Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid Review

When Full Metal Panic! finished its run in 2002, it left several questions unanswered. Like, what happens to Chidori now? or what happens to Sousuke and Chidori afterwards? or why is Gau always laughing? It's sequel, Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu was really not that connected with the ending of FMP!. It was merely an inspired stab at comedy based around some unused chapters of the manga adaptation. So in the end, the main story did not progress as the viewers expected.

Enter Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid



Based on the manga Full Metal Panic Sigma (which in turn was based on the novel The End of Day by Day),The Second Raid, as the fans hoped for, is the direct sequel of the origininal series. A lot of improvements can be seen in this sequel. The series focuses more on Kaname Chidori's Love Life, Sagara Sousuke's "becoming a real man", and the real secret behind the "Whispered". The series also reveals more about Amalgam and introduces two new villans: the twin sisters (originally brothers in the novel) Xia Yu Fan and Xia Yu Lan, and a very intrguing character which I know that bish lovers will love; Tessa Testarossa's brother. The action sequences remain smart and strategic, even when Sousuke is just blowing up things in his Arbalest and being very paranoid about "Wraith" who is supposed to be a Mithril member assigned to watch over Kaname. Of course Chidori still whacks Sousuke with her paper fan, but now it's funnier because it isn't happening every minute.



The action sequences stand out as being done particularly well, but it is solid top to bottom. There's nothing groundbreaking, but it doesn't suffer from the inconsistent character designs and lazy CG animation that a lot of current anime do. Overall, there is little to fault in The Second Raid. The only complaint would be that Chidori fans will be disappointed in her role in the first few episodes of the show, though her importance to the story will certainly grow as more about "Whispered" is revealed. There are even a few surprises thrown into the mix, which keeps the story fresh as it progresses. Fans of the original Full Metal Panic! have no excuse to not check this series out, as it promises to be a worthy successor.



All in all, I give it a very deserving score of 10/10

We are rarely proud when we are alone

a beautiful quote by Mr. Voltaire in his book entitled Philosophical Dictionary...

I am all alone in this four cornered room with no one to talk to but the silent monitor.. the rainy weather outside just adds to the loneliness.. you can hear the voices of people outside, chatting, having fun, enjoying.. while I am all alone, brooding inside this loneliness festered room.. I wouldn't mind if someone would suddenly warp here.. I wouldn't mind at all..


The earth is a beehive, we all enter by the same door but live in different cells


I wouldn't mind at all...

Boredom 101

argh!! I'm so bored.. well not that this would do any good to my boredom.. i just wanna tell everyone that I am bored.. hehe magulo.. bored, bothered, happy, depressed, worried, impressed.. ano pa..basta lahat nagsamasama... hay ... hehehe oh well tingin ko walang mangyayari kung mananatili lang akong bored.. hehehe have to do something... aha! :D see you in 2 weeks!

Thus Signals the end of the Sem

YEH! it really was the best semender ever!, and like our sexy leader Andrew, I dont know where to start..

let us begin at around 5AM in the morning... most of us are still asleep at that time so let us skip

at around 10AM I arrived at Whitehouse apartments where we are supposed to cook and prepare for the semender. when i entered i saw celsus topcoding and angel along with cherrie sleeping on the couch... we are supposed to start working at 8AM. it was already 10AM and Andrew is still sleeping.. lolz! anyway, when he arrived we cooked rice and waited for the others to come and join us. we hired a jeepney, and went to the resort at around 1PM. :D this is what the resort looked like

Teh Semender Pics

When we entered the resort we were like "Oh my God! It's so cool!" the place is nothing compared to our previous semenders.

Sobrang masaya lahat ng tao except maybe dun sa mga tao na nagdecide na ipagpalit kami dun sa Komikon which i heard was sooo boring. buti nga sa inyo! :P sobrang nageenjoy lahat! ang gulo! ang saya! syempre di mawawala yung mga hirit at mga pangaasar. hehehe... wala ako masabi. :D nakangiti ako habang sinusulat ko ito. naaalala ko yung semender. sana maulit to. basta! words can describe the happiness and enjoyment that we felt.. it may be because the resort is spacious, or the ambiance is great, or the cool rooms, or the nice pool.. but i think above all that we are happy because we are spending this one special day with the people we love, with the group that everyone treasured and the thought that whatever happens, Skewed Studios will always be the Best Group Ever! I love you Guys!

