Area 88 Volume 1: Treacherous Skies - Denkyu.Com
- Denkyu.Com
- Sojian
- 08/15/05
- click here
Area 88 is a compelling war drama that focuses on Shin Kazama, a superb mercenary pilot that fights for the Kingdom of Asran. The story starts with the introduction of Makoto Shinjou, a battlefield photographer whose job takes him to Area 88, a small airfield in the desert of Asran. There Makoto finds he is not welcome after being punched by Mickey Simon, a blond haired mercenary pilot and one of Kazama's friends. Makoto is determined and after taking a death defying shot of Shins plane; the pilots accept him.
As the story progresses it is found out that Makoto is not there as a field reporter for a media company. Makoto's client remains a mystery throughout most of the show but his attachment to Shin Kazama seems to be more than just being the only other Japanese person at the base.
Shins past is also slowly revealed through short flashbacks. The flashbacks focus on his lost love, Ryouko and his not so best friend Kanzaki. How Kazama was originally planning on marrying Ryouko, daughter to the president of an airline company, but tricked into joining Asran Airforce instead.
I found Area 88 to be good because it did not focus on the action as much as the characters and the relationships between them. It actually pulls off something of a story than other action oriented animes that seem to placate to graphics and fighting. Another reason I found Area 88 to be unique is that it used techno music for the plane fights which I found to go well with the anime.
The one problem that I found with this series is when I first watched it years ago is that it has an open ending. The manga goes further in the story and gives a sad twist to Kazama's future. The anime in comparison says nothing about what happens to him and does not try to assure the viewers that everything turns out well.
Area 88 has been around since the 70s as a popular anti-war manga featuring Shin Kazama and followed a similar plotline to the modern day anime. There was also a 3 part OVA that was picked up by Central Park Media. Last there was a game released for the Super Nintendo called UN Squadron.
UN Squadron also featured the same characters and a similar background story. UN squadron was a slide scrolling game where you flew a plane with the special feature that one had to buy the ammo and buy new planes at the base from McCoy the merchant (as seen in the anime as well). Also you could fly as Shin Kazama, Greg Gates, or Mickey Simon (all featured in the anime).
Posted on Monday, August 15, 2005 (Archive on Thursday, September 15, 2005)