801 TTS Airbats

You think the military are all proper people who are highly disciplined and well ordered? Well, think again. Of course for the purpose of entertainment, movies and shows need to be more interesting to have a rogue squadron that has a few troubled personnel. Hence, 801 TTS Airbats or Aozora Shoujo-tai may not be any different from those military or air force genres having weird and bizarre recruits, and it has the usual cliché of a new guy joining the team to find out the imperfections of these comrades. Not only he has to try and get along with them but all of them have to work together or the team will be disbanded. Wow. So troubled these people and their squad still survives? Must be one helluva comeback they always manage to pull off. Oh, what’s this budding romance waiting to explode between the characters too?! Don’t say I didn’t warn ‘ya.

Episode 1
Takuya Isurugi just transferred to the 801st Tactical Training Squadron AKA Airbats. He meets the commander of the division, Kouji Kengamine who asks if he knows what kind of squad this is. Of course as a newbie he doesn’t! He is then given a lift by Sakura Saginomiya who gives him an idea of what the squad is. Basically they live apart from other divisions in their own dorm. When she stops her vehicle just to pick her poor dog, Patriot lying about, Isurugi’s casual remark that it is just a dog has Saginomiya mad as she leaves him to walk to the dorm himself. Upon reaching, he is spooked by a bat and during his panic, accidentally enters the room while Miyuki Haneda is changing and subsequently Arisa Mitaka while she is bathing. It doesn’t help when he has a panty in hand during all the confusion. Beat down. Captain Mitsuru Konishi laughs off at this because he also did it himself when he was young?! WTF?! This muscle brain guy?! He introduces the other team member, Youko Shimorenjaku and that vampire bat is their pet, Chi. Isurugi will be their mechanic and maintenance guy. As Haneda takes Isurugi to his room (which is a storage place), he notes how he saw her in training and recognized that pretty face. Trying to score points? Later a talk with Haneda reveals that this division is actually an all-female flying acrobat team, Blue Impulse. But everyone here are problematic and has a past. Isurugi looks on the positive side and hopes to turn this into a real acrobatic team. When Mitaka gets Isurugi for a team briefing, Mitaka trying to ask if Isurugi likes Haneda since they’re close. She thinks everyone takes her side and doesn’t want to deal with a troublemaker like herself. Isurugi denies she is a bad person at all because if she was so, she wouldn’t last as a pilot. Trying to score points? She warns that everyone here has a problematic past and that’s why they were shipped here.

Konishi briefs the team member that there will be a test flight and Colonel Yumioka will be the judge. Since this division is draining the air force’s budget, he will need to see if they have what it takes to continue as a team. Otherwise, it will be disbanded. Isurugi notices Haneda’s reaction when Yumioka was in the room. Mitaka hints about them having an affair. Next day before the test, Isurugi learns the truth from Haneda herself that what happened was she hit her superior officer. Haneda then confronts Mitaka about telling weird stories to Isurugi but the latter claims that boy only assumed it all himself. So during the test flight, both have bad blood as they try to outdo each other. So much so, they fly too close and Haneda accidentally damages Mitaka’s wing and she cannot land properly. Can’t crash that million dollar plane, can she?! Isurugi makes a mad dash to those military fan boys outside. He borrows their equipment to communicate with Mitaka. You mean the military base has none of that?! He guides her to land safely. Awkward moment as the feuding ladies thank each other. How awkward will it get when Isurugi gets in the picture? With this display of awesomeness, Yumioka decides to let the division stay, much to Kengamine’s dismay. If he really wanted so much to get out of this division, why not just quit? Or does that mean quitting the air force entirely?

