"We are the mercenaries of Area 88." When I sat down to watch this anime, I thought it was going to be something like Gunwomen's Kitty, only with airplanes, but I was very wrong - this anime is closer to old mercenary dramas than to typical action movies. To be honest, this three-part series (and the 2004 series) I liked. But everything in order.
1) Plot:
A civil war is raging in the fictional North African kingdom of Asran, with rebels seizing a strategically important oil-bearing area and now able to afford full-scale war on land and in the air. As a measure to counter the rise of the rebels, the government is creating a special air force made up of foreign mercenaries and named “Zone-88” after the air base on which it is located. The terms of the contract are as follows: you fight for 3 years or earn 1.5 million and can terminate the contract early.
2) Characters:
In the center of the story is the story of two completely different people who find themselves in this place, in the middle of the desert - reporter Rocky and pilot Sheen. They are both Japanese, but the similarity ends there.
Sheen is a high-class pilot, framed by his best friend and forced to fight in someone else's war. Unlike most local pilots, he is motivated not by a thirst for profit, but by a desire to return home to his bride and live happily. As a character, Sheen evokes respect, as shown purposeful and, literally, ready for anything, but not forgetting, for what and, most importantly, for Whom he is fighting here.
Rocky, as is often the case in anime, is introduced as a “character from the outside”, that is, a person who is not familiar with the situation and, therefore, all the laws of the world are “chewed” through him. Rocky is a war correspondent and therefore is not afraid of risk and is ready to get into the heat for a good shot.
There are also secondary characters, but their characters and stories are less revealed due to the small timekeeping (here I recommend watching the series of the 2004th year, because they paid attention to almost everyone).
(3) Visual and action:
Despite the outdated drawing, everything looks great, especially when it comes to aerial combat, which is very cool! Most likely, "Zone-88" (both in the three-episode "85" and the series 2004) had consultants on everything that concerns aircraft, because they are drawn to the last screw and when you see their fights, you begin to believe in everything that happens.
To watch or not to watch?
And here I don't know what to say. It's best to watch the 2004 series because it's bigger, but the '85 anime is also worth watching. And by the way, the endings of '85 and 2004 are different.