After being tricked into signing a document by someone he considered a friend, Shin Kazama is forced to become a fighter pilot in the foreign legion of mercenaries, who are fighting in a civil war for the nation of Aslan. Hellbent on earning enough money to break his contract and return to Japan, Shin has managed to become one of the most lethal pilots at the base known as Area 88. But having spent so much time in a place where one's life is always in jeopardy, will Shin remain the same man if and when he can return to the civilian world?
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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literaturenerd
Overview: In the last couple years, Area 88 has seen an explosion of popularity here on MAL. This makes it a rather tricky title to review. It used to be criminally underrated, but now it's actually in danger of becoming overrated. While Area 88 is a strong OVA and does a number of things really well, it also has some aspects that really bug me. The Psychological Effects of War: Area 88 is entirely devoted to showing the horrible effects that war has on the human psyche. It's not just PTSD or even the dehumanizing effect of how soldiers learn to see their enemies. Once you go towar, it's immensely difficult to adapt back to civilian life. Soldiers have a hard time relating to civilians, who have never been in real danger and can't possibly understand what they've been through on the front lines. This leads to social isolation, depression, and often suicide. Many former soldiers become mercenaries because they feel they don't have a home outside the battlefield.
Literature devoted to this topic bloomed after World War 1 with the writers of the "Lost Generation" like Hemmingway, Wilfred Owen, Remarque, etc. In the Western world and especially the United States, these themes made a huge comeback in films, shows, and literature of the 1970s and early 1980s following the Vietnam War. It was this second wave that directly inspired Area 88. The mangaka, director, and anime writer had never been to war themselves, but they saw the critical success of American movies like Deer Hunter, First Blood, Platoon, etc. They wanted a piece of that pie, so we got this anime. To be fair, it's pretty damn good and handles the topic with respect. Unfortunately, the plot is...kind of a mess.
Plot: (Spoilers Ahead! Skip plot section if you don't want anything spoiled)
Shin is a Japanese commercial airline pilot who is in love with the daughter of an airline CEO. Unfortunately, the CEO is an evil asshole and collaborates with Shin's traitor "friend" to create a ridiculous scheme to get rid of Shin. Do they put a Yakuza hit on him? Nope. Do they pay off a waitress to falsely accuse him of rape and fire him? Nope. Do they get him drunk and trick him into joining the Iranian Air Force during the Iran/Iraq War? If you guessed that last one, congratulations! You win!
I'm dead serious, that's really what they went with. Now they can't call it Iran for legal reasons, but it's a Middle Eastern War raging in the 80s with Soviet fighter planes vs. US fighter planes. It's clearly supposed to be the Iran/Iraq War. Shin of course rejects this once he sobers up, but the Iranians absolutely REFUSE to let him back out. The fate of the war clearly hinges on this commercial pilot with zero experience piloting fighter jets, doesn't speak a language anyone understands, and has no desire to be there. It turns out the Iranians were smart like a fox because this airline pilot is immediately the best fighter pilot to ever live...for no reason! Even Erich Hartmann and Manfred von Richthofen bow down to Shin. Oh, and he can instantly speak Farsi, or they all learned Japanese...or the writer wasn't thinking.
Shin becomes a super successful pilot and gets all over the news as a modern fighter ace. This infuriates evil CEO, so he commences what might be the most pants on head retarded sub-plot I've ever seen in anime! He flies to France to hire the Italian Mafia to steal an F-16 and fly it into Iranian airspace to somehow find and shoot down a specific pilot! Jesus fucking Christ! This is "galaxy brain" shit! Shin keeps surviving while his co-pilots all die. He's able to get out of the war but can't adapt to civilian life. Instead, he decides to return to the battlefield and go out in a dramatic blaze of glory! That last part honestly feels like something Hideo Kojima would write...minus the nanomachines.
Art:
The dogfights are well animated and well-choreographed. This is some beautiful, hand drawn 80s animation that has aged very well. The character art has kind of a Leiji Matsumoto feel, but it works. I don't have anything negative to say about the art, it's pretty spectacular.
Overall:
I feel like I've been unfairly, overly harsh on this anime, but I can't discuss this title without mentioning some of the issues. Maybe this would work better if it were set in the modern Congo with 2 grizzled mercenaries meeting. One is an American soldier who fought in Iraq and the other is a Russian soldier who fought in Chechnya. Area 88 is beautiful to look at and has all the potential in the world, but the show we got is more a flawed diamond in the rough than it was a flawless masterpiece. That's just my thoughts on it though. I would still definitely recommend watching it!
YourMessageHere
My flatmate and I are both anime people. There\'s just not enough stuff out there, so every now and then, when a "classic" series surfaces, we\'ll have a look at that. Being big on Macross Zero and Yukikaze, I thought Area 88 might have been an interesting watch - aircraft anime before the age of CGI. I mention my flatmate because it is from him I gleaned the phrase that so succinctly describes Area 88\'s many failings: The Powah Of Cool. Kazama Shin is a top airline pilot, cozy with the company boss\'s daughter and poised to become a bigshot. So, naturally,his best friend hoodwinks him into signing a mercenary pilot\'s contract in order to nick all that from him. But he cannot take Shin\'s Powah Of Cool. Against the odds Shin survives, and his candyfloss-haired squeeze happens to see him and his Cool Powah pictured in a magazine. Given hope by his Powah Of Cool, she tries desperately to save him, but time is running out as the enemies of the Fictionalistan mercenary airbase Area 88 is advancing. Shin must stay alive long enough to raise the $1,500,000 buyout fee. He must learn to kill to stay alive. And so on.
Now, in all fairness, back in 1986 this was probably the cutting edge of animation. The attention to detail was probably groundbreakingly good, with many sleek aircraft faithfully reproduced. Probably. But in 2007, it has aged badly. What we are confronted with here is not dissimilar to the famous car chase in Bullitt, in that this may have been amazing, influential and formative in its time, but most of what it has since inspired has undeniably eclipsed it in every way. Now, it\'s extremely dated, and the likes of Macross Plus and Yukikaze are so far ahead it\'s difficult to take it seriously now. Only the uniquely different aircraft sounds remain even remotely impressive.
Characterisation is also extremely formulaic and by-the-numbers; a supremely skilled yet emotionally vulnerable hero, a sickeningly ultrafeminine, vulnerable and ineffectual heroine, a villain as inept as he is recycled, a clutch of cardboard-cutout manly men of varying morality as supporting cast, the odd spot of blatant racial stereotyping for good measure...even for 1986, this aspect of Area 88 is far from groundbreaking. The development of these characters towards the end defies all logic in its attempts to hammer home ideas about the terribly terrible, tragically tragic things war does to men and the people they love - things we\'ve all heard about umpteen times before, and things that sit a little uncomfortably with the glorification of air-to-air combat.
And how it just loves to glorify that. Here, in the aerial battle scenes, the Powah Of Cool is most in evidence. Shin and his buddies have so much of it that they barely need twitch to destroy 10, 20, 30 enemy fighters; the number of planes downed must run into hundreds of thousands every year. A brief burst of cannon fire will bring down an enemy, yet they never come close; enemy missiles are dodged or evaded, but Shin\'s missiles always strike home; Shin dodges and jinks like a hoverfly with Parkinson\'s, but enemies drift across his gunsight as if he were in a shooting gallery. Flying a fighter jet is apparently as easy as a stroll in the park, at least for Shin.