Episode 2
Isurugi the commanding officer as he guides Haneda to take down the enemy jet?! Yeah, you bet that it is all just his daydreaming. It seems tomorrow is Isurugi’s birthday as he personally goes to remind everyone about it! How the f*ck does he not expect anything in return the way he bugs others?! Mitaka thinks of taking him out to dinner but just as she is about to tell him, he sees Haneda talking to him. They look like they’re enjoying each other’s company. Oh, they’re talking about Isurugi’s present. Seems Haneda has the same idea of taking him out to dinner too. This makes Mitaka mad as she storms off. During practice, Haneda and Youko talking casually about a good place to eat so much so this pisses off Mitaka as she flies dangerously close to her. As a result, the tip of wing gets damaged. But no biggies this time. Kengamine is all smiles because this might affect the reputation and so he gives Isurugi his early birthday present that could be his farewell present. WTF Mitaka so mad at what she did that she stands in the rain for so long until she gets sick?! Next day, as Isurugi dresses up all nicely and ready to go for his dinner, he checks on Mitaka and panics upon knowing she is sick. F*cking sh*t, this guy is willing to abandon his date just to nurse her?! Well, feeling guilty for yesterday’s practice is one thing. Poor Haneda, she’s waiting for him at the restaurant and he never showed up. YOU MEAN THEY DIDN’T GO TOGETHER?! She tries to call base but Isurugi so engrossed in caring for Mitaka that he didn’t even notice?! What about the rest? Well, they’re at the horse track betting… Mitaka needs to go to the toilet so Isurugi carries her. Thank goodness for the plane flying over so he can’t hear her whisper how much she wants to stay this way forever. After that she gets up and trolls him that she wasn’t even sick in the first place.

That night, you think Haneda would be mad at Isurugi for standing up on her. However she yells at Mitaka for ruining their date and being inconsiderate, taking advantage of Isurugi’s kindness since she is under the assumption that Mitaka faked her sickness (well, Mitaka looking all fine now). Mitaka tells her to STFU and stop playing the victim. Isurugi wants to blame himself but is told to STFU too. So he has no say in this? The rest then return. Konishi and Youko in tears because they lost all their money!!! Had they only listened to Saginomiya, the only one who made the big bucks! Konishi is sad because he wanted to buy Isurugi’s present with the winnings. Suddenly Isurugi passes out. Looks like he caught Mitaka’s fever. Then he continues that weird dream. This time the enemy fighter is Mitaka who has defected. She ends it all by nuking the goddamn place!!! Thank goodness just a dream, eh? But it’s hell time as Isurugi wakes up. Because Haneda and Mitaka are feuding with each other! Oh dear, a bomb of another sorts is going to set off soon!!! I guess bickering > being considerate over Isurugi’s health. It ends with Mitaka claiming she will never partner with that b*tch. Haneda in tears. Oh, what would Isurugi do? If that doesn’t add to the woes already, Yumioka mentions another flight test in a week. He wants to see if the pilots have learnt anything about teamwork. Otherwise, it’s disbandment time again.

Episode 3
Another practice and yet another feuding between Mitaka and Haneda. Mitaka pulling off a very dangerous manoeuvre that almost seems like she will crash into others. But this stunt is so good that Yumioka believes at this rate they’ll have to acknowledge this division. Don’t worry. Kengamine has a fool proof plan. When the practice is done, Konishi and Mitaka are summoned by Yumioka. It seems Mitaka has been given an offer to fly a real Eagle and be in a real combat squadron. She will be based in Nyutabaru base. Long story short, despite Mitaka knows she will be leaving Isurugi, she jumps on this chance. However this transfer will be done tomorrow and the test flight is the day after. Since they’re taking so long, WTF Isurugi goes to look for them. WHY?! Does he not believe in them? Ah, then he overhears Konishi chiding Kengamine of this plan to take away Mitaka and disband the team. However Kengamine says that this special offer was ordered by General Tsukamoto and if Mitaka declines, she will be going against his order. Either way, the squad is screwed. Mitaka is hanging out at an arcade and notices an old man having a hard time getting a plushie from a crane game for his granddaughter, Kumi. Mitaka gets it in 1 go for her. As she leaves, an accident occurs nearby. How the f*ck strong is that crash because that pole is going to crash on Kumi! Mitaka becomes the hero as she rides her bike to save Kumi. Although she also crashed, she protected Kumi. Mitaka returns to base and enters Isurugi’s room while she is sleeping. She won’t be here tomorrow and is sad she has to leave him. She is about to kiss him but wakes up! Oops. Since he heard the whole thing, he encourages her to fly since it’s a rare chance. However she gets mad! She doesn’t want to leave this place and was hoping he would stop her! Haneda comes in and misinterprets the whole thing. Poor Isurugi gets slapped while Haneda sad that Mitaka also loves him.

