Area 88 (2004) Target: 01 Treacherous Skies, Ep. 1: Sky Blue

Adapted from one of the first manga’s to be imported into the United States, this somber and contemplative anime about mercenary pilots fighting in a civil war is not your usual cartoon. While filled with many action sequences, character development dominates the story when a mysterious photo journalist comes to airbase Area 88 within the war torn country of Aslan. Dogfights and death rule the sky while men’s souls are broken under a pitiless sun.

Years ago, Netlix suggested this series to me when I was investigating anime in an attempt to understand some of the teens at my church. It looked silly, but I thought “Hey, why not?” and added it to my queue. When it arrived, I cannot say I was eager to watch it, but there was nothing else to watch so into the DVD player it went.

Opening sequences and themes usually set the mood for an anime series (or live action for that matter) and the techno remix of a Bach fugue that opens this promised a lot of action and excitement. Mission (Fuga) by angels is the name of it and it is pretty good for that kind of thing. Pieces of action flew by in rapid succession and so I expected a Top Gun style series without much depth. Boy was I wrong about that. Very wrong.

Area 88 starts off moodily, with a photographer going through black and white photos of aircraft and pilots. There was a film noir feel to it, though it had nothing in common with the visual aspect of that genre. That got my attention because it told me this might be something different than I had seen before.

Keep an eye open for a few anachronisms. Since the show is clearly set in the early 1980’s, they will stand out. Can you find one above?

Pondering one photo of a young pilot, the photographer wondered if he was still flying in the desert sky. With that, a jump back in time happens and we see that pilot, Shin Kazama, flying in an F-8E Crusader. An F-8?! Talk about a classic to aviation enthusiasts and a lesser known fighter to the public. Now my attention was fully engaged.

There was little explanation given for what is going on, but Shin receives orders to intercept a trio of enemy planes over a desert. They turned out to be MiG-17’s and a thrilling dogfight that could have been out of the Vietnam War follows. It is well executed, though I have to point out Crusaders carried their AIM-9 Sidewinders on fuselage mounted rails, not on the wing pylons. Sorry, I build historically accurate scale models and this sticks out like a sore thumb to me. Fortunately, I am the forgiving type on errors like this since so few know the subject matter in the entertainment world.

Meanwhile, elsewhere an UH-1D Huey carrying the photographer from before approaches Area 88, a remote airbase. We find out the man is particularly interested in the Japanese pilot there, which makes sense as he is from the same country. Another thing we discover is that he is a cheapskate when it comes to bribing people. One dollar? Really?

Remote only begins to describe the desolate location nestled between rocky ridges in the desert. It can be said that locations add character to movies and here is a case where it nearly becomes a character in its own right as the series progresses. Area 88 is chaotic as a myriad of jet fighters and attackers launch on a mission. Aviation buffs will have fun picking out all the various types being used, including such rarities as Saab J-35F Draken fighters from Sweden.

Being a base full of mercenaries, an odd assortment of characters are there for the photographer to meet. Escorted by Kim, a far too young boy to be the pilot he is,  some appalling facts of life there are revealed. The worst has to be the 20% casualty rate and next is that the pilots have to pay for everything there. Fuel, ammunition, bombs, and planes are all on their own tab.

Revealing his name to be Makoto Shinjou, the journalist finally meets his subject of interest, Shin. It is a brief and wary meeting, for (the blond and blue eyed!?) Japanese pilot does not trust the newcomer. Hearing the ensuing thoughts of Makoto musing about the similarities of their names showed a contemplative side to the series that I was not expecting.

There is an attitude of impatience and recklessness about the mercenaries. Embodying this is Greg, who is an A-4 Skyhawk pilot who is like a mad bear. Landing a damaged bird, he pauses only to dump alcohol on his shrapnel damaged head before jumping in another jet to continue the mission. Of course this is perfect picture material for the eager photojournalist.

So is the crash landing of another Skyhawk which has a much worse outcome. This sets up a confrontation between the pilots and the photographer that nearly costs him his life. This is a rough place and the base it is not the safest place for someone who makes his money off of the pain of others.

As night falls, all the pilots are assembled for a strike against rebel air defenses. A draconian $5,000 fine will be imposed on anyone not participating in the exceedingly dangerous task of taking out surface to air missiles (SAMs). Only Shin and his friend Mickey can afford to skip out, which they do. With the risky night time mission underway, a sudden crisis erupts at the base. Can Shin and Mickey save the base and will Makoto get the photograph he came for?

Thoughts

Sky Blue is a typical setup episode, but one that manages to have enough self contained drama to avoid being slow moving. In fact, a great deal happens besides setting up plot points. Much of the structure is that of a mystery, with shady characters abounding and an aloof protagonist in Kazama, who broods over a mysterious pink haired woman.

