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I appreciate this series for what it was, but I thought many things were considerably ignored. I'm giving it a 6/10.

I am suprised that the President lost all interest in the whole UFO scoop...

It should have been revealed more about Erika - why her vessel went berserk and all - coudn't she have ejected off her Black Manta? Why was Iriya assigned to destroy it in the first place?

I was looking foward for a happy ending though - a kissing scene would be nice just before she pushes Asaba off the platform in the B-ship.

It would be more satisfying for me to know if Iriya is dead or alive - I personally would prefer a happy ending = alive.

What's the motif with the japanese character in the wheat plain? Does that indicate perhaps that Iriya can see it in the sky? Or does that symbolises that she is dead and Asaba tries to communicate with her in heaven?

However this didn't made me vote this anime bad. I really enjoyed watching it - emotionally touching OAV.

EDIT:

I wrote more here:

http://calamitousintents.wordpress.com/2008/08/23/iriya-no-sora/#comment-4441

I believe hostage was right about Enomoto. His conscience was eating at him from the beginning. He started by saying it was for the greater good and to save the world, but then he realized what they were doing to achieve that. He said when the two ran away, that he wasn't seriously trying to find them, but Asaba made the stupid mistake of calling his grandparents and he had to follow orders. He even said he'd give them 30 minutes to escape without trying to stop them, though whether he was joking about it or joking about joking about it is for others to decide. After Iriya takes off for the final battle, he pulls the gun on Asaba not to kill him, but to face up to everything they've done by having Asaba end his life. If he had wanted to kill Asaba, he had the chance when he held the gun to Asaba's head.

As for the president, he seems to have had his memory erased for that time frame by the government (not lost interest in the whole UFo scoop. Hell the "I don't remember anything" lines might be a giveaway...) just like Asaba couldn't remember for a while what happened after leaving the pool, though in a lot stronger dosage... (Remember the nurse's office when Asaba was on a bed and the nurse on the phone?)

And lastly, th japanese character in the wheat plain was on the side of the Black Manta. There were a bunch of UFO symbols X'ed off and then a few of those symbols as well, most likely representing the other Black Manta pilots who died. From that you see that Iriya is dead, a sad ending.

Well isn't the fact that mankind wasn't annihilated a hint that she lived? Unless she died from one of those wicked seizures later on.

Also, about those symbols (the one he made in the grass), they were shown on the chalk or white board in one of the earlier episodes beside the club members names, which I thought were used as a golden star type of deal, or to show the days they attended... Or something like that, I have no idea, but they were there.

edit: It was episode 3.. here's a screen of that nonsense.

I loved this show because I grew too attached to Iriya. Just figuring that she dies in the end takes a little bit of my heart away. Sure it wasn't that perfect in the plot or basically anything else, but yeah, I loved it.

It's amazing how fast people grow up though. =/

I've pretty much assumed that Iriya died, though who knows how exactly. She lived a tough life, saddled with a burden that involves such tremendous personal sacrifice. Still, I'm happy that she had that final moment with Asaba and learning how much she meant to him. Unlike her fate, there's no ambiguity or open-endedness there. Bittersweet, more bitter than sweet.

Enomoto had to be manipulative until the very end even if it was his way to own up to his sins. He probably hated himself more than anyone.

Sad story. Far from perfect, but well worth the time spent.

nice short story :) the time for this was not wasted

President is epic, it was great when he returned in the middle of nothing and say "I can't remember anything!"! :D

nice anime but as many others i ask my self what's the meaning of the end?
it was the final war and humanity survived... so she won the war or not?!?!

double kill with the last enemy or did she just cash with the fighter after the battle? who knows? cause if she was shot by an enemy, you can't tell that she won... or is the war still ongoing?

i hate those kind of ending for an anime without an sequel.

that's just like playing lottery without an announcement of the winning numbers...

A nice, quick, heartwarming series.

But there are a considerable amount of variables that I don't feel comfortable about.
The war for one. The world is at war. That's what we're told from the start. Iriya is the last one who can fight in it. But with who? Battles are never shown and Enomoto's speech on the roof does little to clear things up.

Enomoto himself was a rather controversial character until the very end. For me, he became somewhat of a martyr for Iriya's cause. He knew they were slowly killing Iriya from the inside with that plane. He tried to help her with Project Puppy so he could make up for Kana's state. And in the end he wanted to die at the hands of someone who would have been entitled to do it.

