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Area 88

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is a Japanese manga series by Kaoru Shintani serialized between 1979 and 1986. The story is about a young pilot named Shin Kazama and his experiences at Area 88, a mercenary air force base secluded in the desert of a war torn country. Shin goes from head of his class at a world renowned aviation school dating the beautiful daughter of an airline president to a mercenary fighter pilot bound to Area 88 by a three-year contract that he was duped into signing by a jealous and competitive childhood friend. Determined to earn $1.5 million dollars to buy his way out of the obligation and return home, killing becomes second nature to Shin as he quickly rises to the top rank at Area 88.  Overwrought with shame and self-loathing for what he has become, Shin begins to question whether he is still fighting for survival, or like his fellow mercenaries, for the sheer excitement and camaraderie of battle.
Area 88 was among the first three manga to be translated into English and published in North America. It has been adapted into two anime (an original video animation and a TV series) and a video game. It is also a brand of model aircraft in Japan. While it appeals to aviation fans for its realistic depictions of aircraft and aerial combat, it has also been critically acclaimed for its strong character development and Shintani's poignant storytelling, combining action, tragedy, romance, and comedy.

Contents

Story

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Area 88 takes place in the late 1970s/early 1980s and is largely set in a war-embroiled Middle Eastern country called the Kingdom of Asran.Fansubs made prior to the licensing of the series in the United States often used different spellings than the official ones used here. The war uses mercenary fighter pilots, with its headquarters at a secret desert air force base called Area 88. Up-and-coming ace airline pilot Shin Kazama gets tricked into signing up by "friend" Satoru Kanzaki as part of his jealousy-fueled plot to steal Shin's girlfriend Ryoko Tsugumo. Facing execution for deserting from Area 88, Shin reluctantly turns into a fighter pilot and attempts to serve his three year contract out.

Area 88 attracts all kinds of people with all kinds of assorted and often sordid pasts. Among the other mercenaries are Mick Simon, an American who couldn't adjust to normal life after his tour of duty in the Vietnam War. Mick becomes Shin's best friend at Area 88. Another familiar sight at Area 88 is McCoy, a greedy weapons dealer who sells everything the mercenaries need from toilet paper to the planes that the mercenaries fly in battle. The commander of Area 88 is Saki Vashtal, who is actually a prince of the nation of Asran, though his royal heritage means nothing there. Also prominent on the base are the war photographer Rocky (presented as Makoto Shinjou in the 2004 anime), the Dane Greg Gates (later featured in the video game adaptation) and the numerous pilots with whom Shin flies (most of whom die over the course of the series, often in the issue in which they were introduced). Though the series focuses mostly on Shin, other characters (notably Rocky and Mick) did have their own individual storylines.

There are only three ways to leave Area 88: Survive three years (highly unlikely), buy out your contract for one and a half million dollars (difficult as a mercenary must pay for all his expenses) or desertion (a capital offense if caught). With each enemy plane brought down, Shin faces his shifting acceptance of the violence and killing that fills every day, as well as suppressing his feelings of wrong-doing. Eventually earning his release after numerous setbacks, he returns to normal life only to discover he has changed and can no longer fit into the life he once knew.

Time place

Area 88 is usually placed at late 1970s, first of 1980s, although evidence would make to place the series in 1984 , first a calendar is seen in both OVA and TV series placing a 30th April at Monday, 1979 and 1984 both have a Monday 30th of April. Second, the OVA featured the F/A-18 Hornet, and the Hornet entered service in 1983.

Variations

Each version of the Area 88 told slightly different variations on the same basic premise, and often shared individual story arcs. However, there are several key differences between each version, especially in the endings. The original manga ending had Shin returning to Japan, but losing all memory of his time in Area 88; the OAV trilogy had Shin return to Area 88 and his (surmised) death when the Area was overrun, and the 2004 anime truncated the story to just after Shin lost his F-5E.

The 2004 anime also introduced the permanent characters of Kim, from the manga, and Saki's cousin Kitori, who had never appeared in any prior versions.

Themes

The themes in Area 88 mostly revolve on the Vietnam War and those who have participated in it. The psychological state of the base's mercenaries are also noted, showing that most soldiers who have fought in conflicts from the early 20th century have reported difficulties in getting their lives back to normal.

Area 88 also depicts the use of freelancers in fighting wars as mercenaries have fought for various countries during the 20th century, with the attention of their field work in Africa for most of the time back then.