Though filled with action sequences, a good deal of time is spent on character development. This is a thoughtful story about men at war and signs that not all is not right with Shin are already being shown. Despite the setting being in the desert, there is a strange claustrophobic feeling to all the proceedings. It is quite a contrast to the dogfights in the air, which are spectacular.

Something to note is that this is not a story for kids. While not going past the PG rating, the plot is aimed at older teens and adults. As I wrote before, there is a film noir attitude to the episode. An exception to this is the young boy, Kim, who flies a Sea Harrier FRS. 1. Unrealistic in a sea of realistic characters, I cannot help but think he was created for younger readers of the original manga.

Also unrealistic is Shin Kazama’s appearance. Here we have an “Aryan” looking blond who is supposed to be Japanese. In the original manga and OVA series, he was dark haired. Why they changed this is beyond me. But then again, the woman he keeps seeing in his memories has pink hair. And then there is his hair covering one eye while flying… Ah, those wacky anime character designs! I complain about it because the rest of the show is grounded in reality, at least compared to most anime.

When I first watched this episode years ago, it grabbed me and surprised me greatly. Watching it again after sampling more anime, it stands out even yet. It is the kind of show you can introduce to people who would never watch anime otherwise.

Area 88 is one of my top three anime shows, along with Fractale and Kimi ni Todoke.  Three very different stories and genres, but all tied for number one on my list. So consider it a must see recommendation.

Technical

In 2005, the now defunct ADV Films issued the Area 88 television series on four DVD’s during the hey day of anime in the United States. I’ll be reviewing the DVD’s themselves with the first episode of each. If I am not mistaken, it has been reissued, but these are still available new and for a pittance. I spent around $12 including shipping from a liquidator on eBay.

Disc one is titled Target: 01 Treacherous Skies and the copy I bought included the cardboard slipcase for the entire set. An insert in the DVD case has translated interviews with Takehito Koyasu (Shin Kazama) and Shinichiro Miki (Makoto Shinjo). It is clear they enjoyed the serious nature of the scripts and working on the show.

ADV did a tremendous job with the release and the quality is superb throughout. The video quality is excellent and presented in anamorphic widescreen that scales up very nicely. Oddly, there are slim black letterbox bars on the left and right on the episodes themselves, but not on the extras. Colors are well saturated and show off the money spent on the production.

Sound is equally excellent, with Dolby 2.0 for the original Japanese track and full 5.1 for the English dub. The dub itself is not bad, but nowhere as good as the original. As for the soundtrack, I will be doing a separate review of it in the future, but it is an eclectic mix of genres that sets the moods of the various scenes well.

The DVD menu is very clever and portrays part of the control panel of a fighter jet, complete with the sound of a jet engine spooling up.

Extras:

Target: 01 Treacherous Skies has quite a few extras. ADV skimped on nothing on this release. Included are:

Interview with Isama Imakaka (Director) and Hiroshi Ohnogi (Screenplay) – this is great fun and Ohnogi is quite the interesting character. Be warned that there are a lot of spoilers as they go into great depth on the making of Area 88. Much is explained about why things were changed from the manga and about the original characters created. The most striking comment was from the writer about how glad he was to write a quietly tasteful story in an era of half naked girls in anime.

Production Sketches – A short video of the character designs.

Clean Opening – Both opening title sequences are shown without all the credits in the way. Very nice and shows just how well done they were.

Clean Closing – Same as above, but not as impressive due to the animation being mostly static. If you like pink hair blowing in the breeze, this is for you. The song is great, though.

Aircraft Specs – On this disc, profiles of Shin’s F-8E Crusader and Kim’s Sea Harrier FRS. 1 are shown in a slide show. Complete stats are given including weapons load outs.

Character Bios – Once again Shin and Kim are featured, with the addition of Makoto. Be aware of spoilers from further on in the series.

ADV Previews – PG-13 previews of other series ADV put out.

BEWARE! HERE BE SPOILERS!!!

 

 

 

 

Makoto watching the moth flutter around the light bulb in his room seems to be a metaphor for his quest. The big question is will he get burned? His nearly suicidal attempt to get the picture of Shin possibly dying shows how utterly reckless he is. Perhaps he does belong with the mercenaries at Area 88 after all, since it gains him a grudging acceptance from Shin and Mickey.

Mickey’s F-14A seems out of place with the more readily available aircraft shown at the base. Being creative, I can explain it away as being a stolen Iranian Tomcat. More interesting is the fact that Mickey doesn’t fly with an RIO in the back seat. Since he doesn’t have any AIM-54 Phoenix missiles and the combat is all within visual range, I suppose it does not matter.

I find it intriguing that Shin’s expression changes so dramatically between the two openings. The change is something of a spoiler, with him going from a reserved, if fierce, expression to one of defeat.