Yet despite his Powah Of Cool, Shin has never been able to reconcile himself to the killings he must commit in his role as Area 88\'s number one combat pilot. Now, you may be wondering at this point what precisely is stopping him from just getting in his plane and leaving, blowing away anyone who tries to stop him with his Powah Of Cool. Me too. All the way through, I wondered why he didn\'t do this; but this idiocy is as nothing to the way things progress in the final story. Suffice it to say this becomes a characteristically classic Japanese tragedy, in a way few people who claim a modern mindset will understand, let alone sympathise with.
Overall, this is one for history-of-anime completists or the most determined old-style anime fans only. Modern aircraft anime has this beaten until it cries in every way. I found I really had to force myself to watch all the way to the end, and I was counting the minutes until that moment arrived.
LIQfilms
Here's a scenario for you: You're a fit and young Japanese man who has managed to work through the ranks of a prestigious airline company known as Yamato Airlines, earning large amounts of respect from your peers and your boss. Not only that, you have a beautiful and caring girlfriend whom you will be marrying soon but who also happens to be the daughter of the company chairman ensuring your heritage into the company. Life is swell and dandy but while you're out for a night on the piss with your dickhead of a friend, the twat gets you so intoxicated with the Devli's nectar thathe tricks you into signing a document that ships you off to place called Area 88 located in the heart of a huge war in which the only ways to escape from this place is to do one of the three following things:
A: Survive three years of pilot combat
B: Pay a penalty of 1.5 million dollars which is earned by shooting down the enemy planes
C: Desert
And that is the story of Area 88 in a nutshell. While the narrative is rather simple in design and not all too complex what makes this short three part OVA shine is the characters and the psychological aspects of them. The show spends a considerable amount of time dealing with the main character's state of mind and through Shin we see the dehumanising effects that war has on its soldiers. Shin is a person who is forced to spend each day constantly killing people he doesn't even know just to survive and to garner enough money to make his way back home and free himself from Area 88. The constant death and killing Shin has to endure and the way this effects his mental state is easily the most interesting part of this show and despite the short run time overall, it manages to present and develop Shin's hang-ups very well as we see him evolve and become used to the idea of killing to the point in which he can't return to normal civilisation again since he has gained a hunger for war after experiencing it first hand.
One of the most interesting scenes comes from the third episode in which Shin is speaking to a fellow Japanese man who will be killed soon because he attempted desert from Area 88 on the grounds that he did not want to kill anyone. The man who is soon to be dead challenges Shin's ideology and new way of life which only add to Shin's already broken mental state that war has inflicted onto him. Shin's arc and character are both easy to understand from a narrative standpoint and have a lot of development and time to breath through the show.
While most of the spotlight is exclusively on Shin, the other characters in Area 88 who Shin works alongside with also have their own mental hiccups too with each one dealing with their mental fatigue in a certain way. Each character has a reason for being at Area 88, whether that be because they were tricked into doing so like the main character Shin or simply because they love the sensation of killing. On top that, the tension is rather high since many of the characters in the show are killed off raising the narrative stakes and making each aerial plane battle seem all the more intense and exciting.
Speaking of the plane battles, even after thirty years they still are amazing to watch. This OVA was released in 1985 and still stands up incredibly well today. The beautiful hand-drawn plane designs and fights are some of the best choreographed and directed dog fights in the entire medium with huge amounts of detail in every frame. The fights and general war are both presented as gritty and real making the deaths of the characters all the more impactful.
While Shin is busy battling in Area 88, we have another plot involving Shin's girlfriend attempting to cope with the loss of her love and trying to make sense of what happened while trying to track down Shin once and for all. The insane lengths she goes to for Shin made their relationship feel more organic and stronger which acted as one of the driving forces for Shin's struggles as well as the motivation from an audience to see them reunite once again. Irony is used pretty often in the show such as in the case where one of Shin's missions focuses on him having to shoot off bombs from a moving air plane - a plane his girlfriend was currently on.
Shin's ass-hole of a friend also has a fair amount of screen time with him overtaking Yamato Airlines but seeing his entire world collapsing around him. It's bittersweet to watch after all the shit we see he has put Shin and his girlfriend through but a good amount of development and exploration was implemented into explaining why his friend acted the way he did and his motivations as a character making him less of a one dimensional dickhead.
If I do have one complaint about the narrative, that would be the ending. Without spoiling too much, it can feel kind of anti-climatic considering what all the characters went through and for some, Shin's final decision can feel off putting and confusing but I was generally all right with it. I just wanted a bit more in terms of the final meeting between Shin and his girlfriend at the end, which he hardly got.
The music is also fantastic too and each one fills me with so much manly energy and testosterone that my shirt would easily blow off my chest in the same way the clothing in Ikkitousen gets blown off a woman's body if the wind so much as blows a little too hard. My favorite track being the wonderfully composed Kanashimi no Destiny which never fails to fill me with happiness on each listen.
In conclusion, Area 88 is a great OVA with fantastic characters, brilliant plane battles and a wonderful OST. Even after all these years the show still holds up very well and I would highly recommend it. There was a TV anime sometime in the early 2000s which I haven't seen yet but I've been hearing rather mixed views on that version so I'll be checking that out in due time.
Also, holy shit, I praised something for once rather than being a cynical ass hole and hating everything I watch. Feel strange man...
Darklonestrife
Area 88 is just another one of those series you'd think that it wouldn't be great because it's old and outdated. But fortunately, Area 88 flips you on the side of your head, making you regret that you ever doubted this series' capabilities. You know something? I noticed a common trend in most older Anime series- most of them are "substance over style." This is what Area 88 is all about folks. "Substance over style." Let's review. STORY... The plot revolves around a man named Shin Kazama who ends up in an Air Force Mercenary Guild somehow (You have to watch, if you want to findout.). In order for him to reclaim his freedom, he must keep working until he reaches a certain amount of money. We all know what mercenaries do, right? They kill. But here's the thing- Shin isn't a true born natural cold-blooded killer. (I'll talk more about Shin later in the CHARACTERS category.) Basically, the plot is more about an inner struggle within Shin as he tries to retain his humanity. How can one not undergo character development when he's doing what he is required to do? The plot tears at your emotions eventually and you can't help, but feel emotions for Shin by the end of the series. There is another part of the story which is a tragic romance part, but I feel that it really is insignificant compared to the magnitude of Shin's story. His story will really have you paying attention from start to finish.
ANIMATION... The visuals are surprisingly good, despite being so old. The character designs look typical of old school, but where the visuals really shine is during the battle scenes. Fighter planes are drawn with good detail and when they fire at each other, huge explosions are everywhere which at times bring awe to your viewing experience. Also, wherein the visuals excels is during the expressions of the characters. They really look do human enough. If you can tolerate old school art design, then there will be no problems at all when you're watching this.
SOUND... The sound is perfect. The voice actors fit their characters, but more importantly it's the background music that greatly adds to the atmosphere of Area 88, making it endearing to watch. The background music comes in at the right moments to add that emotional effect, which grips the viewers emotions. The songs are perfect for the series' theme.
CHARACTERS... This is the bread and butter of Area 88. As mentioned earlier, Shin is not a natural cold-blooded killer. He has a soul. He has a heart that cares. In essence, he's just a man with an innocent and kind soul. He just wanted to pursue his dreams and live a happy life with his woman. What makes Shin so captivating is he goes through what we all must eventually go through- the loss of innocence. It's like this- the world sometimes puts us in situations where in order for us to gain something, we are forced to do something we don't like, or in Shin's case, despise. And when we do the things we dislike, you can't help, but feel as if a piece of your sanity, humanity, and dignity was taken away from you. But there's no other way because you must absolutely gain what you so desire... This is an idea of what Shin undergoes throughout the whole series. I'd like to delve more, but you really should just watch this to see what happens. I can assure you it gets interesting. There are also a number of side characters which are realistically human as well, and by the end of the series, you'll eventually like them as well. These guys are mercenaries, but they still retain their humanity... Somehow. Some will provide laughter, some you may dislike, but you'll understand where they're coming from. If you ask me, a splendid job in the CHARACTERS category.
OVERALL SCORE: 8/10= Awesome
STRENGTHS
+ Great cast of characters with an emotional gripping main character in Shin Kazama.
+ Plot will have you interested from start to finish.
+ Good visuals despite being old.
+ Ending could make you say, "What a tragic fate."
WEAKNESSES
- Some plot threads prior to ending left and felt unfinished.
- Incomplete ending. (You'll have to resort to the Manga to finish this series.)
Note: Once again, this is a "substance over style" type of Anime. If you can tolerate old school animation, you won't be disappointed with Area 88. It delivers what most Anime of today's generation could not- a great story which tugs at your emotions from the start until the very end. Definitely recommended for any serious Anime watcher.
ThatAnimeSnobRE
As much as I like giant robots and epic fantasy, they make it hard to take war drama seriously when they abuse hax technology and magic. Area 88 doesn’t suffer from such a thing, since it’s based on a mundane setting and does not attempt to include super technology or protagonists with hax powers. It doesn’t have factions which are either good or bad and nobody is fighting for childish ideals; it’s just money, and power hungry politicians. Grounded in reality and focused on its characters, it’s easily the best war drama ever made in anime. And it’s not as if it’s only good for thedrama, with everything else being a boring low budget production. It’s one of the best OVAs ever made. The character designs are a bit weird looking and minimalistic, but the machinery looks great, and because it’s hand-drawn, it didn’t age as badly as most CGI of today. Can you believe this was made by studio Pierrot? Nowadays, everyone makes fun of the bad job they are doing with fighting shonen, but back then they were doing some pretty great work, one of which is this title.
It packs some of the best aerial fights, and manages to balance spectacle with the psychological effect war has on the soldiers. Many shows tried to include post traumatic stress disorders, most of the times for superficial drama that doesn’t mean anything outside of giving a character an internal struggle. Nowadays it’s closer to social anxiety antisocial teenagers are feeling in first world countries. Area 88 treats the issue as a form of addiction, which is still weird but makes sense within the context of the show. Once you get used to death and destruction, it becomes very hard to get rid of that lifestyle. It’s no longer about making money, it’s about the thrill.
This can be seen through the eyes of the protagonist, who although begins as a fish out of water type of character and wants to get out of that hellhole, he is slowly consumed by the very bloodlust he was originally hating. He begins as your average shonen protagonist, naive and frail, and eventually becomes a cold-hearted killer without ever coming off as an edgelord. In effect, it’s the opposite of what usually happens in shonens, where the idealist hero talk no jutsus his enemies into submission. Because Area 88 is not a crappy shonen, it’s a seinen; get it?
It has to be made clear that it’s a short OVA series. Things move very fast, often relying on flashbacks to get over gradual developments and the protagonist slowly adjusting to his new lifestyle. There is a lot of in media res going on, and while may feel rushed for some, at least its not overstaying its welcome.
Many have an issue with the ending, as it feels incomplete for stopping in the middle of what is essentially a sequel bait. I don’t think anything would change even if we had gotten more OVAs, as by then plot and character progression were essentially over. The outcome of the war doesn’t matter at all compared to how the soldiers fighting in it were feeling. So in this regard, the ending is fine.
As a whole Area 88 is a must watch if you are into war dramas that are not on the level of Naruto. It’s something that cannot be duplicated nowadays, since people got over the dread of the cold war and everything is made with crappy CGI. There was a 2004 remake which went completely unnoticed for these exact reasons. The age of hand-drawn animation and meaningful character drama is gone. The new generation, the one who got spoiled by too much CGI and cute girls doing cute things in high schools, has to be reminded what that age was all about by visiting the jewels of the past.
Luquillo
Shin Kazama, a very promising young pilot with a bright future is on his way towards working for Yamato Airlines. Things are indeed looking up for the young man, as he's also dating the company owner's daughter Ryoko. His childhood friend Kanzaki, a very competitive man who will do anything to be at the top tricks him into getting drunk and signing a contract to fly and fight for the Foreign Legion. Shin must now do battle for a country he not only doesn't care about, but keep himself alive as well as maintain his grip on sanity. -summary While there are a ton of oldertitles that many people will put their lives on the line as being the absolute best. I believe this lost gem from 1985, Area 88, was indeed one of the better titles of that time period, standing tall among many of the sacred cows. While many anime titles of that time period shocked with the brutal deaths and sexual themes; Area 88 not only was able to cause an eyebrow to raise with its death scenes, but its overall story involving one man's grief.
Based on the manga series that I've given up trying to track down and finish reading. Area 88 follows Shin Kazama as he works together with this mercenary group, whom is gripped in a full scale civil war lead by Prince Saki. The organization runs on very strict discipline and rules, and there are only three ways to leave the group; 1) Complete the three year service, 2) Earning $1.5 million dollars to buy their way out, and 3) Desertion, which will always and immediately end in execution when caught.
The outfit which is called the Aslan Royal Air Force, conducts a number of raids as well as sneak attacks that results in brutal dogfights. Shin detests the very notion of taking other peoples lives, but he's hoping to earn enough money very quickly to buy his way out, because three years is just too long of a wait; and whenever he's close to earning the last few dollars, he would suffer some kind of set back.
The character development is definitely among the anime's stronger attributes. It's impossible not to feel for Shin, because we all know he isn't there by choice and he has to endure some very hard decisions. This also includes the sometimes very tough assignments the group takes on. One mission sees the group having to conduct a night time operation, which involves maneuvering through a very dark cavern that almost certainly guarantees a quick flaming death on their way to hit a heavily armed target. They also have to battle against pilots either as skilled as they are or piloting far more advanced fighter jets.
Shin goes through several moments of homesickness, and there are various moments when the stress would take over and see him speaking to himself out loud. I felt he was very well written, since his constant angst doesn't come off as whining. It's not as if he's fighting for the fate of the Earth, and he has to man up and accept his fate. Not even close, the guy was dealt a raw deal and he doesn't even have a clue why. Plus he's forced to fight a war that's clearly none of his or the country of Japan's business.
