DVD Review

By sothis Published: June 15, 2006

PACKAGING AND MENU

0 / 10

This is a screener, so I can't see the packaging and menu yet.

FEATURES

0 / 10

This is a screener, so I'm not sure about what special features will be on the official disc. Will update this once I see the full DVD.

VIDEO

7 / 10

Due to this being created in 1985-1986, I can see why the video quality would be grainy and not so clean. But, all of these issues seem to be related to the age of the series, not a bad transfer or problems ADV would have caused. Having seen a little bit of this OVA on VHS, I can say that the video quality is significantly better on the DVD. I'm not sure how to rate this section because of the age of the footage, so I'll give a 7, since there don't seem to be problems.

AUDIO

9 / 10

Though the Japanese 2.0 old track sounds only "good", the English 5.1 track is spectacular. All of the speakers were used, unlike some DVDs where the back speakers are only used for things like sound effects. The dub is surpisingly good, and given the difference in quality between the 2.0 and 5.1, I listened to the English track the entire time. Top notch audio.

CONTENT

8 / 10

I had heard that Area 88 was good, so I had high hopes going into watching this. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised to find a compelling plot and wonderful characters. Shin was tricked into signing a contract to fight for an army, even though all he wanted was to be an airplane pilot. He was forced to leave behind his girlfriend and his old life, and is given instead a high probability of death. There are only three ways to escape the army: live for three years, pay a 1.5 million dollar fine, or escape and face execution by the hands of bounty hunters.

The Area 88 OVA focuses on Shin and the person he has become due to the bloodshed he has inflicted and the deaths he has seen. He wants nothing more to go back to his beloved, but must face certain death daily in order to do so. He watches friends die and enemies fall, and thinks he has become a monster because of it. The focus of the OVA is clearly character development; not just with Shin, but with others on the squad such as Boris, or the photographer from Japan who becomes fast friends with Shin. Though the segment on this screener was short in length, it already manages to suck you in and make you emotionally attached to the characters, thus making the inevitable deaths and painful growth that much more compelling.

Though it was made in the mid 80s, the animation is beautiful. You can tell Leiji Matsumoto had a hand in the character designs, and the scenes of planes and explosions are striking. Plenty of sunset shots and views of the city are shown as well.

Area 88 is seeming to be a thrilling and emotional ride, with a variety of characters, and a high amount of character development. I can't wait to see the second half, to see how everything turns out.