Story Synopsis

Clocking in at 23 volumes, the story of Area 88 is a long one.  There’s as much, if not more, drama that happens outside the cockpit as in.  However, given that the official English language release was cut tragically short, many of you may not be aware of the breadth and depth of the tale.  This synopsis recounts the major plots developments, so, even though it skips over a lot of the details, it contains a lot of spoilers. So beware!

Also, please note, the “Acts” are simply my way of capturing the flow of the overall story. They’re not official labels of any kind, but I think they help frame the times where the narrative takes a turn.

Act One: The Beginning

The story begins (chronologically) as Shin Kazama, a pilot-in-training for Yamato Airlines, a major Japanese carrier, and his friend and colleague, Satoru Kanzaki, are just finishing up their training in Paris.  Although Shin is excited to return as soon as possible to Japan to see his girlfriend, Ryoko Tsugumo, the daughter of Yamato Airlines President, Zenzou Tsugumo, and begin what promises to be a glorious carrier, Kanzaki convinces Shin that they need a night on the town to celebrate their accomplishment.  However, unknown to Shin, Kanzaki is deeply envious of his friend’s bright future and harbours an insatiable lust for power.  And so, the drunken night of celebration takes a dark turn after a surprisingly sober Kanzaki tricks a drunken Shin into signing enlistment papers to join the mercenary air force of the Kingdom of Asran – a (fictional) Middle-Eastern country being torn apart by civil war.

Against his will, Shin is assigned to “AREA 88”, an air force base in the middle of the desert and home to the Asran foreign mercenary unit.  His only choice to escape the base? Buy out his contract for $1.5 million USD, serve the full three years of his contract, or die in the attempt.  In order to earn money, Shin engages in an endless series of bloody battles against the Anti-Government Forces – the rebel faction led by King Abdel Vashtar in a civil war of succession against his younger brother, King Zak Vashtar, the heir designate and head of the Asranian Government.  Although forced to fight against his will, Shin’s superior piloting skills and killer instinct quickly earn him the title of “ace” as he begins to rack up the kills.

As a mercenary unit, Area 88 is home to a true cast of characters. Ranked No. 2, right behind Shin, is Mickey Simon, a former USN pilot and Vietnam War vet, and No. 3 is Greg Gates, previously from the Danish Air Force.  Other notable faces include, Hoover Kippenberg, a disgraced NATO commander from West Germany, and Old Man McCoy, the resident arms dealer with an inventory that runs the gamut from toilet paper to nuclear missiles.  They all have checkered pasts, and different reasons for becoming mercenaries, but their combat skill is the only thing that matters to the base commander, Saki Vashtar – Abdel’s eldest son, who is fighting against his father’s rebel forces on behalf of his uncle.

Meanwhile, back in Japan, heartbroken over Shin’s sudden and unexplained disappearance, Ryoko has nonetheless taken on an executive role in her father’s airline.  As fate would have it, while on a business trip to Europe, she crosses paths with Saki.  Coincidentally seated next to each other on a commercial flight, the pair strike up a friendly conversation.  However, things get very serious when Saki learns of an assassination plot to blow up the plane.  After Shin and Mickey save the day by flying their Kfirs inverted and shooting the bombs off the underside of the DC-10, Saki points out the window and casually mentions to Ryoko, “those are my men, Shin and Mickey” which sparks Ryoko’s hope.  After some investigation, Ryoko discovers a blurry photo of a man, who she believes is Shin, in a magazine which points her towards Area 88.

Accompanied by her friend (and de facto chaperone), Ms. Taeko Yasuda, her father’s personal secretary, Ryoko sets out for the Kingdom of Asran in the hopes of locating Shin.  However, Kanzaki intervenes and, under the guise of a dashing young airline pilot only concerned for her safety, is able to pull the plug on her attempt to reach Asran.  However, while rerouting to Tel Aviv, the Yamato Airlines B747-200 Kanzaki is piloting drifts off course over the Mediterranean and accidentally crosses into military airspace.  Enraged by hearing Captain Kanzaki’s voice over the civilian band radio, Shin threatens to blow him out of the sky, and only Kanzaki’s desperate plea that Ryoko is on board stays his hand.