Next morning, Konishi reveals to the rest what happened. Mitaka has already left for Nyutabaru. Haneda feels guilty for jumping to conclusions. But what about the test flight? In that case, Youko will take over Mitaka’s spot. At Nyubataru, Mitaka is shocked to see that grandpa here. He is actually Tsukamoto. Knowing she has her own troubles, he gives her his direct line to call in case she needs any help. This is the least he could do as thanks for saving Kumi. That night, Isurugi answers a call. He knows it is from Mitaka because sound of the Eagle jet in the background! But she didn’t say a thing and hangs up! WTF was that all about?! Isurugi maintains a positive outlook over tomorrow’s flight test but WTF Haneda getting emotional about not forgiving Mitaka and crying in his arms? I don’t know what’s going on… As the test flight gets underway, everyone is impressed the ladies pull off very tricky stunts. Yeah, the guys find it hard to believe that Youko can pull this off! Even bigger shock, if Youko is standing here, who is up there piloting it?! It’s Mitaka of course?! But how?! They think she has defied Tsukamoto’s orders but looks like that old fart is here to confirm that he allowed her to return. He also makes it official that Airbats will be an official combat squadron. Hooray! But not sure WTF Tsukamoto need to announce that Isurugi is Mitaka’s boyfriend?! Mitaka trying to brag to Haneda this means they are official since the general himself said so. Tsukamoto lets Isurugi say something and to man up. It’s okay at first he tells them to concentrate on their flight. And then he announces one of them will be his girlfriend and the other his mistress. WTF???!!! Wow. You girls have been taken for a ride now. Feeling stupid? No wonder Tsukamoto laughing his ass off. And I thought this was supposed to be a serious military thing…

Episode 4
To celebrate Airbats as an official squadron, the gang is taking a vacation. Well, not the sunny beach and the babes in swimsuits like you think. It’s just Isurugi daydreaming. Because he is freezing to death! Yeah, where the hell is this vacation in the middle of some blizzard mountain. To help alleviate the freezing cold, Konishi tries to tell some ghost story from those war days. Don’t look now, there could be one of those dead soldiers looking at them! Finally they reach the inn. Yeah, looks more haunted than first class! First class might just be its name… Mitaka is spooked, thinking she saw a ghost but turns out to be a granny and owner of the inn. So as they have free time until dinner, I guess nobody wants to hear Saginomiya sing so they all excuse themselves to the toilet. This has them stumble into a hangar that lies an old Zero plane. It doesn’t help when granny tells more ghost stories about it, especially about its kamikaze pilot. When everyone soaks in the outdoor hotspring, the dirty old men think of peeping at the girls. Yeah, it’s just next door. But the girls thought they saw a ghost! They rush over to the men’s side! The old farts get run over as Haneda and Mitaka cling all over Isurugi. All naked. Yeah, he might die and become a real ghost! Granny continues to assert it is a ghost and warns them to treat him nicely next time.

Isurugi is intrigued by the Zero and goes to fix it. In the middle of the night, the ladies realize their underwear is missing. Since Isurugi isn’t here, they think he is the culprit. However granny can vouch he was fixing the zero all night long. Then who is the culprit then?! Don’t tell me it’s the ghost! Oh yeah, granny warns this time the next time the ghost pops up, he will take a victim! Gulp. Deep in the night, Mitaka hears something from Haneda’s futon. Haneda thought Isurugi is screwing her but turns out to be that said ghost! HOLY SH*T!!! But when the lights are on, this ghost turns out to be an old man. Get him! At the same time, Isurugi has fixed the Zero and it is now in working condition. The old man pushes him out and flies it. Seems he has been trying to fix it for ages and now it’s working. Bye, suckers! However, he sees the sexy bodies of the ladies and loses concentration, crashing the Zero into the hotspring. Easy come, easy go… When they interrogate him, turns out this old man has been masquerading himself as a granny to grope victims and a ghost to scare off others. The girls want to give him the death sentence but WTF Isurugi doesn’t think he is a bad person because he loves planes?! Is that his only justification?! Not buying it! Death sentence comes when Saginomiya starts singing… Uhm, let’ just say the old fart didn’t sleep from her lullaby… No pulse!!! Oh sh*t!!!