The story also changes focus, and Shin's rival Kanzaki is also very well developed and the viewer will learn his true plans. He's a deplorable character that is only obsessed with being at the top. He plays a strong role in the plot, as does many of the side characters. Director Hisayuki Toriumi (Mysterious Cities of Gold), does an excellent job with making the most of the side characters and exploring various themes through them. One of the strongest themes running through the narrative is soldiers not being able to transition into normal lives after witnessing so much killing in combat. This is a form of post combat stress that alters people's lives drastically. I enjoyed the way it was handled here in its realism. The storytelling continues to excel as it also blends into the action scenes. The dogfights can be ferocious and should satisfy many action fans.
The animation of course looks dated as to be expected from a 1985 OVA; but the dated feel doesn't overshadow its grittiness or the masterful camera work on display. There are some real good close ups of the killings, and the air battles are in good detail. There are little to no shortcuts taken here because it plays into the story by depicting the horrors of war. The vehicle designs are excellent and I was able to pick out the MiG 21's, B-52 Bombers, F-20 Tigersharks, and of course, the F-16 Fighting Falcons pretty easily. The 80's soundtrack was a nice fit then, but sometimes sounds a little awkward. I can't complain about the voice acting. I enjoyed it for both languages and as usual I rather listen to the English dub, which I felt had some better lines.
The only issue I can really say that I have with this anime is the ending. It's not that it's bad because I don't actually think it is. I see the director's point and in some ways I agree, but I would have preferred something different. It's something that I believe will differ from person to person. In any case, when I think of truly great titles from the 80's, it's usually Area 88 somewhere as a frontrunner long before the usual suspects. I highly recommend this to those whom enjoy the more thought provoking anime. Plus the action scenes are definitely good enough for diehard action fans.
Highs: Very strong character development, action scenes
Lows: Ending didn't sit well with me
gedata
So what’s Area 88 about? It’s the story ace jet-fighter Shin Kazama, a dude who gets suckered into signing a 3 year contract by a jealous childhood friend that would send him to a hellish military base in the Middle East: Area 88. According to the contract, Shin must either remain at the base, far from his loved ones until he earns 1.5 million on the job to buy his way out, or completes his missions for 3 years. Shin opts for the former option, and must escape before the horrors of Area 88 erode his humanity. My first impression of this OVA was "hey, thisis pretty much an anime version of Catch-22", and indeed there are plenty of parallels on the surface level (I mean, a rogue jet-pilot completing missions only to get discharged, come on!) . Thing is, this OVA trades in the absurdist dark humor of Catch-22 with less silly character drama. Said drama was for the most part alright. Most of the soap-opera-ish comes from the side-plot revolving around Shin's lover Ryoko and the lengths she goes to to use her connections as the daughter to the CEO of a major airline. As a subplot, it works just fine for the most part, the only sizeable gripe I had here that the villain here, aforementioned jealous childhood friend, was never really characterized as nothing more then a sleazy slime ball. However, I liked how Ryoko is characterized a pragmatic individual, rather then having her be a mere "objective" for Shin to return to.
And as for the real meat and potatoes, this OVA does little wrong. It captures a sense of harsh reality I really don’t see too often. The cast here consists of Shin’s comrades in arms: mainly un-empathetic killers. The guys are extremely easy to sympathize with for the most part, hell there doing this shit to survive. As the story progresses, we see subtle changes in Shin’s attitude towards his situation as he deals with impediments to his goal of escaping Area 88. He’s forced to carry on, not even sure if his own livelihood is worth having to take part 1.5 million dollars worth of murder. This all builds up to a catharsis that while defies common sense, is perfectly in-tune with his character.
Production values wise, don’t let the fact that this is and older title fool you into thinking it’s not up to par, because it most certainly is. It’s an OVA remember? It doesn’t have to deal with the budget constraints of longer TV titles. The choreographing off the dog-fights are glowing example of what 80s hand-drawn animation is capable of. It’s all consistent and easy to look at. Complimented by a solid, and dramatic soundtrack no less. Regarding the art style, no this title nothing to do with Leiji Matsumodo, I was shocked too. But yeah, the character models are OK, sometimes rather unattractive though. The main character is a blonde haired, blue eyed Japanese dude which I find kinda funny, but hey, this is anime.
Can’t really end this post with out emphasizing that this was 3-episode adaptation of a much longer manga, so expect a rather open-ending. I wouldn’t consider this a detriment as some would since the last act sort of fooled me into thinking that it would end on a simple, happy, and anti-climactic note (if so, the demeanor of this review would be noticeably less positive). Everything in the plot is resolved, so the last 10ish minutes should be devoted to a denouement, right? Nah. The story swerves in a direction at the last moment that forged the sort of powerful ending I hadn’t seen since seeing the finale to Berserk years back. Powerful stuff.
PS: Never saw the anime version to this from 2004. Will get to that just to bitch about how it probably isn’t as good.
shintai88
Area 88 is an anime based around a young pilot. Shin Kazama. Who was tricked in to signing up as a Mercenary for the nation of Aslan a small middle eastern nation, that is currently under Civil war. The person who tricks him is a fellow pilot for the same airline, who despises him for being the potential successor of the airline company and the fiance of the company's owners daughter. He wakes up after being transported by Aslan agents to Area 88 his new home. And from there on he would have to either work his contract off or serve from the number of yearsstated.
You follow Shin Kazama who tries to pay his way out of his contract by taking up the missions with the highest payment, risking his life to get back to his lovers arms and back to his previous life.
You witness how he tries to Isolate himself from the other mercs at first, But finds himself slowly drawn into their circle, as he becomes the top earner in the base. You witness him change as he makes new friends. And as he undergoes many more challenges and trials.
But the story isn't completely revolved around him. There are other characters aswell such as the base captain who is the son of the Rebels of Aslan. Who is fighting on the side of his uncle the King of Aslan. You get to learn his history and his reason to fight.
Throughout the 3 OVA's you learn more and more of the psychological affect war has on the pilots. The life of the mercenaries. The effect it has on their minds and bodies.
The Story also involves Political schemes and international involvement in regards to the civil dispute in Aslan. the involvement of the United States as they fund the operations of the Rebels. Providing them with the newest Harrier Jets, Loans and other military get to help the Rebels win the war against the royalist. Trying to get the watcher to realise how war works, And how intervening countries benefit Politically and Economically by getting involved.
As the Series progresses Shin Kazama realises how much he has changed. Even after he desperately fought his way out of bondage he realises he can no longer return to the life of a normal citizen.
Throughout the anime You get to witness some of the best Japanese art and animation of pure detail and quality around the many amazing ariel dog fights and bomb runs. The art to this day to me still beats some of the newer and reknown series this decade.
The characters are old school styled. But the Planes and jets are the highlight of the series. as they are well detailed and look absolutely brilliant. The way the artist have captured the fuselage being torn by high calibre rounds is absolutely breath taking.
The music really works well with the battle scenes. really creating that Top gun speed.
Overall I really enjoyed this Anime. it really is one of the better series from the 90's. As short as it was it was a work of Art. I mean it got made into a game on the SNES.
