Full Metal Panic! was one of the mecha series that were popular in the 2000s. In short, it is centered on an ex-child solder named Sousuke Sagara, who has been tasked by the private military organization called Mithril to protect a high school student named Kaname Chidori. Chidori is important because she is one of the Whispered, who are people who have super-tech concealed in their subconscious, thus making them much sought-after by national governments as well as a wide range of other entities. With that said, Full Metal Panic! is characterized by mecha called Arm Slaves, which play a very important role in the more serious parts of the series’s narrative.
So far, Full Metal Panic! has received four anime series based on the initial light novel series. First, there was Full Metal Panic! in 2002, which was followed up by Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid in 2005. Besides this, there was Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu in 2003, which stood out in that it was focused on the comedic side of the series rather than its more serious side. With that said, it wasn’t until April of 2018 that Full Metal Panic! received its fourth anime series called Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory, which is a continuation of the main narrative. There is no real reason for the time that passed between Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid and Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory save that the relevant parties had their attentions occupied by one thing or another, meaning that it took a lot of time for their schedules to align with one another.
Can We Expect to See a Season 5 of Full Metal Panic?
Currently, Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory has seen the release of one season of 12 episodes, which covered Volumes 7, 8, and 9 of the light novel series. However, there are still three more volumes that remain to be covered, meaning that there are a lot of interested individuals who suspect that there will be a second season for the anime series that will finish up the main narrative.
At this point in time, the hypothetical second season has not been confirmed from an official source. However, the sales for Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory were respectable, so much so that it placed in the top ten for the season in spite of the time that has passed since the last anime series. As a result, while a second season hasn’t been confirmed, the performance of the first season suggests that it will be coming sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, the lack of information means that there is no real way to predict when it will be coming, though it seems probable that there won’t be another decade-long gap like the last one.
With that said, while it is an excellent thing that Full Metal Panic! will be receiving a conclusion to its main narrative, one can’t help but wish that it would receive a follow-up to Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu as well. Yes, the use of Arm Slaves mixed with political shenanigans is a combination that has characterized the series to a significant extent. However, there was a time when Full Metal Panic! was famous for its particular sense of humor as well, which was based on Sagara’s skewed perspective because of his rough childhood running into the hot-tempered Chidori, who played the straight-woman. In fact, Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu is named thus because of the catch-phrase of an in-setting mascot character called Bonta-Kun, whose costumes Sagara turned into very effective suits of power armor that resembled nothing so much as teddy bears in full military costume. Suffice to say that this made for a very amusing sight in the mega-crossover Super Robot Wars games, which actually featured Bonta-Kun suits in some of them. Unfortunately, the chances of a follow-up to Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu are low, particularly since the anime is being done by a different anime studio than the one that handled the comedic side-series.
Final Thoughts
Besides Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory, it is possible that the Full Metal Panic! will receive another anime series based on a spin-off series of light novels centered on a separate cast of characters living after the events of the main series. However, this won’t happen unless the second season of Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory does well, meaning that it is premature to speculate about it at this point in time.
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