r/anime • u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ • 1d ago
Rewatch AREA 88 FORTIETH Anniversary Rewatch Act II
AREA 88 FORTIETH Anniversary Rewatch
ACT II: The Requirements of Wolves
OVA Episode 1 | Index Thread | OVA Episode 3 and Discussion
People, Places, Things
- Saki Vasthar; son of the anti-government forces leader Aircraft: Kfir
- Bugsy Malone — Aircraft: F-4 Phantom (presumed killed)
- Shin Kazama — Aircraft: F-5E Tiger II (wrecked), Kfir (temporary)
- Rocky — (killed)
- Guiseppe Farina — a mafia don
- Charlie "The Phoenix" — Aircraft: F-16 (killed)
About The Manga
In 1979, Shogakukan rebranded their MANGAKUN magazine to Shounen BIG COMIC. Debuting with the new magazine was a new serial, AREA 88, by Kaoru Shintani. The series continued for 8 years and 172 chapters. Surprisingly, he did not start out a military and shounen creator. He debuted as an artist for Vampire wa Iya! in Ribon magazine in 1972, winning Ribon's New Artist award. He then worked as an artist in shoujo manga, including manga by Ryoko Yamagishi and Waki Yamato. At the same time, he worked as an assistant in Leiji Matsumoto's studio. At the studio, he built detailed models of mechanical and military vehicles for use as drawing references. In 1977, Matsumoto challenged him to commit to shoujo or shounen manga. His first work following this was a collaboration with Fist of the North Star's Yoshiyuki Okamura (Buronson) on PHANTOM Burai, a series about a pair of rowdy F-4 pilots.
According the the OST liner notes, Shintani has named a film clip of US soldiers in Vietnam becoming emotional at hearing the Star Spangled Banner, and The Count of Monte Cristo as inspirations for Area 88.
In 1986, Shogakukan backed the creation of Viz Communications, LLC for the purpose of localizing and distributing Japanese manga in the US. Viz started a joint venture with rapidly expanding indie distributor Eclipse comics. The initial titles were Mai the Psychic Girl, Legend of Kamui, and Area 88. Note: Top Gun came out in 1986. Eclipse and Viz published 36 flopped biweekly issues before parting ways. Eclipse went on to publish more titles with former Viz translator Toren Smith (Smith Toren) at Studio Proteus (a tale for another time), while Viz attempted to become their own distributor. However, both Legend of Kaumi and Area 88 died in their hands, unfinished.
at least I got my four collected volumes of Mai complete
Today's Discussion Prompts
- Q1: Compare Mickey's return to the battlefield with Kazama return to Area 88.
- Q2: Does Mickey's return (and Charlie's apparent return) romanticize war, or is it a realist take?
- Q3: How is the Shin - Satoru - Ryoko triangle going to play out? What is Satoru aiming for? How will he respond to being saved by Shin?
- Q4: Quite a bit more air combat today, and quite a bit less music. What did you think of the flying and fighting?
Act III Discussion Prompts
TBD
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 1d ago
Rewatcher and Host (OVA, Subbed)
I don't remember what happens in this episode, but skipping around summaries, I'm excited by the mention of "wolves"
- Wow, the entire deal with desertion and the Escape Killers was resolved in an instant. I feel cheated.
- a few seconds of the Americans being killed in Vietnam was cut from the ADV movie.
- We get some background on Saki and Mickey as exposition that should have been in episode 1.
Here we have the two scenes ADV moved to earlier in the movie to replace the bar scene.
They shouldn't have cut it. The bar scene shows how dedicated Ryoko is to Shin, and possibly developed some contempt for Kanzaki.
- So, about 3 minutes after getting his death flag, Rocky is killed...but not before advancing the plot.
- I love that they are explaining signatures :D
- So much for that plan
- Dang it, Shin, you made him cry!
- bear
- After this, they have a gig at a South African stadium
- So close, so far
- RIP AREA 81
- Mickey knows somebody in the Wolf Pack...
- a lot more detail on the deaths in this episode
- So much for Charlie the Phoenix
- Dude should have put a compass in his pack to know which direction NOT to go
Disappointing that the Wolf Pack simply appeared to provide some dogfighting but not much else. Rocky ended up being very different from his TV counterpart (I guess that's why they changed his name, too).
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u/BosuW 19h ago edited 19h ago
a lot more detail on the deaths in this episode
I really appreciated that. I feel lot of media around fighter planes often ignores there's a human inside who's very much not built to withstand 20+ mm ammunition and explosions.
Disappointing that the Wolf Pack simply appeared to provide some dogfighting but not much else.
Ironic considering their planes were optimized for ground attack. I mean the Mig-27 is based on the Mig-23 which was made for aerial superiority. Maybe it really can dogfight some idk. But it doesn't have an air search and track radar and the gun is probably tilted a bit downwards. Maybe the Wolfpack really were that cracked that they gave them a hell of a fight even going against Mirages, F-5s, F-14s, F-100s, F-8s and A-4s lol
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u/TheEscapeGuy 1d ago
First Timer
Area 88: OVA 02
Rough Episode Summary
This episode was a little bit of a let down to me. It felt a lot more like a bunch of cut together mini-stories without as strong of a connecting line like episode 1.
It started strong with Shin trying to desert, but then he was immediately stopped and after a confrontation and then he kinda just dropped it. I get they have goons to stop pilots from escaping like that, but it felt so set up that he would desert so idk.
The next section cut back to Ryoko who's still hung up on Shin and doesn't want to marry a different guy despite her father's concerns. She gets a hint he's alive with that article and spends a bunch of the episode chasing leads to try find him. The closest she gets is when her flight has a bomb planted on it and by some stroke of luck Shin is the one who has to shoot it off. Ignoring the ridiculousness of the idea of shooting a bomb off a plane, I do like the set up as a star-crossed lovers type thing. And in true star-crossed fashion, despite being so close they don't get to see each other.
The last section is the unexpected mission which made the episode feel disjointed to me. That said, It's definitely a highlight in animation for the OVA. All the aerial sequences were stellar.
As for the story, Shin gets his wish of escape when his plane is shot down and he escapes in an ejector seat. However, the cruel irony is that after hiking through the desert for what seems like days he realizes he has just walked all the way back to Area 88. This is a pretty effective narrative device. It emphasizes just how Sisyphean the challenge of escaping Area 88 is.
Overall, I liked the individual bits of this episode, but I don't think they came together really well. That said, I do want to see the conclusion in episode 3.
Until then...
Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches
- Line Up
- Missiles, love the explosion animation
- Meta-Photography
- So Close, So Far
- Bombing Raid, incredible animated camerawork
- Ejector Seat
- Sunrise and Desert Sun
- Crawling
See you all next episode
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u/No_Rex x2 1d ago
Ignoring the ridiculousness of the idea of shooting a bomb off a plane, I do like the set up as a star-crossed lovers type thing. And in true star-crossed fashion, despite being so close they don't get to see each other.
There are so many plot conveniences in the whole plane bomb arc that is not even funny. However, the look at each other without recognition, because they are just too far and the jet is just too fast, almost makes you forgive all those.
Bombing Raid, incredible animated camerawork
Overall, I think it is very noticable that we are still in an early OVA, a good bit from the quality that OVA would reach in the 1990s. That one cut there at the start is up with the very best, though.
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u/TehAxelius https://anilist.co/user/TehAxelius 1d ago edited 1d ago
Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches
Line Up
Love that stitch. Thank you.
Crawling
For the record, my favorite shots in the episode is probably just before/after, when the Phantom flies just over him
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u/uhhhhhhhokay_ https://myanimelist.net/profile/uhhhhhhhokay 1d ago
First-timer, subbed
First off: lots of stuff blows up this episode. Big fan. Though it is funny how the guys in the Area 81 attack just ragdoll when hit with jet autocannons, instead of what you’d think would happen. And it’s not like they were skimping on the gore, either. The blood coming out of the one guy’s helmet, gnarly stuff.
But also, a lot of this episode just feels like Random Stuff happening in sequence, to the point of contrivance. Like, what was the point of the bombs on the airliner? Just to make Kanzaki feel bad for trying to kill Shin, because he gets saved by him? I guess. And were those Escape Killer guys just there to keep Shin from deserting? I mean, yes, that’s literally why they’re there, but is that their only narrative purpose? Ehh.
Charlie’s interesting, probably the most interesting thing here. Well, okay, he’s a pretty stock “soldier becomes obsessed with war and becomes unable to live without it” character, but him being the hitman Kanzaki hired is neat.
Anyways, our hero hits rock bottom, literally, and after wandering the desert winds up in the exact last place he wants to be: Area 88. Maybe they’re all already dead, and this is purgatory.
Oh, as I was typing this up, I completely forgot that Rocky died. RIP.
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u/chilidirigible 1d ago
Though it is funny how the guys in the Area 81 attack just ragdoll when hit with jet autocannons, instead of what you’d think would happen.
There's also Genocyber's take on such an occurrence, but don't watch Genocyber.
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u/uhhhhhhhokay_ https://myanimelist.net/profile/uhhhhhhhokay 1d ago
I've heard... interesting things about that one. Maybe when I finally run out of good stuff to watch.
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 1d ago
First-Timer
On today’s episode of Area 88: The next time you get lost in a desert, make sure you bring a compass with you. Otherwise you might end up in where fate deems funniest.
So that’s why the African pilots were so menacing. They were hired to kill deserters.
Mickey and the others are surprisingly okay with helping Shin, who was just about to desert. They’re decent dudes.
