801 T.T.S. Airbats

Title:801 T.T.S. Airbats
Airbats
Aozora Shoujotai (Japanese)
Blue Sky Girls Squadron
Japan Air Self Defence Force Tactical Training Squadron 801 T.T.S. Airbats
青空少女隊 (Japanese)
Overall:Rent
Keywords: , , , , , , ,
Notables: HISAKAWA Aya
INOUE Kikuko
MIKI Shinichirou
MORIYAMA Yuji
NOGAMI Yukana
ORIKASA Ai
R1 License - ADV (Renamed)
WAKAMOTO Norio
The all-female 801 Tactical Training Squadron is thrown into turmoil when aircraft maintenance technician Takuya Isurugi arrives. Hilarity ensues.

7 OVA episodes (spread out over 3 titles)

Also see 801 T.T.S. Airbats 2nd Strike
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Watch 7 7 6 6 5 5 Ggultra2764 [series:412#1552]
More a mix of harem comedy and flight, 801 TTS Airbats features male lead Isurugi joining an all-female aerial acrobatic team where two of the female pilots take interest in him. The first three episodes have a plot structure to follow as it focuses on the antics of the love triangle that develops with our three leads and then having to prevent their squadron from disbanding due to the recklessness and heated rivalry between the two mentioned pilots. The other four are episodic stories with three being comedic filler (one notably having an appearance from the American Thunderbirds aerial acrobat team) and the final episode featuring some back story on one of the female pilots in the squadron. The anime is supposedly sponsored by Japan's Air SDF, though I'd question the legitimacy of this with how reckless the female pilots in this series can be while in flight. The anime doesn't really have anything special that sticks out with its premise since episodes and elements of it rehash stuff done to death in similar titles, though it does have some fun aerial sequences when we see the pilots in action. Otherwise, this is a rather forgettable 90s anime that I wouldn't have any regrets of not rewatching again anytime soon.

Last updated Saturday, December 07 2013. Created Saturday, December 07 2013.
Rent Stretch [series:412#628]
I'm kind of surprised that the Japan Air Self Defense Force agreed to help out in the making of this anime, since it depicts pilots who sometimes behave rashly and endanger themselves, their planes, and anybody else nearby. But this is anime, not the History Channel. A romantic comedy set within the present-day military was a fairly novel concept, and it works out well. Airbats never pretends to be a classic, instead it concentrates on delivering an enjoyable end product. With only seven episodes overall, there's no filler here, and each episode has something unique about it. I'm especially amused by Isurugi's flights of fancy (no pun intended!).

9/03 #68

Last updated Sunday, February 03 2008. Created Monday, September 22 2003.
Buy 7 7 9 8 Black Panther [series:412#142]
I really enjoyed watching this one! It was really entertaining; the character design was wonderful as well as the character interaction! Defiantly worth buying! Gotta love the bat... \V/^_^

Last updated Sunday, March 02 2003. Created Sunday, March 02 2003.
Buy 8 8 8 8 8 The Coyote [series:412#64]
Airbats may not be the most origional story, (anime geek gets all the girls) but it is alot of fun the opening episode has the most nudity but not much. Having grown up around air force base's and having conections to the Air Force acadamy (The Thunder birds make an apearance in a latter series.) I loved it. My room as a kid used to have models of F-15s and The Black Bird. all over and I used to see the Thunder birds at least once a year. I greatly enjoyed this show. It has good animation, well done character enteraction and a good story. in my opinion a buy. The dvd is a good buy in my opinion You get all of the series in one. Rated PG-13

Last updated Wednesday, September 11 2002. Created Wednesday, September 11 2002.
Rent 7 7 9 7 6 Midnighter [series:412#94]
Airbats is sort of like a cross between Top Gun and Tenchi Muyo. The overused premise of a single befuddled young man surrounded by gorgeous women gets a new setting in an air force squadron.
There is much to like in the Airbats anime, however. Directer/character designer Moriyama Yuji (Project A-Ko, Jungle De Ikou)is well known for his sexy female character designs, and Airbats continues to showcase that talent. Sergeant Mitaka, the hotheaded pilot looks like an amalgam of Ghost in the Shell's Matoko Kusanagi and El Hazard's Shayla Shayla.
The animation is well done, with some nice camera angles and shots during the aeriel displays. As for the meneuvers the pilots pull in their "T-3 Jet Provost trainers" some of them are plausable, even possible, others just border on stupid. It is still exciting, however. (Actually, I don't think they're T-3s, they don't look like it, they almost look like T-5s, but in any case, I suspect the artists took a lot of artistic license in designing the airplanes.)
The music is catchy, with a good opening theme and closing theme, although the bgm sounds pretty basic and nothing special.
One fun bit for fans is Isurugi's otaku-ism. His room is a veritable treasure trove of anime items. Just a few are resin stutues of B-Ko and a Sailor Scout, Godzilla, Speed Racer, Sakura (from Sakura Wars), Otaku No Video's Misty May and a plethora of others, some of which I couldn't even identify.
In 3rd Strike, watch for the Shinji Ikari Eva poster!
Overall, I really enjoyed Airbats, despite its weak premise. I wouldn't say it was good enough to buy new, but I managed to get my hands on some cheap used copies, and consider it money well spent. The high-flying action and silly characters make for a fun mix, and as a bonus, it's fun to spot all the anime references in Isurugi's room.
This one is worth a rent.
NOTE: Airbats was originally a 3 part OAV released in 1994. Four additional episodes in two more volumes were released due to its popularity, but they are considered seperate series.
5-14-02

Last updated Wednesday, May 15 2002. Created Tuesday, May 14 2002.

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