Stratos 4: Return to Base OVA Anime Review

Stratos 4: Return to Base
Bandai Entertainment
Complete Collection - 1 disc
65 mins. - 2 episodes
$29.98 (2005)
ISBN 669198254109
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Takeshi Mori
Studio - Studio Fantasia/Bandai Visual

Synopsis: Giant meteors have been falling to Earth and endangering the population.  The organization CEMA (Comet Emergency Management Agency) was set up with the mission to stop the meteors. They put in place two levels of deterrent - the Comet Blasters intercept meteors in space by launching from orbital space stations while the Meteor Sweepers intercept any meteors which break through to the atmosphere.  The job is tough and Mikaze is one of the Meteor Sweepers based on Shimoji Island in Japan.  Her dream is to one day work in space as a Comet Blaster.

The meteor strikes are part of a covert alien invasion and the aliens can take over the bodies of humans.  Orbital Station 7 was taken over by aliens, but were stopped by Mikaze and her team.  CEMA has hushed up the alien invasion and quarantined all of the infected personnel on Earth.  The space station is undergoing repairs when it is struck by stray space debris and enters a terminal orbit.

The Meteor Sweeper crew from Shimoji Island

Impossible to repair and restore orbital status, the station will crash land on Earth with devastating effect.  It has been decided the station must be blown apart in the upper atmosphere to mitigate its potential for collateral damage to the surface.  Too bad the repair crew is trapped on the station.  Now a pair of Comet Blasters must stage a daring rescue while Mikaze and her team prepare to blow apart the station.  It's a race against the clock - will they make it in time?

Pros: Lots of fan-service and an extended swimming scene, CG planes were well done, Admiral the cat remains a funny part of the show, hilarious parody episode where the Stratos 4 planes become a combiner mecha

Mikaze has a deep moment underwater

Cons: Expensive for only two episodes, side cover says 'Retern to Base' - nice job production team, not much additional story progression, story is pretty silly, no more episodes released in North America after these two (although more episodes were made in Japan to continue/conclude the story)

Mike Tells It Straight: Stratos 4 (reviewed here) continues with two OVA (original video animation) episodes entitled Return to Base.  We get to see Mikaze and the Meteor Sweepers back in action.  The story continues directly after the events in the original series ending.  The director and animation team are the same.  These two episodes are pretty good when taken in the context of the previous 13 episodes.

Mikaze gets serious to get the job done

By themselves however, these two episodes don't stand on their own very well.  They progress the story only the slightest bit and leave it unresolved.  Another six episodes were produced in Japan entitled Stratos 4: Advance along with two final episodes called Stratos 4: Advance Final to end the series.  These episodes will presumably never see an official North America release (with dub).

It's always a shame to see an unfinished series, but I can't say this series was ever truly compelling.  Just a bit of cheesecake featuring pretty girls and a paper thin plot.  I'm just going to assume the ending was super-happy with the alien invasion stopped and Mikaze's dreams fulfilled.  Go check out Divergence EVE if you want cheesecake with a better story.

Yeah, that's how I felt about this series too

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Stratos 4 Anime Review

Stratos 4
Bandai Entertainment
Complete Collection - 4 discs
325 mins. - 13 episodes
$39.98 (2006)
ISBN 669198254116
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Takeshi Mori
Studio - Studio Fantasia/Bandai Visual

Synopsis: 50 years ago scientists determined a huge meteor cloud would intercept with Earth and the world government organization CEMA (Comet Emergency Management Agency) was formed.  Two stages of interception/deterrence are developed - the first line of defense are orbital space planes launched from space stations, the Comet Blasters, and the second are high-altitude planes, the Meteor Sweepers.  These planes would carry payloads to destroy/break up the largest comets with any large remaining pieces intercepted within the atmosphere. 

Meteor successfully destroyed and lives saved

The Comet Blasters garner much higher status than their ground-based counterparts in the Meteor Sweepers.  One MS base is located on Shimoji Island near Japan and the story focuses on an all-female squad - Mikaze, Shizuha, Ayamo, and Karin are the pilots and co-pilots of two BAC TSR-2MS high-altitude interceptors.

Mikaze and crew (she's got the pigtails) in a typically compromising pose

Mikaze is having a hard time committing herself to being a part of the Meteor Sweepers and is incredibly jealous of the Comet Blasters.  She feels like a second-stringer cleaning up their sloppy seconds.  Her teammates are the opposite and are enjoy being part of the ground team.  For Mikaze the journey cannot end until she reaches space.  Can she focus herself enough to become the best pilot and take that next step into outer space?  Will she let her teammates get close enough to help her?

The Meteor Sweepers have to pilot lying down for some reason

There was a rift in the CEMA organization many years ago which caused the creation of the separate CB and MS teams.  They have a heated rivalry and the CB teams openly snub the MS.  What could have caused the rift and is there a secret behind the meteors?

