is a Japanese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series by

Kaoru Shintani is a Japanese manga artist. Shintani is best known for his series ''Area 88''. In addition to his pilot comics, Shintani has ventured into science fiction, fantasy, comedy, and hentai comics as well. In 1985, he was awarded the Shogakukan Manga Aw ...

serialized between 1979 and 1986. The story is about a young pilot named Shin Kazama and his experiences at Area 88, a

mercenary A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...

air force base secluded in the desert in the fictional nation of Aslan. Shin goes from head of his class at a world-renowned aviation school, dating the beautiful daughter of an

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

president, to a mercenary

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

bound to Area 88 by a three-year contract that he was duped into signing by a jealous and competitive childhood friend. He is determined to earn $1.5 million to buy his way out of the obligation and return home, and killing becomes second nature to him as he quickly rises to the top rank at Area 88. Overwrought with

shame Shame is an unpleasant self-conscious emotion often associated with negative self-evaluation; motivation to quit; and feelings of pain, exposure, distrust, powerlessness, and worthlessness. Definition Shame is a discrete, basic emotion, d ...

and self-loathing for what he has become, Shin begins to question whether he is still fighting for survival, or, like his fellow

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

, for the sheer excitement and camaraderie of battle. ''Area 88'' was among the first three manga to be translated into English and published in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. It had been adapted into an OVA in 1985, a

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

in 1989 (released in North America as '' U.N. Squadron''), and a 12-episode anime television series in 2004. It is also a

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

model aircraft A model aircraft is a physical model of an existing or imagined aircraft, and is built typically for display, research, or amusement. Model aircraft are divided into two basic groups: flying and non-flying. Non-flying models are also termed s ...

in Japan. While it appeals to

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

fans for its realistic depictions of

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

and

aerial combat Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare. Aerial warfare includes bombers attacking enemy installations or a concentration of enemy troops or strategic targets; fighter aircraft battling for contro ...

, it has also been critically acclaimed for its strong character development and Shintani's poignant

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing narrative, stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatre, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cul ...

, combining

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

tragedy A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...

, romance, and

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

. In 1984, the manga received the

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is ...

for shōnen.

Story

Synopsis

''Area 88'' takes place in the fictional

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

ern kingdom of Aslan ( alternatively transcribed as "Asran"). The government uses

fighter pilots, stationed at the desert airbase Area 88, to fight its war and pays them for each enemy aircraft shot down. Each pilot's contract lasts three years; early cancellation costs $1.5 million. Deserting Area 88 is considered a capital offense punished by death. The story follows ace pilot Shin Kazama as he attempts to serve out his contract to return to his fiancée in Japan. As the war progresses, Shin must face his shifting acceptance of the violence that fills his days. Among his compatriots at Area 88 are: Mickey Simon, a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

veteran of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

; McCoy, a greedy weapons dealer who sells the pilots everything they need; photojournalist Goh "Rocky" Mutsugi (Makoto Shinjou in the TV series); Danish pilot Greg Gates; and Lt. Colonel Saki Vashtar, a member of Aslan's royal family and the commander of Area 88. Shin's past is told through flashbacks during the story. He and his best friend, Satoru Kanzaki, were up-and-coming airline pilots for Yamato Airlines, and Shin had started a relationship with the CEO's daughter, Ryoko Tsugumo. Jealous of Shin's success, Satoru tricked him into signing the contract that landed him in Area 88. While Shin fights in the bloody war, Satoru courts Ryoko and rises through the ranks of Yamato Airlines. Ryoko discovers Shin is still alive through one of Goh's/Makoto's photos and resolves to find him.