Characters

Freelancers

A Japanese pilot who was supposed to be employed at Yamato Air Lines (YAL), Shin was tricked into fighting for the Asranian air force in the country's civil war by his friend, Satoru Kanzaki, by letting him place his signature in an Asranian military sign up sheet after getting him drunk at a local bar. Shin became the top ace at Area 88, though he gradually felt his humanity slipping as his time at the Area passed.

Because of this, he was cold to most of the people inside Area 88; he would make friends with Mickey Simon, Kim Aoba, Kitori Palvanaff, Roundell and his commanding officer, Saki Vashtal. All his aircraft sported a flaming unicorn head painted on the tail.

His fate differs depending on the version of the story. See Variations for what happened to Shin at the end of the manga, OVA and TV anime series.

An American pilot who signed up to fight for the Asranian government in its civil war after leaving the Vietnam War in disgrace and in psychological trouble, as he is convinced that it would take a while for him to get back to a normal life. The self-proclaimed "number-two" pilot in Area 88, he was Shin's primary friend at the Area, and is found in all three versions of Area 88. The insignia found on his plane is a rabbit head resembling the Playboy bunny.

A young boy of Asian descent, Due to Kim's use of the turban and his dark skin, most sources place him to be of Sikh descent from India, but some noted that he was an African prince, as noted in one of Newtype USA's issue that covered Area 88's release by ADV Films. he was mocked by most of the base's freelance pilots and other personnel as they doubted his success to be in Area 88 as a hired mercenary since he was quite young to be fighting in Asran's civil war. Saki, Roundell, Mickey, Kitori and Shin regard the boy as someone that they can rely on in a matter of crisis. Kim only appears in the manga and 2004 anime; in the latter, his emblem consisted of a red swan with golden wings.

A bearded Danish mercenary, he is noted by the base's mercenary force for being the only person who couldn't die. Greg serves as comedic relief and humor, as his actions lead him to trouble with his comrades and his officers, not to mention unintentionally making the civil war even worse. Greg appears in all versions of Area 88.

Only daughter of the King of Asran and cousin of Saki Vashtal, she was sent to Area 88 as the base's only female freelance pilot. She lived in Area 88 as one of the boys, fighting alongside them under the base's terms. She takes a liking for Kim for being the youngest freelancer to serve in the Asranian air force and loves to tease him. Later on, she also take a liking for Makoto as she finds him friendly. She was mystified with Shin's personality, finding him cold and alone, though the two are on good terms. Kitori only appears in the 2004 anime. Kitori sports an emblem consisting of three red arrows against a red bow.

A former pilot for the South Vietnamese Air Force. He encountered Mickey several times during the Vietnam War, and he was known as the "Shark of Tonkin Bay". He frequently argues with Shin, mainly because Shin shot down a friendly fighter whose pilot was blinded. Nguyen enjoys the killing of enemy pilots, and even shoots an enemy pilot as he ejected from an aircraft. Despite his disagreements with Shin, he comes to respect him. He dies a fate similar to the pilot he shot down, being shot as he ejected from an aircraft. Nguyen only appears in the OVA.

A pilot who once flew at Area 88. He returns because he was hired by Kanzaki to kill Shin. He uses the confusion caused by battle with the Wolf Pack to kill Shin. However, he is killed when a seagull slams into his cockpit and causes him to lose control. Shin is able to bail out from his plane and survive. Charlie only appears in the OVA.

Base personnel

Head of the base's technician group. Supports the freelancers by doing field repairs to their jets before and after a sortie against the rebels. Gustav appears only in the 2004 anime.

The base's scrounger and head of the Area 88's PX shop, deals with American dollars as a means of currency transaction. He provided the mercenaries with most of the items that they need such as fighter jets and their respective armaments, with civilian items as well. McCoy appears in all version of Area 88.

Officers

An old man of British descent, he has his right eye placed on an eyepatch. He serves as the base's executive officer and the confidant of Saki Vashtal. He is also an excellent fighter pilot. Roundell appears in all three versions of Area 88.

A member of the royal family and a commissioned officer in the Asranian air force, he is distinguished by his black shades and his X-shaped scar on his forehead. Saki is Area 88's commanding officer, and appears in all three versions. He is the cousin of Kitori Palvanaff.

Others

A SO news reporter sent to Area 88 to cover the rumor of foreign freelance pilots fighting in the Asranian civil war, he was intrigued by Shin's presence as the only lone Japanese pilot to fight for the Asranian military. In the TV series, he confessed that his sponsor was Satoru Kanzaki because he wanted to get a photo of Shin's dead corpse as proof to Ryoko that he died in action, forcing her to get married to him. Rocky appears (with different names) in all three versions of Area 88.