Something is not quite right on Orbital Station 7

Pros: Lots of fan-service (if you like that sort of thing) and the ubiquitous hot springs trip, orbital and high-altitude planes were pretty cool, overall message of trying your best to follow your dreams and sticking together with your friends was positive, a bunch of cool extras including voice actresses/director/staff visit to the real Shimoji Island plus official aerospace consultant commentary (this guy's comments were hilarious, but his teeth were awful!), Admiral the cat is pretty funny (loved the episode where we follow it around)

Mikaze and the girls show off their work on the prototype Stratos 0

Cons: Not much action, heavy on the soap-opera drama, CG elements were just okay, overall simple animation style (especially the character designs), highly superficial plot for most of the show (goofy), the plot shift to space at the end was a bit silly

The Comet Blasters scramble for an intercept mission

Mike Tells It Straight: Stratos 4 is a lighthearted anime title with a very positive message - try your best to live your dreams and stick together with your friends.  The writers needed to use a lot of fan-service to get their message across and it appears they were very successful because there is a lot of fan-service.  The show is entertaining with a lot of comedy and some drama centered around the girls doing their best to stop meteors from hitting Earth.  

One of the male instructors 'accidentally' wanders into the hot
springs while all of the girls are bathing

The message would be great for kids, but the abundance of fan-service disqualifies its suitability.  As an adult show the plot progresses too slowly and its too silly at times.  Things get a bit more serious at the end as the secret behind the meteors is revealed, but the conspiracy theory felt like a digression.  I guess this show could be considered charming if you buy into the characters and like some fan-service with your comedy.

The Meteor Sweeper cast from Shimoji Island

It just didn't resonate with me and my recommendation is pretty low.  Some parts of the plot didn't make sense - like why did the girls work at a restaurant when they were full-time pilots?  I think Divergence EVE and Misaki Chronicles were better in comparison (plotwise only, their CG was heinous).  Amusing, but definitely not a keeper. Oddly enough, this show spawned three sequel OVAs (only one has been released in North America - Stratos 4: Return to Base).  Guess it resonated with some fans and they kept it going to see where the final plot thread would lead. I guess you can never underestimate the power of fan-service on otaku.

TO BUY and Recommendations:

801 T.T.S. Airbats Anime Review

801 T.T.S. Airbats
ADV Films
Complete Collection - 2 discs
175 mins. - 7 episodes
$34.98 (2002)
ISBN 702727026621
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Yuji Moriyama
Studio - Studio Fantasia

Synopsis: Fighter technician Takuya Isurugi is transferred to the 801st Tactical Training Squadron.  The 801st is an all-female aerial acrobatics unit (like the Blue Angels) and a dumping ground for rejects.  Isurugi quickly gets on the ladies' bad sides by accidentally walking in on them changing while the group's mascot (a bat) is conveniently dive-bombing him.

Isurugi accidentally walks in on Haneda changing

He meets his new flight crew and learns their idiosyncrasies, and they learn his.  Somehow he manages to become the love interest between the two incredibly beautiful fighter pilots of the 801st - Miyuki Haneda and Arisa Mitaka.  The two ladies battle it out in the skies and on the ground for Isurugi's affections.

Isurugi's positive attitude bombards Mitaka

Each of the 801st group has an interesting personality and they must come together as a tight-knit unit in order to remain in existence!  Constant threats of disbanding the group are made by the Self Defense Force higher ups.  Haneda and Mitaka must put aside their rivalry in order to save the team.  A visit by an American aerial acrobatics team puts them in another tailspin, almost as much as an eating contest at the local ramen house.

Isurugi works on a plane while Haneda talks to him

Get to know your 801st T.T.S. Airbats team:

• Takuya Isurugi - airplane mechanic, closet otaku with an extensive collection of anime figures, positive attitude and supportive of his teammates
• Miyuki Haneda - one of the two top fighter pilots of the 801st, positive attitude, very self-conscious and shy at times, Isurugi's kind demeanor and personality won her over and she is hopelessly in love with him
• Arisa Mitaka - the other of the top two fighter pilots of the 801st, bad ass piloting skillz, branded a major trouble-maker, despite her best efforts to dislike Isurugi she ends up a falling for him just as hard as Haneda
• Mitsuru Konishi - always wears sunglasses, he's a man's man and constantly working out, hardcore food eating contestant, secretly in love with Sakura
• Sakura Saginomiya - compulsive gambler - particularly horse races, loves her dog Patriot, she makes me nervous
• Yoko Shimorenjaku - has pink hair and a pet bat (Chi-Chan), is not a very good drunk, constantly eats junk food and snacks
• Kouji Kengamine - officer in charge of the 801st who really wants the team disbanded so he can command a combat unit, went to training school with Konishi, a total suck up to superiors and only interested in getting promoted away from the 801st

The 801st crew - Chi-Chan the bat, Yoko eats sushi, Sakura sings karaoke,
Konishi screams, Kouji attempts to flee, Mitaka and Haneda drink too
much and fondle Isurugi!