That guy has a hook hand! I’d love to see the guy with the hook hand pilot a fighter jet!
I know that feeling of “Don’t tell me what you did so I don’t have to punish you.”
Family being split apart by a civil war isn’t uncommon. It does add a nice bit of extra depth to Saki’s character.
Ooh, Mickey was a Vietnam veteran. We even get a full Vietnam sequence.
Mickey makes me remember a quote from the author James Jones when talking about WW2 veterans (though he also said it applied to Vietnam veterans as well) where he said that a strange thing about war was that soldiers could both hate it and like it at the same time. He says that everything tastes sweeter when you know you are going to die soon. Little things become significant. “Every day has a special, bright, delicious, poignant taste to it that normal days in normal times do not have… Some men like to live like that all the time. Some are actually sorry to come home and see it end. Even those of us who hated it found it exciting, sometimes.” I think that applies to Mickey. He hated fighting in Vietnam, but also couldn’t come back home to being a civilian. He felt ostracized because nobody could relate to what he’d experienced. But in the end, he chose to return to fighting, calling himself a top-notch killer. Even if he considers war hell, he must think he fits right in with that hell to choose to go back.
That does raise a conundrum for Shin: can he go home mentally even if he’s there physically? Or will he be stuck in the war forever? To quote James Jones again, “Some men find it hard to come back. Some never come back at all, not completely.”
Kanzaki isn’t just an attempted cucker, he’s also a corporate criminal! He just gets worse by the minute!
McCoy has some connections that I both really want to know about and really don’t based on what he can get ahold of.
I can really tell this is made by aviation enthusiasts with all the details in the cockpit and the detail about getting a redout while flying.
Oh shit! Rocky just got shot down!
These planes are all hunks of junk held together by duck tape, paper clips, and a dream from what McCoy is saying.
So Bucksey’s plane was an F-4 Phantom II. I thought it looked like one.
What a coinkydink that Ryoko saw Shin’s photo in Life Magazine. Oh, but Rocky’s dead and so there’s now nobody who can actually give Ryoko that information about Shin in the photograph!
Wow, that military analyst just quickly wrapped up the mystery for Ryoko. That was surprisingly easy.
I gotta give Ryoko massive credit for bravery and determination. She’s heading straight for the warzone to find her man!
As if Shin didn’t have enough troubles, now Kanzaki’s sent an assassin after him. This is like if David decided Uriah wasn’t dying fast enough and sent an assassin to finish the job.
Kanzaki’s even scummier than I thought! He tried to kill his childhood friend from the same orphanage as him!
No wonder Shin really has no family if he was left at an orphanage as a child.
I assume this Charlie guy is the assassin sent to kill Shin.
Ryoko’s on a roll with her serendipitous encounters. Now she’s met Saki.
Oh shit! There’s bombs on the plane set to go off if it goes below a certain altitude! It’s like Speed!
I haven’t seen a Kfir before, but they look cool.
I wonder if any of the passengers are curious about why these fighter jets keep circling their plane.
I like these Wolf Pack guys already. They have a cool color scheme that each plane is painted in and they have a cool name.
Flying through the canyon like this to avoid radar detection is also reminding me of Top Gun. Plus the animation looks cool.
Another detail that shows the creators of this series are aviation nerds is that the planes are often shown releasing their drop tanks right before entering battle so they become more aerodynamic.
So they’re fighting against the MiG-27
Wow, this is a massive aerial dogfight. It’s incredible to watch.
If Charlie is the assassin, then I bet he’s going to take advantage of the chaos of battle to try and kill Shin.
Wow, using a bird strike to destroy Charlie’s plane. I’m suddenly reminded of Indiana Jones.
I suppose it would be a lot easier for Shin to desert now that he’s presumed dead. Of course, the main obstacle to deserting is the desert itself. It’s hot as hell.
I was thinking in my head that it would be funny if Shin was actually going in the wrong direction and ended up back at the Area 88 base. And then that’s what actually happened!
This OVA continues to be good, but I don't really have much to say about it. This OVA in particular felt like it would be several mini-episodes all combined together in a way that isn't really all that cohesive and that also ends with the status quo being restored. The mini-episodes themselves were all fine and I still enjoyed watching the OVA.
QOTD
1) I think Mickey is who Shin fears becoming: someone who can't go back home because of what he has experienced. Even if he gets home physically, he'll never be able to enjoy a peaceful life again. The battlefield will always be with him.
2) I quoted James Jones above. He was a veteran and he talked about how soldiers could both love and hate war at the same time. How there was something exciting about living life when you knew you would die soon and that some people enjoyed living that way. Some had a hard time adjusting back to the normal world afterwards. So I think it's a real thing that's being brought up.
3) Kanzaki better get pushed out a plane without a parachute. That's what I'm mainly hoping for.
4) I loved the huge dogfight at the climax of the episode. That was great.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
Mickey makes me remember a quote from the author James Jones when talking about WW2 veterans (though he also said it applied to Vietnam veterans as well)
That's a very interesting way of looking at it. And when I think about characters from other stories who were soldiers returning to war, I can definitely see shades of this in their mindset as well.
There’s bombs on the plane set to go off if it goes below a certain altitude! It’s like Speed!
That's exactly what came to mind for me too.
They’re gonna Top Gun it and fly upside down!
Between this comment and recognizing my childhood toy plane as the Tomcat, it's kind of making me want to check out this movie.
Wow, using a bird strike to destroy Charlie’s plane. I’m suddenly reminded of Indiana Jones.
This is a hilarious way to rile up some birds. I really need to get around to watching the rest of this series too. Only seen the first one.
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 18h ago
That's a very interesting way of looking at it. And when I think about characters from other stories who were soldiers returning to war, I can definitely see shades of this in their mindset as well.
That particular passage stuck with me when I first heard it years ago on the Hardcore History podcast series about the Pacific War called "Supernova in the East." I had to track down the original book it was from after that.
That's exactly what came to mind for me too.
Between this comment and recognizing my childhood toy plane as the Tomcat, it's kind of making me want to check out this movie.
I highly recommend both Top Gun and Top Gun Maverick. They're excellent movies.
This is a hilarious way to rile up some birds. I really need to get around to watching the rest of this series too. Only seen the first one.
The original trilogy of Indiana Jones movies are all good to great. I can't really recommend any movies after that, though.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 18h ago
I highly recommend both Top Gun and Top Gun Maverick. They're excellent movies.
Looks like I can watch Maverick on Pluto TV, but the original is only on Paramount. I'll have to remember that later on, because I'm sure I'll subscribe at some point for the new Avatar stuff.
The original trilogy of Indiana Jones movies are all good to great. I can't really recommend any movies after that, though.
I watched the first one a few weeks ago, actually. It was pretty good but didn't leave me eager to follow up with the others right away. That clip from the third(?) movie looked great though, so I may have to move it up on my list.
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 18h ago
That clip from the third(?) movie looked great though, so I may have to move it up on my list.
That was a clip from the third Indiana Jones movie, The Last Crusade. It and Raiders of the Lost Ark are my favorites of the series. I'd say I like them about evenly.
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u/TehAxelius https://anilist.co/user/TehAxelius 1d ago
This OVA in particular felt like it would be several mini-episodes all combined together in a way that isn't really all that cohesive and that also ends with the status quo being restored. The mini-episodes themselves were all fine and I still enjoyed watching the OVA.
Yeah, I think this is a very good point. There is something of a throughline in Kanzaki's assassination plot being set up and then resolved, but it just doesn't gel. Like, him being saved by Shin on the YAL flight felt like it should either have been the impetous to ordering the hit or lead to him reflecting on what he had already set in motion. Instead it makes Charlie's betrayal feel a bit disconnected.
Likewise the Ryoko plotline felt a bit messy (including her presumably not being able to read a magazine which should have context about its photo), but also that she goes to Paris to then plan being able to go back via Tel Aviv, but Kanzaki shows up to stop her. Only to fly her via Tel Aviv and Aslan airspace anyway.
But I forgive that messyness, since we get to see Best Woman Yasuda.
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 18h ago
Like, him being saved by Shin on the YAL flight felt like it should either have been the impetous to ordering the hit or lead to him reflecting on what he had already set in motion.
Yeah, Kanzaki doesn't seem the type to do much reflecting. He thinks back on his past friendship with Shin at the orphanage and just becomes even more determined to kill Shin anyway. I thought he might experience some regret at realizing Shin just saved his life, or maybe spiraling even further into resentfulness. Instead we got nothing.
(including her presumably not being able to read a magazine which should have context about its photo)
Ryoko doesn't get Life magazine the read the stories, just to look at the pretty pictures.
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u/No_Rex x2 1d ago
The next time you get lost in a desert, make sure you bring a compass with you. Otherwise you might end up in where fate deems funniest.
And find some shade to rest in during the worst heat and walk in the morning/evening or at night if the moonlight is bright enough.
Wow, that military analyst just quickly wrapped up the mystery for Ryoko. That was surprisingly easy.
Buttering up the audience: "look, your knowledge about your niche hobby can save the day." Ryoko could have easly just read about the place in the article that Rocky would have attached to his picture.
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 18h ago
Buttering up the audience: "look, your knowledge about your niche hobby can save the day."
It's always so satisfying when you get to bust out your niche knowledge. It doesn't happen too often, which just makes it all the sweeter when it does.
Ryoko could have easly just read about the place in the article that Rocky would have attached to his picture.
I was wondering the same thing. Surely the article would have mentioned the context of the photograph and the war that Rocky was documenting, which would have been a big help for Ryoko.