The daughter of CEO Tsugumo of Yamato Air Lines, she met Shin and Satoru when she was first introduced to flying airplanes for the first time. Ryoko became infatuated with Shin before he left for Paris to conduct his pilot training. She became furious at Satoru when she found out that Shin was forced to serve in the Asranian air force against his will, refusing Satoru's wishes for them to get together. In the 2004 anime, Makoto visited her on the day of her supposed wedding and gave her a photo of Shin's F-5 jet with the crest of the unicorn. Realizing that Satoru lied to her, she ran away on their wedding day, forcing her father to postpone the wedding.

Shin's friend from the orphanage. He grew jealous of Shin due to his relationship with Ryoko and tricked him to serve with the Asranian military -- inteding that he be killed in action. CEO Tsugumo picked him to be his sucessor in Yamaoto Air Lines and arranged for him to get married to Ryoko. At the end, his wedding plans are ruined when Ryoko learns Shin's whereabouts after meeting Saki Vashtal and he is arrested for embezzlement.

Aircraft

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Important combat aircraft seen in the productions include:

Other aircraft that appear throughout the productions include:

Manga

The original Japanese manga of Area 88 was serialized in 23 volumes between 1979 and 1986 by Shogakukan. Each volume was black and white with a painted color cover and contained several short stories called "missions." In all, there were 172 such missions across the 23 volumes.

Area 88, along with Mai, the Psychic Girl and The Legend of Kamui, was one of the first three manga to be translated to English and published in North America by Eclipse Comics and VIZ Media in May 1987. It was published bi-weekly with each issue containing a single mission, of which the editors had planned to release all 172. The first 28 issues featured covers from the original manga plus some original artwork by Shintani, but as these resources were limited, the covers of issues #29-36 featured stills from the OVA film. With issue #37 in December 1988, VIZ Media took over the series, and in addition to featuring photographs of actual fighter jets on the cover, the publication went from bi-weekly to monthly and the price from $1.50 to $1.75. The series did not adjust well to the dramatic change, and with issue #42 in May 1989, it was canceled. It was later run as a feature in Viz's Animerica Magazine, but did not run to completion there.

Adaptations

Original video animation

Area 88: Original OVA Series
Enlarge
Area 88: Original OVA Series

An OVA trilogy produced by Group TAC was released between 1985 and 1986 on videotape and laser disc. These were later released with English subtitles in North America on VHS by U.S. Manga Corps in 1992. Only the first volume was subsequently released to DVD by Central Park Media on July 14, 2000. Apparently, the English subtitles on the DVD suffered from poor translation.[[Citing sources citation needed]] Central Park Media would later let the original OVA license lapse, which allowed ADV Films to release the trilogy on July 25, 2006. The two-DVD set will feature all three episodes dubbed in English, as well as extras including an interview with Kaoru Shintani and an introduction to the fighter jets portrayed in the series.

Media

TV series

An updated 13-episode TV series with CG graphics was created in 2004 and was first aired on Japanese and Asian TV stations by Animax and its branches. ADV Films took responsibility for distributing it in English and it was released, both regular and boxsets, starting on July 19, 2005[link].

Media

Video game

A shooter video game by Capcom was created in the late 80's, but it was released in the U.S. as UN Squadron, with only the characters connecting the two versions. Versions released included the Super Nintendo, Commodore 64, and Amiga, as well as a stand-up arcade game.

In the game, the player could select from Shin, Mick, or Greg as the pilot to play. Each came with a different plane and various advantages; for example, Mick could handle air-to-air dogfights well while Greg excelled at air-to-ground attacks. Each pilot also had special abilities; Shin mastered normal weaponry at the highest speed, Mick inflicted extra damage with his armaments, and Greg recovered from attacks almost before they occurred.

Practically none of the emotion or character development that occurred in the manga or OAVs were transferred over to the game. McCoy and Saki receive zero character development and all the pilots keep the same generic quotes after completing a mission.

Theme songs

OVA

  1. "How Far to Paradise" by Derek Jackson
  • "「悲しみのＤｅｓｔｉｎｙ」 (Kanashimi no Destiny)" by MIO

    • TV series

    1. "Mission (Fuga)" by angels
  • "Dance in the Battlefield" by Keiko Terada (eps 1-8)
  • "Dance in the Battlefield (English Version)" by Keiko Terada (eps 9-12)

    • Soundtracks

    Area 88 Opening Theme: Mission - Fuga

    Released on February 25, 2004

    1. "Mission (FUGA)"
    2. "Dance in the Battlefield"
    3. "Mission (FUGA)" - Instrumental Version
    4. "Dance in the Battlefield" - Instrumental Version

    References

    External links

     

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