Yomigaeru Sora: Rescue Wings

This series is very unappreciated. So much so, that this is my first review, as I want people to know how great it is.

It focuses on a young man, Uchida Kazuhiro, who failed to become a fighter pilot, and is assigned to a rescue squadron to fly helicopters... which he strongly dislikes the idea of. Without spoiling it, it's pretty simple to say his character develops significantly over the course of the story. It's well paced, very realistic (set in modern, current day totally real world, no sci-fi elements) and some episodes are truly moving. Very well written dialogue and events. This is pretty much ... a pure drama, and that may not appeal to everybody, but there is a degree of action, romance and even some comedy that may keep in some who usually avoid drama.

Art wise, it's also superb. Fitting character design, beautiful background art, and the flight scenes are excellent. Some CG is used, but it never feels out of place or inappropriate. It does a great job of capturing the action, and in some events (a rescue in a blizzard on a mountain, for example) shows how poor visibility can be in such situations. It really can make you feel like you're there in the action at times.

Sound, well the voices were all excellent, while Miyazaki Issei is pretty much an unknown name, he played Kazuhiro very well. The other major characters, and even the victims in rescue cases were all very well suited and nothing felt out of place. The music was subtle, and never overpowering unlike some series where it can 'get in the way' but it really did help with the impact of some scenes.

Character wise, I believe this is one of the best character development series of all time, especially so for being so short. From being a snotty little transfer not liking his assigned job, Kazuhiro grows significantly over the course of the story. If there were a down side to this story, though, it would be his sadly undeveloped relationship with his girlfriend Megumi, beautifully voiced by Noto Mamiko. She had her own problems over the course of the series, which was a whole sub-plot, and IMO could have used a bit more development, but it wasn't distracting enough to warrant a score less than 10 (maybe a 9.5 at worst).

Overall, it's an incredibly enjoyable series. It's very easy to sit and watch all in one go, being so short, you can easily burn through it all without noticing the time because of it being so well paced and enthralling. Also if you get the releases by Froth-Bite, they're chaptered, so you can effortlessly skip the OP/ED to burn through them all quickly. Though, the OP and ED are decent and may be worth listening to, if you're in to that... ^^;

Really though, give this series a shot. It's still unlicensed as of the writing of this review, so should be easy to find for download around the vastness of the internet. Do yourself a favour; it'll be the best two Gb you can spend on a single series.

Yomigaeru Sora -Rescue Wings- is a true rarity in this medium, being one of the few entirely realistic human drama anime out there. In fact, the only reason I can see as to why this show wasn't planned out to be live-action in the first place is for budget reasons. Sadly, the dearth of popularity for this title can likely be attributed to its utter realism and the lack of escapist fantasy which pervades the vast majority of anime. However, viewers who like their anime more serious and avoidant of typical anime tropes and cliches should be grateful for a series like this, as Yomigaeru ... Sora -Rescue Wings- would be a respectable drama in any medium and is a fairly fascinating look at the lives of rescue workers in the Japanese Self Defense Force.

The first episode alone sets up the majority of the conflicts. We see Kazuhiro's dissatisfaction with being assigned to a helicopter rescue squad in a tiny, unremarkable city instead of the jet fighter pilot force he dreamed of joining as a young boy. We see his somewhat strained, long distance relationship with his big city girlfriend, Megumi. We see his confrontation with the helicopter unit's Major Hongo, who notices his lack of commitment to the rescue squad at a glance and chews him out for it immediately. Along with his various personal issues and his rather apathetic personality at first glance, Kazuhiro doesn't come off as the most endearing character at first, but the show makes a point to show his personal growth as he deals with the daily catastrophes that come naturally to his job, and his newfound appreciation for human life. Thematically, it's not the most original work, but nevertheless, it's satisfying to see Kazuhiro's outlook on life change throughout the story. While the show's main focus is on Kazuhiro, it also does a good job of establishing a number of memorable side characters. Yomigaeru Sora manages to establish a cast of distinct personalities, all with their own internal conflicts. One of the best things about the series is the way it shows how the JSDF members' work affects their personal lives.

