

Previously, I read the TokyoPop translations and while I needed a little adjustment time for these newer translations, I found these to be a higher reading level and more engaging.

I’m really excited to finally see how everything plays out, since the anime ended on a cliffhanger and I reserve the right to change this review after I’ve read more. 😜

I give it 4.5 fan whacks out of 5.0
(Rating: 4.5/5.0)

[Matthew Gromer · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, let me preface this by saying that I've loved Full Metal Panic since it aired in the early 2000s. I've owned physical disks of the anime for years now, and I'm definitely worried about them never getting around to season 5+. That worry was what caused me to look into reading the source material, in fact, and is why I bought this book. This is my first real foray into the "light novel" genre, and well, oof.

I don't know of a truly polite way to put this, but the prose is just clumsy, straight-up awkward. It reads as though a great deal was lost in translation, or as if an editor never really got a chance to tighten it up. I thought I could just bear with it and things might improve, but man, it really doesn't. I gave up about halfway through the first volume. I really, -really- want to know how the story ends, but I just can't. I tried, I really did.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading the manga years ago, finally being able to read the original source material is great. Think something along the lines of romcom Gundam.

Now I might go back and rewatch the anime too.. 😁

[Bailey Suder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and comedic. While not something I'll reread often, it's something that'll always put me in a better mood.

[Vic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore these new translations and the quality of the book itself is amazing.

[Anthony Wendel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's amazing to read this series after enjoying the anime for so many years. The mix of describing giant robot action and slapstick comedy is impressive and making for a very entertaining read.

[Zaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story ever since the first time I've witnessed the anime. Reading the story brought back many memories. I smiled, I cried, this novel is very dear to my heart.

[KJ]

Just the sort of nostalgia I needed. If Gundam were, as another reviewer so aptly put it, a “slapstick romance,” this would be it. If you like mechs and bodyguard romances, this series is for you.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as good if not better than the anime. There’s a good balance of humor and seriousness in the writing, and all the characters are written endearingly.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whoooo yeah, buoyed by nostalgia on this one. Classic but some of the uh "humor" and characters haven't aged well.

[K T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full Metal Panic!, by Shouji Gatou, is an example of a great book that I could reread time and time. Many of the twists and turns in the story cannot be experienced fully again; however, the excellent development of the world and its characters is what makes this book so unique. The main character of the book, Sousuke Sagara, is a character that I feel many people can project themselves on which is very effective in getting us attached emotionally. Although his character has development, it feels almost like an extension of the reader (at least in my opinion), as his character develops and expands as our knowledge of the world and characters grows, and whether or not this is intentional, there is no doubt in my mind that it vastly increases the quality of the book. One of the many things I noticed while rereading this book was the sheer attention to detail in the fight scenes, which truly accent the militaristic characters we are set with. Some of the details of the mechs taking an impact and their frames cracking under the force, steam jettisoning causing nearby trees to fall are completely unnecessary; however, they give the fights life, punch, and vividity, and just make you remember the fights much more than traditional action novels. Overall, I would highly recommend this book as a great character piece, but also a great work with detailed fight scenes that despite being dated; are still very in-depth and surprisingly better than most modern fight scenes I have read.