Area 88 TV: Vol-1 Treacherous Skies (2004)
Animation Production: Animax/avex mode/Media Factory/TV Asahi
Released by: ADV Films
Episodes: 1-3
By Jeff Couto

Introduction

Area 88 is one of those titles that has been around in one form or another for quite some time now. Originally a popular manga series by Kaoru Shinatani, it was later adapted as an anime in 1985 and even a popular Super Famicom (Super Nintendo) shooter game in the early 90’s among many other things. For its high visibility though the series has remained a quite success of sorts here in the U.S.

With the release of the new TV series by ADV Films, this situation might finally change and Area 88 will finally be under the spotlight of anime fans because not only is the story as captivating as it always has been, but now it also benefits from absolutely beautiful animation and CGI visual effects.

Story

"Welcome to Area 88, a desolate outpost in the sun-blasted desert where mercenary fighter pilots risk their lives in service to the Kingdom of Alsam. Any skilled pilot will do - no questions asked. They literally kill for cash as they fight for the government of a country torn apart by a bloody civil war. The catch? Once you're in, the only way out is to serve your three year commitment, pay $1.5 million for breach of contract, or... face death as a deserter.

Who are these pilots and why do they suffer the pains of the desert to serve a country that isn't their own? Some fight because it's all they know. Some have nowhere else to go. Some fly for the thrill of the game. Shin Kazama, the only Japanese pilot on the base, is different from the rest. He may be the only pilot capable of earning enough money to buy out his contract... if he lives long enough. But Shin fights only to return to Japan, to a life and a love that was stolen from him in cruel act of betrayal." -- ADV Films' DVD description.

Review

ADV Films' release of Area 88, volume one, features the first three episodes in the series, which include,

Episode 1: Wings of the Desert
Area 88 is located deep in the unforgiving deserts of the Kingdom of Aslan, where there is at the present time a fierce civil war underway. Today, this isolated hub for mercenary pilots doing attack runs for the Kingdom, welcomes a newcomer, a photographer by the name of Makoto, who is here on special government permission to document what is happening in Area 88 and capture photos of the people that work here and the situations they deal with from day to day. Of further interest to this journalist is the only Japanese pilot in Area 88, Shin Kazama, but why is he particularly interested in this pilot?

Episode 2: Boris - The Setting Sun as Grave Marker
The Angel of Death. That’s the name given to Boris, a pilot who usually goes on extremely difficult missions with several wingmen only to come back alone. Everyone is now afraid to fly on the same mission as him, but as Makoto and Shin discover there may be a lot more to Boris’ story.

Episode 3: Viewfinder in the Sky
Why is Shin in Area 88? What is his purpose here and what keeps him moving from day to day? Makoto is interested in getting these answers, but his aggressiveness in pursuing his subject might backfire on him, or will it?

You know, Area 88 is one of those series that I’ve been meaning to explore further because it just looks like something I would completely enjoy. That’s not to say I haven’t, since I saw the original anime OVA’s a long time ago, read a little bit of the manga and even played through the Super Famicom game, but those were a long time ago and my memories of them have faded a little bit. With this new release by ADV Films my interest in Area 88 has increased ten-fold to say the least (even took out some of the music tracks from the old video game to listen to again).

In many ways this show reminds me of the feel that the very popular (and near perfect) film, Arcadia of my Youth had. It is a very romanticized, man’s world-oriented story that focuses on a Japanese pilot and his life in a base filled with mercenaries looking to make money and prove who is the best. The majority of what we experience is seen from the perspective of Makoto, an outsider who like us is trying to learn more about these characters and their way of life, which to most people would seen to say the least, utterly insane.

For this new series the basic premise that underlies Area 88 is intact. Basically pilots from all over the world come to Area 88 for the opportunity to make money and test their skills in combat. All accepted pilots must sign a contract promising 3 years, however this agreement can be broken if the pilot pays Area 88 $1.5 million dollars, which can be accumulated through several successful missions. The challenge however, is that the pilots are completely responsible for the costs to maintain their equipment, ammunition, food, fuel, etc. This added to the high casualty rate makes it almost impossible for anyone to break their contract early.

There is one pilot in the entire base that may just be able to pull this off before his contract expires, Shin Kazama, whose skills in combat, tactics and overall situation perception has helped him build a high ranking among the many pilots assembled in the base. What is driving this success is a mystery to all, as Shin is one of the more reserved members of this fairly eccentric group. This is his story and for this new TV series we get to experience it from the perspective of another character, a photographer who has traveled to Area 88 to document the events that transpire there from day to day. Like us he is new to this strange world and wants to desperately learn more, specially about Shin.

This point of view in the story works quite well and makes it easier to enter into the variety of situations and characters that we meet throughout the course of the story. Interestingly it also looks like there might be more to our pseudo-avatar in the Area 88 than appears on the surface. It’s almost as if he’s in search of something or someone, but this is barely hinted at in the early episodes. Rather the focus this early in the story is on Shin and some of the other characters in the base.

On the action/warfare front, things are quite spectacular and dynamic in this anime. Instead of going with more traditional hand-drawn artwork for the mecha the producers of this series decide to go with CGI jets and equipment. This makes for much more detailed air combat scenes that are realistically depicted and enhanced with several visual effects. I have to admit that I first I was quite resistant to this direction for the combat jets, but with each episode it grew on me and eventually I came to enjoy it and see it as something that wasn’t trying to take away from the beauty of hand-drawn art, but rather supplement it.

Production-wise Area 88 is quite beautifully depicted. The art style has been kept very close to that of the original manga an OVA releases, so it has a nice 70’s/early 80’s flavor to it (I applaud them for keeping everything as it was and not trying to go for a crazy makeover). Everything, but the mecha is drawn in amazing two-dimensional artwork that moves smoothly across the screen and is painted brightly with a variety of muted pastel colors.

The music soundtrack is suitable for what the show’s premise is and features some beautifu/atmospheric instrumental pieces and some rather catchy action-oriented instrumentals that help pump up the dogfights, but there is a noticeable lack of any one memorable piece or defining theme however. The voice acting was good on both the Japanese and North American tracks. Overall the casts put in a solid performance.

On the DVD front I have to admit that the cover art left me scratching my head. Being in the marketing field myself, I question how this art not only managed to get approved, but also how it somehow found its way to the end product! It looks like something that jumped out of an old Atari 2600 game box cover. Thankfully that aside everything else in the package is quite nice. Inside the box there is a small insert with information on the Japanese voice actors in the starring roles on one side and a small piece of art (would have made a much better cover btw) on the other. Extras within the DVD include production sketches, character and aircraft specs, clean opening and ending themes and previews for other ADV Films releases.

Final Thoughts

I absolutely loved Area 88! This is one of the more engaging anime series I’ve seen in a while and a definite top pick of the new crop of releases from these past two months. This title is very highly recommended for all anime fans. If you’re an Area 88 fan, drop everything you’re doing and go out and pick up this DVD, you’ll be extremely happy you did.

Jeff Couto