BowlingJD
Directed by Hisayuki Toriumi (Gatchaman 70s), Area 88 is a war time anime with the best animated dog fighting ever put on screen to date. This would even include the top mecha anime at the time (Gundam, Macross, etc), arguably. However, unlike the Gundams and Votoms, the environment the viewer is immersed in is incredibly realistic. Sure, the war-time theme is just being overdone in the 1980’s, but Area 88 keeps the space battles and super-soldiers out of the picture, and focuses more on highly detailed aerial combat. The desert environment is well detailed and while the fights are going on in the air, there isalways a maintained sense of three-dimensions. This, by no means, was an easy feat to do during the time. All music hits the 80’s awesome intense montage music whenever battle is about to start, just to liven war up a bit more.
As for the plot, Shin (protagonist) gets tricked by his childhood “friend” to get taken away to a country, let’s call it Tunisia, to fight in a civil war becoming a mercenary. His only way out is to either: earn enough money killing the enemy, serve for three years (if he lasts that long), or run (get caught and killed). Meanwhile, the sub-plot, features is ex-lover trying to find Shin and his ex-friend trying to move up the company ladder. So, besides the main war/survival plot; there is a long distance relationship sub-plot.
When it came to the characters and development, the story primarily focuses on Shin and his fellow pilots being combatants in war, how the war changes who they are, and in the end are unable to re-integrate into a peaceful society. This does lead up to an ending to make anybody rage with “why would it end there?!” However, it does lead to some interpretation to what eventually happens, so it is not all bad after the flashes of red pass by.
Moon-
[COMMENTARY] This is a show that demonstrated that "Anime" as a medium can actually achieve realism despite what most people might say, and Area 88 is a living proof of it. It follows a young pilot by the name of Kazama Shin, who is scammed by a close "friend", at a bar while shin is drunk, He tricks Shin into signing a paper, only to later realize that paper was his official registry as a war pillot that would later on serve "Area 88", and now to escape this living hell he must destroy enemies so he earns the money he needs topay his fine, of course that will lead him to face ultimate depression and guilt.
The story for Area 88 is probably one of the most simplistic yet very well executed in terms of message and pace. It takes on moral issues such as identity and war trauma and it manages to have a beautiful performance with entertaining material until the very end. One can argue that Area 88 is probably the best realistic war drama, as each element of the story can be very well associated with real life dilemmas.
The directing of this show in particular, is astonishing, it is a very well animated piece of work, that shows that talent is clearly superior to budget, each and every scene are hand drawn with no cgi nor special effects, and the plain fights are sincerely the highlight of the show. For a 1987 anime, it was way ahead of its time. Also we should mention that each scenes transpires very well the environment they are located in, which leads me to say that it has great world building trough trough.
Taking on a much western style of soundtrack, it depicts very well the themes of the show, the soundtrack gives a feeling of melancholy, and it reminds me of the hot and unbearable desert, maybe because thats what this show really is, a hot, heavy and unbearable desert.
Most of the characters are consistent, however some dont really get fleshed out, because the show focused much more on Shin. He has a clear and strong development troughout the story, going from this naive young romantic man to a spineless and blood thirsty assassin that needs to be ultimately exiled from the real world and he is now attracted by the lust of killing and doesnt want anything else. If I had to mention other characters, Id probably bring up Kanzaki, the one who framed Shin in the first place, he also has evident development and he is seen as a person who trully regrets what he did after realizing the role shin played in his life despite he being better than Kanzaki, to the point he does the most bat shit insane and shameless things such as black mail, more framing and he destroys the economic situation of his beloved one´s family. He delutes into this big pile of human trash, just like shin in one way or another, and ultimately faces catharsis.
I thorougly enjoyed Area 88, and its in my top 10 at the moment, if you are looking for show woth great plane fights with a strong MC, look no further than this, and for similar recommendations I appoint you towards Macross+ for its plain fights and dynamic, and Planetes for its realism and nice characters.
OmegaKatana92
One of the most underrated anime series ever to hit the USA. Also if you love the video game series ace combat you are in for a treat. From the first opening scene before the opening song of the first episode makes modern anime look like a joke for instance that scene no the whole movie is DRAWN BY HAND. Speaking of aerial dogfights the whole film when it shows them the animators with the help of the director brings them not just with great detail but also breaths them into life. The characters are amazing Shin Kazama is just a aerial school grad whogets tricked/drunk to realize to sign a war contract with a nation that's in a civil war. By a close friend (who is major antagonist of the series) to get a girl which Shin is in love with. So in order to be free, he has to survive three years, have 1 million or 3 million, or escape but at the risk of being shot down. While trying to fight for his survival he makes many friends and enemies along the way. The characters have their enough charm to stand on their own but not enough to get spin off series. the music is pretty good and catchy but the opening themes are nice touch. Now with the character designs for retro terms and modern terms Shin's design looks awesome (surpasses his 2004 counterpart) the other characters look awesome as well reminds me of feel of the character designs of Captain Harmlock, and the Daft Punk movie interstellar 999. So that's my two cents or review of this piece of art.
Aphroticus
As a student pilot, I sometimes find myself without inspiration from the anime department. Spike Spiegal might be one of the few fictional pilots I look up to. Thankfully, there exists an anime to suit my tastes when it comes to aviation. This isn't something of mecha or pertaining to sci-fi elements. It's just a straight up military drama known as Area 88 OVA(1985-86'). Shin Kazuma of Yamato Airlines has been tricked into enlisting in the Aslan civil war as a fighter pilot of Area 88. There are only 3 rules to live by in these circumstances when it comes to your way out: youmust either serve for 3 years before getting killed first in battle, pay a penalty amount of $1.5million earned from killing enemy planes/bases, or desert the whole operation altogether and face death by firing squad.
Right off the bat, the look of this show is reminiscent of an older age of anime which might turn some people off though I found it to be nostalgic. Even the sound feels dated at times, but that's hardly a drawback considering how well it's aged; in all honesty I still find no reason for this to hold anyone back from enjoying it as much as I did. While this is 3 episodes long, keep in mind that each are roughly 50 minutes long with the 3rd being about an hour and 30 minutes which is plenty of time for story telling. Your first impression might be that Shin isn't so bright to get himself in this mess, but the setup is conceivable enough to sympathize for the guy. Not only is he being kept from his true job as an airline pilot, but also his lover who awaits his return sincerely. Shin doesn't take any of this lightly, it's not so long after joining that he ascends to being the top fighter of the foreign legion that is Aslan. Probably the most interesting aspect of insight for me is seeing what happens to a man when he is cut loose from the war and can't find his place back in society; I hadn't felt that kind of loneliness in a character since the first Rambo movie First Blood. Don't worry though, there's plenty of action to be had from the fighter pilots of Area 88. Animation looks solid during combat and depicts military aircraft in a realistic manner. It's a shame there isn't more to watch, but what I got is something I won't be forgetting about anytime soon. This is a blast from the past I proudly call an exquisite drama that soars as an under-appreciated gem from the 80s.
Story: 9 - Doesn't waste time and is paced just right with an above average end.
Art: 8 - Sub-par character designs that reflect their persona while the aircraft is given much appreciated detail.
