| A sniper causes two Skyhawks to crash on Area 88's runway, then procedes to pick off the firemen who respond. His suspected location is heavily shelled, but to no avail. Makoto calmly continues to take pictures, and is somehow familiar with the tactics the sniper is employing. Before long this expert marksman has shut down the entire base and no one dares to go outside. Friendly units plead for air support but nothing can be done. The pilots are angry and figure a little saturation bombing should flush this fellow out. Makoto, however, warns that they are up against a true expert who wouldn't respond like an ordinary soldier would. He reveals that he once covered a civil war in Africa and got an up-close-and-personal lesson on the techniques snipers use. A pilot known as "Smiley" attempts to take off and is killed. Nevertheless, Shin concludes that Smiley had the right idea, since "Somebody's got to go up". He has an idea how his plane might avoid the wreckage halfway down the runway. Makoto volunteers to help out--he, too, has an idea, which might grant Shin a narrow window of time to get off the ground... |
| Here is another new story which definitely wasn't in the OVAs, though it may have come from the manga. Seeing as he's been sent to secretly verify Shin's death, Makoto may have in fact taken a liking to him, since he helps him survive (or maybe he didn't really think his plan would work!). The climactic scene was pretty neat, with well-chosen music and nicely timed cuts between different shots. Of course Shin will win, but it was fun nevertheless, and ended with a bit of a surprising twist. |
