Introduction
Deep in the sandy plains of the Middle Eastern kingdom of Asran, Japanese photojournalist Makoto Shinjou travels to the remote airbase Area 88 to document the activities of the mercenaries who destroy the country's enemies for a living. Among their ranks is Shin Kazama, a Japanese ace pilot who was tricked by his former best friend into signing a contract with the Asran's fighter squad. Because of this, he lost his career as an airline pilot and the chance to marry his fiancee Ryoko Tsugumo. Now, Shin has three choices in order to leave Area 88 and return to Japan: serve the mercenary group for three years, earn US$1.5 million, or desert the base, risking imminent death.
(Source: ANN)
Audience reviews
7 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Plastik
I have seen this anime get its fair share of negative reception, I once read an entire twitter thread from somebody laying out piece by piece why they hated the show and presumably, anybody else should too- But even after the 80s OVA set a very high bar for me, I absolutely adored this anime adaptation. The animation is nowhere near as good as the 80s OVA, with the intricately animated sequences of fighter jets being torn to pieces, and turbine engines being displayed for the whole world to see almost like human entrails being visible after being shot, are nowhere to be seen, and the extremely well drawn 2D jets have been replaced with CGI.
Despite this show having a longer runtime than the OVA, the story is never resolved like it is in the OVA. This sounds terrible, BUT this show gets a…
Read at the sourceBlaizeV
I adore the original 80's OVA version of this series. To me it's one of the greatest Anime ever made. So to say I went into this version nervous would be an understatement. I mean could it live up to it's predecessor or would it pale in comparison?
Well after having marathoned the series well inside 24 hours I can honestly say this version at the very least captures the spirit of the original. The tone of the series is much the same but it's not without some issues. The main issue I had is this TV remake is missing a bunch of the high points in the original OVA's story and alot of the details. The original OVA crescendo's at many points throughout and this version simply does not. To give an example take the Canyon mission, in the OVA this is a really big event and the tension ramps up m…
Read at the sourceMFGreth
The TV version of Area 88, in short, doesn't hold a candle to the 80's OVA. That being said, if you enjoy fast paced action, serious drama, stories about the psychological effect of warfare, and modern visuals, thus anime will suit you well. Some fairly realistic fighter planes are always a nice alternative to mechs, which we've become accustomed to being, generally, the centerpieces of this type of tale in the anime medium.
The TV version is a little more light-hearted than the OVA adaptation, and maybe easier to get into for that, but it suffers for the same reason. It's also not paced nearly as well. If you find yourself interested, think less "Legend of the Galactic Heroes" or "Armored Trooper VOTOMS" and more "UC Gundam".
Read at the sourcenina4life
First of all, let me point to one thing I find important. This show is underrated.
Being ranked #1600+, it really deserves better spot.
That's not saying this show is greatest show ever, but it is really good at what it does.
STORY
When show first started I was kinda confused with happenings. It's about area 88, a base for mercenary pilots fighting in some war. Which war it is is never told. Some might find that stupid, but the whole war is only second to true story, which is about a pilot Shin Kazama and photographer Shinjou.
ART
Well, show is aired in 2004, means graphics could have been better. They are still awesome at some moments, when portraiting the sun, the deset and the emotions. Dogfights could have used more polishing though. Every fight seemed the same. There are few diffe…
Read at the sourceRdionne
This show was quite entertaining, however I found that it felt like the beginnings to a 24-36 episode show. This and the fact that this iteration of Shin Kazama is very robotic (with the intent of the viewer seeing the character as others see him) detracts heavily from the overall story of the series. I feel that even with this issue, this is still a good series to start an aviation nut on.
Read at the sourceKoolag1
I did kind of expect a little more from Area 88 in the story department but the aircraft detail is quite remarkable. In one episode were Shin narrowly misses hitting a 747 with his F-104 suggest that weight turbulence don't have any effect, also it does leave the question if a collision could be avoid in that way.
The story has likable characters but has un-clarified story lines like why a mercenary air base exists and why they only ever seem to go up against Russian mig's. The Area 88 airbase acts more like a conventional airbase with regards to operation but mercenaries are suppose to work for who ever pays but this is not the case according to the story-line at least.
This could have been a very good series but it does not gel very well so you get a disappointing series to watch, its…
Read at the sourceamaity
I have been fascinated by fighter planes and dog fighting since I was a kid, and in that respect Area 88 was a treat! Top Gun fans will absolutely love this.
The plot revolves around a mercenary group of pilots fighting a war in a remote desert kingdom. In the midst of it all is an ace pilot Kazama Shin who was tricked into joining the squadron by his best friend - who also had eyes on Kazama's fiance. The only way to leave the war is to serve out three years or pay a $1.5 million fine - deserters are shot down by their comrades. It's not a spellbinding story, but has enough substance to allow the artwork and the spectacular animation sequences to hold your attention.
From the detailed drawing of various aircrafts - Mirage 2AE, Crusaders, F-14 Tomcats, Tigershark AE, to the brilliant dog…
Read at the source