Area 88: Episodes 1-4

From its bizarre opening credit sequence in which fighter jets whiz around to the sound of an Abba song given a pounding Euro hardcore beat, this silly yet entertaining TV series centres on the titular landing strip in which a band of freelance pilots commune before they pop off for the odd dog fight against some faceless baddies. The animation is nothing special and the dogfights are kept purposely short in order to give more breadth to a script which packs in ‘Top Gun’-style hubris about the artistry of war and the spiritual bond between man and machine. It’s totally un-offensive, but is for Manga diehards only.