Endings

While each version of ''Area 88'' shared the same basic premise and some story arcs, they each had key differences, most notably in the endings. The original manga ending showed Shin returning to Japan, but having lost all memory of Area 88. The English-language version published by

Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book store, comic book specialty stor ...

was left unfinished. In the three-episode OVA adaptation from 1985, Shin was discharged from service to escort the king of Aslan to Paris in

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

. Despite being free and making contact with Ryoko, Shin flies back to Aslan, having changed in his time at Area 88. His ultimate fate is left uncertain. The 2004 TV series truncated the story to just after Shin lost his F-5E. In this version, Makoto, the photojournalist, was originally sent to Area 88 by Satoru to capture a photo of Shin dying to prove his death to Ryoko. Shin survives the events of the series and Makoto, swayed to help Shin, returns to Japan and derails Satoru's plot to marry Ryoko.

Aircraft

Many real-life aircraft are featured in the series, including combat, civilian, and experimental aircraft. ; Attackers * A-1 Skyraider * A-4E/F Skyhawk * RA-5C Vigilante * A-6E Intruder * A-7E Corsair II *

A-10A Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 , also infamously known under the nickname , is a single-seat, twinjet, twin-turbofan, straight wing, straight-wing, Subsonic aircraft, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Aircraft, Fairchild Republic ...

* OV-10A Bronco * Sea Harrier FRS Mk.1 * AV-8A Harrier II *

SEPECAT Jaguar The SEPECAT Jaguar is a British-French supersonic jet attack aircraft originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force in the close air support and nuclear strike role. As of 2025, the Jaguar remains in service with the ...

Blackburn Buccaneer The Blackburn Buccaneer is a British aircraft carrier, carrier-capable attack aircraft designed in the 1950s for the Royal Navy (RN). Designed and initially produced by Blackburn Aircraft at Brough Aerodrome, Brough, it was later officially k ...

* Yak-38 Forger ; Cargo aircraft * C-1 Trader *

C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for troo ...

* C-130E Hercules ; Fighters and interceptors * Dassault Mirage F1 *

Dassault Mirage 2000 The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, delta wing, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air ...

English Electric Lightning The English Electric Lightning is a British fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s, the 1970s and into the late 1980s. It is capable of a top speed above Mach 2. The Lightning was designed, developed, and manufactured ...

* F-4J/E Phantom II * F-5A/E Freedom Fighter/Tiger II * F-8E Crusader * F-14A Tomcat * F-15A Eagle * F-16A Fighting Falcon * F-20A Tigershark * F-104G Starfighter * F-105D Thunderchief *

F-100D Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation. The first of the Century Series of American jet fighters, it was the first United ...

* RF-101C Voodoo * F-111 Aardvark * F/A-18A Hornet * Fiat G.91 *

IAI Kfir The Israel Aircraft Industries Kfir (, "Lion Cub") is an Israeli all-weather multirole combat aircraft based on the French Dassault Mirage 5, with Israeli avionics and an Israeli-built version of the General Electric J79 turbojet engine. Develop ...

* J35F Draken * Su-33 Flanker * MiG-17 Fresco * MiG-19 Farmer * MiG-21 Fishbed * MiG-23 Flogger * MiG-27D Flogger *

Grumman X-29 The Grumman X-29 is an American experimental aircraft that tested a forward-swept wing, canard control surfaces, and other novel aircraft technologies. Funded by NASA, the United States Air Force and DARPA, the X-29 was developed by Grumman, a ...

; Patrol aircraft *

E-2 Hawkeye The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Grumman Aircraft ...

* S-2 Tracker *

S-3 Viking The Lockheed S-3 Viking is a four-crew, Twinjet, twin-engine turbofan-powered jet aircraft designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Corporation. Because of its characteristic sound, it was nicknamed the "War Hoover" ...

; Trainers * T-6 Texan * T-38 Talon ; Bombers *

B-1 Lancer The Rockwell B-1 Lancer is a supersonic variable-sweep wing, heavy bomber used by the United States Air Force. It has been nicknamed the "Bone" (from "B-One"). , it is one of the United States Air Force's three strategic bombers, along with th ...

B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic aircraft, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the ...

* Tu-95 'Bear' ; Civilian * MD-11 *

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...

Learjet Learjet was a manufacturer of business jets for civilian and military use based in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Founded in the late 1950s by William Powell Lear as Swiss American Aviation Corporation, it became a subsidiary of Canadian Bomba ...

Cessna 150 The Cessna 150 is a two-seat tricycle gear general aviation airplane that was designed for flight training, touring and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 22-23. Werner & Werner Corp, Santa Monica CA, 1977. In 19 ...

Cessna 172 The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.AH-1 Cobra The Bell AH-1 Cobra is a single-engined attack helicopter developed and manufactured by the American rotorcraft manufacturer Bell Helicopter. A member of the prolific Huey family, the AH-1 is also referred to as the HueyCobra or Snake. The A ...

AH-64 Apache The Hughes/McDonnell Douglas/Boeing AH-64 Apache ( ) is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. Nose-mounted sensors help acquire targets and provide night vis ...

* CH-53 Sea Stallion * CH-54 Tarhe * UH-1 Iroquois * SA-341 Gazelle *

SH-3 Sea King The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (company designation S-61) is an American twin-engine anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft. A landmark design, it was one of the first ASW rotorcraft to use turboshaft engine ...

OH-6 Cayuse The Hughes OH-6 Cayuse is a single-engine light helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Hughes Helicopters. Its formal name is derived from the Cayuse people, while its "Loach" nickname is derived from Light Observatio ...

Bell 206 Jetranger The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- and twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec, plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter pro ...

Media

Manga

The original Japanese manga of ''Area 88'' was serialized in 23 volumes between 1979 and 1986 by

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

. Each volume was black and white with a painted color cover and contained several short stories called "missions". In all, there were 172 such missions across the 23 volumes. ''Shōnen Sunday'' later repackaged the 23 volumes into ten thick books under its Wide Volume product line. ''Area 88'', along with '' Mai, the Psychic Girl'' and '' The Legend of Kamui'', was one of the first three manga to be translated to English and published in North America by

and

VIZ Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...

in May 1987. It was published bi-weekly with each issue containing a single mission, of which the editors had planned to release all 172. The first 28 issues featured covers from the original manga plus some original artwork by Shintani, but as these resources were limited, the covers of issues #29–36 featured stills from the OVA film. With issue #37 in December 1988, VIZ Media took over the series, and in addition to featuring photographs of actual fighter jets on the cover, the publication went from bi-weekly to monthly and the price from $1.50 to $1.75. The series did not adjust well to the dramatic change, and with issue #42 in May 1989, without resolving the storyline, it was canceled. It was later run as a feature in Viz's ''

Animerica ''Animerica'' was a monthly magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), ...

'' magazine (Vol. 1, No. 8 – Vol. 3, No. 2), but only lasted until January 1995 without the series being completed. *Shogakukan (''Shonen Big Comics'', 1979–1986) *Shogakukan (''Shonen Big Comics Wide-ban'', 1979–1986) *Scola (''Scola Manga Bunko'', 1994) *Media Factory (''MF Bunko'', 1999–2000) *Kadokawa/Media Factory (''MF Comics'', 2003–2004)

OVA films

Between February 5, 1985, and August 15, 1986,

Studio Pierrot , previously known as until 2002, is a Japanese animation studio established in May 1979 by Yuji Nunokawa, previously an animator and director for Tatsunoko Production. Its headquarters are located in Mitaka, Tokyo. Pierrot is renowned for ...

produced a direct-to-video animated film trilogy for

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

and

laserdisc LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...

. In 1992,

Central Park Media Central Park Media Corporation, often abbreviated as CPM, was an American multimedia entertainment company based in New York City, New York and was headquartered in the 250 West 57th Street building in Midtown Manhattan (on the corner of Centra ...

's U.S. Manga Corps released the OVA series, subtitled in English, in North America for VHS and laserdisc, and re-released the first volume for DVD on 14 July 2000. After Central Park Media's films license lapsed,

ADV Films A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gr ...

published a two episode theatrical edit of the OVA trilogy for DVD on 25 July 2006. Although having one less episode, the episodes themselves are longer. They have been reedited so that act II is divided and added onto the first and the last episode respectively. As such, nothing is actually missing from the ADV collection, despite having a smaller episode count. The 2006 ADV collection is a two-DVD set, and features the original Japanese soundtrack as well as the dubbed English track, performed by the same cast who voiced the English dub of the TV series. The DVD content also includes an interview with Kaoru Shintani, and an introduction to the fighter jets portrayed in the series.

Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. History Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retr ...

re-released the OVA series on October 30, 2018.

Media

* ''Area 88: Act I: Blue Skies of Betrayal'' (1985, VHS/LD; 1992, VHS; July 14, 2000, DVD) * ''Area 88: Act II: The Requirements of Wolves'' (1985, VHS/LD; 1992, VHS) * ''Area 88: Act III: Burning Mirage'' (1986, VHS/LD; 1992, VHS) * ''Area 88: Original OVA Series'' (July 25, 2006, DVD)

Anime television

An updated 12-episode anime television series with CG graphics, produced by

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as , and better known as , is a Japanese television station serving the Kanto region as the flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network. It is owned-and-operated by the a subsidiary of , itself controlled by ...

Animax , stylized as ANIMAX in all caps, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. Launched on July 1, 1998, Animax is the first 24-hour network in the world dedicated to anime.The Anime Biz' - ...

Group TAC was a Japanese animation and computer graphics studio located in Shibuya, Tokyo, and founded in 1968 from former Mushi Pro staff. They worked on movies, videos, TV shows, and commercials, and contributed to all stages of the process, including ...

and

Media Factory , formerly known as , was a Japanese publisher and brand company of Kadokawa Future Publishing. History The company was founded on December 1, 1986, and was a subsidiary of Recruit (Japanese company), Recruit Co., Ltd., based in Shibuya, Tokyo. ...

, began production in 2003 and premiered across Japan on

and the anime

satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location.ITU Radio Regulations, Section IV. Radio Stations and Systems ...

network,

from 8 January 2004 to 5 March 2004, which later aired the series across its other respective networks worldwide, including

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, and other regions. The series featured the work of several prominent contemporary

trance music Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged from Electronic body music, EBM in Frankfurt, Germany, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and quickly spread throughout Europe. Trance music is typically characterized by a tempo between ...

artists during combat scenes, such as Rank 1, DJ Tiësto, and Svenson & Gielen; official materials called these scenes the "highlight of the work".

licensed the series for

n distribution, releasing the series across the region, with the first DVD volume release being published on June 22, 2005 and the last volume being released on January 17, 2006. The DVD release notably removed the licensed trance music, replacing it with a handful of original compositions by Miyake Kazunori reused across the series. For the release of the English dub to English-speaking countries, the ADR team at ADV Films sought the assistance of Capt. Kevin "Dumpster" Divers, a USAF officer, to ensure that dialogue had proper Air Force jargon.

Video games

shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a Video game genre, subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain typ ...

video game by

Capcom is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...

was released in the arcades in 1989. It was released in the West as ''UN Squadron''. Ports were released for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania a ...

and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

. In the game, the player could choose either Shin, Mickey, or Greg as the pilot to play. Each came with a different plane and various advantages; for example, Mickey could handle air-to-air dogfights well while Greg excelled at air-to-ground attacks. Each pilot also had special abilities; Shin mastered normal weaponry at the highest speed, Mickey inflicted extra damage with his armaments, and Greg recovered from attacks almost before they occurred. The Super NES release offered six fighter planes, with the F-8 Crusader as the default aircraft. The game also included various elements from the series, such as the land carrier. In 1995, Family Soft produced two ''Area 88'' games for the

PC-9801 The , commonly shortened to PC-98 or simply , is a lineup of Japanese 16-bit and 32-bit Personal computer, personal computers manufactured by NEC from 1982 to 2003. While based on Intel processors, it uses an in-house architecture making it inc ...

