"The show centers on young Sergeant Sousuke, a man assigned to an anti-terrorist organization, Mithral. Mithral was designed to combat well-funded terrorists that pilot various mech-robots against targets protected by friendly governments. Recently, there has been an advance in the design of such robots and both sides lay claim to the technology behind the advance and use it for their missions. The series has Sousuke on a long term protection mission of a high school girl, Kaname, and this being anime, the two fall for one another (yet won't openly admit to this fact). Apparently, she has a gift (being one of an elite genetic group known as "The Whispered") that relates to the new technology and is considered too precious to go unprotected. As the cast goes on a number of missions, we learn a bit more about them and the near-future technology behind the show."

FUMOFFU, on the other hand, dealt primarily with Sgt Sousuke and Kaname as they went to high school together (his sole mission was to fit in and protect her from any potential harm due to her gift). Needless to say, for a guy well versed in military procedures and skills, fitting into a situation like this was somewhat problematic as he often caused huge problems due to his lack of social skills and complete reliance on his military training (seeing everything as a potential threat). Kaname, on the other hand, would browbeat him for any misstep he took and often provide him with guidance as to how he should act (and tell him how to fix whatever trouble he caused as he protected her). In all, the dynamic was centered on humor most of the time but also added in some forms of tension as the fish out of water Sousuke dealt with matters his own way.

The back cover said it best this time when it went on to say: "Here it is: the full-on, all-out-crazy finale to Full Metal Panic? FUMOFFU! And it seems that EVERYONE has gone completely mad! First, a laugh-out-loud yakuza war brings gangster stereotypes to life, risks the lives of Kaname and Sousuke, and enlists an unlikely army of Bonta-kuns to save the day! Next, there's a turf war on the school campus, and it's nerd against nerd, in an ill-inspired contest to see which group of misfits can seduce the most girls! And finally, it's scandal, scare, skin, and screamin' hilarity – as a whole classroom of students discards common sense... just before they unwittingly discard their clothes! It's a fitting finish to a frenzied frolic in full-metal frivolity – and you definitely don't want to miss it!"

The final three episodes of the series were included on this disc and included 10) A Fancy Without Honor or Humility, 11) Uncontrollable Bluebird, and 12) 5th Period Hot Spot. The first episode dealt with Sousuke getting pulled into a gangland tuff war involving Ren's father's business and some yakuza types trying to hone in on their action. He dons his infamous Bonta Kun military outfit (equipped with the latest arsenal of military gear but looking as silly as ever) to train his new minions while Ren's father recovers from an illness but must resort to likewise equipping them when Ren and Kaname get kidnapped by the rivals. Next up was a contest between the various clubs on campus looking for a room to call their own that involved flirting. Personally, I liked Sousuke's method of flirting but seeing him learn about the pitfalls of courtship was hilarious. Lastly, when one of Sousuke's bio-weapons gets loose, the whole class finds out what it means to be hanging on for dear life as they fear for the worse.

I thought this set of episodes, while still a chintzy three, were pretty good and worth a rating of Recommended this time. I'd still advise watching the original series first and then the previous volumes before watching this one but it combined a lot of material in a solid manner, making me smile if not laugh outright. I just hope that Full Metal Panic season two comes out soon since I'll be going through withdrawal before too long if I don't get my fix of the series. In any case, if you like comedy shows centered on characters that are completely out of their element, this one will likely appeal to you a whole lot.

Picture: Full Metal Panic? FUMOFFU: Full Metal Mania was presented in 1.33:1 ratio full screen, as expected with a modern day television released anime. It looked clear and crisp with a solid DVD transfer to enjoy. The colors were as solid as I remembered Volume 3 being, so I wasn't disappointed this time either. I've heard a variety of comments from those participating in anime forums about the picture quality being poor yet I can only assume they haven't seen the official release (bootlegs are notorious for poor quality) as it looked nice here. If you liked the original television series this one was based upon, you'll like this (visually at least) too, although it was more brightly lit than the original in most cases.

Sound: The audio was presented in a few choices: English 5.1 or 2.0 (with optional song subtitles) or the original Japanese stereo track with English subtitles. Like the picture, the sound was exceptionally clear and well planned but I preferred the original language track again. In large part though, fans of dubs will have something to appreciate given the manner in which the domestic voice actors seem to have come into their own here. There was some dynamic range to the vocals and music but most of the time; the center speaker was where the audio action was at. Like the original series though, I think an audio CD would work really well given the quality of the music from the series.

Extras: The most interesting extra this time was the inclusion of a paper fold out game called, appropriately enough, Where's Bonta Kun?. It was silly and cute at the same time, showing that ADV Films is not without some creative staff these days. There was also another short text feature called The Mysteries of FUMOFFU that described a bit about the series but this one kind of rambled on and apologized for doing so at the end. Lastly, there was the usual clean opening, closing, and some trailers with some artwork sketches.

Final Thoughts: Full Metal Panic? FUMOFFU: Full Metal Mania was admittedly an upswing compared to the Third Volume for me as it seemed flawlessly executed this time. The characters were all true to form, there was enough comedy & dramatic tension to hold my interest, and it played well although I'd rather have seen Sousuke and Kaname finally get together after the last two series showed them ever drawing closer to that conclusion. I'm not going to spoil the volume for you as many other review sites seem to take pleasure in doing but the bottom line is that if you enjoy high school situational comedies, or developed an appreciation for the cast, you're going to enjoy this series, and this volume in particular, a whole lot. Perhaps one of the marketing gurus at ADV Films will wisely put this series together as a boxed set and lower the price to the point where fans will be more likely to buy it rather than foolishly steal it as I've read about elsewhere but the inclusion of the paper foldouts was a great idea to assist in combating such piracy and should be applauded.

If you enjoy anime, take a look at some of the recommendations by DVDTalk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime 2003 and Best Of Anime 2004 article or regular column Anime Talk