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This is a life-changing classic. This manga, as well as its OVAs, feels like therapy. Reading this manga every night before going to sleep had a major effect on my mood and absolutely changed my outlook on day-to-day life. Not everybody may have the same experience with this manga, but I found it as well as the OVAs at a perfect time for it to effect me.

Alpha's relaxing journey through life as well as the relationships she forms with the various characters creates just such a comfy vibe throughout the entire manga. I wish my life could be so simple as to decide whether I ... want to work some days or not, and not have it drastically affect my life and future.

My only criticism is that the ending is rather abrupt, I think it could have been handled much better, but it feels appropriate in its own way.

10s across the board. The first Yokohama Kaidashi Kishou (YKK) OVA (and manga which I am currently reading and adoring) could not have come to me at a more perfect time. I watched this OVA during a month-long break after I quit a stressful fast food job which left me anxious and depressed every week. Watching YKK ultimately relaxed me in a time when I was extremely tense, and gave me a newfound appreciation of the beauty around me, and the relationships I form with friends and family.

There are dozens of reviews here that put it better than I ever will, YKK is a ... show about appreciating beauty, and the somberness of the passage of time which will ultimately wash away so many amazing memories. Something else that I feel is important (moreso to be found in the manga, but is plentiful in the OVA as well) is how deeply fulfilling close relationships are. At the end of the day, you aren't taking material possessions with you to the grave, but perhaps spiritual connections will carry over beyond said grave. Alpha's bond with all of her friends, Oji-san, Kokone, Takahiro, etc. is fulfilling on a much deeper level than anything else.

I cannot help but smile and feel hopeful when listening to the music from YKK. There have literally been times when I have been feeling stressed and tense, and suddenly some notes or vocals from the soundtrack randomly flow into my head and instantly calm me down. I cannot put into words how calming the music is, it's almost a form of escapism by itself.

I'm kind of struggling to put into words how wonderful this OVA is, it's quite frankly something I have a personal attachment which formed the second the opening theme started playing. This OVA was kind of life-changing for me, partially only due to the time and circumstances in which I watched it, but its effects cannot be understated.

This anime really pulls zero punches in letting you know that its main cast are completely no good, unlikeable psychopaths even just in the first couple of episodes. Admittedly I want to go back and watch more of this show sometime because I felt it was leading into an interesting mystery storyline but man this show just felt downright gross to watch sometimes, not because of any gore or hardcore violence, but because of just how lacking in morality every single main character in the show is. Yes, I'm certain that's the point and it's part of a message the author was trying to get ... across but wow, watching this show just felt dirty. Some of the music was pretty good and I liked the diverse selection of firearms portrayed in the show, and the character designs are pretty cute despite how hard the characters are to like.

Edit:
I finally actually watched this show and woah it actually kicked major ass. Incredible action sequences, intriguing mystery plot, and beautifully edited scenes to say the least. I'll probably add more to this review later.

I have seen this anime get its fair share of negative reception, I once read an entire twitter thread from somebody laying out piece by piece why they hated the show and presumably, anybody else should too- But even after the 80s OVA set a very high bar for me, I absolutely adored this anime adaptation. The animation is nowhere near as good as the 80s OVA, with the intricately animated sequences of fighter jets being torn to pieces, and turbine engines being displayed for the whole world to see almost like human entrails being visible after being shot, are nowhere to be seen, and ... the extremely well drawn 2D jets have been replaced with CGI.

Despite this show having a longer runtime than the OVA, the story is never resolved like it is in the OVA. This sounds terrible, BUT this show gets a 10/10 for me for the sheer vibes alone. A full early 2000s trance soundtrack is already a plus for me with songs like Spread Your Wings being iconic, but the way these songs are paired with the dogfights completely makes up for the lack of airplane guts being spilled.

Another plus is that characters actually get more development time, with some characters like Boris who were originally only footnotes in the OVA actually getting whole episodes dedicated to them. Each episode is also varied and the show never feels like it drags even in the downtime, moments where everybody was on the base were very chill yet satisfying. In one episode, a hidden sniper keeps the whole airstrip disabled for the entire episode, resulting in a somehow tense yet also relaxing episode that gets resolved satisfyingly in the end.

Area 88 is an extremely fun anime from 2004 and it is absolutely worth your time if you're willing to view it as a different beast from the 80s OVA and the manga, also go listen to the BANGING trance soundtrack, especially Spread Your Wings by System F and Awakening by Rank1.

EDIT:
I just rewatched the anime and IT'S EVEN BETTER THAN I REMEMBERED IT. The vibes are absolutely IMPECCABLE and the moments on the base are absolutely so chilled out. It's almost like a Military Slice of Life at times, it's such a shame that there isn't more of this anime, it's a completely different vibe from the manga and OVA.

I've never been a very objective person. There are plenty of things out there that are 'Objectively Bad' or 'Objectively Mediocre', well according to most 801 T.T.S. Airbats would objectively be somewhere under the 7-10 mark, the MAL rating is currently 6.51/10. Well, screw whatever objective scores anyone gives this show, I enjoyed the hell out of Aozora Shoujo-tai! I'm not one to indulge in romcoms very often so I can forgive a lot of the tropes and what-not. Airbats was a very enjoyable watch, I loved all of the characters and was happy to see all of them get their own time to shine. ... Despite being a romcom, Aozora Shoujo-tai is a comedy first and a romance second, the love triangle that forms never unnecessarily gets in the way, nor does it ever get incredibly serious. The only bad thing about this anime for me was that it was very clearly unfinished, the 7 episodes that exist are great and all of the characters really get their moments, but the love triangle never gets resolved, and right at the end of the 7th episode, a new relationship begins to form between two of the supporting characters, yet there are no episodes to explore said relationship afterward. The anime is clearly unfinished, but what's there was very enjoyable.

This solely comedic anime consisting of 13 3 minute long episodes was able to leave me off with a big smile quite consistently. Despite not being very cohesive, just watching the (very cute) characters get into predicaments is very fun. I don't rate anime based off of importance in relation to others, of course this show isn't even comparable to something like Cowboy Bebop or Trigun, but it does it's own job just as well as those shows do their jobs.

The comedy is INCREDIBLY fast-paced, if one joke doesn't stick, a different one is immediately thrown at the wall that most likely does stick. ...

I also liked the wobbly art style, it is very charming and kept my eyes very entertained.

Of course as all the other users have said, don't go in looking for a story. As I said before and I meant quite literally, it is SOLELY a comedy anime.