9:26 PM: Good evening, and welcome to the Labor Day Kickoff. Tonight, I'll be covering .@funimation's release of Full Metal Panic!

9:27 PM: This one is due out next week, ships on September 9. It's an ADV license rescue and, funny enough, I've never seen it before. ^_^;

9:27 PM: So this'll be fun as I'm literally the last person to see this show, no doubt :P

9:28 PM: Animated by Gonzo (Last Exile, Magikano, Gankutsuou)

9:28 PM: Directed by Koichi Chigira (Last Exile, Phantom Quest Corp., Tower of Druaga: Aegis of Uruk)

9:28 PM: Opening theme: Tomorrow, closing theme: Karenai Hana - both by the awesome Mikuni Shimokawa

9:29 PM: Anyway, it's about time, so away we go :D

9:29 PM: Well... I'll wait til 9:30 proper :P

9:30 PM: It's 9:30 - NOW I'll start.

9:31 PM: Opening credits - Mikuni Shimokawa's music rocks.

9:32 PM: Flock of Seagulls... that ran, so far away

9:32 PM: Girl talking gibberish as the camera pans over photos?

9:32 PM: ...HOLY CRAP that's a creepy alarm clock! O_o

9:32 PM: Flash to the USSR: in other news, the USSR still exists

9:33 PM: "Let me bite it or kill me ;.;" ...vampire! D:

9:33 PM: ...or test subject. I dunno which yet.

9:33 PM: Dead now, though. '-'

9:34 PM: ...or not. Or gonna be. Not sure yet

9:34 PM: Helicopter vs. Mech - GO!

9:35 PM: A Patlabor?

9:35 PM: "Arm... Slave :o" Oh. :( Disappointed!

9:35 PM: Cute guy with a suitcase and anasthetics to pick up the girl.

9:36 PM: His name? Sosuke Sagara... Say that 10 times fast!

9:37 PM: Back at home: Sosuke's buddy is living vicariously through Sosuke... til their comrade sends him to the boss. :P

9:37 PM: Apparently, this military hires former models. 'Kay...?

9:38 PM: O__o "You BITCH! I'll make you claw at my back like crazy someday!" ...wow.

9:39 PM: We have names: Sosuke's buddy = Kurz Weber, the female friend = Melissa Mao

9:40 PM: Mission briefing! Protect Chidori Kaname from the KGB... or some organization

9:41 PM: Sosuke gets to go back to school... and the music sounds like something out of A-Team

9:41 PM: Hah! Lina Inverse on a magazine cover! Awesome. :D

9:41 PM: "What's this? :O" "A condom ^_^" >___>

9:42 PM: Sosuke's fun fact of the night: A condom can hold a liter of water... for those jungle excursions. :D THANKS, TROJAN MAN!

9:42 PM: Sosuke's school photo = totally serial rapist

9:43 PM: Movin' out! With more A-Team musics

9:43 PM: And eyecatch!

9:44 PM: Back to Chidori's room... with that evil evil alarm clock ;-;

9:44 PM: "Ohayo-kana-chan :D" You scare me, alarm clock T_T WTF Japan

9:45 PM: Meanwhile, at the mobile base - Mao spies on Chidori showering.

9:45 PM: "The morning shower of a high school girl? :3" ah, perverts.

9:45 PM: Arm Slaves are totally Patlabors on crack. Still saying it.

9:47 PM: "The uniform excites me!" Oh Kurz... the world needs perverts.

9:47 PM: Chidori's milkshake brings all the boys to her yard, apparently.

9:48 PM: "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" ...that just made me happy on so many levels.

9:48 PM: Chidori's a Douglas Adams fan

9:48 PM: "Kaaa-naaa-chan! O-haa-yoo :3" Uhh... she's the token annoying friend, I take it.

9:49 PM: And RAGEFACE! >:o from Chidori

9:49 PM: ...at some random perv she was introduced to?

9:49 PM: hah... Sosuke tried bringing a piece onto campus... a loaded piece.

9:50 PM: "It's loaded with splat bullets, which have high kill potential :D" ... ... ... That doesn't sound like a psychopath at ALL

9:50 PM: "He's a military maniac '_' " If I were Chidori, that'd be the LEAST of my worries.

9:51 PM: "I'll introduce a new classmate :D" "O-ta-ku... BANG!" yeah, that sounds about right, Chidori's friend

9:52 PM: Introduction time... this better not end with "I won't leave a single body standing" or well... shit, I'd laugh at that.

9:52 PM: "Why don't you sing a song? :D" How 'bout #5 with a bullet?

9:53 PM: "Can you tell us where you come from? :D" "Yes! Afghanistan, Lebanon, Cambodia, Iraq, Colombia." ... sounds like a US Army wishlist. ;)

9:54 PM: "What're you hobbies? :3" "I bet it's model guns :D" "No. I like fishing and reading. :D" ... and here I thought he'd say strangling cats.

9:55 PM: or something just as creepy. :P

9:55 PM: Welp... he just endorsed Soldier of Fortune. Close enough for me

9:56 PM: Sosuke = shit taste in music >_>

9:57 PM: Uh oh... Sosuke's peeping. Creeeepy... Chidori's got the right idea... Sosuke has permanent raepface

9:58 PM: And now it's gone onto full-on seku-hara, as he tackles Chidori and pulls a Beretta

9:59 PM: Beatdown is go! :D But we don't see it. :( I am disappoint.

9:59 PM: "I almost kicked an old man T_T" Uh, Kurz... that's nothing to be proud of >_>

10:00 PM: Voyeurism time as Mao listens in on phone conversations... and Chidori has a hamster :D Aw~

10:01 PM: "SHATAPPU! D:" Engrish is awesome... as is Sousuke handcuffed to a folding chair for being a creepy bastard

10:02 PM: "He's weird but... :3 he's an interesting guy" ah, girl talk... and Sosuke getting his chops busted for it. Good times...

10:02 PM: ...so THAT'S where the yellow mascot... thing comes from O_o

10:03 PM: "She was more fierce and aggressive. o_o" that happens when you peep on a girl in the changing room. #LifeLessons

10:03 PM: And end credits. Again, Mikuni Shimokawa is freaking awesome. :) Can't say that enough

10:04 PM: Hah! :D "Next episode" segment music totally rips off the A-Team!

10:05 PM: Verdict: I am loving this show... seriously - I am really, REALLY loving this. I haven't said this about a Gonzo show in a long time.

10:06 PM: It's fairly serious, but silly enough to keep things from becoming a downer. And the funny segments are downright hilarious.

10:07 PM: The characters are great, and the action works really well with the Patlaberrrrr- Arm Slaves.

10:08 PM: I can't wait to see more, and wholeheartedly recommend the series.