Episode 5
Another usual Airbats training. But look who is usurping them. Yup, it’s those American Thunderbirds led by Lt Amelia Yeager. Yeager sounds like she is being sarcastic and mocking about the Japanese way for life and their peaceful ways. Mitaka and Haneda have to control their anger since they have been ordered to treat their guests nicely. Does Isurugi have something to say to them? Yes, he praises how awesome their F-16s are! It’s certain. This guy only sees planes in his eyes. During the party, the Japanese serves the Americans. Kengamine being a clown and trying not to offend the guests. Yeah, trying to carry balls? However those Americans force Youko to drink so when she becomes drunk, she becomes rowdy. And you thought there was already enough trouble since they have to handle this event well. After all, the media from both nations will be watching and their cooperation will be vital to see both sides exchange ideas and info. With Mitaka and Yeager badmouthing one another, it reaches a point whereby Yeager tries to punch Mitaka but misses. Made a fool out of herself. Party’s over. Where’s Isurugi in all of this? Still admiring the F-16’s, huh?

During practice, Mitaka and Yeager continue their spat. Their dogfight (which is also technically a b*tch fight) has them trying to outdo each other and it makes their flying very dangerous. Since Yeager’s arm was injured in last night accident, she can’t control her joystick well. A little air collision and this affects her landing gear. So when she tries to land, she crashes! There goes the plane. But luckily Yeager still breathing although she has to be hospitalized. With this incident, you bet Tsukamoto is not pleased. Even more so this promoter dude is trying to muscle his way and using his influence to cover up the incident. As it is already hard to get the Americans to agree on this publicity stunt, he goes too far when he starts to badmouth the Japanese air force. Surprisingly, Kengamine is about to beat him up but Konishi holds him back. Even if this guy hates Airbats, he still has his pride as a pilot. To take responsibility of this, somebody needs to replace Yeager. Yeager has her pride too and will not pull Thunderbirds out of it. Airbats discuss who to replace Yeager. Everyone has their excuses or roles. Youko trying to volunteer but everyone ignores. Eventually, Kengamine is to do it. After all the practice, Thunderbirds pull off a magnificent air show. To help cover up this, Kengamine is also dressed like Yeager! Ugly. Only when the media gets up and close for the interview, did the real Yeager switch with him. Yeager and Mitaka make amends and commend each other. Then everybody excuses themselves to not hear Kengamine brag about how awesome he is.

Episode 6
Youko telling her comrades about a ramen eating contest next week and the winner will receive free ramen for the entire year. So, Haneda and Mitaka arguing whom Isurugi is going with? They even stop in the middle of training to demand his answer?! So as Kengamine admonishes them for this, Konishi makes it worse as he wants the entire team to enter this contest! So, not sure about the logic for Konishi as he drags Isurugi up early in the morning for some weird training. From physical training to even eating exercise, I bet Isurugi is going to puke at the sight of food at the end of the day. Of course Haneda and Mitaka have their own ulterior motive to win this contest. They think Isurugi will love them if they present the free ticket meals to him since this boy spends all his salary on airplane models. And what good does it have in store for Kengamine? Well, Tsukamoto says he’ll get promoted to another base so you bet he is happy to get this free ticket out of this freak show. Because Konishi has a huge advantage due to his past eating contest winnings, Saginomiya traps him by taking him out to dinner. Turns out to be a karaoke joint. Yeah, that zapped the zeal out of him. You think this is going to be an ordinary eating contest but WTF?! Suddenly the military surrounds them place! It seems this is a big event! Not only the military all over Japan are watching this but the Americans too?! Oh boy. There’s a lot of betting going on. And the ramen store owner wonder what the f*ck is going on?! So our warriors enter the joint, getting ready to take on the challenge. I guess the first to baulk is Isurugi. All that training for nothing, huh? Or was it a ploy for this? Too bad those girls can’t flirt with him now. With Kengamine sabotaging Konishi’s bowl (each time, a bigger portion is added) and his lost zest, eventually Konishi keels over. This is big news because a lot betted on him! Big time loss! Haneda and Mitaka went out together, putting Tsukamoto in a bind. So, he betted on them and was behind in getting rid of Konishi?! And just when Kengamine thought he’d won, looks like it is petite Youko who actually won it. This girl loves eating junk food so this is nothing to her. Yeah, she still has room for dessert! The military sure lost big time. Everybody the biggest losers. Well, except for one big winner: Saginomiya. So big her win that she can even afford to go betting on horse races. And still win!! OMFG…