and as quoted in Andrew's Blog, here are some of the most memorable semender quotes

"..hangover... gulo gulo upuan... walang tao .... banas ....walang tao... gulo gulo upuan... hangover... lang tao... banas.. hangover .... banas ...gulo gulo upuan ...lang tao..."
- Me, Gelo, Celsus, Brian, Louis ala Strangebrew

"Ang masasabi ko lang talaga.. SO MUCHED HAS CHANGED IN 3 YEARS!!! Kung dati puro anime anime lang pinaguusapan natin, ngayon... an-lalakas na ng mga hirit!!"
- Ken

"Dildo Baggins and the One cock-Ring of POWER!!!"
- err... sino nga ba?

"Ano? Ayos ba? AYOS BA!? AYOS!!!!" *high five*
- ako, tinatanong lahat ng tao at nagsusurvey

"'di pa ko laseng.."
- lasing na lasing at namumulang Butch.

"..wag kasing manliligaw gamit ang anime!! Tangina, ano yan!? I wanna be you kenshin!?"
- lasing na Ken

"I'm like a shooting star, I've come so far! ...Snipershot!!!"
- me, snipe-squirting with the Pepsi 1.5 easy grip bottle

"...Drew, penge naman ng juice" *gives me upside-down plastic cup*
- lasing at namumulang Butch

"..akala niyo kayo lang (@Kyan and Karina)!!? ..Oh! kami na ni Mara!! Wala nang papatos dito!!" - Ken, nagpapa-cradle kay Mara

"Si Fernan ooo... Nilalasing si Mara, LUMANG STYLE NA YAN!!"
- Ken

"Kaya ko paaa.. Kaya ko paa..."
- Butch

"AYAN NA SI LOUIS AYAN NA SI LOUIS!!!! Andyan na yung CLOWN!!!"
*everyone splashes Louis*

"Tahan na, tahan na, anjan na yung clown~~!!"
- Gelo, at Neil

"LOUIS!!! TRIIICKS! TRIIICKS!!!"
- at Louis, official party clown

"WTF anu yung spooning?!" - Gelo (lol, hindi talaga alam)
"Wag ka na! Bata ka pa!" - Ken
*Gelo squirts sprite bottle at Ken*

"Di ko kasalanan kung may mabubuo dito ah!"
- Ken

"LETS FEET TOGETHEEERR!!!"
- mga taong jacuzzi na walang magawa

"Si Fernan nanglalasing ng babae, pero mauuna pa sya malasing kesa sa babae."
- Ken

"MANG HOSEEE!! MANG HOOOSEEEEEE!!!"
- Gelo, wasted.

"Look at those ABS!!"
- Brian, @Therese

"Best semendah evah!!!"
- Therese, with the accent

"MANG TEBAN!!!! MANG TEBAAANN!!!! ang superhero na ....marunong .... mag-PHOTOSHOP!!!!!"
- (@Neil Amiel Cervantes; Photoshop god sung in the tune of "Mang Jose")

"Kung alam ko lang na ganyan ang hatak sa chics ng ORIGAMI!!... gusto ko ng ART PAPER!!"
- Ken, @Clemen

"ART PAPER!!! ART PAPER!!!!! ART PAAAAPEEER!!!!"
- (@Clemen's origami tutorials, sung in the tune of "Ordertaker")

"Uy biro lang ah, Clemen. Ikaw pa rin ang Necrolyte ng buhay ko."
- Gelo, @Clemen

"Walang nangyari! Bokalist ng Rivermaya! Rico Blanco BADING!!!"
- Drew, Ken, Gelo, Therese - sooo wasted, with Halina sa Parokya in the background.

".................... *ngiti*"
- Dianne (grabe, kahit lasing tahimik pa rin!)




Teh Terrorista Is Back

Topcoding from the Top

Our good friend Celsu Kintanar is solving a component design problem as of this moment. the competition started yesterday 9am US time and the competitors are expected to be done by Friday noon. Let us hope Celsus can outsmart the 7 other competitors from all around the globe. but we know Celsus can do it? right? right! go celsus! topcode from the top and stay there! :D