The original
Full Metal Panic! anime series used traditional 2D animation for its mechs but it appears that Studio Xebec has opted to use cgi for the 4th season. Anime fans are unsure what to make of the footage as more recent shows have proven that cgi and 2D animation can be successfully blended.
Other fans are theorizing that the switch to cgi was due to the fact that there's a shortage of animators in the industry at the moment and the number of animators that can successfully depict a moving mech is even fewer. Rather than be caught in a position where they couldn't secure talented mech animators, Xebec may have opted for the safer choice of cgi.
Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory premieres this April. The video below contains a snippet of the OP, "Even…if", performed by Tamaru Yamada.
TV anime "Full Metal Panic! IV" main staff [via Crunchyroll]
Director: Katsuichi Nakayama (The Good Witch of the West)
Character Designer/Chief Animation Director: Osamu Horiuchi (all of the past Full Metal Panic! anime series)
Sub Character Designer/Animation Director: Aya Yamamoto (Big Order episode animation director)
Gun Designer/Animation Director: Takeshi Yoshioka
Mechanic Designer: Kanetake Ebigawa, Toshiaki Ihara
Set Designer: Takayuki Yanase
Mechanic Director: Masanori Nishii
Prop Designer/Mechanic Animation Director: Takuya Matsumura
Mechanic Animation Director: Masaru Kato
CG Director: Masanori Kamiji
Color Designer: Chiaki Kitabayashi (XEBEC)
Special Effects: Shin Inoie
Anime Production: Xebec
ABOUT FULL METAL PANIC!
Shoji Gatoh and illustrator Shiki Douji began the light novel series in 1989 in Gekkan Dragon Magazine before wrapping the tale of Sergeant Sousuke Sagara and high school student Kaname Chidori in 2011 at 23 volumes. A sequel light novel series, titled Full Metal Panic! Another, followed soon thereafter in 2011 and recently reached its conclusion in February 2016 at 13 volumes.
With both light novel series now complete fans are hoping that Xebec will animate all of the source material after waiting 12 years between Second Raid and Invisible Victory.
The new series will be titled Full Metal Panic! IV Invisible Victory which acknowledges the previous three season:
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Full Metal Panic 2002 - 24 episodes
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Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu 2003 - 12 episodes
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Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid 2006 - 13 episodes