Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu - 1: Close Encounter Of The Third Kind

Title:Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu
Episode:1: Close Encounter Of The Third Kind
Synopsis
Late at night on his last day of holidays, 17-year-old Asaba Naoyuki has just returned from his summer camp and sneaks into the school campus to do some swimming. But he's surprised to meet a cute and shy girl there who is startled by his appearance and falls into the pool, unable to keep her head above the water. After saving the girl (who has gotten a nosebleed) named Iriya Kana he offers to teach her how to swim [image1], but when he holds her hands to support her, he can feel metallic disks embedded into her wrists. Just seconds later, a number of military cars from the nearby Sonohara Air Base stop in front of the school, and a man enters, telling Iriya it's time to go home. Asaba is infuriated but Iriya tells him she knows this person who introduces himself as being "something like a brother" to Iriya.
The next day at school, Asaba gets scolded by Sudou Akiho [image2] for spending all the holidays looking for UFOs together with Suizenji (the chairman of their electronic newspaper club), as rumours tell about foo-fighters at the Air Base. But the tomboy at least offers him to copy her homework. Suddenly Iriya arrives at school but she doesn't answer any of her new classmates' questions, to the point of telling them to leave her alone. When Akiho calls Asaba to account for the obvious eye contact of this new girl with him, Asaba's face suddenly turns blue and he faints. Asaba comes to at the Nurse's Office, but when the new nurse learns his name, to the boy's bewilderment she sends Akiho away - and then applies a medicine that knocks Asaba out cold; the boy is able to overhear some parts of a phone call by this woman [image3] before fainting again. By the time when Asaba awakes this fake nurse has gone; back to his classroom he meets just one girl who didn't attend the school ceremony - Iriya, with her nose bleeding again [image4]. But she soon is announced to attend the staff room for taking a phone call.
Asaba is puzzled how everyone at class hates Iriya already for her misbehaviour after the first day. So everyone is dumbfounded when Suizenji enters the room with a bouquet of flowers [image5], attempting to recruit Iriya as fourth club member (besides Asaba, Akiho and him). But Iriya walks away, leaving the flowers behind; Asaba runs after her (much to Ahiki's chagrin) and observes her making a phone call. The sound of a siren (announcing the daily air-raid drill) interrupts Asaba's explanation of the previous recruiting attempt - but while everyone else is lying down on the ground, a terrified Iriya grabs Asaba's wrist, drags him away to the shelter, types a key combination to open and then close the shelter door, and hands the boy a submachine gun [image6]! No sooner than when the phone rings (Enomoto calling, the "brother" from last night) Iriya is willing to accept this isn't the real attack that she wished for in her despair: "If only everyone died!".
To cheer the crying girl up, Asaba asks about a video game in Iriya's open bag, and they play it together: Barrier Combat Air Control [image7]. But when Asaba loses the game, Iriya immediately collapses, puking blood! Asaba runs to the phone... [image8]
Comments
[2005-08-31, Devil Doll]:
The narration speed of this 28 minutes episode is immense - I still left out a number of crucial scenes and a lot of information from the dialogues, as not to spoil too much. Compare this story to Saishu Heiki Kanojo - note how much has happened already!
This first episode is heavy on action-drama and suspense, while providing comedy elements and a dose of fan-service at the same time - but rest assured that the mix will change during the course of this OVA.

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