| Title: | Area 88 (TV) |
| Episode: | 6: A Lonely Crossing Of Paths |
| Synopsis | |
| Far, far apart, Shin and Kanzaki are both preparing for takeoff. Shin will be trying out his new plane, a Tiger II, while Kanzaki is being evaluated for a possible promotion to the rank of Captain at Yamato Airlines. Kanzaki accepts a challenge which could earn him the pilot's recommendation, while Shin puts his plane through a series of high-G maneouvres and finds it's performance to be flawless. He recalls how he first met Ryoko, back when he and Kanzaki were both trainees at Yamato Airlines. Kanzaki remembers meeting Ryoko recently, and trying unsuccessfully to convince her to accept that she will never see Shin again. Kitri pays Makoto a visit, and notices how many pictures of Shin he's been taking. Ryoko visits the orphanage where Shin once lived, and is presented with a memento from his childhood. Meanwhile, in the cloudy skies over the Meditterranean Sea, neither Shin nor his arch enemy Kanzaki realize just how close to each other they have come... | |
| Comments | |
| I'm kind of surprised at an episode in which not a single Mig gets blown out of the sky. Actually, in a way I prefer this version of Shin and Kanzaki's unlikely encounter over the OVA. In that version, some sort of bomb had been attached to the wing of the airliner, and Shin had to shoot it off before it detonated--technically speaking, it was kind of hard to take seriously. I have no idea which one is closer to the manga. On the other hand, I think the OVAs handled Ryoko's meeting with Kanzaki better: TV: "Don't be silly. There's no reason you should have to pay for me" --Ryoko (being quite polite) OVA: "I won't be in your debt--not even for a cup of coffee!" --Ryoko (being somewhat less polite) Shin makes a remark near the end which demonstrates how his attitude in this TV series differs from his self in the OVAs. Back then, he deeply regretted having to kill in order to earn his release from Area 88. Now, he puts it like this: "Ryoko, know that I will make it back to you, no matter how much blood must stain these two hands" | |