The show puts a majority of its focus on the rescue operations. The rescue operations are edge-of-your-seat tense and can take many a twist and turn without coming off as incidental or contrived; the show does an excellent job at conveying the unpredictability and of a natural disaster and the powerlessness humanity holds over such an impersonal, destructive entity.. The show works on a personal level by not only showing the struggles of the victims but also how the JSDF members must deal with unforeseen hardships, make necessary compromises and face the everpresent possibility of failure, which rears its ugly head in this series quite often. Much of the drama comes from the JSDF members' struggles in the face of life-of-death decisions and their struggle between idealism and pragmatism; save everyone, or save who you can. When the scale leans towards the latter, the repercussions are felt and the impact can be quite touching.
While the rescue missions may be Yomigaeru Sora -Rescue Wings-'s centerpiece at a visceral level, the majority of the show is actually taken up by dialogue. Fortunately, Yomigaeru Sora -Rescue Wings- has a smart and nuanced script, with lines that flow naturally and plenty of amusing banter between the cast that serve to make them more endearing and human. Still, viewers who prefer their anime more action-heavy might want to skip this one, as it's a show that moves at a rather luxurious pace and the rescue operations really only serve as vehicles for character growth.

When it comes to art and animation, the best thing I can say about Rescue Wings is that both are unobtrusive. While this may sound derisive, it is actually meant as a compliment. Any visual gimmicks would be distracting and unnecessary for a show like this, and as mentioned before, this show makes a point to avoid typical anime cliches, so don't expect any super deformed characters here or blue hair or any of that nature. The show does a good job of making the characters look realistically Asian while giving them distinguishing physical traits which make it easy to tell them apart, without having to resort to color coding or exaggerated features. The show also makes use of CG for the helicopters and airplanes, which are actually used quite well and are lovingly detailed and animated. In fact, I suspect military otaku would get a kick of this show just for the realistic depiction of modern Japanese aircraft. If there's one complaint I can launch at the overall presentation, it's the somewhat overly sentimental orchestral score, but that's a minor nitpick at most.

While lacking the originality to be a truly remarkable series, Rescue Wings is one of the better offerings in this medium for viewers who want a pure drama without the excessive melodrama or childish silliness that usually plagues this genre. If you do watch this show, expect to be both thrilled and touched.

Yomigaeru Sora: Rescue Wings" is a brilliant depiction of the life, emotions, and actions of rescue pilots not only from Japan but from around the world. However, this anime is tainted by one quite strange plot point: the main character's romantic relationship.

With what I am going to be mentioning further down in this review, I am unsure if it will count as spoilers or will be vague enough to not be. But I will still mark this review as containing spoilers.

The animation of this anime is wonderful. When there is not actual animation but CG, it fits. It's not strangely out of place. There was ... not a moment when watching this anime that I thought to myself, "Oh, that looks strange" or "That was out of place." Everything fits as it should and how it would.

Sound design is sub-par, more so relating to the music. Actual environmental sound effects were amazing; they fit the scenes well and again, as they should and how they would. But the music just was not the same. It seems odd in some places, or even places where you'd think there would be some sort of background track, there was none. However, looking back onto it, I believe this was done on purpose. In real life situations, there is no background music. Its just the sounds and sights going on around you. And for that, I believe it was done in a great way.

Something that this anime does that I believe to be amazing is that it is not afraid to show actual failure. The first three episodes of this anime are a great representation of this. It sets you up to believe that 2LT K. Uchida is going to save that young girl, but no. She unfortunately loses the fight with her injuries and passes away. I believe this is the point in the anime where you can see 2LT Uchida's attitude change about being in the Komatsu Rescue Squad. It's not just a low-tier, bottom-of-the-barrel position; it's a position that truly matters and has actual life-or-death consequences.

Now let's speak about what I mentioned in the first paragraph. 2LT Uchida has a girlfriend, M. Hasegawa. Okay, that's fine on all, but this is a show about search and rescue. The way that 2LT Uchida's relationship is "interwoven" into the story seems to be bashful and out of place. Almost as if when the anime was first previewed by the producers, they said it needed something more personal, and that is what J.C.Staff came up with. For me, that is what brings the overall rating down.

Recently having watched The Great Passage, I believe it fair to compare the two as they are similar in genre. Both are workplace animes with romantic side stories. However, The Great Passage is able to keep the romance as a side story. It is not given any more time than it should have. It was well integrated into the story. Where as stated previously, the romance in this anime seems almost bashful in its integration.

If you're like me and enjoy watching realistic animes, this is a very good show that is quite heart-wrenching. My recommendation would be to just skip all the romantic plot points; they do not really add anything to the story.