. An October 2014 crossover event took place in '' Ace Combat Infinity'' where aircraft and emblems used by the main characters of ''Area 88'' were added to the game. These included Shin's F-5 and F-20, Mickey's F-14, Greg's A-10, and Kim's AV-8.

Board game

Two special board games based on the franchise were released in the 1980s, but as so-called "Coterie" games, which are preordered editions and only go on limited sale at Japan's Game Market trade show. With mechanics based on the GDW board game ''

Imperium In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from '' auctoritas'' and '' potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic a ...

'', the ''Area 88 in Desert War'' and ''Peace in the Aslan Kingdom'' have the game counters, instructions and battle map (a fictional representation of the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai ( ; ; ; ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Afri ...

) printed in standard bond paper, with players left to cut up the counters and attach them and the map in

cardstock Card stock, also called cover stock and pasteboard, is paper that is thicker and more durable than normal writing and printing paper, but thinner and more flexible than other forms of paperboard. Card stock is often used for business cards, po ...

Toys/model kits

A line of Area 88 model kits was also produced, which are basically aircraft that are painted as they appeared in the series. Takara released a 1/100 line of aircraft kits, each with a 1/24 pilot figure in the early 1980s to coincide with the original manga stories. Kits included Shin's Crusader, F-5G Tiger II and F-20 Tigershark, Mickey's F-100 and F-14, Saki's Kfir, Greg's A-10, and two planes from the Counter-Governmental Air Force—a Yak-36 Forger and a MiG-27 Flogger-D. The first release of 1/144 kits by Hasegawa in the early 1990s consisted of Mickey's F-14, Shin's F-8 and F-5, Seilane Balnock's Harrier, and Saki Vashtar's Kfir. Each kit had a 1/12 scale figure of the pilot in resin while the 1/144 plane kits were styrene plastic tooled up by Dragon models in Hong Kong. The third wave, released by Hasegawa in 1996, featured 1/72 kits of the same jets, but this time Hasegawa's own kit moldings were used. They comprised Saki's Kfir, Gregg's A-10, Shin's F-8, F-20, X-29 and Draken, and Mickey's F-14. Hasegawa also produced a 1/48 two-pack set in line with the 2004 TV series, consisting of Shin's F-8 and Mickey's F-14, plus a DVD. From January 2004 to December 2005, trading figure company The Other Corp released a line of 1/144

gashapon , also called , is a kind of vending machine-dispensed capsule toy manufactured and sold by Bandai. It originated in the 1960s and is popular in Japan. The word , a Bandai trademark, is onomatopoeic from two sounds, ''gasha'' (or ''gacha'') fo ...

miniatures of various modern military aircraft that are painted as according to their actual appearance in the series, despite one of the offerings—the

Su-47 Berkut The Sukhoi Su-47 ''Berkut'' () (NATO reporting name Firkin), also designated S-32 and S-37 during initial development, was a Russian experimental supersonic jet fighter developed by the JSC Sukhoi Company. A distinguishing feature of the airc ...

—never having appeared at all.

Soundtracks

*''Area 88 Opening Theme: Mission - Fuga''

Reception

Martin A. Stever reviewed ''Area 88'' movies for ''

Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer ''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the la ...

'' No. 83. Stever commented that "The art is impressive, especially the ability to render moving jet aircraft. True to real war, characters are killed with regularity but not without remorse."

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ot ...

praised ''Area 88''s English dub released by ADV, especially with most of it done with the assistance of a consultant from the US Air Force. Freetype gave the series a 7.0 out of 10, citing "Intense, fast, adrenaline-pumping dogfight action", while criticizing it for being one-dimensional for lack of some character development, lack of emphasis on action with the morals and drama watered down.

Notes

References

External links

Area 88 Website from TV Asahi

Area 88 Website from ADV Films
* {{Group TAC 1979 manga 1985 anime OVAs 2004 anime television series debuts ADV Films Animax original programming Aviation comics Japanese aviation films Central Park Media Group TAC Kaoru Shintani Pierrot (company) Shogakukan manga Shōnen manga Viz Media manga Winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen manga