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801 TTS Airbats

       
                 
                 
 

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Title Info

  • alias: Aozora Shojotai
  • seen: 1-2,4-6 of 7
  • type: OAV
  • grade: watchable
  • Series state: Can't find any more to watch.
  • source: unknown
  • made: 1994
  • Review created: A while ago, i'll revise it eventually.
  • mod: none

Firstly a comment about the somewhat weird naming of this series. Apparently it's actually a single 7 episode OAV series. It's marketed under the titles `First Strike' (episodes one to three) and then `Second' and `Third' strike (with two episodes each). Since the style and content is uniform i'll review them all in one place, especially since I don't know if they actually were released at a different time.

Not a bad starting concept. The 801 TTS is an all-female acrobatic squadron in the airforce, created as a PR stunt and now a dumping case for troublesome women. Of course the male commanders of the base want the unit shutdown. We follow the story from the arrival of a young male maintenance person. So far so good, but here is where it goes wrong. The characters are just unbelievably unsympathetic. The young guy, who being an air (and anime) otaku could reinspire enthusiasm in the group instead is a bumbling, delusional guy with neither perceptiveness nor subtlety. One (two?) of the pilots is attracted to him (no I don't know why) which immediately sparks a simmering war between the two lead pilots leading to two mid-air collisions in the first two episodes. The writing is just so unsubtle and ham-fisted that the end result, despite some initial promise, is unlovable. The rendering of the aircraft is detailed, but this just means the flight animation is boring because the planes are too complex to animate well. The remainder of the animation is quite reasonable and wasted on this average writing.

Other Reviews

  • THEM review It looks like THEM know the author, and consider this a step in the right direction. However, while enjoyable, they point to the generally weak writing as being a problem (3/5).
  • Anime Review review The anime review thinks it's easy to overlook this title based on the premise but advises that a "second look" should be considered. In his own words, "it's not brain surgery, just a bit of fun that goes by surprisingly quickly." (4/5).
  • Lord Carnage review While he doesn't dislike the show it's pretty clear that it failed to grab Lord Carnages interest. The general comment is that the animation decent but the story familiar and limited. The over the top synopsis sounds a lot like something off one of the the cases...I can't believe carnage would write something that corny.

       
                 
                 
       

Words by Andrew Shelton, Web by Ticti, Last Compile: Wed Aug 5 12:39:14 WST 2009