"Area 88"@en . . . . . . . . "Area 88 (\u30A8\u30EA\u30A288 Eria Hachi-J\u016B-Hachi?) is a Japanese manga series by Kaoru Shintani serialized between 1979 and 1986. The story is about a young pilot named Shin Kazama and his experiences at Area 88, a mercenary air force base secluded in the desert of a war torn country. Shin goes from head of his class at a world renowned aviation school dating the beautiful daughter of an airline president to a mercenary fighter pilot bound to Area 88 by a three-year contract that he was duped into signing by a jealous and competitive childhood friend. Determined to earn $1.5 million to buy his way out of the obligation and return home, killing becomes second nature to Shin as he quickly rises to the top rank at Area 88. Overwrought with shame and self-loathing for what he has become, Shin begins to question whether he is still fighting for survival, or like his fellow mercenaries, 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. It has been adapted into a theatrical film, two anime series, the first an OVA originally published in 1985 and the latest, a 12-episode anime television series, which premiered across Japan on the anime television network Animax in 2004, and a video game, released in North America as U.N. Squadron. It is also a brand of model aircraft in Japan. While it appeals to aviation fans for its realistic depictions of aircraft and aerial combat it has also been critically acclaimed for its strong character development and Shintani's poignant storytelling, combining action, tragedy, romance, and comedy. In 1985, the manga received the Shogakukan Manga Award for sh\u014Dnen."@en . . "ADV Films"@en . . . . . "1986"^^ . . "2"^^ . . "1985"^^ . . "A manga by Kaoru Shintani that ran from 1979-1986, Area 88 is the story of Shin Kazama, a brilliant Japanese pilot tricked into enlisting in the Foreign Legion mercenary air force of the generally Middle Eastern or North African kingdom of Aslan, sometime in the early 80s or late 70s. Aslan is in the middle of a civil war between two brothers contending for the throne, and Shin and the other pilots at the titular airbase are at the front lines of the war. The story starts with the arrival of a Japanese photojournalist (Goh \"Rocky\" Mutsugi in the manga and OVA; Makoto Shinjo in the TV series) at the isolated base. He has been pursuing rumours of a Japanese mercenary pilot and finds him along with some great photographs. Shin's story is told as he remembers how he came to be trapped in this hell on earth. Shin and his childhood best friend, Satoru Kanzaki, were trainee pilots for Yamato Airlines, and both of them seemed to be headed for the top. Shin had even caught the eye of the beautiful daughter of the CEO, Ryoko Tsugumo. But one day, while celebrating the end of a training trip to France, a jealous Kanzaki tricks a drunken Shin into signing a contract to join Aslan's military. He is picked up by 'recruiters' the next morning. Now he's forced to risk his life every day in a war that means nothing to him, and he has only three ways out: 1. \n* Serve and survive the three years of his contract. 2. \n* Buy out the contract by earning $1.5 million from the bounties on the targets he destroys -- while having to pay for his fuel, ammunition, and the repairs to his fighter. And new fighters, more than once. 3. \n* Desert from the base in the middle of the desert, and face pursuit and execution if caught. Along the way, he must deal with the blood on his hands and the horrors of war. Among Shin's comrades at the base are: Mickey Simon, an American Vietnam War veteran who flies an F-14 (until it was shot down in the manga); Greg Gates, a masochistic Dane; and Saki Vashtal, the base commander, and a member of Aslan's royal family. These are the longest lived of the pilots still at the base. Back in Japan, Kanzaki begins courting Ryoko in Shin's place. He also rises through the ranks of Yamato Airlines, eventually managing to acquire control from Ryoko's father through an underhanded business deal and stock purchased by proxies. Ryoko, by chance, sees a photo of Shin in a magazine and embarks on a quest to find him. Kanzaki becomes determined to either stop Ryoko or ensure Shin's death. Area 88 was one of the earliest manga to be released Stateside. Eclipse Comics and Viz Media published the series as single chapters each about the size of standard comic book, but stopped after 42 chapters (perhaps a quarter of the whole series), though it continued (but was not completed) in the Animerica magazine. Shintani started his career as an assistant to Leiji Matsumoto, and the influence clearly shows in his character designs and more humourous panels. A three-episode OVA was produced in 1985; the first two episodes were also released as a compilation movie in Japan. Central Park Media released the OVAs on VHS, but only released the first episode on DVD before their license expired. ADV Films finally released both the compilation movie and the final OVA on DVD in 2006. There was also a 12-episode TV series released in 2004. ADV also released this version. A arcade Shoot'Em Up featuring Shin, Mickey, and Greg was made by Capcom and later ported to the SNES. The game was released Stateside as U.N. Squadron and shares very little with the series (although it did use bounties as a way for the player to buy Power Ups between levels). The arcade version had fixed planes for each character: Shin flew the F-20, Mickey the F-14, and Greg the A-10. The SNES version differentiated characters by how quickly they leveled up the main weapon and how quickly they recovered from damage; all characters started with the F-8E Crusader, and could buy other planes as he game progressed."