Full Metal Panic! is a classic mecha series, which many fans may be familiar with from its multiple anime adaptations over the years. Now, that long-running series is finally getting a sequel, and it'll show the original's characters as adults.
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Full Metal Panic! began as a series of light novels in 1998, publishing a total of 12 books, with the series finally ending in 2010. It was adapted into several anime over that time frame, including Full Metal Panic! in 2002, the parody series Fumoffu in 2003, a proper sequel called Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid in 2005, and finally Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory in 2018. The franchise has continued long after the original book series concluded, with various spinoff manga and light novels. Now, however, there's an official sequel starring the original series' leads, Kaname Chidori and Sosuke Sagara.
The Sequel Series Explores Kaname and Sosuke's Life Together
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According to Anime News Network, the new series, entitled Full Metal Panic! Family, will be a manga adaptation of the light novel of the same name by original creator Shoji Gatoh, which debuted in Kadokawa's Dragon magazine back in July 2023. The manga adaptation is set to be illustrated by Ohige Kamisori, and will debut in the Dragon Age magazine on December 9, 2024. The story is said to revolve around Kaname and Sosuke's life together as adults, which is hopefully quite a bit more peaceful than their high school days were.
It's not often that fans are allowed to see their favorite characters actually grow up, so Full Metal Panic! Family is a unique opportunity to do something interesting with the series' characters. While there's very little detail as to the content of the new story available at this time, the story is said to be set 20 years after the conclusion of the original series, and Sosuke and Kaname appear to have children.
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Full Metal Panic! Gets a New Start
A New Series Could Change How Fans Think of the Franchise
The new manga represents the beginning of a very different era for Full Metal Panic! Given the series' popularity peaked in the early 2000s, it makes sense that a sequel series would want to reflect the time that has passed accurately, allowing the series' protagonists to age up along with their fans. While sequel series have become a bit more common in recent years, like Boruto or Yashahime, they generally focus on the original protagonists' children, putting the former main characters on the back burner. It doesn't look like this will be the case for Full Metal Panic!, however, despite Sosuke and Kaname's children appearing on the cover.
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Full Metal Panic! has always been an interesting series, putting its characters first over the mecha, and created a genuinely great story as a result. Seeing Sosuke and Kaname as adults will be very satisfying after all the struggles they went through to make it this far together, and no doubt the two have grown as people over the intervening 20 years as well. While there is no word on a potential English localization of the manga yet, since it hasn't even debuted in Japan, fans of Full Metal Panic! should keep their fingers crossed that it arrives sooner rather than later.
Source: Anime News Network
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Full Metal Panic!
TV-14
Animation
Sci-Fi
In this action-packed series, Sousuke Sagara, a skilled soldier from the secretive organization Mithril, is tasked with protecting high school student Kaname Chidori from terrorist threats. As he navigates the challenges of undercover life, he must balance his military expertise with the complexities of adolescence.
- Cast
- Tomokazu Seki , Satsuki Yukino , Michiko Neya , Rio Natsuki , Shin-ichiro Miki , Mamiko Noto , Ikue Kimura , Yukana , Tomomichi Nishimura , Chiaki Takahashi , Yuriko Yamaguchi , Kujira , Ikuya Sawaki , Naoya Uchida , Makoto Naruse , Kazuhiro Nakata
- Character(s)
- Sousuke Sagara , Kaname Chidori , Melissa Mao , Kurz Weber , Shinji Kazama , Kyoko Tokiwa , Teletha Tessa Testarossa , Cmdr. Richard Mardukas
- Release Date
- January 8, 2002
- Seasons
- 4
- Main Genre
- Animation
