Tessa approaches a grave, giving her respects to her deceased parents. A man approaches slowly behind her, his eyes fixated on the same plot.
Not long after this, a declaration of war is uttered and, after a short standoff, the two parties begin their preparations.
Damn, FMP, it’s gonna be like THAT huh? You’re not going to blow an episode on the “goofy antics” of our characters since we haven’t seen them in 10 years? No, Invisible Victory has made it clear that this isn’t what it’s after – it’s going to remind you why the anime world fell in love with FMP during the early 2000’s as we watched Sosuke Sagara take down Gauron and witnessed the overall conflict between Mithril and Amalgam as they attempt to take control of Chidori’s life due to her status as a whispered. That’s right, we’re putting aside the atypical “antics” episode and we’re diving straight into the meat of the matter.
Leonard Testarossa appears to be our main antagonist in place of Gauron and Gates this time. His declaration of war to his sister came with a word of caution: This time, Amalgam will not be taking unnecessary risks or concern themselves with being careful. They will take Chidori and destroy Mithril with overwhelming force, sacrificing anything they need to and not letting anything hold them down. For a side that has little to lose, there is quite possibly no more terrifying caveat to the initiation of combat for the side of justice.
Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way – as times change, so must the studio. We bid adieu to Kyoto animation who handled the series for Fumoffu in 2003 and Second Raid in 2004, and with it, their ability to produce beautiful and stunning animation.
Or do we? While it is true that kyoto animation is no longer in the FMP wheelhouse, I have to say that XEBEC’s animation greatly impresses. Pay close attention to the dynamic camera angle scenes, which are becoming an increasing rarity in today’s anime – the camera shifting ever so slightly during Tessa and Leonard’s standoff, or the change to Sagara’s perspective when he realizes that Leonard has entered his apartment. Furthermore…dare I say it, the CGI doesn’t look bad. I attribute this to the fact that they didn’t do the typical “let’s make this CGI look choppy to match the feel of hand drawn/digital animation” and instead let the mechs themselves be fluid in motion.
In a leap that, at least to me, seemed impossible coming from Second Raid, the stakes in Invisible Victory seem higher than ever. With a dual strike to obtain Chidori and another on the Mithril base on Merida Island, it seems that Leonard will make good on his promise of “aggressive measures”. Of course, Sagara’s on duty once more.