Episode 7
While Konishi is giving everyone else a hell training (“How can you wuss protect the country in that shape?!”), Saginomiya is cleaning the room and dropping out from a box is a wedding ring box. Well, this sure brings back memories. So we go back in time when Saginomiya was just a cadet and joined the air force. Konishi was of course smitten with her. He too has a best friend named Toshimitsu Tokaji who is popular among the ladies. However those b*tches get very jealous when they hear Saginomiya might get transferred to some Fighter Training (FT) programme if she takes some test. One day, Konishi and Tokaji spot a depressed Saginomiya. Turns out she just buried a very old dog who died. To cheer her up, they take her to a horse race. No prizes to guess who won and who lost. Then at the bar, the moment Saginomiya belts out her enka, Konishi can’t stand it and rushes out. Does he have something against this genre? Saginomiya and Tokaji talk about the latter and Konishi trying to live out their childhood dreams in the air force. He hopes Saginomiya would take the FT test and fly in the same skies with them. When those fan girl b*tches heard about Saginomiya being with Tokaji, they try to get her but only end up making a fool of themselves. During practice, Tokaji tells Konishi that he is in love with Saginomiya. Woah! Almost lost control of the plane there. But Konishi won’t give up. During a beach outing, when Tokaji goes to get ice cream, Konishi tries to usurp and propose to Saginomiya with a wedding ring. However he was too nervous and she went to Tokaji since he forgot his wallet. During the day of her FT test, those b*tches are at it again. Because Tokaji is on his way to watch her test, they lie that the test is delayed and lead him elsewhere, supposedly where Saginomiya is waiting. Saginomiya gets into the plane as she keeps looking over her shoulders for Tokaji. No handsome guy. Just that moustachioed Konishi. WTF, can Konishi actually run up to her as she prepares to take off?! As he is about to hand her the ring, for that moment she mistakes him as Tokaji. To cover up this embarrassment, Konishi says this is from Tokaji and was told to give it to her since he was too shy. Happy, she puts the ring on. Saginomiya thanks Konishi for it. That smile, not sure if it was both happy and heart breaking for Konishi. Saginomiya takes to the skies as Konishi will figure something out. Back in present time, Saginomiya of course knows the ring is from Konishi because inside the box, he wrote please marry me and signed it. She still continues wearing the ring, though.

Going Bats On This Flight Of Fancy
Well… If there was one thing that I would really want to complain is that this series doesn’t have a proper ending! Yeah, that final episode wasn’t even really final and it feels like as though they wanted to make more but decided to scrap it. Did they run out of budget? Or somebody not happy how these episodes were adapted? Hence, the series curiously ‘ending’ with Saginomiya’s past. I won’t say it is bad but it sure had a huge impact on me thinking how this series should’ve been had it had more episodes. I was enjoying watching this series when suddenly it just ended like that. For example, you’re have a nice slow drive and suddenly you have to jam on the brakes and come to a grinding halt because you see a cute little doggie ran across ahead. Doggie alive. But how will my back fare from the sudden whiplash? Get what I mean? The series was moving along fine and to suddenly ‘end’ like that, it sure gives a weird incomplete experience.

The way it ends so suddenly has one asking a lot of questions that of course will never be answered. For instance, what happened to that Tokaji guy? What came of him after those crazy b*tches pulled him away? I mean, really, what happened to him? If he is not in Airbats, where is he now? Is he in another division? Has he defected to the enemy? Or is he dead?! After all, Konishi and Tokaji seemed to be inseparable but present time shows a different ball game. Like as though that past flashback was a different alternate timeline.

As far as the OVAs are concerned, there doesn’t seem to be a coherent story or plot. At least, not after Tsukamoto officially made Airbats a combat squadron. Because after that, the episodes that follow feel mostly like filler and standalone episodes. I mean, what the heck we have the squad going to some wintry vacation inn and then a ramen eating contest and finally a somewhat mellowed down finale that curiously explores on Saginomiya and Konishi’s pseudo romance. Does that not feel a lot like nonsensical filler episodes to you? I don’t know. Like I said, perhaps there were supposed to be more episodes but it was scrapped. If so, the series may have some sort of a plot after all that because you know, these so called fillers are there perhaps to build some character development. Unfortunately we will never know unless you go read the manga.

Because of that, I can’t say much about the characters too. You get what you see in these episodes. That is all. Not enough episodes to flesh them out and explore their pasts, especially Haneda and Mitaka whose relationship is considerably worse than cats and dogs, oil and water, fire and ice. It’s like they live to (verbally) fight with each other and that’s their destiny. Hence we don’t know how bad they are an air force personnel to end up in this squadron. Haneda said she did punch a higher ranked officer. But we’d like to see that instead of just hearing it. What about Mitaka? Not too sure but I’m guessing she is of a delinquent status. You know, those stereotypic ingredients of being badass, riding a bike and yeah, dark skinned. Heh.

It gets even weirder when both of them fall for the same wuss mechanic AKA Isurugi. If he would have it his own way, I’m sure his first love, girlfriend and wife would be planes. Haneda and Mitaka can both be relegated to his mistresses! Feeling really stupid now to fall in love with him now, huh? Isurugi’s honest to goodness character is perhaps the main reason they fall for him. Otherwise, who else is there? Konishi is just big and loudmouth. I don’t know, the more he flashes his big smile, the more idiotic he looks. The other subtle romance we don’t see, Konishi might not know it till this day but I believe Saginomiya still returns his love subtly. Yeah, remember the time she would offer her pantsu to him, thinking he might be the panty thief that was lurking around? Kengamine is just a spiteful character but plays more of a foiled joker role. Each time he tries to disband Airbats or get out of here, it all backfires in his face. Yeah, that Thunderbirds episode for a bit of redemption but he is still overall a loathsome character we all love to hate. So where does that leave the most eligible bachelor for Haneda and Mitaka? There is going to be another sort of war if Isurugi doesn’t settle this decisively. In retrospect, the love triangle feels weird and didn’t really go anywhere. Like as though they needed some extra side distraction and drama to boot. Because from time to time suddenly out of the blue you’ll see them shamelessly trying to fight over Isurugi and then the next, back to normal. Strange indeed.

The rest of the other members in the squadron, Youko who is small in size but big on appetite while Saginomiya is some sort of gambling genius. Heck, she could be the goddess of gamblers for all we know! She should be nicknamed Lady Luck due to her ability to never lose a bet and make a profit out of it! This is evident even in bets among colleagues. You initially see her making a bet with others and at the end of it all, she always wins and asks the loser for her rightful money. If she wasn’t an air force pilot, she could’ve actually made a killing in gambling and give those like Kaiji a very big run for their money. Not sure in exchange for being a great gambler, she sucks in singing. I mean, she isn’t that bad but the rest acts like as though she is a horrible singer. Hmm… Maybe I don’t have prolonged exposure to her singing…

Then you have Chi who feels very underutilized as the series’ mascot. I’m just guessing the squadron is named so and hence they need to have a pet bat as one. Not even close to being as lovable as a Disney pet sidekick since it does nothing memorable except annoy Kengamine. At least not as forgettable as Patriot who appeared only at the beginning and the end. Pretty much MIA in between. Second pet mascot, failed. So even if Airbats are supposed to be filled with personnel with some sort of troubled past, they look more like a bunch of weirdoes. Which is pretty normal in many animes because you always need to have that odd bunch, right?

While the art and animation reeks retro 90’s style anime, if there is one thing you will notice is that how much attention and detail they put into the jet planes. When most animes just skimp over details and draw a pretty drab and plain object, this series at least shows you the detailed cockpit and all. Pretty impressive, no? It is no surprise since this anime was made with the cooperation of the JASDF themselves. Yup, can’t miss that big credit on your screen right at the start. The first thing this anime did was to credit them for their help. That is why in every episode, there is at least 1 sort of jet plane being featured. That’s why Isurugi is like a plane maniac and knows some technical details about it while ranting away. Uh huh.

In view of this, sometimes it feels like this show wants to help promote JASDF. But I’m not sure if having weird characters is a way to help JASDF’s public image. After all, with the weird drama between the characters as well as the weird flow of the story, one would hardly feel that this is a blatant promotion stunt. It’s not like they spam something technical every minute in your face. So, considering that, is that why this series didn’t get more episodes because it might find itself treading too close to military secrets?! Or engaging the real air force is the reason why they ran out of budget?! But you do notice that despite being a military and air force themed anime with fighter jets, you don’t see the characters gunning down enemy planes, right? There are no deaths whatsoever in this anime! Top Gun this is not! Oh yeah, they really want to promote Japan as a peaceful nation!

As for the character designs, they’re pretty 90’s style stereotypes with Isurugi being the generic plain kid main character while Mitaka and Haneda being your hot babes. This being said, some characters look awfully like others like Yeager looking a lot like the female Ranma of Ranma 1/2. Konishi, this guy reminds me of some G.I. Joe dude. Gung Ho was it? But the strangest looking character has got to go to Kengamine. At least when he is in dumbfounded mode. Now, when he is in this shocked and flabbergasted mode, he looks so much like Jimmy Neutron’s friend, Sheen! Holy f*ck! I see the f*cking resemblance there! Otherwise in normal mode, he is has typical villainous look like say, El-Hazard’s Jinnai. This anime was done by Studio Fantasia who did the Aika series, Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien, Soukou No Strain and Stratos 4.

Voice acting, I was wondering why Isurugi sounded so familiar. Ah damn, it’s Shinichiro Miki voicing yet another young lad. And it wasn’t too long ago I watched an old retro series whereby he voiced a young boy too, Metal Fighter Miku. I’m starting to believe he was a young man then so he sounds a bit different from the voice that I often identify with. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize he too was behind Tokaji’s voice! So you know what this means? What if Isurugi is Tokaji?! Or his son?! That could answer (stupidly) there whereabouts of Tokaji. And isn’t that why Konishi is somewhat quite fond of Isurugi? Aside being the only guy around. Now he has someone younger to boss around?

It’s pleasant to hear Norio Wakamoto as Konishi. Not as flamboyant as I thought he would be but at least it beats another recent OVA I watched featuring him that didn’t sound like the him I know: Yagami-kun No Katei No Jijou. Kikuko Inoue as Saginomiya of course feels very much at home. The other casts are Ai Orikasa as Mitaka (Ryoko in Tenchi Muyo series), Aya Hisakawa as Haneda (Skuld in Aa! Megami-sama), Yukana Nogami as Youko (C.C. in Code Geass), Hideyuki Umezu as Kengamine (Akadama in Uchouten Kazoku), Nobuaki Sekine as Yumioka, Rei Sakuma as Yeager (Shampoo in Ranma 1/2)and the late Mahito Tsujimura as Tsukamoto.

The opening theme is Niji Ni Naritai by Mayaka. A pretty generic anime rock that befits the theme of this series. The first ending theme is Taiyou Ga Atatameta Kimochi by the duet of Haneda and Mitaka sounds a little bit jazzy and a sunshiny song for the summer. Saginomiya then sings the second ending theme, Fuchuu Shigure (which only lasts a single episode) which is of course enka themed. Well, it’s not actually bad at all so I think everybody was just trolling or have bad taste when Saginomiya sings. Finally Youko gets the third and final ending theme with Aozora No Love Letter. A moderate slow piece but sometimes feels a bit strange with the strings and background choir voice accompaniment.

Overall, this anime feels like a missed opportunity. It had a lot of potential but unfortunately it came to an abrupt halt. Because of that, the series really feels underwhelming in that sense. Before the seat could be warmed up and you’re just starting to get into the fun, it has already ended. Thus that weird incomplete feeling when you realize there are no more episodes after that and the whole series didn’t really end. But I suppose that this anime is still way better than the few recent stinky OVAs that I’ve watched. If you don’t mind that incompleteness that I’ve talked about, then this OVA is pretty much enjoyable in its own right. Possibly one of those underrated and hidden gems of the mid-90’s. But if they start thinking of having a reboot or remake of this series because nowadays we’re running out of original ideas so the trend is to go back and dig up for unpolished gems, that’ll be bats in their belfry. But then again, if it does happen, I won’t bat an eyelid.