Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory 12
フルメタル・パニック！Invisible Victory episode 12

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Sousuke attempts to penetrate the main compound as Leonard and an escort Alastor AS unit take Kaname to the heliport to escape. Kaname believes that Sousuke is coming for her, but when Leonard hands her a revolver with a chance to kill him, she only accidentally shoots him, knocking him out. Thus Kalinin comes to take them all to the waiting helicopter. Meanwhile, Mao, Weber, and Ben find themselves outclassed by the Amalgam Codarl AS units. However, the approach of three Behemoth units attacking the installation causes Kalinin to order the Cordarl AS units to retreat.

Sousuke arrives at the heliport in time to see Kaname taken aboard and the chopper leave. He is surrounded by Amalgam troops, but Lemon with the two former U.S. military officers slaughter them in their helicopter. Wraith has the ARX-8 Laevatein drop to Sousuke’s location before the helicopter is shot down. The Al AI unit is installed in the ARX-8, so after a brief reunion, the two get to work, taking down three new Cordarl AS units and two Behemoth units. The third Behemoth attempts to escape, but the new weapons on the ARX-8 not only overpower enemy Lambda Driver defenses, but can kill a Behemoth AS 30KM away. Thus the final Behemoth is destroyed.

On Kalinin’s helicopter, Kaname manages to get one of the soldier’s gun. However, Kalinin knows she’s not actually resolved in using it against them. As such, Kaname switches tactics and threatens to blow her head off unless she’s allowed to talk to Sousuke. Kalinin concedes. Initially, Kaname states her old, “Don’t follow me, I don’t want anyone to get hurt” routine. Then mid-conversation, she orders Sousuke to move heaven and earth to rescue her, even if he has to slaughter a million people along the way. They both confess their love for each other and promise to kiss on their next meeting.

Mithril helicopters return to the Tuatha de Danaan, including Lemon and his remaining DGSE agents as well as the two retired military officers, whom are big Tessa-chan fans. Kurz teases Sousuke over his exchange of love confessions. Sousuke attempts to introduce Lemon to his Captain, but Lemon is infatuated with Tessa, meaning the introduction is ruined. Tessa inquires as to Sousuke’s intentions, and he requests permission to rejoin his old unit. Naturally, Tessa happily accepts. Al also requests permission which is also granted. With that, the Tuatha de Danaan heads to sea.

Thoughts/Review:

You know, when the Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory series was announced, every impression I was given was that this would be the final series that would finally wrap up the story from the light novels. But as Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory 12 showed, we didn’t come anywhere near finishing the story, even with some obvious cuts.

Leonard Went Rogue

In the previous episode, it seemed like Leonard might be up to something. The fact that Amalgam attacked Leonard’s hideout would seem to prove that. So apparently, Leonard has other plans for Kaname that are contrary to Amalgam’s plans for her.

Question is, other than wanting to NTR Kaname from Sousuke, what the heck could Leonard want that would differ from Amalgam’s plans? Unless there’s another anime (or I read the manga adaptation of the novels), I may never know.

Kaname

I can understand why Kaname couldn’t pull the trigger and kill Leonard after he handed her a revolver. To actually look someone in the eye and willingly take their life is not something most folks would easily do. Leonard ended up being accidentally shot by Kaname, but as Kalinin saw on the helicopter when Kaname again had a gun, she didn’t have it in her to take another life.

On the other hand, Kalinin could see that Kaname might very well blow her own brains out. So kudos to Kaname there as she was able to use that threat to get her message out to Sousuke.

And finally, I’m glad she confessed her love for Sousuke. I do note with interest that she used “daisuki” to Sousuke, which is somewhat of a less serious “I love you” than Sousuke’s “aishiteru” reply. Nevertheless, she’s the one who insisted that they kiss upon their next proper meeting.

Sousuke and the ARX-8 Laevatein

With Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory 12, Sousuke is finally reunited with his AI unit, Al. Also, with the new ARX-8 Laevatein, Sousuke and Al get to show off by easily defeating not only Cordarl AS units, but also Behemoth AS units, overcoming said units Lambda Drivers. So Sousuke gets to be the hero…for now.

I did note that many of the other systems normally used by Mithril AS units, such as stealth, are missing from the ARX-8. I suspect this is so the otherwise overpowered AS unit has weaknesses that can be exploited by Amalgam.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

OK, time to wrap up blathering about Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory 12.

• Could Kalinin be working with Leonard because he knew Leonard would betray Amalgam?
• What was that hard drive called “Fairy Wings” and how did Wraith know it was in Kaname’s room in the compound?
• Why do the advanced AS units have to have that ponytail coming out of their heads?
• Will it be another 10-15 years for the Full Metal Panic anime series to be completed?

In the end, Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory 12 wrapped up a very entertaining and enjoyable series. And yet at the same time, because there’s apparently another entire series of story to produce (more if you count a cruise story people tell me was cut from the anime), I’m frustrated because it is possible that the Japanese decide not to bother finishing up the series in anime form.