Anime is truly a genre of its own, but it should not to be mistaken as a linear or uniform genre. Fullmetal Panic is an all out anime with the distinct contrast between the more serious action related and the more humorous and everyday life orientated. The contrast is well told due to the story's plot. Kaname Chidori seems to be the average school girl, but there is more to her than meets the eye. Sagara Sousuke including his team from Mithril are set out to protect her because she is of great importance. Due to this Sagara is transferred to Kaname's school and has to deal with an environment that is quite unfamiliar to him since he is mostly used to be in the battlefield and lacks social abilities. It is Sagara's interaction with the school environment and his duty of protecting Chidori that creates the very charming and engaging contrast that is in the series. It has enough mystique to engage the viewer and enough humor and interesting details that leaves a feeling of hungering for more. It is definitely a series worth watching and a good series to start of with for persons who consider Manga and/or anime as a breath of fresh air. Full Metal also has some aesthetically beautiful scenery especially in the first episode, but it is not overambitious in any way and it has a very clean and simple look to it. The intro and ending themes are also very catchy and are both in the typical Japanese rock/pop genre. The instrumental music supports the different scenes as well. Maybe it is a bit of a risk to buy the complete collection at first, but if one wants to give it a chance then either buy Mission 01 or try to look it up at you-tube. It cannot be promised that the series falls in one's favor, but this certainly is a part of what Manga and Anime is all about.
