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Full Metal Panic! Novels Inspire New Anime Adaptation

posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Shoji Gatoh, Shikidouji's light novel series inspired 3 TV anime, OVA in 2002-2006

Fujimi Shobo announced at the "Fantasia Bunko Big Thanksgiving 2015" event on Saturday that plans for a new anime adaptation of Shoji Gatoh and Shikidouji's Full Metal Panic! light novel series are underway. The announcement did not give any further details about the anime project.

Fujimi Shobo's Dragon Magazine had published a feature on Full Metal Panic! in September 2014 with art that teased "Coming Soon." Shikidouji replied to a fan on Twitter about the illustration at the time saying, "Something is moving along. Please look forward to it."

Full Metal Panic! centers around a mercenary group called Mithril on a parallel Earth in which the Cold War did not end in 1991.

The original light novel series debuted in 1998, and Fujimi Shobo published the series' 12th and final novel in the main series in 2010. The novels have more than 11 million copies in print. Tokyopop published the first five volumes before the company shut down its North American branch in 2011.

The franchise inspired the 24-episode Full Metal Panic! TV anime series in 2002, the 12-episode Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu TV anime in 2003, and the 13-episode Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid TV anime series in 2005. Additionally, the light novels inspired the Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid OAV episode in 2006. Gonzo animated the 2002 anime series, and Kyoto Animation animated the two sequel series and the OAV.

Funimation has released all three TV anime series and the OAV on DVD and Blu-ray Disc, and ADV Films released the first two anime series on DVD before Funimation relicensed the series. Kadokawa released all three TV series and the OAV on Blu-ray Disc in Japan with an English dub in 2013 to celebrate the franchise's 15th anniversary.

The novel series has also inspired several manga spinoff series, as well as several light novel spinoffs and short story collections.

Source: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web via Otakomu


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