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You don't notice it at first, but this is definitely an anime worthy of a Hal Film Maker production. The animation seems bad at first, but it grows on you. The story seems standard and predictable at first, but it surprises you. In the end, you realize this is a man's romance story, deep in emotion, but also deep in thought. It's like the philosophy of life. It really makes you feel it, very artistically done, unbelievably beautiful especially towards the end. Undeniably beautiful, definitely recommend it.

The series struck me as unique. It did, kind of in a bad way at first. During the ... first few episodes, I thought it was almost embarrassingly bad with its animation, and its plotline. But then it catches you. There is like a bit of magic in it, that it starts to draw you in. Before you know it, the character's feelings and troubles become your own.

You start to feel what is going to happen, but unlike so many romance stories, this one leaves you torn at heart. There isn't really an obvious answer anywhere, and although things happen as you would expect them to, you are a bit saddened by it. There is plenty of humour to balance it out, and to keep up the enjoyment.

Honestly, there are moments in the story where you can’t help but think “Seriously? Like that’s ever going to happen?”. Were they necessary? I don’t know, but I do know that they weren’t that bad in the end, and it seemed worth it. I think each and every encounter, each and every episode, had its own meaning and its own message to convey. What is important in a story isn’t necessarily credibility, it’s creativity and enjoyment.

What I noticed was that the creators played a lot with symbolism and imagery, especially during certain episodes. You don’t often see this in an anime, and to be honest, I was quite surprised. Many of the dialogues and monologues are also very insightful and well thought out. In the end, I found the anime to be a piece of art, something to appreciate on a whole different level. I also think that a lot more thought was put into it than meets the eye.

I have no complaints about the music. I also watched the episodes both dubbed and subbed, and the Japanese and English dubs offer quite different experiences. I’d recommend both, as there was actually some decent acting involved in some of the English dialogues (not all, mind you).

That’s my two cents, and what I thought as I was finishing the last few minutes of the last episode. A great experience, as it turned out to be, and unexpected.

If you ever get the chance to read this manga, I highly recommend that you do. There aren't many mediums where the story of a "kamikaze" pilot is described in such detail. Throughout the pages of this work, the author explores the emotional and social reasons behind the actions of the brave men who sacrificed their lives for their country.

The character design is remarkably awkward, but it is easy to get used to it. Backgrounds and airplanes are drawn with quite a bit of detail, and the art gives an overall unique feel to the manga.

As one would expect, the major focus of the author ... is on character development. There are several characters introduced, with different mindsets and motivations. Some of the characters are women, and they seem strong-willed and independent. Characters were pulled off quite well, and I felt attached to the main character by the end of the manga.

Some themes explored by the author are the duty of men and women during times of war, the value of love and friendship, the importance of freedom and the fear and guilt associated with breaking away from the herd. What I found interesting was the fact that the author played with the idea that the men were sacrificing themselves in order to save their mothers or lovers, a sacrifice not at all met with happiness and contentment on the women's part. Hopelessness was touched upon, and the idea that the war was already lost and that the act of sacrifice was useless were ever-present in the story. Despite all that, the author did manage to end the manga with a note of hope, and it seemed that the main character had finally come at piece with himself and found his own answers.

Overall I found the manga an interesting read and was happy that it offered quite a bit of character complexity.