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Area 88, Vol. 4 - Wings of the Wind

ADV Films // Unrated // January 17, 2006
List Price: $29.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]

Review by Don Houston | posted January 25, 2006 | E-mail the Author
Movie: The end of an anime series is, for me at least, a bittersweet thing; especially when I really like the show. There are so many shows that never make it over here to the USA that ooze quality and a large number that are so narrowly focused in terms of intended audience (no matter what some shills at other websites think) that do come here to a lukewarm response that the better titles really stand out in my mind. One such show I've enjoyed, and even won a spot on out coveted DVD Talk's Best of Anime 2005 list, was the Area 88 series. The minimalist nature of the show, the way all aspects combined so nicely, and even the manner in which it updates the original manga just enough to stay current some 25 years later all helped make this one a winner for me. Each volume of episodes seemed to have its own theme too but the final chapter, Area 88: Target 04: Wings of the Wind was one of my most anticipated shows of the New Year and I'm pleased to report it maintained the standards set forth in previous volumes. Not too unlike Volume 3, Shin's growing disenchantment with the life he already hated came to a boiling point, with external events causing him to come to a cross roads in his life with little ground for turning back. For those new to the series though, here's a bit of background to bring you up to speed:

Area 88: Target 01 explained the series like this: "Welcome to Area 88, a desolate outpost in the sun-blasted desert where mercenary fighter pilots risk their lives in service to the Kingdom of Alsam. Any skilled pilot will do - no questions asked. They literally kill for cash as they fight for the government of a country torn apart by a bloody civil war. The catch? Once you're in, the only way out is to serve your three year commitment, pay $1.5 million for breach of contract, or... face death as a deserter."

"Who are these pilots and why do they suffer the pains of the desert to serve a country that isn't their own? Some fight because it's all they know. Some have nowhere else to go. Some fly for the thrill of the game. Shin Kazama, the only Japanese pilot on the base, is different from the rest. He may be the only pilot capable of earning enough money to buy out his contract... if he lives long enough. But Shin fights only to return to Japan, to a life and a love that was stolen from him in cruel act of betrayal."

"Stunningly realistic animation and sound transport you into the soul of Area 88 where you can almost feel the jet wash on the desert wind. Once you're in, there's no going back. This is Area 88. In the desert the souls of men are either consumed by the fire or reborn from the ashes." In large part, that describes the entire series and Manga to a "T" as the characters follow their destinies in the military adventures that take place in the desert. The characters in this new anime series were almost all taken verbatim from the pages of the Manga and related American comic book translation with the sole exception of a news photographer called Makoto Shinjo (whose name, in Japanese, looks almost identical to lead pilot Shin Kazama, in a twist of fate). Shinjo's real motivation is to get a picture of Shin's dead face for his employer (Shin's old friend, Satoru Kanzaki, who happened to be the one that tricked him into his contract in the first place) but he keeps that secret as he gets a lot of great shots of the pilots before, during, and after their varied missions. With sortie after sortie where life and death hang in the balance, Shinjo hopes for a quick score as Shin manages to hold on time after time, defying the odds.

The idea behind the characters is that they get paid a certain amount for each mission they fly, each aircraft they down, or each ground target they destroy, with the money commensurate with the threat level each activity provides. The pilots have to pay for their own fuel, repairs, and weapon upgrades, hoping to balance out the books in their favor over time. Unlike Shin, most of them appear to be there on a voluntary basis, making his dilemma of "killed or be killed" all the more touching as he uses his impressive skills to routinely come back regardless of the odds that end the lives of his many comrades. In an effort to survive, Shin becomes increasingly colder as he determines to get back to his true love, possibly lost forever to the man who sold his soul while pretending to be his friend.

The episodes this time were 10) Fateful Contrails/Fire Ball, 11) Truth of the Sands/Truth, and 12) Wings of the Wind/Lock On. The initial episode dealt with an ace that is not only undefeated, but deals the base a heavy blow in terms of downing pilots. That he comes out of the past of one of the other pilots, who must then come to terms with his past is icing on the proverbial cake but the fact that he remembers his mentor drives home the message of war in general. The other two episodes deal mainly with Shin, his life before being a mercenary as it relates to his sweetheart, and Shinjo's revelation in regards to his mission. In all, they were suitable to the end of the show although I wish again that someone picks this one up and starts cranking out full seasons given the meaningful stories the show produced in this dozen episode run. For what it had to offer, I thought it should be rated Recommended with three solid episodes but the extras once again were superior.

Picture: Area 88: Target 04: Wings of the Wind was presented in its original 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen color as originally presented in Japan not long ago. The colors were accurate, the anime style perfectly suited for the material of the stories, and the combination of more traditional anime and CGI melded for a solid picture in all ways. It wasn't the most detailed and didn't look as though it was hand rendered but it worked great here and I think fans of anime would do well to check this one out. I saw no compression artifacts or grain here, perhaps owing as much to the limited number of episodes as anything else.

Sound: The audio was presented with the usual choice of the original 2.0 Dolby Digital Japanese soundtrack with English language subtitles or the newly created English language dub sporting a 5.1 Dolby Digital track. In terms of voices, it was strictly a toss up as to which was best since both worked very nicely for me. In terms of the music track and special effects, the English dub was superior in most ways, owing a lot to the team at ADV Films that has been getting increasingly talented in recent years, probably knowing that such a track was needed to compliment the very expensive rights to the show (this was one of their more expensive titles from what I understand so they pulled out all stops).

Extras: The best extras by far was another couple of great interviews with the Japanese director, Isamu Imakake; this time joined by voice actors Takehito Koyasu (Shin Kazama), Tomokazu Seki (Mickey Simon), and Ryo Hirohashi (Kim Aba). The two interviews (in Japanese with English subtitles) lasted over an hour and went into great detail about many aspects of the show that hadn't been covered previously in the extras section. I caution fans to wait to watch them until after they see each of the four volumes released (I bit the bullet for you one last time) since they had a lot of spoilers. There were also sketches, aircraft and character biographies, some trailers, clean opening and closing, and a paper insert that gave some information from the Japanese voice actor Satsuki Yukino (Ryoko Tsugumo).

Final Thoughts: Area 88: Target 04: Wings of the Wind was a good way to end the series, especially since it left itself open to more episodes being made at a later date. The feature with the director and voice actors from Japan added a lot of value and showed how they thought a sequel might work but also the care that went into the show from the very beginning. In all, the series has been one of the very best anime has to offer a newbie, especially one with anti-war leanings, and I think ADV Films did a fine job with their dub and packaging of the domestic release.

If you enjoy anime, take a look at some of the recommendations by DVD Talk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime 2003, Best Of Anime 2004, and Best of Anime 2005 articles or their regular column Anime Talk.

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