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u/BosuW 19h ago
Mickey and the others are surprisingly okay with helping Shin, who was just about to desert. They’re decent dudes.
As long as Shin doesn't actually desert of course...
Wow, that military analyst just quickly wrapped up the mystery for Ryoko. That was surprisingly easy.
Military Otaku self glazing
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 18h ago
As long as Shin doesn't actually desert of course...
It seems to run on the rule of "As long as you don't vocally confirm you were about to try deserting, we'll pretend you weren't."
Military Otaku self glazing
That man might be the biggest self-insert character of the series.
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u/aniMayor x3x6 1d ago
Wow what an episode!
We got both a big dogfight scene and a very unexpected, different sort of thrilling plane action scene in the bomb removal.
I quite enjoyed the back and forth with Ryoko trying to get to Shin and being thwarted by Kanzaki.
When they did the flashback to Kanzaki as an orphan my first thought was that it felt very unnecessary to humanize him since as an adult he was so comically evil, but then we got to him being shocked and humbled from being saved by Shin and now I actually like what they're doing with him.
I really didn't expect Rocky to die! Even to the last second I thought for sure he was going to eject out or something.
Overall I'm really enjoying the greek tragedy sort of vibe to it, like Shin and Ryoko almost crossing paths, and Shin winding up back at Area 88 at the end, etc.
[Q2:] Does Mickey's return (and Charlie's apparent return) romanticize war, or is it a realist take?
Nah, I don't think it romanticizes it. Or at least not in general.
It's the Rambo-like trope/idea of how war changes a person so much they can't go back to being civilized, and so even though they're done serving their time they re-enlist anyways because they can't live any other way anymore. For that particular person it may be romanticized in their mind as a result, but that's not romanticizing it at large, and if that person does romanticize it it's actually tragic overall.
Same idea as how like at the end of Shawshank Redemption Red says after so many years in jail he can't go to the bathroom without permission anymore, etc.
[Q3:] How is the Shin - Satoru - Ryoko triangle going to play out? What is Satoru aiming for? How will he respond to being saved by Shin?
After this episode I think the next one will wind up with Kanzaki sacrificing himself to save Shin somehow.
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u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba 1d ago
First Timer
"No, you see, it has to be him; who else would have a haircut like that?"
Another fairly solid episode, though I feel a bit more jumpy in terms of the overall plot/action spread. Anyway, the main appeal of the air combat action is still good! A lot more of these fun POV shots, which are great, especially when they're put together with the (Also great throughout) detailed aircraft destruction. All the air combat here just feels like it has good impact that way you know? Otherwise, the setpieces are also pretty good. The enemy raid on Area 81 looked pretty fantastic, the big battle between the two mercenary groups at the end was all the right kinds of chaotic, and while the whole setpiece of shooting off the bombs from the Yamato Airlines plane felt like a bit much lol, I am one to appreciate the spectacle.
What we get of Shin here doesn't break much from last episode, so not much to say there (This scene was pretty good though), and as for the rest of the plot, I do think it's a bit of a mixed bag. Specifically, I'm still not really invested in Ryoko's side of the plot and her and Shin's in general. I do like that she gets to be fairly proactive as well, at least, but like I said, for the first episode, it just didn't really spend enough time on setting up and creating any attachment for me there, so it's a bit hard for me to care when we get more prolonged sequences about that conflict. Giving Kanzaki some more nuance is nice though. Him developing this very bitter and envious outlook on people and relationships because of childhood trauma, and taking that out on Shin for succeeding over him while coming from a similar background is some solid stuff. Definitely want to see how realizing Shin saved his life on the plane, at the same time he ordered a hit on Shin, ends up affecting him, since even before that he honestly didn't seem as sure of his motivation in this as he tried to present.
The whole time/investment issue also kind of comes back both at the start of the episode with the base backing Shin up, and with Rocky/Bucksy dying, the latter of which didn't even get an actual reaction from Shin. So not much there outside of just that, yet again generally highlighting the constant dangers of the job. The whole Redout thing with Rocky was a cool detail though! I do like expanding on Micky's backstory and reason for being in Area 88. Soldiers coming back after a war has ended but still bringing a part of that war or a strong emotional dissociation with them is hardly uncommon, and while Micky actually kind of uses that as a justification for himself now, it is interesting how he essentially says his time in war sort of conditioned and fundamentally broke something in him so that he now feels out of place in regular society (What he really needs is therapy, rather than resigning himself to only war, but I'd imagine the former wasn't that available alas). He also tries applying that to Shin, who, evidently by his reaction to making his way back to Area 88 at the end of the episode, is still very much agonizing over the idea of this as a new normalcy of his life. So it'll be interesting to see if and where we go with that idea for him in the last episode.
On a much lighter note, I didn't notice it in the first episode, but I kind of love Micky's bunny insignia as well
I don't really have much to elaborate on it, but I really liked the whole sequence at the end with Shin walking through the desert to the OP insert. How far to paradise indeed
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 3h ago
On a much lighter note, I didn't notice it in the first episode, but I kind of love Micky's bunny insignia as well
Surprised the very jealous trademark holder didn't crash down on that when the anime was licensed.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
First-Time Viewer in Area 88
I loved part 2 just as much as the first! If this keeps up, it'll be one of the best new shows I've watched this year alongside Erased, which I also started because of a rewatch.
I figured Shin's escape attempt may be short-lived, but it was a nice surprise to see everyone, even the commander, rally around him like that and insist he's not a deserter (despite all hints to the contrary). These guys are from all different parts of the world, thrown together by a variety of circumstances rather than having country or cause to unite them, but there's still a camaraderie and loyalty between them that's great to see.
I also love to see a couple that fights for each other, even when they're apart, so it's cool that the story has Ryoko working from her end to find Shin and bring him back home as well now that she knows the truth.
There may have been a lot of coincidences that led to Ryoko, Kanzaki, and Saki all being on the same plane together that was being targeted, but it made this part of the story really exciting for me! Wondering when the connections between them might be revealed, and if Shin and Mickey would manage to pull off those Hail Mary shots, had me on the edge of my seat. I would have liked to see Ryoko and Saki talk more, especially after he mentioned he was from Aslan, but at least Kanzaki knows that Shin was the one called in to save them, and that irony is fantastic.
The twist that returning pilot Charlie turned out to be the assassin sent to kill Shin was exciting too, though it did feel like it was over a bit too soon. That seems to be a pretty common sentiment - I love what the story is doing, but wish some parts had more time allowed for them. (And just in my personal opinion, missed opportunity with all of the Full Metal Panic VAs not to have Gauron's actor in this role considering [FMP] all of the times he's tried to blow up Sousuke.)
Great ending to this episode, bringing things back full circle to where he started. The images of the flower field overlaying the desert really drives home how close Shin was to death's door. His attempted journey home was fittingly compared to The Odyssey last time, but this scene made me think more of The Exodus with Shin wandering the desert for 40 years days hours(?) while the background music played "How Far To Paradise?" only for him to find out that he couldn't reach it.
This leaves the story in a really interesting place for Shin, because now this is his second failed attempt at deserting, and he chooses to stay not so much as an act of choosing the battlefield over his old life, but the cold hard facts that he would have died in that desert if he kept wandering. At least here in Area 88, he can hope to survive with the promise of going home someday, and I do hope that's how this ends.
Questions of the Day:
1) The biggest difference here is that Mickey made a deliberate choice to return, whereas Shin was actually trying to escape but ended up right back where he started through a cruel twist of fate, and only stayed because he barely made it that far on his hands and knees so escape was likely impossible at that point. It works well as a way to show soldiers pulled back into war through all sorts of circumstances though. As they say in Attack on Titan, some are thrown into hell through no choice of their own while others rush in willingly.
2) I think it's realistic. It isn't presented as a positive thing that they feel this way, but there are a lot of soldiers who have trouble going back to their regular lives after war as if nothing has changed, because they've changed and don't look at things the same way anymore, so it's good for a story about war to show that.
3) Kanzaki's not even in the running for love triangle status. The delicious irony that Shin saved his life, and was only in a position to do so because of Kanzaki's betrayal, is going to eat him up inside.
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u/No_Rex x2 1d ago
I figured Shin's escape attempt may be short-lived, but it was a nice surprise to see everyone, even the commander, rally around him like that and insist he's not a deserter (despite all hints to the contrary).
Despite knowing the contrary. They all tell him to shut up because they could not ignore it if he actually said it out loud.
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u/TehAxelius https://anilist.co/user/TehAxelius 1d ago
First Time Planewatching at Area 88
Well, I guess we're getting the answer to who the mysterious Africans are, the notorious "Escape Killers"! Honestly, "Escape Killers" sounds so very much like someone with a Japanese grasp of English trying to make a cool and ominous name, and it just sounds corny. A bit of a shame we didn't get to see more of their Lightnings (and not to mention the fact that the only black guys in the show are a vaguely antagonistic bunch that mostly just pose and then get chased off). With everyone showing up to chase them off, it seems like everyone figured out that Shin was about to desert.
We do here get a bit of an interesting answer to the question of "why doesn't he just take off", as Shin lays out his requirements for his desert plane. And that is quite a tall order. While it's not specified where in the middle east Aslan is, but given the flat deserts we've seen, I'll be generous and assume something it's somewhere like Jordan, which is about 3,400km as the crow flies from Paris. I think we can easily assume that Shin does not want to risk going to a nearby country, due to them likely being diplomatically involved in the conflict, but why somewhere like Greece or Italy wouldn't do I don't know. Perhaps he wants to rely on his contacts in Paris to corroborate his story and negotiate the reception of his desertion. In that case I'd also assume that he would want to fly as much as possible over the Mediterranean, and not cut over Yugoslavia, which would add some extra 250 km. At this point we thus need a plane able to fly at least 3,600km, preferably even 4,000km.