Pros: Decent animation (it's an OVA), amusing comedy moments, a bunch of fan-service (particularly in the hot springs episode with a little nudity thrown in), couple extras, good supporting cast outside of the three main characters

Haneda and Mitaka perform aerial maneuvers

Cons: No clue why Haneda and Mitaka are so hung up on Isurugi - he's a total dork, no conclusion to the series - just another episode, bland opening/ending themes, the team goes head-to-head with an obnoxious American aerial acrobatics team -

The 801st crew cries bloody murder at a haunted hot spring!

Mike Tells It Straight: This is not a harem anime - it's a love triangle comedy show.  The animation is well done and the plot is pretty standard - lots of slapstick comedy and convenient misunderstandings.  We get the typical hot springs episode with a little nudity from the female cast members (mostly Mitaka) while the guys are all closet perverts.  Amusing stuff and completely formulaic.

Mitaka has a wardrobe malfunction at the hot springs!

Isurugi is a nerdy otaku who 'just happens' to have two beautiful fighter pilots swooning over him constantly. WTF!  I found it interesting the short OVA series wasn't structured to have a conclusion and instead played like a much longer episodic series.  Overall a cute little comedy show with airplanes.   


TO BUY and Recommendations:

Rescue Me: Mave-Chan Anime Review

Fighting Fairy Girl Rescue Me: Mave-Chan
Bandai Entertainment
Original Video Animation - 1 disc
25 mins. - 1 episode
$9.98 (2007)
ISBN 9781594097461
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Takeshi Mori
Studio - Studio Fantasia

Synopsis: Rei Sugiyama is a timid teenager who never takes chances in life and hides in the escapism offered by anime.  He took a small chance one day and entered into a contest from one of his favorite shows - Stratos 4.  Now it appears his luck has changed as he wins the contest and attends his first anime convention.

A wide-eyed Rei attends his first anime convention

The convention is a tumultuous gathering of odd, excited fans and Rei is a fish out of water in the crowds.  Taking a break in a convention center hallway he accidentally falls into another dimension where powerful girl cyborgs battle alien invaders.  The girls have powers, abilities, and names corresponding to fighter planes from two of Rei's favorite anime: Battle Fairy Yukikaze and Stratos 4.

Rei falls into a fictional dimension where he meets Mave - she
thinks he's an enemy and wants to stick him with pointy knives

Apparently the girls are fictional representations (i.e. mecha-musume) of the fans' enthusiasm for the respective anime shows.  Large gatherings of anime fans (like at conventions) energize the fictional embodiments and also weaken the barrier between the real world and imagination.  The girls are fighting the JAM who are led by an evil fictional representation of older mecha anime shows.  Once fans' interest in an anime show wanes then the fictional representations will lose power and eventually fade away.

Rei helps the girls battle "The Forgetter"

Now Rei must survive in an imaginary realm where reality is considerably bent and the clock is ticking for the world's demise.  Can the nervous teen find his inner strength to help Mave, Super Sylph, Sylphide, One-Chan and Two-Chan against "The Forgetter"?

Rei must choose - save himself and forever remain a coward -
or he can help Mave and Super Sylph stay corporeal

Pros: Small amount of ecchi/panty shots, had a few funny and slapsticky bits, decent animation


Cons: Too short, Forgetter was a corny villain with terrible character design, aimless harem show, doesn't stand on its own, Rei is a typical milktoast nerd

The lovely girls of Rescue Me: Mave-Chan (clock-
wise from bottom): Mave, Sylphide, One-Chan,
that loser Rei, Two-Chan, and Super Sylph 

Mike Tells It Straight: I randomly found this anime in a bargain bin at the mall and thought "what the heck, the price is right to take a chance".  Well, the price was exactly appropriate for the product - an incredibly short OVA parody of two other anime: Battle Fairy Yukikaze and Stratos 4.

The plot, main character (Rei Sugiyama - similar to Rei Fukai from Yukikaze), and villain were terrible.  This show serves as a random one-off mostly from Yukikaze, which was a fairly decent sci-fi anime released by Bandai in the US in 2007.

My guess is Bandai put this show out as a complement to Yukikaze, but it really serves no purpose and felt completely unrelated.  This show should never have had its own release - period.  Bandai should have added it as a special feature on the last disc of Yukikaze for a nice extra.

TO BUY and Recommendations: