4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worthy Remake Of A Classic Anime OVA, March 29, 2009
This review is from: Area 88: Complete Collection (DVD)
Area 88 for those who have yet to experience it in any of its many incarnations is a recent remake of a three-episode 1985 series of the same name, which was itself based on an earlier manga series. Like many, you're probably wondering what about the premise warrants so much attention. The answer, in its simplest form, is that it presents a clean, tightly focused tale about a pilot betrayed over a woman and the results of this life-changing twist of fate.
Yes there's enough of a story here to keep the plot moving smoothly along but at its core, Area 88 is an action show that borrows some from some of the more memorable moments in big budget films such as Top Gun and Behind Enemy Lines.
As a bit of a fighter aircraft buff myself, I was quite enthralled with the accurate aircraft specs/ renditions featured in the program but make no mistake, fighter plane knowledge isn't a requisite for enjoying the viewing experience.
The story is technically told through the eyes of a photographer who arrives to the mercenary Middle Eastern air base on a bit of an ulterior motive mission again involving the betrayal mentioned above. I'll refrain from diving too deeply into the plot as most of the fun in the series is following along as the story-layers are unraveled like a proverbial onion.
If you've read along this far in the review, hopefully the reason for revisiting this franchise as often as has been done is becoming clearer. The core of the show involves aerial combat scenes and a near constant dose of sheer dog fighting goodness. While advances in animation technology/ computer generated imaging benefit the industry as a whole, there is certainly ample opportunity to show off just how far things have come in Area 88.
Thanks to computer rendering, a great amount of detail has gone into the planes models, their weapons, and the explosions/ crash sequences. The sounds are especially noteworthy as well, almost offsetting the slightly out of place techno score.
ADV Films deserves credit for assembling a voice cast worthy of the Japanese source material. The English dub is just about flawless in dynamics and believability.
Complaints are very few. In fact the most common seem to be the desire to continue onward with a plot that ends fairly abruptly. Twelve 23-minute episodes are all we're given to begin, develop and conclude the tale. The concept of a full 26-episode run really boggles the mind with what could have potentially been accomplished in terms of character development. As it stands the story is short, sweet, and loaded with action. Viewers who enjoy anime for its methodic building and emphasis on human emotions first and foremost may want to skip Area 88 but everyone else should do themselves a favor by giving the show a try.
Area 88 is available in a Complete Collection (3-disc) set and sold separately across 4 volumes (each containing three episodes). Be cautious when purchasing should you decide to go for the 2008 rendition of the show as the original OVA series from 1985 (from US Manga Corps) often occupies the same shelf space and looks similar in terms of the cover art.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An anime for old men - in a good way, January 17, 2011
This review is from: Area 88: Complete Collection (DVD)
Area 88 is a 12-episode anime series about a Japanese pilot, Shin Kazama, who is forced to fly warplanes as a mercenary. It features excellent action, sound, character development, and story. It doesn't seek to break any new ground in anime, but sets a goal - a high-quality adapatation of a famous manga with a simple concept - and achieves it in dramatic fashion.
The vast majority of the story takes place either at Area 88, a desert airfield in the fictional Kingdom of Aslan, or in the air over the desert. A few flashbacks gradually illuminate Shin's story, including his lost love Ryoko, and the circumstances that led to his exile from Japan to the battlefield.
Most of the supporting characters, with the exception of the enigmatic Saki, Area 88's commander, are Shin's fellow pilots. They are mostly a gung-ho bunch who live like each day is their last (and it often is for many of them), but the recurring characters stand out. Mickey, an F-14 pilot, is an American Vietnam veteran. While he appears as a bragging loudmouth, the audience learns more and more about him as the series progresses until he has become one of the most well-written American characters ever to appear in anime. Kim, a teenaged boy, often struggles to hold his own among the other pilots but finds innovative ways to succeed. Kitri, the femme fatale, appears midway through the series and helps bring some light humor and flair to the cast. Finally, Shinjou, a photographer and supposed war correspondent, is an affable character whom the story seems to revolve around. The faceless "rebel force" enemy appears to universally operate Soviet aircraft and is never personified - with one major exception.
Shin himself at first seems to be the archetype of the melancholy anime protagonist, but as the story progresses we see from his relationships with the other pilots and staff at Area 88 that he is essentially a decent man thrown into a terrible situation. He is by no means an anti-hero; his overwhelming desire to survive and return home is at the heart of his character and he can be counted on to always come to the aid of his teammates.
Most of the episodes stand alone with the exception of the last three or four. Some people prefer to have a continual narrative; but A88's format allows it to tell individual stories that would be out of place with every episode ending in a cliffhanger. Two episodes stand out - one where a single sniper brings A88's operations to a halt and another in which Shin has a fleeting encounter with an old "friend" in the sky - and distinguish themselves as some of the more creative anime stories from recent years.
The animation ranges from average to very good. The aircraft are all computer models. In the early days of combining cel and computer animation, such techniques looked horrible, but the technology used in the production of A88 is enough to make things look smooth and integrated. Indeed, the sheer number of aircraft depicted here suggests that A88 would not have happened in this form if not for advances in computer animation. The music is a techno-electronica mix that fits the action and story most of the time. The fast paced instrumental opening theme was a surprise at first but quickly became welcome. The closing vocal theme is a bit of a letdown, though.
In the now-legendary anime series Cowboy Bebop, Jet Black narrates one promo for the violent and dark next episode and describes the story as being appropriate for "old men" like Jet.
Area 88 could be considered in the same way. Some full disclosure here - I am an anime fan from around 1990 and followed it enthusiastically for about 15 years until I eventually moved on, in part due to cliched plots and character design trends I disagreed with. In the summer of 2009 I happened to be browsing a retail anime section when I saw the Area 88 TV series for sale. Now, I'm old enough to remember the release of the original Area 88 OAV and manga series in the US and once rented the A88 based "UN Squadron" video game for the SNES (I should have bought it, in retrospect), so I knew vaguely what Area 88 was about and thought this was something that might be interesting.
You might wonder what could be innovative or creative about Area 88. Why are those five stars up there? After all, it's about fighter pilots blowing up the bad guys, right? Haven't we seen that before? Well, no. Nobody here has magical powers (you die and you don't come back), nothing transforms into a robot, there is no comic relief, and there's no malovolent mad scientist out to destroy the world. At its heart, A88 is an anime about a bunch of guys at war trying to survive to see the next day. While it trips up on occasion (an Oklahoman is described as wanting survive just so he can eat corn; and most of the "redshirt" pilots have predictable futures), Area 88 manages to do just about everything right it sets out to do. It's not for everyone, but for those looking for a straightforward anime for a thinking viewer or just someone who is tired of the usual anime fare, Area 88 is a brilliant success.
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