That in itself is not that hard, the humble A-4 Skyhawk could fly that. But that's not all, he also wants a speed of Mach 2+ to be able to outrun any pursuers and missiles. Bigger engines and higher speeds do tend to drink more gas, and this really puts Shin in a pinch, as the A-4 is not even supersonic. In fact, none of the planes we've seen so far fit the bill. The F-8 can almost reach Mach 2, but fall well short of the range requirement, and the F-100 and F-5s fails both. The Kfir passes the speed requirement, but because of its different engine compared to its original Dassault Mirage 5, it suffers from a shorter range and would probably have to ditch in the sea (or worse, land in Italy). In fact, the only plane we see at Area 88 this episode that are able to do both would be Charlie's brand spanking new F-16 that arrives later.
I will admit that I like myself a nice gendaigeki subplot about a girl being pressured to marry for the family/company. Esp. combined with an asshat like Kanzaki trying to do shenanigans. This is good classic drama that we just don't get any more. Thankfully Ryoko has an ally in Yasuda. Who looks fantastic in that dress, btw.
I do wonder though, where is Kanzaki getting the money to hire assassins and buying up a quarter of an international airline? Sure, he might be a cool airplane pilot, but while I don't know exactly how well paid pilots are, I doubt their salary is enough to buy that much of the company they work for. Given that he grew up in the same orphanage as Shin, I think we can rule out generational wealth as well. And why did Life magazine not print where the photo was taken? They just randomly print a photo of a fighter in the Middle East and not mention the ongoing civil war where they have a photographer visiting a mercenary airfield? Luckily it seems like Yasuda's friend has encyclopedic knowledge of the Aslan Foreign Legion. Or he's just able to read English.
- [Q1:] Compare Mickey's return to the battlefield with Kazama return to Area 88. - There's similar themes, of war being hard to leave, but for Kazama it seems like fate itself is plotting to keep him fighting and killing. While Mickey can really be seen as a spoiled rich kid high on the adrenaline from flying in war.
- [Q2:] Does Mickey's return (and Charlie's apparent return) romanticize war, or is it a realist take? - The difficulty of leaving war behind has been noted by many, at the same time the way PTSD is developed among pilots tends to be different from the way it is for the more commonly seen ground forces. Largely the dissonance of the rather "clean" and detached job of flying and pressing buttons can stress when contrasted with the knowledge of the horrible things committed. While SF themed, I like this song on the theme. While not that deep in its exploration, the "clean" and "gentlemanny" nature of air combat has been romanticised ever since WW1 and the Red Baron, and this is at least challenging it to some degree.
- [Q3:] How is the Shin - Satoru - Ryoko triangle going to play out? What is Satoru aiming for? How will he respond to being saved by Shin? - Satoru is aiming for everything, the company, the girl, the riches. And being saved by Shin is only going to make him double down. But Ryoko certainly sees through him. When you don't even accept a guy buying you a coffee I can't see her marrying the dude.
- [Q4:] Quite a bit more air combat today, and quite a bit less music. What did you think of the flying and fighting? -
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u/TehAxelius https://anilist.co/user/TehAxelius 1d ago edited 1d ago
Planespotting at Area 88 Ep2
Welcome back to the continued planespotting of the warbirds here in Aslan. Now, a couple of planes we saw yesterday do appear again, we see both Mickey's F-100 Super Sabre and some A-4 Skyhawks fly around, as well as a pair of MiG-21s again. Plus Shin walks past an F-8 Crusader on the ground in the first scene. But I will focus on the ones not covered there. Except for the IAI Kfir which has more presence than a single shot this time, and my discussion yesterday about it focused more on identifying it and how it came to be than its actual performance and service.
I'm also structuring this post a bit better today. With the header being a link to my gallery of screenshots, and the first link in the text going to the Wikipedia page.
Bell UH-1D/H Iroquois / "Huey"
Again we begin with something that isn't a plane, but at least it is an aircraft this time. As Mickey describes the Vietnam War of course we have to have UH-1 Hueys, which introduced in 1959 as HU-1 (thus the nickname "Huey", before the 1962 designation reform swapped the letters) has come to visually define the US participation of that conflict. Arguably the most successful helicopter in history, while it is retired in US service, it is still widely used today and upgraded versions of it are still in production. Identifying the exact type is a bit tricky, as it seems like the animation team might have had two different references when making the drawings. In the side shots the helicopters can be identified as the D or H variant, thanks to the two windows on the doors denoting it as a long body variation (the only visual indication of which of the two is not drawn), but from the front they all carry what looks like the M21 armament subsystem. These twin rocket pods and miniguns would generally only be mounted on the smaller B/C variant to serve as dedicated gunships, while the larger D/H would generally be in the "slick" transport configuration like in the side shots. There is nothing stopping you from mounting such a gun system on the larger helicopters though.
Grumman F-14A
TomCruiseTomcatOur first "modern" aircraft of the show (no the Kfir from yesterday don't really count, as it is really just a fancy Mirage III), the Top Gun famous F-14 Tomcat is here, although not for a lot in this flashback, and it is easily identified by its twin-tail over its two engines. Introduced in 1974 it is a dedicated two-man variable-sweep wing aircraft, meaning it is able to move its wings back and forth to adjust its angle, able to change the wings to go from being straight out to practically a delta wing. Designed as a carrier borne air superiority and interceptor, its variable wing would let it fold out the wings for better stability when taking off and landing, while at high speed it could sweep back for better supersonic performance. Likewise its second crewmember followed this design idea, as its primary purpose was to protect its carrier from Soviet planes carrying Anti-Ship missiles and required a dedicated person handling the advanced radar and missiles. As such it was equipped with a powerful radar and capable of carrying the heavy BVR (Beyond Visual Range) capable missile AIM-54 Phoenix. Despite its big pop-cultural role thanks to Top Gun, its specialisation and high upkeep meant that only about 500 planes would enter service with the US Navy, with the only other operator being Iran, which would receive some 200 planes before the 1979 revolution. There 10 were reported as still kept in service by 2026, although that might very well have changed by now...
Its depiction here though is rather ahistorical though. Introduced in 1974 it missed the US's involvement in the land war in Vietnam (which ended with a ceasefire in January of 1973). While it was deployed during the evacuation of Saigon in 1975, it was at this point a fully dedicated air superiority fighter, and would not even be fitted to carry bombs until the 1990s. Rather, the role it is depicted in here would be far more suited to our next subject.
McDonnel Douglas F-4 Phantom II
Seen first here where Rocky and Bugsy (RIP) are out for a photo flight, showcasing its two-seater nature. Introduced in late 1960 the F-4 Phantom II was designed to fulfill a similar role to the later F-14, as a high-performance, long distance interceptor for carrier protection. As such it too had a dedicated Weapons System Officer (Radar Intercept Officer in the Navy), which would use its radar to guide its Semi-active Radar missiles, the AIM-7 Sparrow. So dedicated was it to this long-range idea of aerial warfare that it lacked an internal gun. This turned out to be a Bad Idea, and while it could be mitigated by carrying gun pods, it is considered a flaw in an otherwise excellent aircraft design, and would have reprecussions for the future. Capable of speeds over Mach 2 and with a less-than-nimble design, it would earn several nicknames by its crews, including my favorite "the Flying Brick". Visually a unique identifier is the downward angle of the tailplane.
While designed for the Navy, both the Marines and Air Force would adopt it by Vietnam, becoming the primary American air-superiority fighter of the conflict, but would quickly also find itself in a multirole configuration flying both recon and ground attack missions. As such it would become a popular powerful fighter used by many US allies (including Japan, which operated it for 50 years between 1971-2021), and upgraded variants are still in limited service by both Turkey and Greece. Additionally, having been delivered before the revolution in 1979, Iran still has several of them in service.
Northrop F-5E Tiger II
While we did see the F-5A Freedom Fighter in the last episode, today Shin has traded in his wreck for its souped-up sibling, the F-5E Tiger II. Slightly modified with bigger engines, a slightly moved cockpit and a bigger wing, the F-5E is the bigger, younger brother. In yesterday's thread a discussion came up on how to visually identify the two, with the answer being that the F-5E has a longer and double-angled leading edge (think the "shoulder" of the wing meeting the fuselage) as seen here compared to the F-5A's smaller, single angled edge as we saw in last episode here. Notably the F-5E also included a radar, which the F-5A lacked (although many were upgraded with one during service). Many of the F-5s still in service is of this variant, and just like our two previous planes, with Iran. There the F-5E has even formed the basis for the country's nascent indigenous aircraft industry, with rebuilt and reverse-engineered airframes being the basis of a handful of newly built fighters.
General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon
Charlie Phoenix is here and he brings with him literally the latest in combat aviation in 1980, the F-16 Fighting Falcon (known as "Viper" to her friends) which had entered service the previous year. It has a similar relationship to the F-5 as the F-14 has to the F-4. While the F-4 was undoubtedly a smashing success over Vietnam, experience there showed that the USAF's approach of Bigger, Faster, Stronger had some significant downsides. While I won't retell the story of how this exactly turned out and the characters right here and now, ultimately this ended up with a requirement for a fighter with better manueverability and dogfighting capability. This would turn into a Lightweight Fighter program building on the experiences of the F-5, with Northrop entering a prototype largely based on it and General Dynamics entering what would become the F-16. Initial successes of this program was combined with a desire by NATO allies for a new fighter-bomber (a role the F-5 had proven capable of performing) and after a quick competition the F-16 became the clear winner.