@en . "2015-08-16"^^ . . "Yes"@en . "Area 88(\u30A8\u30EA\u30A288Eria Hachi-J\u016B-Hachi) is a Japanese manga series by Kaoru Shintani serialized between 1979 and 1986. The story is about a young pilot named Shin Kazama and his experiences at Area 88, a mercenary air force base secluded in the desert of a war torn country. Shin goes from head of his class at a world renowned aviation school dating the beautiful daughter of an airline president to a mercenary fighter pilot bound to Area 88 by a three-year contract that he was duped into signing by a jealous and competitive childhood friend. Determined to earn $1.5 million dollars to buy his way out of the obligation and return home, killing becomes second nature to Shin as he quickly rises to the top rank at Area 88. Overwrought with shame and self-loathing for what he has become, Shin begins to"@en . . . . . . "Area 88 (\u30A8\u30EA\u30A288 Eria Hachi-J\u016B-Hachi?) is a Japanese manga series by Kaoru Shintani serialized between 1979 and 1986. The story is about a young pilot named Shin Kazama and his experiences at Area 88, a mercenary air force base secluded in the desert of a war torn country. Shin goes from head of his class at a world renowned aviation school dating the beautiful daughter of an airline president to a mercenary fighter pilot bound to Area 88 by a three-year contract that he was duped into signing by a jealous and competitive childhood friend. Determined to earn $1.5 million to buy his way out of the obligation and return home, killing becomes second nature to Shin as he quickly rises to the top rank at Area 88. Overwrought with shame and self-loathing for what he has become, Shin begins to ques"@en . "Military"@en . . . . . "Yes"@en . "Area 88(\u30A8\u30EA\u30A288Eria Hachi-J\u016B-Hachi) is a Japanese manga series by Kaoru Shintani serialized between 1979 and 1986. The story is about a young pilot named Shin Kazama and his experiences at Area 88, a mercenary air force base secluded in the desert of a war torn country. Shin goes from head of his class at a world renowned aviation school dating the beautiful daughter of an airline president to a mercenary fighter pilot bound to Area 88 by a three-year contract that he was duped into signing by a jealous and competitive childhood friend. Determined to earn $1.5 million dollars to buy his way out of the obligation and return home, killing becomes second nature to Shin as he quickly rises to the top rank at Area 88. Overwrought with shame and self-loathing for what he has become, Shin begins to question whether he is still fighting for survival, or like his fellow mercenaries, 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. It has been adapted into two anime series, the first an OVA originally published in 1985 and the latest, a 12-episode anime television series, which premiered across Japan on the anime television network Animax in 2005, and a video game, U.N. Squadron. It is also a brand of model aircraft in Japan. While it appeals to aviation fans for its realistic depictions of aircraft and aerial combat it has also been critically acclaimed for its strong character development and Shintani's poignant storytelling, combining action, tragedy, romance, and comedy. In 1985, the manga received the Shogakukan Manga Award for sh\u014Dnen."@en . . . . "Animax"@en . . . "2016-01-24"^^ . . . "Sh\u014Dnen"@en . . "\u30A8\u30EA\u30A288"@en . . "1979"^^ . . "ova"@en . "List of Area 88 episodes"@en . "Area 88"@en . . . . . "manga"@en . "A manga by Kaoru Shintani that ran from 1979-1986, Area 88 is the story of Shin Kazama, a brilliant Japanese pilot tricked into enlisting in the Foreign Legion mercenary air force of the generally Middle Eastern or North African kingdom of Aslan, sometime in the early 80s or late 70s. Aslan is in the middle of a civil war between two brothers contending for the throne, and Shin and the other pilots at the titular airbase are at the front lines of the war. Along the way, he must deal with the blood on his hands and the horrors of war."@en . . "Promotional image of the 2005 anime adaptation"@en . "Eclipse Comics/VIZ Media"@en . . "Madman Entertainment"@en . . . . . . "The Anime Network"@en . . . . . . . "Area 88"@en . "3"^^ . . . . "No"@en . "area88"@en . . "23"^^ . . "Eria Hachi-J\u016B-Hachi"@en . . "2004-01-08"^^ . . "12"^^ . . "Manga"@en . . . . . "2004-03-25"^^ . "tv series"@en . .