Sound: 8 - Battle sequences depict aerial combat with fitting sound, soundtrack compliments what the 80s had to offer. Japanese audio doesn't disappoint (didn't listen to English dub from ADV films, but I hear good things about it)
Character: 7 - Everyone at Area 88 looks out for each other, though as individuals the balance of their place in the story is uneven. They drive the story along, while Shin Kazuma is the prominently dynamic character tying it all together.
Enjoyment: 9 - It kept me invested the whole way through as it didn't feel overly predictable.
Overall: 8 - It's a work all it's own and there isn't anything quite like it that captures the loneliness only made possible by war.
BlaizeV
The greatest OVA ever for me. I've seen alot (A few hundred) but Area 88 stands above the lot. It's just a great story with superb animation, a truly epic soundtrack and wonderful sound design, It has a beautiful conclusion, It's just a perfect piece. Originally 3 episodes but now available as two movies it's incredible how good the endings to each of them are. The ending to the first film (second OVA) is an immense crescendo of story, animation and soundtrack. It'll live long in the memory. The Ending to the second film (Third OVA) is a perfect of example of giving the viewerjust what they need and nothing more, allowing this masterwork to bury itself into your Anime psyche forever.
Not really sure what else to say, when I think about this OVA all my brain goes to is superlative central with little depth. It's just a special thing and has to be seen.
RobdeFR
What have I been doing all this time? Why didn't I have watched this jewel sooner? It doesn't matter now, because I finally did and I have to admit that the "cult" following that exists around this OVA is well deserved unlike other series with such status. This tells a story of shin Kazuma, a pilot who is betrayed by his best friend and finds himself in a mercenary air force in a critical country in middle east thanks to that betrayal, Shin to get out of there needs to work for three years or do a reasonable ammount of missions that has surpassed the priceof those three years of work.
The story is very good, it doesn't have major holes and goes into a complete new approach at the time and original theme and plot. Characters are fitted to the story and we have a good character development. Sound and animation are a little affected by time, but nothing big, it's still a good viewing.
Betrayal, War themes, good air action fights, great character development and a good story awaits here.
Rate: 8.2/10
DISKOWN
Area 88 stands out as a top-tier OVA series, featuring distinctive hand-drawn animation and character designs that evoke the essence of the 1980s. The series' visuals reflect the artistic style of the era, adding to its nostalgic appeal. Each character is portrayed in a compelling manner, with unique appearances and personalities that contribute to the series' allure. Alongside captivating characters, thrilling action sequences, and a compelling storyline, Area 88 is elevated by a remarkable soundtrack that intensifies the viewing experience, particularly during its adrenaline-fueled aerial combat scenes. Moreover, it explores various subplots, further developing characters and providing insight into their motivations and decisions. Area 88undeniably stands the test of time and rightfully earns its place as a classic, offering an immersive and unforgettable viewing experience.
ktulu007
Area 88 is a manga that ran from '79 to '86. So, this is even older than I am. In 1985 it got a three episode OVA from Pierrot. That's right. The studio behind Ayashi no Ceres, Hikaru no Go & The Choujo. But not everything they've done is mediocre at best. They also did Yu Yu Hakusho and a few other good anime. But most of the anime I've reviewed from them don't inspire confidence. Story: The basic story is that a Japanese commercial pilot named Kazama Shin is tricked into signing up for a mercenary force in war torn Aslan, not the lion. Inorder to be released from his contract he has to either accumulate enough credits or serve out his three year contract. Meanwhile, the man he was tricked by is climbing the ranks of the airline and plotting to take the highest position within it.
There are multiple story issues with this. First off, we're told that Shin has full control over which missions he takes. Meaning that he could literally do nothing for three years and then go home. But instead he spends a bunch of time angsting about how he doesn't want to kill anyone but he has no choice. It's also worth mentioning that his girlfriend comes from a very wealthy family. Meaning he could sit back, send her a message asking for the money he needs to nullify the contract and she'd absolutely get it to him. And we know that the pilots on this base can send messages out of the country because we see it happen in later episodes. It just feels like he resigns himself to his "horrible fate" without actually trying to do anything about it.
Another issue is with one of the themes. The OVA tries to push this idea that if you go to war and kill other people you can't return to civilian life. We see multiple characters who come to Area 88 because they just couldn't go back to normal after being in the military service and the ending gives us another big example. Which is kind of insulting to all those people who served in the military and then returned home to lead perfectly normal lives. Is it difficult for some people, yes. But it's not nearly as dire as this story portrays it. And, honestly, if I wanted to see an interesting story about an old soldier who couldn't reintegrate into society, I'd watch Next Generation's The Wounded, yet again.
Another issue I have is with the politics surrounding the airline company. They're honestly incredibly boring and the only thing they contribute is giving the audience a sense of urgency for Kazama to return home. The problem is that he doesn't know about the problems with the company. So, there's no actual sense of urgency. Hell it takes so long for the problems to come to a head that he could have gotten home before anything happened if he'd bothered sending a single message or making a phone call. And this isn't the only conflict within the OVA that's incredibly under-developed and boring. The whole Aslan civil war is also just dull. We get some very basic details about why it's being fought but there's never any reason to give a shit and those few details are incredibly generic.
Characters:
The characters are pretty much complete rubbish. We have a lot of random Area 88 pilots with no real personalities and no memorable features whatsoever who constantly die and we're supposed to be upset and see it as the tragedy of war but we barely spend any time with any of them so it really doesn't work. I feel worse for Stormtrooper #6 than I do for any of these people. For major, named characters that get enough screen time to be somewhat memorable, we have Kazuma who's a complete toolbox. Ryoko, the completely generic love interest. Kanzaki, the antagonist who has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Micky, who may as well be a cardboard cutout. And Saki, the leader of Area 88. His only distinguishing feature is his scar. I could bite off my toe nails and they'd be more interesting to watch than this group of "characters."
Art:
The style of this OVA is dated but that's not the problem with it. The big problem with it is that the aerial dogfights are slow and uninteresting. Yes, the parts that should be fast-paced and provide some spectacle are about as uninspired as action sequences get and they did it without hiring Michael Bay to direct. I wouldn't have thought another director could make action sequences that dull.
Sound:
The acting is fine. Shiozawa Kaneto, Yasuhara Yoshito, Tamagawa Sakiko and the rest give acceptable performances. They just don't have much to work with in terms of character complexity and it definitely shows. The music is almost as boring as the OVA itself. Which does make it suitable aesthetically.
Ho-yay:
There isn't any.
Areas of Improvement:
The OVA would really benefit from picking one thing to focus on. Either the civil war or the airline drama. Clearly it couldn't handle splitting the focus between them.
We need to see the reason that Shin doesn't just send a message home asking for help. As is it just seems like he's a complete moron.
We need interesting characters. Especially if you're going to try and get us invested in their deaths. You can't just tell us Siegfried died and expect us to feel something when we've only heard Siegfried's name once and seen him for five seconds of screen time.
Final Thoughts:
This OVA is pretty bad. Is it the worst I've ever seen? Not even close. Hell, I've seen a lot worse from Pierrot. It just has nothing to recommend it. Boring characters, a half-baked plot, dull aircraft combat. My rating is going to be a 3/10.
nichijoudisciple
TL;DR - This anime is simply fantastic for those who enjoy wartime drama/action/ philosophical conversations, but the ending to the love story that permeates this show will most likely leave most viewers disturbed and possibly enraged so watch with caution! Area 88 came to my attention in my hunt for a decent military anime, as the genre itself doesn't have too many spectacular shows unlike the dime-a-dozen supernatural or shounen genres (I love these genres in their own right however). Area 88 is exactly what I wanted and much more, as it portrays some of the best air-to-air combat I have ever seen, and uses theanime medium to its fullest potential in my opinion.
The shows characters however are entirely hit or miss, not because they can't be interesting, but because 90% of the characters don't really have any value besides being either more pilots to fight or more civilians to move the plot forward without any real meaning given to the show. The main love story does end rather...interestingly, but even if it ended perfectly I think the show could've done a bit more work on some of the characters it introduced in the show.
Where this anime truly shines is its use of fighting and internal struggles within the main character to paint a truly exciting picture of what war does to not only the soldiers but the innocent people tangentially or otherwise indirectly involved in the actual conflict. The conversations about killing may seem a bit over dramatic at first, but the fact is that this anime truly puts its money where its mouth is and shows you the destruction of war firsthand and really makes this show seem like its actually trying to illustrate a point, and not be some dramatic fictitious account to lazily eat your dinner in front of.
This anime isn't for everyone; I will say that much, but this anime definitely uses the medium in a unique and interesting way, and is very likeable and enjoyable even with its melodrama plot and strangely implemented characters (I'm looking at you Nguyen).
The art for this show is truly amazing if you can enjoy the dogfights between ruthless mercenary pilots, and I think they did a very good job considering this OVA was made some time ago. The onscreen violence can be pretty cringe-inducing as it shows some of the more uglier sides to air-to-air combat seldom shown in media, but again the onscreen violence shows that this anime is really attempting to get you to think about the human lives at stake every fight and every air raid.
Overall this anime is worth it if you find military anime interesting, but may leave some viewers bored if watching people shoot themselves with planes for 30 minutes each episode sounds like it would put you to sleep. The love story, while being as spoiler-free as possible, will upset and in the end possibly enrage 95% of everyone who watches this so watch with caution. It truly upset me at the end, but alas I think that is truly the only major fault with this anime, and it doesn't take away from the meaningful conversations about the death and destruction caused by war.
AnimeTopScholar
Area 88 is a 3 part OVA that adapts the manga Area 88, written by Kaoru Shintani that was published between 1979 and 1986. The OVA released between Feb 5 1985 and Jun 15 1986, and produced by Studio Pierrot. It was directed by Hisayuki Toriumi (Tekkaman) Area 88 follows Shin Kazama, a pilot working for Yamato Airlines. Shin gets tricked by his best friend into signing a contract that ties him to the foreign legion of a remote country called Aslan, where he gets stationed at Area 88. The foreign legion are almost like hired mercenaries. Aslan has been split into two sides and acivil war has broken out, and both sides are doing everything they can to win this war. Shin just wants to get out of this hell and get back to his normal life and his girlfriend, but there are only three ways to do that. One way is two serve his three years, another is two earn 1,5 million dollars to pay himself out, and the third way is to desert.
I have to say, the story in this OVA series sounded fairly interesting going in to the show. However, after a while I realized that it wasn't quite as interesting as I thought it would be. The dogfights were cool and all, and I liked seeing Shin struggle with having to kill people just to buy his own freedom, however, when we first meet Shin he has already killed quite a lot of people, so I also feel this disconnect from him since he's already turned into a very capable killer. I feel like one of the things this show is going for is trying to sympathy towards Shin and his situation, cause it is a very shitty situation for him, but ultimately it just felt kinda cheap to me. Especially when his "friend" who tricked him into signing the contract is portrayed as such a one dimensional villain.
The characters in this show felt very standard in my opinion. You have our protagonist Shin Kazama who's the unlucky soul who got tricked into fighting in a war he wants nothing to do with, and all he wants to do now is go home. Then you have Micky Simon, who ends up becoming one of Shin's friends at Area 88, but again there is not really that much to him apart for a little backstory that explains why he's there. You also have Shin's girlfriend Ryoko Tsugumo who's the daughter of the owner of Yamato Airlines. Her entire role in this is basically just to worry about Shin and eventually trying to bring him back from Area 88 when she realizes that he has been tricked and sent there. The last character I wanna touch on is Satoru Kanzaki. He has been Shin's best friend since they were at the orphanage, and together with Shin they both became pilots working for Yamato Airlines. Satoru is very jealous of Shin though, cause he is a better pilot than him and he got the daughter of the company, and Satoru just hates people who are more successful than him in general, so he plots to send Shin away, take over Yamato Airlines and steal Ryoko away from Shin.
The animation in this series is something I have to give credit. It looks really good, and no, I am not just talking about Shin's fantastic hair. The movement is very smooth and the attention to detail in the fights were extremely cool to look at. It made me very immersed in the aerial combat which is a huge part of the OVAs.
The music in this show was pretty decent in my opinion. While nothing I would listen to outside of the show, it did complement the series fairly well. But at the same time, there is not a single piece of music that I felt stood out in the series.
Overall I have to say that I'm disappointed in this series. I was expecting something a little better than what I got. We basically got two stories wrapped up in one. One story was about a man who had been unwillingly drafted into the millitary to fight in a war that he has nothing to do with, and the other story was that of a long distance relationship and believing and trusting the other. However, I do not think that any of those things were handled all that well. I will even go so far as to say that if it were not for those fantastic dogfights on display I would not have liked this at all. That more or less saved this series for me and made it an ok watch, since it is such a big portion of the series. But when they were diving into backstory or trying to explain why things had worked out the way they did for everyone, I just felt like it was lacking all the way through. I wish I could be more positive on this show, but sadly I just feel like it has a few too many problems when it came to telling it's story, and I think it would have been way better as simply a series about millitary pilots with cool dogfights.
Sr_Alpha
Hidden gem not so hidden. Area 88 could be an anime that would be a perfect fit for the western eighties market at the time, due to its setting, its genre, and the soundtrack that practically screams in your face: "EIGHTIESSSSSSSSSS." And as an eighties story that it is, it has a badass protagonist, something lonely and brave. And speaking of its protagonist, this is the best-worn character of the entire series, the one that carries the most its messages, and the one that has evolved the most throughout the series. Compared to the rest, these fall a bit short, since only some become moreexplored throughout the series, such as Saki, Boris, and Micky, but, although not all are so well deepened or equal charismatic than the protagonist, they fulfill within what fits, and almost all of them share the same theme and message as Shin, only that the latter concludes it and has the plus of being in a development due to the environment in which it is, That forces him to change in order to survive and adapt, and that is what Area 88 speaks of, the great power that an environment can have over us, making it even possible to make us lose importance to serious acts such as killing someone, At that point, the soldiers at war are forced to avoid falling into madness and guilt that they have taken lives that were like theirs. It is fascinating how it touches such a complex subject, that it even goes for more without being extremely convoluted. All this seasoned by a superb, epic, beautiful and dramatic soundtrack that makes many of the scenes in this OVA series touching and memorable in the extreme, a very good animation for the time with destruction and detailed action scenes (except for those abrupt cuts that make you dizzy and misplaced from time to time), and a pretty good sound section. But, even with its great points, and sounding as if this could aspire to a legendary 10/10, it has its flaws, and it gives me some anger because either they are somewhat silly mistakes or they are things that would be easily solved if they had had more time to duration.