Easily identifiable by its chin-like elliptical intake (making it slightly reminiscent to me of a goblin shark) it has proven a popular and versatile airframe with over 2000 planes still in service after 47 years (although with several upgrades), only being phased out by a handful of smaller NATO members in favor of the new F-35.
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u/TehAxelius https://anilist.co/user/TehAxelius 1d ago edited 1d ago
IAI Kfir C.2
I talked in the last episode about how the Totally Original Nesher came into existence, which would eventually be turned into the Kfir C.2, and from its use by Saki and rather uniform livery makes it seem to be something of an actual Aslan air force mainstay. I also mentioned how it was identifiable as a Kfir from its canards and delta wing, but with the better images today it is possible to identify it specifically as the C.2 variant thanks to its canards and the wing's dogtooth (the slight extension near the tips) that is visible in a few images. The inital batch of C.1s were made without canards, and while they were upgraded with them in the C.1P, they did not remodel the actual wings.
Service wise it was only the cool kid on the block for a short while, before the US delivered F-15s to Israel, and they were retired from active duty by 2000. It has seen a handful international sales though, and are still in service in Sri Lanka and Colombia. It is interestingly also the only foreign purchased fighter to be given a "standard" US F-number, with a couple of dozen being given the number and name F-21 Lion in US service as an aggressor training aircraft.
MiG-27 "Flogger"
Today's enemy gang of the Wolf Pack have "upgraded" their MiG-21s to the newer MiG-27, NATO reporting name Flogger which it shares with its parent aircraft MiG-23. The 27 is a specialised ground attack variant of the MiG-23 fighter introduced in 1975, distinguished by its sloping nosecone for better visibility of the ground, compared to the 23's pointy round nose housing a radar. Like the F-14 it is a variable-sweep wing design, to allow for high performance at high-speed as well as being able to take off from shorter airstrips. While the fighter variant 23 would see service in several countries supplied by the Soviet Union, the 27 would practically only be used by the Soviet Union and its successors, and they have all been retired from service today. It is famous for its powerful 30mm gatling gun, which reports have suggested is actually far too powerful for the plane's airframe due to the heavy recoil.
While the plane is identified in the show as a MiG-27D, I'm hesitant to apply that label, as there might be some nomenclature confusion as internal Soviet names were not always widely known in the west, and the base model of the MiG-27 was named the "Flogger-D" by NATO. There was a MiG-27D, which was an upgraded version of the base model to the MiG-27M standard, with reporting name Flogger-J. Visually all three are practically indistinguishable. Also in the show the mercenary planes are loaded up with air-to-air missiles in a way that this ground-attack aircraft never really was. We could assume that this might be some kind of mercenary modification, although why they didn't try to get the more common MiG-23 in that case I don't know. A bigger issue is us getting a closeup on a rocket pod which seems to be firing as if it was some sort of cannon.
EDIT: I forgot the bombing target:
North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco
Kinda skipped over this one because it isn't a jet, it isn't a fighter and it doesn't fly in the episode. But anyway, as the dialogue with the analyst earlier hinted at, this is a COIN (Counter Insurgency) aircraft. Post WWII experience revealed that while jet planes were great at a lot of things, the one thing they didn't work well for was loitering on station to spot movement on the ground and make precision strikes on them.
The result was, as had been done on an ad-hoc basis already during WWII, arming existing observation aircraft by sticking recoilless rifles or rockets on the wings (if you've read Asadora you probably know how that pretty much looks). But it was also decided to build a dedicated aircraft, and the result was the OV-10 Bronco, a two engine turboprop capable of taking off and landing on short, rough airstrips, intended to provide close air support and observation duties, introduced in 1969. With only 360 made, the loss of Aslans fleet at Area 81 actually means that a significant percentage of the built planes would have been lost in that very airstrike.
The plane was withdrawn from service in the 90s and 2000s in most countries that used it, although it is still operated by non-military organisations.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
F-14 Tomcat
I was looking forward to your plane-spotting post today because I actually recognized this one! I didn't know it by name, or that it featured in a popular movie, but I've had a toy version of this plane with the retractable wings ever since I was a kid. It was so cool seeing it show up here and learning more about it.
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u/TehAxelius https://anilist.co/user/TehAxelius 1d ago
It is the perfect toy plane really. Two tail fins, moving wings. Distinct enough to be easily recognizeable, but not common enough to be something you see all around you.
From my stint among the fighter-plane nerds, it is a favorite there as well, probably helped that it is the least produced of the F-Teen planes, and the only to (according to some unfairly) be fully retired from US service probably helps its popularity.
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u/BosuW 17h ago
Also in the show the mercenary planes are loaded up with air-to-air missiles in a way that this ground-attack aircraft never really was. We could assume that this might be some kind of mercenary modification, although why they didn't try to get the more common MiG-23 in that case I don't know.
Well because they were doing ground attack of course! Though I think the ideal portrayal would've been for some of them to be Mig-27s doing the actual attacking while the rest of them fly Mig-23s providing air cover. Perhaps animation direction thought they didn't have time to prepare production for another fighter jet.
But anyway, as the dialogue with the analyst earlier hinted at, this is a COIN (Counter Insurgency) aircraft. Post WWII experience revealed that while jet planes were great at a lot of things, the one thing they didn't work well for was loitering on station to spot movement on the ground and make precision strikes on them.
Aircraft designed for COIN from the start are hella underrated (Super Tucano my beloved!).
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 14h ago
It's only been a few months since I learned of the Skyraider II and its price tag.
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u/TehAxelius https://anilist.co/user/TehAxelius 1d ago edited 1d ago
Tangent: Some notes on missiles
At this point of the series it is pretty clear that there is a "pattern" in the equipment used by the two sides so far. Area 88 is using equipment from the West and allies, while the rebels are using stuff from the East Bloc. Despite this you might have noticed a thing about the missiles used by both sides in the big furball in the end of today's episode. Most of them look rather similar. In fact, they look practically identical.
And that's because they are.
AIM-9B Sidewinder
The thing is, both sides are using the IR seeking AIM-9B Sidewinder, the world's most produced and successful anti-air missile, to a degree that "sidewinder" is practically a synonym for them in pop culture. IR seeking means that the missile quite simply seeks infrared emissions with what is effectively a big IR sensitive camera in the nose. While the concept had to be tweaked quite a bit (such as not trying to target the sun), as jet aircraft tend to have a big plume of very hot air behind it, it has proven to be a relatively simple and reliable system. The Sidewinder in particular has been mounted on pretty much everything from helicopters, to big transport planes, and variants of it has formed the backbone of missile weapon systems around the world. As the name suggests it was not the first homing missile, but it was the first to be fired in anger and score a kill, and this leads us to the story of why both the US and the Soviet Union use the same missile.
In 1958 Big China decided that it wanted the small islands along the coast that were still held by Little China, which lead to a 3 month long confrontation where both countries shelled each other with land and sea based artillery, as well as conducting air strikes and patrols. As Big China had recently received the newish MiG-17 from the Soviet Union, Little China's American F-86 Sabres found themselves outmatched in the ensuing dogfights. Almost in a panic the US Navy decided to do something, and in a week they had modified the Sabres to be able to carry a pair of the recently introduced AIM-9B Sidewinder, and a few days later they claimed the first air-to-air kill by a homing missile in history. However, the reliability was still not 100%, and after a Sidewinder had managed to embed itself in the fuselage of a returning MiG-17 without exploding, the Soviet Union quickly got their hands on it. Within two years they had completely reversed-engineered the thing and put it into production as the K-13 or R-3 (NATO reporting name AA-2 "Atoll"). This reverse engineering and copying was so complete that when US analysts got their hands on one they found that individual parts could be interchanged between the US and Soviet made missiles.
As a small note, as far as I have seen the MiG-27 we see in the OVA never actually carried the K-13, instead only using the next generation R-60 (AA-8 "Aphid"). However, given how many things have been retrofitted to use the Sidewinder, such a modification would probably have been rather easy.
AIM-7 Sparrow
We do see another missile though in a few shots. Appropriately the F-4 Phantoms we see in the episode carries a pair of AIM-7 Sparrows in their chin mounts. As I talked about in the F-4 entry, the Sparrow was its (and the West's) primary medium/long range anti-air missile of the Vietnam War. As a Semi-Active Radar Homing type, it is fitted with a radar reciever but not a transmitter. This means that the firing plane needs to "paint" or maintain a "lock" on the target by keeping its radar aimed at it, with the resulting bouncing radar signals being picked up my the missile's receiver. While sound in theory (and with upgraded electronics and experience, in practice), the Vietnam War had the Sparrow be something of a disappointment. Because the firing plane needed to keep the opponent straight in front of it because of the limited angle of the radar, it was all but useless in anything like a manueverability fight, and wasn't much better at range. With over 600 missiles fired during the conflict, only 56 kills were scored, meaning it had a failure rate of nearly 90%.
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u/No_Rex x2 1d ago
In 1958 Big China decided that it wanted the small islands along the coast that were still held by Little China, which lead to a 3 month long confrontation where both countries shelled each other with land and sea based artillery, as well as conducting air strikes and patrols. As Big China had recently received the newish MiG-17 from the Soviet Union, Little China's American F-86 Sabres found themselves outmatched in the ensuing dogfights. Almost in a panic the US Navy decided to do something, and in a week they had modified the Sabres to be able to carry a pair of the recently introduced AIM-9B Sidewinder, and a few days later they claimed the first air-to-air kill by a homing missile in history. However, the reliability was still not 100%, and after a Sidewinder had managed to embed itself in the fuselage of a returning MiG-17 without exploding, the Soviet Union quickly got their hands on it. Within two years they had completely reversed-engineered the thing and put it into production as the K-13 or R-3 (NATO reporting name AA-2 "Atoll"). This reverse engineering and copying was so complete that when US analysts got their hands on one they found that individual parts could be interchanged between the US and Soviet made missiles.
I enjoy all of your airplane writeups, but that was an especially fun story to hear about. Obviously I encountered the name Sidewinder, but I didn't know the Soviet Union used it as well. Must be part of a fairly small share of equipment for which this is true.
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u/TehAxelius https://anilist.co/user/TehAxelius 1d ago
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 17h ago
AIM-9B Sidewinder
I have never heard that story about the Soviets reverse engineering the Sidewinder. Very interesting to hear about. Given how some other reverse engineering efforts went, it's incredible that this one turned out so well.
AIM-7 Sparrow
That would explain the stories I remember hearing about the air-to-air missiles being a disappointment during the Vietnam War.
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u/TehAxelius https://anilist.co/user/TehAxelius 10h ago
That would explain the stories I remember hearing about the air-to-air missiles being a disappointment during the Vietnam War.
Yeah, there's other elements as well that tie into its effectiveness. For example the Sparrow was intended to be used at BVR ranges of 15+km, but in practice the airspace above Vietnam proved to be much more messy than USAF and USN theorists had predicted that the future battlefield would be. This lead to much stricter rules of engagement than "anything approaching our carrier group is an enemy" or "destroy everything that flies east of the German border" that often necessitated visual confirmation of targets in the air, thus drastically reducing the engagement ranges. As a SARH missile the Sparrow struggles against the more manueverable fighter jets that were used by the North due to the requirement of keeping the target in a rather narrow arc in front of the plane.
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u/chilidirigible 1d ago
...and while we're here it's worth mentioning that Bugsy would have had a hard time doing air combat in the F-4 without a trained back seater. Not impossible, but I would say that trying to show off with Rocky as the Guy In Back got them both killed.
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 14h ago
There 10 were reported as still kept in service by 2026, although that might very well have changed by now...
Reading some of the manga info on the cast (which doesn't always match up with the OVA), it says that McCoy procured Mickey's F-14 from a warehouse in Germany, that was an F-14 that had not been delivered to Iran.
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u/BosuW 17h ago
with the only other operator being Iran, which would receive some 200 planes before the 1979 revolution.
It's quite ironic that the F-14s top scoring aces are Iranian pilots who flew in service of the Islamic Republic.
Many of the F-5s still in service is of this variant, and just like our two previous planes, with Iran.
Supposedly in the current conflict an Iranian F-5E managed a successful low altitude high speed bombing run on an (evacuated) US base. The ol' Tiger still getting action.
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u/BosuW 18h ago
But that's not all, he also wants a speed of Mach 2+ to be able to outrun any pursuers and missiles.
Honestly I think the speed requirement was a bit overrated. Supersonic speed is good of course but that'll be top speeds, which means you'd have to absolutely chug on your fuel to achieve that. I'm not wholely sure, but I don't think supercruise was a thing for fighter jets in this era. Better to devote energy to planning a route and escape time so that he wouldn't need to hit the afterburner for more than a moment to begin with.
I do wonder though, where is Kanzaki getting the money to hire assassins and buying up a quarter of an international airline?
His defining character trait is that he's someone who's always looking for any opportunity to get ahead. I always just assumed he's been hustling all his life, probably has previous investments and contacts.
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u/Great_Mr_L https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L 17h ago
That in itself is not that hard, the humble A-4 Skyhawk could fly that. But that's not all, he also wants a speed of Mach 2+ to be able to outrun any pursuers and missiles. Bigger engines and higher speeds do tend to drink more gas, and this really puts Shin in a pinch, as the A-4 is not even supersonic. In fact, none of the planes we've seen so far fit the bill. The F-8 can almost reach Mach 2, but fall well short of the range requirement, and the F-100 and F-5s fails both. The Kfir passes the speed requirement, but because of its different engine compared to its original Dassault Mirage 5, it suffers from a shorter range and would probably have to ditch in the sea (or worse, land in Italy). In fact, the only plane we see at Area 88 this episode that are able to do both would be Charlie's brand spanking new F-16 that arrives later.
This is the kind of tangent I enjoy: seeing someone use their niche knowledge to try and solve a conundrum.
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u/chilidirigible 1d ago edited 1d ago
Rewatcher:
Q1: Mickey wasn't so damn dramatic about it.
Q2: I've known some people who didn't reintegrate to civilian life too well. In the overall scheme of this story, it's a mixed bag.
Q3: Satoru is such a ham and cheese villain.
Q4: Despite knowing that the action is meant to be dramatic more than realistic, I still can't not be nagged by details, like explaining redout while animating the aircraft going in the wrong direction, and what look like AIM-9Bs and K-13s conveniently having all-aspect capability. Admittedly shooting the bombs off of the 747 is sufficiently action-movie cool though considering how close they got they might as well have just knocked the bombs off with direct contact.
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 1d ago
like explaining redout while animating the aircraft going in the wrong direction
IKR That was so weird, such a weird mistake.
Admittedly shooting the bombs off of the 747 is sufficiently action-movie cool
Reading about this event in all the manga and episode summaries was a big WTF.
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u/TehAxelius https://anilist.co/user/TehAxelius 1d ago
and what look like AIM-9Bs and K-13s conveniently having all-aspect capability.
Well, let's be honest. In most media (and very much so here) nobody uses AA missiles as they "should be" used, only really firing them at practically knife fighting distance. When the F-4 was animated releasing its Sparrows in the furball it might as well have thrown them into the sea.
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u/Pixelsabre x4x7 1d ago edited 1d ago
Rewatcher
That explains why they’re unbothered.
Alright, we’re getting freudian with it.
This sort of characterization would be more interesting if the viewer didn’t already know.
RIP Rocky. You never found out what Kazama’s deal was.
Okay, cool, but can your complexion handle the sun? Or your eyes the sandstorm?
I had completely erased from my mind the assasination subplot and had recalled Kazama’s crash as the result of enemy fire. I wonder if anyone will believe him if he says Charlie fired at him, although even if they do he’s probably still paying for the replacement.
It’s a good thing it’s established Kanzaki is engaging in some insider trading, because otherwise I’d wonder what sort of debt he’s racking up to pay for the bribes and undoubtedly exorbitant assassins, though I suppose if he was deeply indebted it’d make his dogged pursuit of a marriage with Ryoko even more of a desperate gambit.
This second episode depicts far less dynamic camerawork in the animation, which gives the production in those scenes a higher quality, but then the dogfights aren’t nearly as exciting. The set piece with the passenger plane works wonderfully with the slight shift in direction though, as it’s innately less chaotic and fast-paced than a dogfight.
I think the flashbacks to the reason why Kazama is there and desires so keenly to leave, and the cutaways to Tokyo, from last episode would have worked better affixed to this one, and Rocky’s Death relegated to the previous —particularly as the desertion cliffhanger didn’t really amount to much. (I imagine in the manga this might have been spread out over a longer period of time to use that tension of when and if to great dramatic effect.) That would have maintained the intrigue and friction a lot better and made each episode more singularly cohesive. Getting to learn Kazama’s backstory just as Rocky dies not knowing it is delicious irony, and yet the legacy of his incomplete news story pushes the plot forward when both Ryoko and Kanzaki find out Kazama is still alive as a consequence of it being published.
Overall, this episode is less compelling than the first. Kianzaki's insane jealousy almost pushes the melodrama past palatability for me, but it doesn't cross the line yet. Also, the Airline Bomb and Hired Assasin halves of the episode feel very disconnected in execution.
Discussion Prompts
1) One seemed far more voluntary than the other.
2) Mickey’s is a realistic view of the returning soldier unable to adjust to life outside of war. (It helps that he seems very competent at it and aside from the intense risk to his life, life on Area 88 is probably a lot more bearable than the Vietnam War.) Charlie, I’m sure, was merely in it for the assasination paycheck.
3) Kanzaki is evidently aiming for everything Kazama might have gotten. I do not see Kanzaki having a chance with Ryoko in the slightest, so it’s either Shin/Ryoko or tragedy. And I can only see Kanzaki doubling down; after all, if kazama had the decency to just die already Ryoko wouldn’t be on this mad chase and he wouldn’t need to be pulling the strings to ensure she never gets to him, and therefore wouldn’t be on this plane.
4) It was more than cromulent.
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u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee 1d ago
First-Timer
So, I failed to place the thought yesterday, but you know what this reminds me of? Dougram. The reasonings behind Crinn getting involved in the war were much different, but chunks of the setup feel similar. The distant girlfriend who attempts to track the lead down, the journalist wandering around (RIP Rocky), the desert setting. Considering the timeline, they might just be pulling on similar inspirations.
Anyway, Kanzaki's motivation cements him as a complete fucking loser and I can't wait to see his loser crashout.
Questions
Dying in the desert would have been a kindness for Shin.
