March 02, 2004
Full Metal Panic! Episode 23
"Field of Giants"
More of the crazy Americans in this one, "Remember Pearl Harbor!" being the nice battle cry in this one.
Anyways.
The end is so close you can smell it, and there's still enough that needs to be resolved that it seems like a substantial episode is unlikely. My prediction is the standard ending-in-the-credits with most of the episode given over to the last fight between Gauron and Sousuke.
After twenty-three episodes of vaguely dealing with Black Technology and exactly what the Whispered are capable of doing (for a core motivation, it sure gets very little screen time), there's a lot more explanation (or at least demonstration) in this episode with Kaname taking control of the submarine. But in the end, this is all just window dressing for another fight between Gauron and Sosuke, which in the past have pretty much all come out as draws (with Gauron slightly ahead).
The show still looks and sounds good, and the intensity makes the episode fly by, but it's missing that intangible that would elevate the show from entertaining to great.
Rating: B+
Posted by Kei at March 2, 2004 09:35 PM