Customer Reviews

Area 88: Complete Collection

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

A great anime to see with a powerful meaning to it in a way.Here a guy has a great life meets the girl of his dreams.He ha a promiseing career with good friends.then takes a turn for da worst.really good seris well worth buying

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.

I had wanted to check out a military themed animated show that employed fighter jets, and I had checked Area 88 out on a recommendation.

The military fighter jets were kick azz, let me state that right away. The air combat was well done. The characters? A bit stiff. The storyline? Can't go wrong with the lost love plot, but it's nothing viewers haven't seen before.

Area 88 isn't something I'm interested in watching again -- a bit boring all around, and not something that would entice me to watch again. I also wouldn't pay the $40 price for the set; the pricing should be more towards $30.

The DVD's are an okay anime offering, with a classic storyline and modern military fighters. Again, the characters are a bit stiff, so be warned.

I did enjoy this series quite a bit. It is missing a lot of the angst of the manga and 80's OVA, but it's an interesting interpretation with great visuals. The English voice acting is awful and uninspired, even though they tried to "Americanize" it with military terms, i.e. characters murmuring "Fox two" when they launch a Sidewinder missile when they were normally silent in the original Japanese version. The sound mix is 5.1 for the English dub - I wish it was also for the Japanese language version, which is just 2.0.

The biggest fault with ADV's release of this is that while they did get the rights to the original score, they didn't get the rights to the great Euro-trance songs from the TV series. They substitute this awful generic temp music, which sucks so much of the energy and momentum from the flying and dogfighting scenes. It might not matter to people who haven't seen the original product, but I was quite familiar with the Japanese version, so I was disappointed with that.

Why anyone wouldn't like this is beyond me! This is a really well made anime about a pilot flying for a mercenary unit in the kingdom of Aslan(Turkish for Lion). You fly with the Pilot Shin Kazama as he tries to earn enough money to buy his way out of the mercenary air force that he was duped into sighning by a childhood rival. In case many of you don't know; they made a shooter game out of this; U.N. Sqaudron for Snes. I am a huge fan of air combat games! My current favorites are the Ace Comabt series on PS2. They made an Ace Combat for the XBox 360: Ace Combat 6 Fires of Liberation.

I saw the second version first, to avoid being prejudiced by the first version. (Spoilers ahead.) The original version gives a stern warning, already alluded to in ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930). and all the more relevant today as so many of our soldiers are returning from the Middle East with a brainful of PTSD: WAR IS ADDICTIVE. Soldiers lose contact with their families, bond with their comrades, are conditioned to kill-or-be-killed, and the nicest young fellow may eventually be unable to readjust to peaceful life. (It took me years).
The remake is, as usual, hollywoodized: gorgeous pictures, great music ( I could not get enough of the opening "Fugue" ), but the message has been diluted, the ending left open.
However, the second version contains a new and riveting episode: The Snipers Mind. Regular pilots unleash a hail of fire to down the enemy plane, and try not to think of its pilot; but the sniper is a hunter of men: he patiently waits in ambush, lures his quarry to expose itself, and makes sure every bullet destroys a human life.
Just for that one, the second version is worth seeing as well.

GREAT ANIMATION,THE STORY LINE IS FINE.IT ONLY TAKE A FEW HOURS TO WATCH THE HOLE MANGA OR ANIMATION.I STRONGLY RECOMENDED.

Not much to say but this anime could've been longer and the characters seemed bland at times. I recommend seeing the original ova instead.

First of all I never watched the previous OVA series so this review is not tainted in anyway. This series packs a big bang for your buck. The animation style is pretty darn good in my oppinion and the CG mixes well with it. The air battles are superb and the music really gets you going. I liked the characters for what they were as this was a short 12 episode series. And for a fun short series it really mixed the story up with some serious episodes to boot. The reason this doesnt receive a 5 star rating however is because the beginning really doesnt set up what the series is all about. As you watch the series though, the story does unfold but there is a lingering feeling after the first episode of what is the show really about. The other reason for 4 not 5 stars is the ending. I thought it could have been closed up better, although it still works, its more of an "artsy" independent film ending. Anyway this show was great and ADV as always brings a great dub. I just finished it for a second time and I know I will watch it again. Review Over

Oh yeah, other reviewers have said the original Area 88 from the 80s is better, I saw a trailer for it and Im not gonna go back and watch it with its dated animation when this 2005 edition is totally updated and longer in length. I find when people like an older edition over the new its because its what they watched when they were kids and it pulls them back to there childhood. If you havent watched either I would start with this one first. But to each his own.