Yukikaze Review

story 5/10

What has Yukikaze got, you might ask? Three things: Badass CGI, sweet dogfights, and a hell of a lot of explosions.  Eye candy is certainly its forte, as its visuals somehow managed to captivate me through the overall lack of story and shallow characterization.

The synopsis, actually, is more interesting than any of the events the story itself has to offer.  Pseudo-philosophical alien races like the JAM have been visited time and time again, and with each encounter I like them less and less.  Fortunately for the viewer, every minute of "intellectual" bullshit is generally compensated by three of aerial skirmishes.  It seemed to me that the purpose of this was to continually allow the anime to change venues, as Lt. Fukai finds himself hopping all over the world throughout the course of the OVA.  Each combat scenario has its own flavor and showcases different types of special effects for you to oogle at.

Keep in mind, though, that the OVA isn't purely action.  The main drama that spurs the anime on is the melding of Lt. Fukai with Yukikaze.  While not original, it explores the concept of a perfect lifeform being the assimilation of man and machine.  Though mediocre, its philosophical undertones squirm into a number of scenes and compete for screen time against discussions about the JAM.  Because an anime can't function solely off visuals, this works well enough as a general framework for the OVA to develop around.  The presentation is interesting but not spectacular by any stretch of the imagination, and thankfully is kept to a relative minimum.  Ultimately, the plot gives the OVA a good excuse to blow things up, and that's all that really matters.

animation 9.5/10

As I mentioned before, pretty much the only reason to watch Yukikaze is to reward your eyes with great animation.  The amount of detail is astounding, especially during scenes where fighting occurs over water or other reflective surfaces.  Explosions aren't simply a couple frames, they're quite elaborate.  Among such subtle effects, pieces of shrapnel disrupt and warp the textures of the fireballs, smoke and flames expand and contract to create very realistic debris clouds, and shockwaves visibly distort gaseous/liquid surfaces.  Pair these details with sharp, tense camera movement and it's hard to dispute the production quality as anything but amazing.

My only real complaint is that the female character designs could have used a bit of polishing.  Women tended to have somewhat hard, stern features instead of rounded, softer curves, which made their general appearances a bit awkward.

sound 6.5/10

There are a couple exemplary tracks scattered throughout the OVA, but the soundtrack is forgettable overall.  Because of the strong emphasis on visuals, the sound effects were much more important than the musical score here, and for the most part they were implemented fairly well.  Not much else to talk about here...average on just about every level.

characters 6/10

Jack is just about the only character with any semblance of personality, and that's not saying much.  Nevertheless, I personally found Yukikaze to be the strongest of the caste, and given that it's the AI of a jet fighter I think that says it all.  Mediocre, incredibly forgettable characters, but they move the story along well enough so I'm not going to complain.

overall 6.5/10

Trimming away all the rubbish, Yukikaze is worth a once through just to experience the visuals.  At about two hours and twenty minutes run time, it's not much different from a decent length movie, so I suggest to take that approach going in.  Yukikaze wasn't created to awe you with a complex story or deep characters, but rather to show off just how badass CGI can be if approached in the right way.  If you're bored and need a great way to burn a couple hours' time, give it a shot; you won't be blown off your feet, but you'll certainly be entertained.