Sentou Yousei Yukikaze

It has been 33 years since an alien race, known as the JAM, emerged from a hyperspace passage over Antarctica with the sole purpose of invading Earth. Despite their unexpected initial assaults, a combined effort by humanity not only pushed the JAM force off of Earth but also moved the frontlines of the battle onto the JAM's homeworld of Fairy. Though out of sight and mind for the majority of Earth's inhabitants, the conflict still rages on Fairy, where the United Nations has established five bases and a powerful, technologically advanced military—including the Fairy Air Force (FAF).

Lieutenant Rei Fukai acts as a pilot for the FAF Special Air Force’s Boomerang reconnaissance squadron, flying a Super Sylph fighter jet with the personal name "Yukikaze." Soaring high above and observing the battles for air superiority, he is responsible for collecting and analyzing valuable intelligence on JAM methods. While his flying skills are unmatched, he also heavily relies on the highly advanced weaponry and near-sentient AI system of his aircraft.

Though despised by other members of the FAF for his antisocial and standoffish nature, Lt. Fukai continues to carry out his duties along with Yukikaze. However, during a particularly bloody battle, the appearance of an unresponsive and hostile aircraft catches the lieutenant off-guard—an aircraft which is of the same make and model as his own.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Fukai, Rei Main

Sakai, Masato Japanese

Bukhar, James Main

Nakata, Jouji Japanese

Cooley, Rydia Supporting

Ichiryuusai, Harumi Japanese

John, Tom Supporting

Yao, Kazuki Japanese

Jackson, Lynn Supporting

Ikeda, Masako Japanese

Rombart, Ansel Supporting

Hashi, Takaya Japanese

Foss, Edith Supporting

Yamada, Miho Japanese

Maseba, Yutaka Producer

Iida, Umanosuke Producer, Planning

Ishikawa, Manabu Producer

Ookura, Masahiko Director, Script, Storyboard

Reviews

Aug 26, 2024

rooster_

Recommended

I haven't read the original novel, but from the start it was clear to me that Battle Fairy Yukikaze was an adaptation of an older work. It's an odd mix of background paintings that feel taken straight out of mid-70s sci-fi novels, and digital-anime characters that look like obvious redesigns of much older ones, what with their bell-bottom pants and gaunt, Matsumoto-esque expressions. It straddles a line similar to other 2000s remakes like Cyborg 009 and Golgo 13, which I find comforting. It's a plangently philosophical story about humanity's battle with a fundamentally unknowable alien and eventually with itself. The plane-combat action scenes are fantastic, ... with hypnotic after-effects and liberal use of jagged, CG assets which look surprisingly great in-context. It can be hard to follow as the main story is connected to many noided subjects and clearly used a springboard for commentary on the Cold War and Japan's post-war position on the world stage. We won't see this type of massive-budget vanity OVA again, especially one so squarely aimed at adults. It should be treasured.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Dec 7, 2019

sketchesofpayne

Recommended

This OVA is way better than I remember it being; watching it again more than ten years later. I remember it being confusing, but that was probably because I was watching it as it came out with months between each episode's release.

Looking back, studio GONZO has had a mixed bag of excellent and terrible series. This is definitely one of their good ones. The plot may seem surreal or confusing in places, but if you go back and watch it a second time it seems pretty straight-forward. Parts might seem ambiguous, but that's just a quirk of Japanese storytelling. They ... tend to like open ended stories that leave room for interpretation.

If you are in the mood for fighter jet combat Yukikaze delivers! It is in the same vein as the action scenes in a Macross series.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Apr 20, 2013

Caraniel

Mixed Feelings

A very pretty and detailed OVA but the plot is too disjointed and confusing.

PLOT: I liked the premise of the plot and the setting of the action, but felt that the execution could have been much better. The scripting just feels random and it's almost like there are huge chunks of exposition cut from the final edit. I did like the realistic approach to warfare and the fact that there is no mecha – its all fighter jets, but I did feel that they went overboard with the techno-jargon as all that just went straight over my head! The central characters are no where near ... well developed enough, a bit of backstory on Jack and Rei would have been nice – but considering this is a 5 episode OVA with a massive cast they have done quite well in the character development department. My corrupted brain decided that there was definitely some BL undertones in the relationship between Jack & Rei, and it really wanted some sort of confirmation of that…….but that’s probably just me! The aliens could have done with a bit of development as well, as it is they remain as mysterious at the end as they were at the start. But all in all for a short OVA series the plot was interesting, if not solely there to link together the fabulous battle scenes.

ANIMATION: The animation in this is absolutely 1st class! Wonderful use of CGI throughout great detailing in the backgrounds, well executed and choreographed fight scenes and attractive character designs. Lots of colour – loved the green skies of the planet Fairy (kind of had DBZ Namek flashbacks though) and the colour displays of the JAM aircraft – it’s all very visually appealing and most of my enjoyment of the series stemmed from the brilliant graphics.

MUSIC & VOICE ACTING: I did not like the OP at all – seemed very discordant and random on the ear. Also the ED was a decent track but didn’t seem to fit with the tone of the show, as it is a bit too upbeat. The BGM was excellent though. Voice acting is quite solid, although Rei is a wee bit too soft spoken and depressed sounding, to extent he comes across as extremely emo.

Overall a solid OVA that has excellent graphics and an interesting plot, but suffers from bad pacing and a confusing structure. This may have worked better if it was fleshed out more as a longer series or if it had of been trimmed right back to movie length.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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	Poll: Yukikaze Episode 5 Discussion GlennMagusHarvey - Jul 6, 2010	18 replies	by Jorjii »» Jun 18, 12:15 PM
	Poll: Sentou Yousei Yukikaze Episode 4 Discussion RafaelDeJongh - May 13, 2015	4 replies	by Jorjii »» Jun 18, 11:15 AM
	Poll: Sentou Yousei Yukikaze Episode 3 Discussion RafaelDeJongh - May 13, 2015	1 replies	by Jorjii »» Jun 18, 10:43 AM
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