Iriya's psyche was hard to grasp. I know all that fighting in the Manta has dire effects over time but what happened after Asaba yelled at her on the railroad was rather disturbing. Was she so afraid of being hated by the only person in the world that she cares for that her mind just... turned off? Odd turn of events.

The state the chairman would wind up by the end of the series was funny but in contrast with his usual genki and energetic disposition, it was funny to see. Guess all that snooping around got his brain turned into mush by the government. Or the aliens. Or both. Again, not explained.

The end was rather disappointing for me because it is never clearly stated that Kana dies. The letter was suggestive. Naoyuki's final line is spoken in a resigned voice. The character in the wheat field was kind of a giveaway for what became of Kana.
She did die, then why hasn't all of mankind been annihilated? Contradicting possibilities much?


In conclusion...
Great story. Could have been improved here and there.
The question "Who am I?" certainly has got a lot more meaning for me after watching this.

8/10.

yeah this was definitely how it went. I hate to say it but Iriya does appear to be dead. She fought the war for Asaba but lost her life. I'm so sad that they did not kiss.

We really didn't get solid evidence or explanations for who she was foghtig against and the cause of the nosebleeds as well a white hair. Was it related to the incident with her other comrade? It appears to be so...

Anyways, I thought this anime was beautiful. It wasn't all too romantic bit it does have a lot of emotions. Sad to see this series end.

8/10

Glad to know that Iriya is still out there somewhere. I thought they're gonna pull that Saikano ending. The only thing I don't like is Enomoto's suicide, I was expecting more from him but it turned out that he's just another weak character. Rather, that Chairman was a win, I could imagine him saying, "I can't remember anything! I'm in despair!" XD

A sad ending, I really didn't expect Iriya to die. Another possible reason for Enomoto trying to kill Asaba could be that Asaba may not know about everything that happened with the interplanetary war, though it's not something I think is true.
But really, they should have put a kiss in it.

I think the Black Mantra was my only interest in this short series.

So there were aliens after all and we're fighting them. Oh and that was it? Great! Moving on...

i watched this anime around when it came out... i never finished it, last ep i watched was 5, i just now redownloaded and watched 1-6.. very sad ending, put me in a horrible mood.. but there is also this question.... HAS anyone read the light novel? even just skim the ending pages to see if it ends like that? i know there is also a manga but not sure where to get either. i mean if she died doesnt that mean she failed and earth is in danger?, and if she succeeded , she should be alright and coming back home.

im surpirsed people are still posting regarding this, since it is about 6 years old

Well that was sad, although, the abscence of them confirming or denying whether she died or not makes the ending a little better as it could still be a happy ending, who knows, I'll take this over having her die outright.

Wish it had a different ending regardless it's 8/10 from me.

Well the whole series is based on how they lied Asaba about everything... Maybe Iriya is still fighting to protect him.

Good story overall. They went through a lot in 6 episodes and concluded with a bittersweet ending... 8/10

now i hate the goverment

this is based on light novel.. i tink we should read that to know what actually happened... but there's no completed one released.. ;A;

The last battle wasn't on Earth, "final battle" only makes sense if it was an attack on the aliens home planet, wiping them out, supported by the fact that they can accurately predict when the final battle will occur. Xenocide, basically.

"Final battle" simply makes no sense if it was a defensive battle. Even success in such a case wouldn't win them the war. The aliens could mass another fleet and attack at a future date.

However, "Final battle" does make sense if it was an offense, an attack on their planet, as in that case defeat would result in Irya, the final pilot, being dead and humanity doomed. While victory would mean the aliens being wiped out.

Thus we can conclude that the final battle is not on Earth, let's call that Alpha Centauri (after our closest neighbouring star system). First off, there is the distance to consider. How long does it take to travel to Alpha Centauri? Years, unless they use hyperspace, wormholes or whatever. The fighters do not seem to have any inertia, but anyway...

As such I interpret the sign as a symbol for Irya to see, not surprising, either as a spirit or whenever she return. She may or may not be dead, but he still has hope. I think the battle was a one way ticket - regardless if she won or not, but at least he has hope.

The novel has the same ending, take a look:

http://www.jupiterstar.com/moscribbles/archives/001265.html