Accused of attacking a civilian airliner, after returning to base, Shin is thrown in a cell.  Still overcome by grief and rage, Shin physically assaults Saki when he tries to question him.  The attack damages Saki’s optic nerve, resulting in a serious injury that could cost Saki his eyesight.  Despite having assaulted a superior officer, Saki refuses to let Shin be executed. After Shin has regained his senses, he deeply regrets his actions and is quite concerned about Saki’s health.  However, Kanzaki, deep into a plot to orchestrate a surprise corporate takeover of Yamato Airlines, is now aware that Shin has survived and he enlists the aid of Sicilian Mafia Don and international arms dealer, Giuseppe Farina who agrees to send a pilot named “Phoenix” Charlie – a nickname earned through is uncanny knack for survival – back to Area 88 to finish the job.

As Saki’s father, Abdel attempts to secure foreign capital through oil rights, Farina decides that Asran is the perfect test market for new weapons development, and deploys a land-based aircraft carrier to the conflict zone.  First engaging the Asran regular army helicopter base, Area 85, the attack by a new, unknown player on the battlefield has Greg, Shin and a few others temporarily re-assigned to support. Friction between the Asran regular and foreign forces quickly breaks out, but Greg’s impassioned speech about the Asran forces fighting for the future of their country smooths things over. However, Farina’s success emboldens him to directly attack the mercenary forces at Area 88.  And, sensing the opportunity for a sales pitch, he invites Rishal Vashtar, Saki’s younger brother and a high-ranking member of the Anti-Government Forces, to see first-hand the capabilities of the Desert Carrier and it’s attack wing of remote controlled F-18 Hornets.

Back in Japan, Kanzaki’s hostile takeover has been successful and he is installed as the new President of Yamato Airlines. He makes good on his promise to his co-conspirators, Maxwell International, and refits the Yamato fleet with their low-cost MB-18 air buses.  However, despite an early spike in profits, the corner cutting on safety standards quickly comes back to haunt him as Yamato Flight 31 suddenly crashes into Tokyo Bay, killing all the passengers and crew onboard.  This spurs Ms. Yasuda into action, and, after surviving an assassination attempt by Kanzaki’s henchmen, she releases her own investigative report into Kanzaki’s wrong-doings to the press and ensures his corporate downfall.

After Saki’s eyesight deteriorates, it becomes clear that he needs to seek special medical attention in Switzerland.  There he again crosses paths with Ryoko (and her new ward Josephine Citron) at the hospital in Geneva where she is visiting her ailing father who is recovering from the stress of his ordeal during the hostile takeover of his airline company.

Meanwhile, back in Asran, the Desert Carrier makes life difficult for the pilots of Area 88 as it moves to attack the base directly using “The Grand Slam”, a special type of tunnelling torpedo/missile that is undetectable and unstoppable by normal means. Rishal, visiting the carrier at the behest of his father, is terrified by the pure destructive power being unleashed in his country and decides to sabotage the Grand Slam to keep it from detonating.  Unfortunately, he is discovered and shot and left for dead in the desert.  But as luck would have it Old Man McCoy discovers the gravely injured Rishal while passing by overhead in a helicopter and delivers him safely to the base.  There he is able to warn his brother Saki, who has just returned from Europe sporting a brand new B-1A Lancer bomber, about the danger the base faces.  Saki uses the B-1A to drop a bomb and “break” the “Big Leg”, a large pillar of rock that the pilots have nicknamed for use as a landmark. The hope is that will create a barrier of rock in the Grand Slam’s path that will stop it in its tracks, but unfortunately the attempt proves to be ultimately unsuccessful.  The Grand Slam explodes, just short of the main base, but destroying a large portion of the main runway in the process.