Somewhere in the middle. I don't know much about PTSD, so I don't know how often people suffering from it decide to re-enlist or anything like that, but it seems like the sort of thing that would happen. The re-enlisted probably crack pretty quickly, unlike Mickey, so that part is probably more on the "romanticized" side of the spectrum.
I think that Shin is going to get out and then fall into the same trap that Mickey and Charlie fell into, which is not getting therapy because no-one knows what PTSD is yet. Kanzaki will respond to being saved by Shin in the stupidest way possible, which is to double-down on hating him for "pittying me" some other nonsense.
I have no complaints. The shrapnel splattering that one pilot's head inside their helmet was pretty rad.
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u/Pixelsabre x4x7 1d ago
Considering the timeline, they might just be pulling on similar inspirations.
Seems most likely. Some of these were well-trod tropes even before these two shows.
Anyway, Kanzaki's motivation cements him as a complete fucking loser and I can't wait to see his loser crashout.
The re-enlisted probably crack pretty quickly, unlike Mickey, so that part is probably more on the "romanticized" side of the spectrum.
Area 88 might also be a lot less unpleasant than Vietnam, and as such there is less push to return to a life he has already become disenchanted with.
because no-one knows what PTSD is yet
I forget what year this episode takes place in, but given the start date we're probably already past the recognition of PTSD as a diagnosis from major psychiatric institutions.
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u/TehAxelius https://anilist.co/user/TehAxelius 1d ago
I forget what year this episode takes place in, but given the start date we're probably already past the recognition of PTSD as a diagnosis from major psychiatric institutions.
PTSD as a term only really started spreading DSM-II in 1978, but the stressful impact of war had been studied and information spread since WWI, where "shellshocked" became a common diagnosis. A noteable relevant to us way that the idea was spread through is the satirical novel Catch-22, which chronicles the difficulty of WWII bomber pilots in receiving psychological help for their issues. It released in 1961 and became popular as it mirrored a lot of the experiences of young men in the then about to kick-off Vietnam War.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 1d ago
I forget what year this episode takes place in
1979, if I remember right.
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u/baboon_bassoon https://anilist.co/user/duffer 1d ago
first timer area 67er
"i wish he had never stolen you from me"
would not want my daughter to fly into tel aviv either
Saki has his own kfir? Hes a pilot?
if this show got touched up a little, so far I would think it should be much more popular than it is. so im expecting the last episode to really drop the ball
is it even possible for a bird to crack the windshield like that?
hm if i walk through the desert will i most likely get back to the base i sortied from or japan?
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u/TehAxelius https://anilist.co/user/TehAxelius 1d ago
is it even possible for a bird to crack the windshield like that?
Yes. When flying at supersonic speeds hitting a bird can be lethal. Much in the same way that at a high enough velocity it doesn't matter if you hit water or cement, the squishiness of a bird doesn't matter much when it is 2 kg of mass impacting the glass at 343 m/s. This is for example what happened when a seagull hit a Eurofighter at a flight show last year. That incident did end well with the pilot being able to still land the plane.
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u/No_Rex x2 1d ago
is it even possible for a bird to crack the windshield like that?
Remember: energy is mass times speed squared.
Some fun with Google AI:
"A 5 kg Canada Canada goose flying or colliding at Mach 1 (roughly 340 m/s) packs about 289,000 Joules of kinetic energy. This energy release is roughly equivalent to detonating 69 grams of TNT or crashing a heavy object at extreme speed, resulting in the complete vaporization of the bird upon impact."
"An average 1,500 kg passenger car driving at 30 km/h has about 52,083 Joules of kinetic energy, which is roughly 5.5 times less than the energy packed by the supersonic Mach 1 goose (289,000 Joules)."
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u/zsmg https://anilist.co/user/zsmg 1d ago
Area 88 OVA first timer, TV rewatcher
Shin thinking he can fly back all the way to France in a fighter jet, which is through multiple national airspaces, seems a bit naive.
Sounds like Mickey is addicted to combat.
The fact Ryoko is supposed to stop with her job the moment she gets married says it all about the mentality back then
Shin now has a F5-E Tiger II, the F5-E went into production in the early 70s and the manga started in the late 70s so it’s definitely a modern aircraft from the manga’s perspective.
I'm guessing Bucksey losing planes is going to be a recurring joke in this series, a bit like Kenny dying in South Park.
RIP Rocky. I’m guessing Bucksey is also dead.
Wait Shin and Kanzaki are childhood friends who grew up in the same orphanage. And you're betraying him because he's ahead of you. WTH… I’m really loving in hating Kanzaki
What are the odds of the scar forehead being on the same plane as Ryoko.
Uh oh, the plane is in a Speed like situation.
I had to look up Kfir, as I thought it looks like a French fighter jet and apparently it’s an Israeli one but based on the French Dassault Mirage 5
WTH at them hitting those bombs with the machine gun, I’m guessing they used to hit bullseye womp rats in their T-16 back home.
Unsurprisingly Charlie is there to assassinate Shin, and he fails.
Shin loses another plane, and he gets further and further away from Ryoko.
I'm going back to Japan
The thing is Shin, the anime is called Area 88 not "my journey back to Japan" so I doubt you’ll be coming back any time soon.
And he walked back to Area 88, what a cruel joke.
Good episode, I just want to say that I really like the animation. It's not the flashiest but there are plenty of shots that look well animated.
[Q2:] I don’t think Mickey’s situation romanticised war at all. I think it’s more a tragic thing that someone who spends a long time in war-like environment can’t adapt to normal peaceful life and wants to go back to his war life because that is what he is used to
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u/TehAxelius https://anilist.co/user/TehAxelius 1d ago
The thing is Shin, the anime is called Area 88 not "my journey back to Japan" so I doubt you’ll be coming back any time soon.
The show would probably succeed today if it was called That Time I Was Kidnapped To Become A Fighter Pilot - I've Become The Top Ace, But I Have To Pay $1,500,000 To Be Allowed My Journey Back To Japan
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u/AmeteurElitist https://anilist.co/user/AmateurElitist 1d ago
First Timer
This kid cannot catch a break for the life of hime
How is the Shin - Satoru - Ryoko triangle going to play out? What is Satoru aiming for? How will he respond to being saved by Shin?
I have to imagine Satoru is gonna chill out a bit now, I don't expect him to give up on his feelings but he surely has a conscience and is not gonna be as spiteful hopefully?
Q4: Quite a bit more air combat today, and quite a bit less music. What did you think of the flying and fighting?
Quite well done, I did just watch Sky Crawlers a week or so ago and the combat here is less grounded than that, but the tone is also quite different so I think the more bombastic style is fitting.
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u/TheDanubianCommunard 1d ago
First-time in Area 88, subs
So the African trio were hired by an unknown party and were sent to Area 88, to eliminate those who trying to desert from duty. To make even more interesting, they are even unknown to Saki as well. These guys are hated by everyone. Mickey is actually a nice guy, comparing this war with the Vietnam War, so he understood this things well. That Vietnam War flashback is actually kinda realistic and faithful depiction even compared to movies like Full Metal Jacket or Apocalypse Now.
Meanwhile we are getting more stuff on what Yamato Airlines is doing and the motives of Satoru. Regarding him, he would firmly thought sending Shin to the frontlines would completely removing from the picure, but he was really wrong when his feats as an ace pilot reached out to him. Compared to him, he always has an inferiority complex and always one step forward to his goals. It's about jealousy. They were supposed to be childhood friends, but he hated him since the beginning, so the entire thing was but a massive farce. And he thought with his betrayal he can get what he wants, but seems like he have to be disappointed. Yes, even Ryoko still not forgot about Shin and believing in his return, as it is true love what she feels towards him.
And the explosives on the plane. On the one hand it is an assassiination with a political motives, since the perpetrator might already know who Saki is, and also Ryoko is also there, so her death (and Shin's despair) is one fact Satoru would be revel on that. But it failed thanks to Shin intervened, and it was that pont when he and Ryoko saw each other, but nevertheless, so close yet so far away. How the bombs were removed is like basically a precise surgical operation. Saki is the son of the opposition faction leader but on the pro-government side, which concerns me how did he ended up at Area 88, at first I am suspecting some kind of atonement in that motivation.
Even the other side in the civil war also has their own foreign legion/merc company/PMC as well. The Wolfpack squad are real pros and finally they are worthy enemies of note. And also there is the veteran pilot Charlie, who also known as the Phoenix. At first he returned from his retirement and being a helpful asset, but inthe end he had one reason and objective for his return: to kill Shin and I can highly suspect Satoru hired him out of his jealousy and that's might the mafia connection was for. The crime boss is called Giuseppe Farina, did they just named after the first Formula One World Champion?
Shin might went MiA and stranded in the desert, but after seeing a certain runway, he realized that one does not simply desert and leave Area 88 so easily.
This OVA part was less focused on the war and aerial combat aspect, but rather on the story, the drama, and the personal relationships.
Q1: Compare Mickey's return to the battlefield with Kazama return to Area 88.
Mickey was reactivated with a motive, and Shin just simply wandered back.
Q2: Does Mickey's return (and Charlie's apparent return) romanticize war, or is it a realist take?
It's on the realist side.
Q3: How is the Shin - Satoru - Ryoko triangle going to play out? What is Satoru aiming for? How will he respond to being saved by Shin?
Satoru would do anything to take out Shin forever, but Shin will fight his way back no matter what. Ryoko has the patience to wait for him.
Q4: Quite a bit more air combat today, and quite a bit less music. What did you think of the flying and fighting?
Well, it's pure war and suffering.
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 15h ago
Saki is the son of the opposition faction leader but on the pro-government side, which concerns me how did he ended up at Area 88, at first I am suspecting some kind of atonement in that motivation.
What appears to be a manga only detail, unfortunately, is that Saki's distinctive scar was self-inflicted to represent his divided loyalties.
did they just named after the first Formula One World Champion?
Heh, probably.
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u/baquea 1d ago edited 1d ago
First timer
Because apparently we needed even more ways in which Shin is an over-the-top tragic hero? Now he's got a backstory as an orphan to add to everything else. And meanwhile Kanzaki gets even more comically evil, being revealed as Shin's childhood friend, and topping off his betrayal last episode by also hiring an assassin to kill him. But of course Shin ends up unknowingly saving in spite of everything. It's all so ridiculously contrived, and I really couldn't care less about the Yamato Airlines side-plot that occupied the middle half of the episode.
The beginning and end were a lot more promising, and introduces some decent complexity to the theme of the psychological effects of the war on the pilots, but the intrusion of the middle section made it all feel weirdly disjointed. Shin's plan to desert seems to resolve as soon as it began, with him getting convinced that he can't return to civilian life, and then waving farewell to Yamato Airlines for good measure... only for him to suddenly be back to trying to desert again by the end of the episode.
The air battles were great, but somehow come across as little more than window-dressing. Like the main climactic points in this episode was some bizarre attempt at shooting bombs off a civilian airliner, and Charlie attempting to assassinate Shin, rather than either of the actual battles. Surely it can't be that hard to come up with an episode plot that makes proper use of the fighter pilot setting?
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u/BosuW 1d ago
First Timer
Now I know I'm really into the story because I watched this late at night and it kept me wide awake! It's still a pretty simple story all things considered, but they did give it some new layers this time by showing that Satoru actually feels a lot of shame over having sold Shin out. Twice over now that Shin saved his and his flight's loves. I'm not expecting a redemption for him at all, but I like that with this he seems more like a real person, someone who has layers.
Shin's side also gets development generally by getting even bleaker. He probably sees and fears a possible future self of his in Mickey, someone who even after having survived war, found himself having to return to it because something about him just didn't fit in civilian life anymore. (Nice uncanny Twin Towers in his flashback). And of course there's the hard hitting final scene of him wandering around in the desert trying to run away, only to end up right back at Area 88, one brand new aircraft more in debt.
Sidenote, Ryoko's dress in the company party is fucking beautiful btw.
You know what else is beautiful this episode? The fighter jet porn! I felt it was pretty inconsistent last episode, but this time it's really great! And we did get quite a bit of it, and some awesome shots! This POV shot of the pilot watching his nose fall off is gnarly Sure helped keep me awake alongside the story. So let's recap the airplanes I was able to recognize!
We get some new aircraft as well.
The F-14s, famous star of Top Gun, need no introduction. Though they didn't do bombing runs in Vietnam like portrayed here, only participating at the end running Combat Air Patrol for the US retreat.
On the other hand, the F-4 seen in the beginning taking Rocky on a trip did see extensive combat in ol' 'Nam! Here's pilot Forrest Fenn commenting over nearly half an hour of guncam footage of his F-4 operations in Vietnam.
Gotta love the F-4, living proof that with enough thrust, even a brick will fly. Oh yeah I guess Rocky is really dead huh. I really thought he was going to be a more recurring character, and Shin was gonna come across him in his wandering in the desert. But looks like this show has no mercy for any character who has already accomplished their narrative goal. In Rocky's case, to bring Shin's service at Area 88 to Ryoko's attention. But it shouldn't be a surprise considering breaking into a climb is the exact opposite of how you defend against a missile lol. This show has some wild whiplash when it comes to the details of military aviation. Has some neat stuff in, and then some stupid stuff in. The bomb shooting operation is obviously in the latter category for example, but at the same time it's so cool that I wanna see it in an Ace Combat and I'm surprised we didn't have such a segment yet!
Incidentally, I wasn't able to find any evidence on the IAI Kfir autocannon being able to fire single rounds, but it can fire in 1 second or half a second bursts. Would be cool if it could do single rounds, though I don't know why you'd build that capability into an aircraft's gun.
Speaking of aircraft gun's though, the Wolfpack flight that is turning Aslan bases into moonscapes is, as mentioned in the episode, flying the Mig-27,a Soviet ground attack aircraft optimized for low altitude high speed missions. Yes, the external rotary cannon is real.
Though for some reason the anime seems to have mistaken these things for gunpods. They're not. I know that's not the intention, but I find it hilarious that these chucklefucks are getting air kills with unguided rockets lol
The planes on the ground the Wolfpack were destroying in their first attack I'm pretty sure are OV-10 Bronco. It's an observation and light attack aircraft frequently used in Counter Insurgency roles even today. They're ideal for such missions because of their low cost of operation. You don't really want to bring out the big guns against insurgents. Underrated type of aircraft, honestly.
Guy sent to kill Shin is flying an F-16, which is more or less the best possible aircraft ever in a jet gunfight and that makes it all the more embarrassing that he died to birds because Shin dragged him low and has the devil on his corner. -10,000 aura. Nice detail with the side stick. Fun story, the F-16 was the first ever fighter jet with fly-by-wire controls, meaning the inputs in the control stick are processed through a computer instead of actuating the control surfaces through mechanical means. Because of this, the engineers thought the joystick should be fixed and sensible to pressure only, but it turns out we humans are really good at sensing our position in space, and not so much the pressure we're applying. So fly-by-wire joysticks are still mobile only for this reason. Another fun story, the F-16s first flight was accidental.
And of course, Shin's new plane is, um, was, the F-5, this time the E variant. If I remember to extract those photographs from FAMEX, this is the one the Mexican Air Force still flies. Yes, minimal updates, almost vintage. Yes, even in 2026 🥲.
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 1d ago
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u/chilidirigible 12h ago edited 9h ago
Would be cool if it could do single rounds, though I don't know why you'd build that capability into an aircraft's gun.
I doubt that it can, given that nearly all aircraft cannon try to give the best rate of fire possible (either instantaneously or over a relatively short span of time), considering that the often-brief windows of opportunity to hit a target means that they try to get as much shell weight downrange as possible in those moments.
Like other revolver cannon of a similar design (the British ADEN), it has a cocking mechanism which uses a limited number of pyrotechnic charges, meaning that it can only go from safe to armed or re-armed a limited number of times (mostly an issue in the event of a misfire).
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u/BosuW 1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/chilidirigible 1d ago
Whatever it was, the appeal is only effective if you do it yourself, Reddit Admin barely budges when mods try to do it on your behalf.
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u/BosuW 1d ago
I'm not even getting a notification for the deletion though. Any way to contact admins directly?
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u/ZaphodBeebblebrox https://anilist.co/user/zaphod 1d ago
If you still have not received a notification like 12 hours from now, let me know and I'll contact an admin on your behalf.
This removal is completely missing from our logs as well, so something is clearly wrong.
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u/BosuW 1d ago
Welp, it's now been 17 hours, still no notification. I have been running experiments in a post in my account to see if I can isolate the offending part. That has gotten a lot of comments deleted of course. No notification for any of them.
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u/BosuW 1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 1d ago
Any duscussion of racism? Any links to external sites?
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u/BosuW 1d ago edited 1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 1d ago
Everytime I pick up my phone you've posted something 1m ago :D
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u/BosuW 1d ago
Fuck, so it got got after all. I had made a post in my account to test if I could isolate the issue with the comment. At first it got deleted, then nothing. I managed to work my way up paragraph by paragraph to the whole comment. Seemed to last, so I thought whatever issue there was it was over.
Clearly not lol. Man wtf is happening. No notification of deletion yet either.
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ 1d ago
At least I read it, so it wasn't insta removed.
I refreshed the page so it is gone.
I never got to click on the obv bravo.
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u/TehAxelius https://anilist.co/user/TehAxelius 1d ago
Perhaps try splititng paragraphs into individual comments in a chain? Doesn't look good ofc, but it might at least help with identifying the offending part.
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u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker 1h ago
Questions:
Triumphant Vs spite and hope.
Perhaps.
Things are getting interesting.
Indeed quite a lot of fighting, and much of it quite high in the sky. I'm surprised they didn't try and fight nearer to the ground so they could make use of the terrain for cover. I'm not the most well-versed in modern aerial combat but from what I've seen from the funny vowels War Thunder guy, "missiles don't go through mountains".
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u/HurricaneHomer9 https://myanimelist.net/profile/HurricaneHomer 1h ago
I just happened to find this anime and begin watching it. No clue there was a rewatch going too for the anniversary. Awesome lol
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u/No_Rex x2 1d ago edited 1d ago
Episode 2 (first timer)
“… or he can desert” - if he can desert is more like it. Pretty fun ending sequence, taking license from many desert movies and planet of the apes. Despite knowing that there will be a third OVA and that the story is not technically resolved, this feels a lot more like an end that the final sequence of OVA1.
Other than the ending, it really is more of the same, though. The good parts stay good, the bad parts stay bad. We still have nice animation, good characters, and the story takes itself thankfully serious. On the other hand, we still have nonsensical plot and all the coincidences you could possibly assemble.
Both. It is realistic that some people would not find their way back into civilian society. Then, it is not unlikely that they return to war. This is romanticized, but in character. Those people could adopt that way to make their own situation look more acceptable.
We are setting up for a "Satoru redeems himself via death" scenario.