Ok major fanboy here.
As the series as a whole
For me almost every aspect of the FMP universe is perfect. The comedy parts, the action parts and the more dark part are well spread so you do not get that choppy feel of it trying to be everything at once and just fail horribly in every aspect. When it tries to be funny it usually is funny and when it is trying to be serious it is. The romance part is there and it is a big part of they story but it do not turn it into some sappy mish mash and overshadow the rest of the story, all parts of the story good pretty much the same attention and time, which is a good thing. The author do not forget where the story came from or where it is headed.
The plot is well thought out and nothing is really off.
Almost all of the characters are IMO great. Sousuke is a nice male lead. While he has major troubles in what normal people would call everyday life, he is very good at what he would call everyday life. He makes a very good contrast to the regular school life and, in a humorous way, the character Sousuke shows what might happen to kids growing up in a warzone without it turning into some emo bull. Kaname is well Kaname, all in all a good take on a heroine, sometimes shes weak, and sometimes she is strong, yet so do not just give up because something is hard or difficult, if Sousuke is not around to save her, she will at least try to get out of a sticky situation herself. The chemistry between the two characters are also very good and they compliment each other, so the romance part do not get choppy or totally unbelievable. The rest of the characters are all great, well except for Tessa, yeah I hate her too 😀
The mecha part of the story is also very good. Yeah they are very powerful, but strategy can still take them out and they are not invincible with or without the lambda driver.
And while I remember it they lambda driver is so very well explained further into the story and it sounds less overpowered
Now for the manga. As someone said before, it makes a hell of a leap in the right direction by recognising that Sousuke is a killer and he is not just a retard that can not do anything beside screw. The art on the other hand, personally I think it is okay, but there is just something wrong with the characters heads.
As I love it I will only focus ont the bad parts everything is just awesome 😉
The manga has three major problems. First of all the pacing. It is just so very bad everything happens so frickin fast that you do not have any clue what is happening and what is important and what’s not. The second major problem is the attention to detail. In the manga it just sucks some things are not explained well other things are just not explained and you have to do guess what, where and when. If I had not read the novels I would just be lost and skim. It is very bad at conveying the characters’ feelings and thoughts hence, they look stiff.
Yet despite all of this I give it a 10, fanboy 😉
Conclusion, if you like the darker twist on the story and you want to learn more about the characters and well see an ending, go read the novels! Everything Spearsmen620, rightfully, complained about still happens, but you actually know why and they do not look like complete morons.
The novels are better in every aspect. The manga honestly looks like a cheap knock off compared to the novel.