is a Japanese

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series by

Studio Fantasia was a Japanese anime, animation studio. It was founded on October 12, 1983, by Tomohisa Iizuka, then an employee of Tsuchida Production, as its CEO. On November 16, 2016, the company filed for bankruptcy. Productions TV series OVA/ONAs *''P ...

and

Bandai Visual was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution company, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America. Most of the anime and ...

, and directed by Takeshi Mori.

Story

Fifty years before the series begins, scientists learn that a group of

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...

s will enter the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...

on a collision course with Earth. The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

set up a two-tiered global defense system against the threat: the primary one being a space-based Comet Blaster group and the secondary being a ground-based Meteor Sweeper group. Most of the series takes place on an

airbase An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

on Shimoji Island in 2024, where Mikaze and her friends are tasked with defending the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

from large fragments left over after a failed attempt by the Comet Blasters, who are based on one of seven space stations, to annihilate a comet. All is going well until a large meteorite crashes into a lightly populated island leading the girls on a run to find out the truth about the comets.

Release

Originally spanning a 13-episode anime TV series, which premiered across Japan between January 5, 2003 to March 30, 2003, two additional episodes were later released

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

in 2004. The series was then followed by an OVA series called ''Stratos 4: Advance'' (retitled as ''Stratos 4: Advance Final'' in the last two episodes), which spanned eight episodes that were released from March 25, 2005 to October 22, 2006. The series has been broadcast by the anime satellite television network, Animax, across its respective networks worldwide, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Latin America, and other regions. The original 13-episode television series and its first subsequent two-episode OVA series were licensed for North American distribution by Bandai Entertainment USA. However, when Bandai Entertainment USA shut down, the series became unlicensed. The series is one of the "main JSDF collaborative anime works", as noted by scholar Takayoshi Yamamura. The show's producer, Sugiyama Kiyoshi, is said to have conducted "extensive research about JSDF" with Yamamura saying that Kiyoshi is considered an "industry expert regarding collaboration between anime and JSDF."

Episode listing

''Stratos 4'' (2003–2004)

''Stratos 4 Advance'' (2005–2006)

Music

The music for ''Stratos 4'' was composed by Masamichi Amano.

References

External links

Official Stratos 4 website

Bandai Channel's official homepage for ''Stratos 4''

Bandai Entertainment page
* {{Studio Fantasia 2003 anime television series debuts 2004 anime OVAs 2005 anime OVAs 2006 anime OVAs Action anime and manga Anime with original screenplays Aviation television series Bandai Entertainment anime titles Bandai Visual Comedy anime and manga Science fiction anime and manga Studio Fantasia