Story Area 88

1 story

1.1 time setting
1.2 variations
1.3 themes

story

area 88 takes place between late 1970s 1980s , largely set in war-embroiled middle eastern country called kingdom of arslan. war uses mercenary fighter pilots, headquarters @ secret desert air force base called area 88. up-and-coming airline pilot shin kazama gets tricked signing friend satoru kanzaki. facing execution deserting area 88, shin reluctantly turns fighter pilot , attempts serve three-year contract.

area 88 attracts kinds of people kinds of assorted , sordid pasts. among other mercenaries mickey simon, american served fighter pilot in united states navy , couldn t adjust normal life after tour of duty in vietnam war. mickey becomes shin s best friend @ area 88. familiar sight @ area 88 mccoy, greedy weapons dealer sells mercenaries need toilet paper planes. commander of area 88 arslanian prince saki vashutal, though royal heritage means nothing there. prominent on base war photographer go rocky mutsugi (presented makoto shinjou in 2004 anime), danish pilot greg gates (later featured in video game adaptation), , numerous pilots whom shin flies (most of them die on course of series, in issue in introduced). though series focuses on shin, other characters (notably rocky , mickey) did have own individual storylines.

there 3 ways leave area 88: survive 3 years, pay off usd 1.5-million contract in bounties, or desertion, capital offense. each enemy plane brought down, shin faces shifting acceptance of violence , killing fills every day, suppressing feelings of wrongdoing.

time setting

area 88 placed during late 1970s, or 1980s, although evidence points towards latter in ova s case. first, during act 1 of ova when calendar in shin s room first seen, shin marks off date wednesday, april 11. then, during flashback shin unknowingly signs contract kanzaki, date reads on contract le 29 avril 1979 or april 29, 1979. based on calendar marking, point past 1979 , nearest year april 11 falls on wednesday 1984. secondly, ova featured f/a-18 hornet, entered service in 1983. ova s conclusion s reasonable suggest end date sometime in 1986 given shin s term in arslan (2 years 5 months). note, however, directly contradicted scene in third part of ova in see calendar in shin s room during discharge, date being monday, sept. 22, 1982. s more animators in fact in error, both days of week, , date of service of f/a-18 (although predecessor, yf-17 explain date inconsistency considering similarity of design), had made similar error f-14 tomcat in second part of ova, depicting f-14 in bombing run on vietnam, when plane did not see actual combat action (however, did participate in american withdrawal saigon providing fighter escort helicopters carrying fleeing refugees).

variations

each version of area 88 told different variations on same basic premise, , shared individual story arcs. however, there several key differences between each version, in endings.

the original manga ending had shin returning japan, having lost memory of area 88. english-language version published eclipse comics left unfinished , incomplete: shin not return japan. rebels, operating unmanned fighter jets giant, mobile base - land-carrier - have targeted area-88 nuclear-armed, computer controlled drilling machine. saki, meanwhile, has acquired american b-1b bomber armed nuclear weapons.

the first three-episode ova adaptation 1985 had shin return area 88 in f-20 fighter while area being overrun devastating massive force of anti-government mig-21 jets. fate , of saki, mickey, greg , other pilots left uncertain.

the 2004 anime series truncated story after shin lost f-5e, in continuity shinjou, photographer, manages return japan in time derail kanzaki s plot marry ryoko. series introduced permanent characters of kim, manga, , saki s cousin kitori, appeared in manga seilane balnock.

despite consistent use of existing aircraft, manga - unlike anime adaptations - introduced, series progressed, number of elements may have been considered science fiction @ time @ least used existing technology. such devices include land-based aircraft carrier fleet of ai-controlled f/a-18 fighters. rebel weapon called grand slam ballistic missile modified drill machine. there other exotic weaponry, none of appeared in either anime adaptation.

themes

the themes in area 88 revolve on vietnam war , have participated in it. psychological state of base s mercenaries noted, showing soldiers have fought in conflicts 20th century have reported difficulties in getting lives normal.

area 88 depicts use of freelancers in fighting wars mercenaries have fought various countries during 20th century, attention of field work in africa of time then.