A 23 volume light novel series by Gatou Shouji, published from 1998 to 2011, and a continuing light novel series from 2011 to 2016. Several anime and manga adaptions have been made for this series, such as the comedy-focused anime Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu (which features the debut of series mascot Bonta-kun).
A new anime series, Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory, produced by Studio XEBEC, aired in 2018. Unlike previous series, the mecha in IV are rendered in 3D, while human characters and environments are in traditional 2D. The ARX-8 Laevatein makes its TV debut in this series, although the unit and the season's events both made their Super Robot Wars debuts before the series aired, in Z3.