Let me explain, in the category of silly mistakes things like that scene of Shin and Micky shooting at some bombs stuck in a plane, flying under it and making maneuvers almost impossible for anyone. And in general, that scene of the commercial plane is one of the weakest in the entire OVA, for the convenience of Saki and Ryoko, the arrival of Shin and Micky to save the day when they were supposed to be very far from that area, added to the unlikely maneuver I mentioned. Scene only saved by that beautiful moment of Shin having Ryoko and his salvation from death in front of him, but not recognizing her, as he ended up happening at the end of the play.
In the category of timing errors, there are things like the antagonist, whose motivations became quite weak, as well as little present. It's bad bad muahahahaha and that's it. And the following although it is not a mistake, it could be something that greatly improved the series, and that is that they were able to explore more the pasts, interactions and personalities of each member of Area 88, they did it in the third OVA, but I feel like it took more interactions between them to really hit the feeling when what happens happens. And ending with the "what happens happens", that crude ending shows perfectly what war is in an individual, how much it breaks the human mind, leaving sequels for life. And it is much more realistic when you see how war veterans act in real life, how bankrupt they were in the name of their country (which is even worse in the OVAs because the characters do not even have that consolation of being fighting for their country) , and the sudden change they had to undergo, of those few cases in which the phrase "The old me has already died" is a reality. It is highly proven that war, at least in the human mind, has disastrous results, which corrupt the person little by little, and make it worse, causing people themselves to crush themselves with their own morals and their thoughts, and all this makes me think. "To what extent will a war be necessary? Will all these people fighting for a cause be worth the sacrifice? Is all the pain that must be caused in order to acquire a better future worth it?" We will not know, in an issue as complex as war.
That is Area 88, an excellent piece of entertainment and reflection, a highly realistic piece with a relevant message, especially for those in Middle Eastern countries. Definitely a recommendation, and if it does not paint them, give it to them anyway, they will thank me when they see the scene of the walk in the desert. (っ ´ω`) ﾉ (╥ω╥) 8/10
Joya oculta no tan oculta.
Area 88 podría ser un anime que encajaría de manera perfecta en el mercado occidental ochentero de aquel entonces, debido a su ambientación, a su género, y a la banda sonora que prácticamente te grita a la cara: "OCHENTASSSSSSSSS." Y como historia ochentera que es, tiene un protagonista badass, algo solitario y valiente. Y hablando de su protagonista, este es el personaje mejor llevado de toda la serie, el que más carga con los mensajes de esta, y el que más evolución tiene a lo largo de la serie. Comparado a lo demás, estos se quedan un poco cortos, ya que solo algunos llegan a ser más explorados a lo largo de la serie, como lo son Saki, Boris, y Micky, pero, aunque no todos estén tan bien profundizados o sean igual de carismáticos que el protagonista, cumplen dentro de lo que cabe, y casi todos ellos comparten el mismo tema y mensaje que Shin, solo que este último lo concluye y tiene el plus de estar en un desarrollo debido al entorno en el que se encuentra, que lo orilla a cambiar para poder sobrevivir y adaptarse, y de eso habla Área 88, del gran poder que puede llegar a tener un entorno sobre nosotros, haciendo que este incluso pueda lograr que le perdamos importancia a actos graves tales como matar a alguien, a ese punto se ven orillados los soldados en guerra para no caer en la demencia y culpa de que han quitado vidas que eran como las suyas. Es fascinante como toca un tema tan complejo, que incluso da para más sin llegar a ser enrevesado en extremo. Todo esto aderezado por una banda sonora excelsa, épica, hermosa y dramática que hace que muchas de las escenas de esta serie de OVAs sean tocantes y memorables en extremo, una animación buenísima para la época con destrozos y escenas de acción detalladas (a excepción de esos cortes abruptos que te marean y desubican de vez en cuando), y un apartado sonoro bastante bueno.
Pero, aún con sus grandes puntazos, y sonando como si esto pudiese aspirar a un legendario 10/10, tiene sus defectos, y da algo de bronca porque o son errores algo tontos o son cosas que se solucionarían fácilmente si hubiesen tenido más tiempo de duración.
Me explico, en la categoría de errores tontos podrían entrar cosas como aquella escena de Shin y Micky disparandole a unas bombas pegadas en un avión, volando por abajo de él y haciendo maniobras casi imposibles para cualquier persona. Y en general, esa escena del avión comercial es de las más débiles de toda la OVA, por la conveniencia de Saki y Ryoko, la llegada de Shin y Micky para salvar el día cuando se supone ellos estaban muy alejados de la zona esa, sumado a la maniobra improbable que mencioné. Escena solamente salvada por ese lindo momento de Shin teniendo enfrente suyo a Ryoko y a su salvación de la muerte, pero no reconociéndola, tal y como terminó de pasar al final de la obra.
En la categoría de errores de tiempo, hay cosas como el antagonista, cuyas motivaciones se me hicieron bastante débiles, además de poco presentes. Es malo maloso muahahahaha y listo. Y lo siguiente aunque no sea un error, sí que pudo ser algo que mejorara en gran medida a la serie, y es que pudieron explorar más los pasados, interacciones y personalidades de cada integrante del Area 88, lo hicieron en la tercer OVA, pero siento que se requería de más interacciones entre ellos para que realmente pegara en el sentimiento cuando pasa lo que pasa.
Y terminando ya con el "pasa lo que pasa", ese final crudo deja ver a la perfección lo que es la guerra en un individuo, lo mucho que rompe la mente humana, dejando secuelas de por vida. Y es mucho más realista cuando ves como actúan veteranos de guerra en la vida real, lo quebrados que quedaron en nombre de su país (cosa que incluso es peor en las OVAs porque los personajes ni siquiera tienen ese consuelo de estar luchando por su país), y el cambio tan brusco que tuvieron que sufrir, de esos pocos casos en los que la frase "El viejo yo ya murió" es una realidad. Queda sumamente comprobado que la guerra, al menos en la mente humana, tiene resultados desastrosos, que corrompen a la persona poco a poco, y la llevan a peor, haciendo que las personas mismas se aplasten ellos solitos con su propia moral y sus pensamientos, y todo esto hace que piense. "¿Hasta qué punto será necesaria una guerra? ¿Valdrá la pena el sacrificio de toda esta gente que lucha por una causa? ¿Es un sacrificio equivalente todo el dolor que debe ser causado para poder adquirir un mejor futuro?" No lo sabremos, en un tema tan complejo como lo es la guerra.
Eso es Area 88, una pieza excelsa de entretenimiento y reflexión, una pieza sumamente realista con un mensaje relevante, más para aquellas personas en países de Oriente Medio. Definitivamente una recomendación, y si no les pinta, dénsela igual, me lo van a agradecer cuando vean la escena de la caminata en el desierto.
(っ´ω`)ﾉ(╥ω╥)
8/10