Undaunted, the Desert Carrier then launches a second Grand Slam device against the Asranian Capital – just as Ryoko and Taeko arrive in search of Shin.  Thankfully the second Grand Slam fails to detonate, having been damaged and swept away by the underground rivers beneath the capital city.  This sets the stage for a massive, all-out battle with the Desert Carrier.  Although the Area 88 forces are ultimately victorious, many pilots lose their lives in the attempt.  To make matters worse, the nuclear core of the destroyed carrier irradiates the surrounding desert, rendering the original Area 88 airbase completely unusable.

Act Two: Restructuring

In order to regroup, Saki leads the surviving Area 88 members to the Asranian training base in Greece – under the command of a former British RAF pilot, Major Roundel. During the Greek restructuring, the foreign mercenaries are folded into the regular Royal Asran Air Force and appointed to appropriate ranks.  Shin, Mickey, Greg, and LeRoy Henderson are all made Captains and are assigned to command a squadron, with Ken Schnitz, Warren Coldman, Gustaf Gynt, and Riley O’Connel as their seconds-in-command.  Although they lose the right to refuse an order, they gain the right to issue orders to their subordinates.  Among this crop of new recruits, a very young but talented pilot name Kim Abba is assigned to Shin’s command.  Shin takes his new responsibility extremely seriously and puts Kim through the most rigorous of training regimes to get him ready for battle.

When word comes down that the Anti-Government Forces are planning a major new offensive, Saki has no choice but to move the Area 88 forces to a new, only semi-completed base – one cut straight into the side of a mountain in Asran’s coastal range.  As the team welcomes their latest recruit, South Vietnamese veteran, Nguyen Van Chom, the so-called “The Man-Eating Tiger of the Gulf of Tonkin”, and settles into their new home, they have no idea what’s brewing in the outside world.  In Paris, Ryoko and Taeko embark on a new career path and begin to build a major fashion brand.  Meanwhile, Kanzaki has much more nefarious plans.  First, Giuliola Etti, Giuseppe Farina’s beautiful personal assistant, murders her former boss and covers it up by blaming his death on the Desert Carrier’s destruction.  Then she helps her secret lover, Kanzaki,  to become Farina’s “adopted son” and de facto heir in order to put “PROJECT 4” into motion.  Known as “the devil’s plan”, Kanzaki recruits several of the world’s leading industrialists to help him keep the globe in a constant state of managed warfare – one which will benefit only the arms dealers.  Their first test case? The Kingdom of Asran. 

And so, the Project 4 forces – including Gary “Mac” Macburn, a mercenary pilot, former Blue Angles team member and an acquaintance and rival of Mickey’s back in Vietnam – arrive into the Asran civil war and set up a beachhead.  Their first act is to set up a “no fly zone” across the desert using “anti-aircraft land mines” (hidden short-range surface-to-air missiles that fire on all aircraft not transmitting on a “friendly” frequency) and first Nguyen and then later Shin are shot down.  Shin is shot down near an old, abandoned temple under the desert sand.  There he encounters the “Queen of the Sand”, a bewitching mercenary pilot named Sirene “Sera” Barnack. She tries to ensnare Shin with her charms and use him to sow dissent amongst the mercenaries of Area 88 in an attempt to have them switch sides and join Project 4 instead.  Of course Shin remains true to Ryoko, and instead it is Sirene herself who quickly finds herself falling in love with Shin.

Using Project 4’s offer to the mercenaries to switch sides as a smoke screen, Saki leads a squad of “traitors” in a sneak attack against the Project 4 forces.  During the ensuing battle, Saki is forced to make an emergency landing in the middle of the desert, while Mickey and Shin take Sera prisoner and escort her back to the Area 88 mountain base.  As luck would have, the Project 4 forces mount a massive assault on the capital city and capture it with little resistance  – forcing King Zak to flee.  With Saki missing, and the Asran capital now under the control of the Anti-Government Forces (really Project 4), Shin worries about Sera’s safety as a P.O.W.  As the new regime begins to take hold, most of the base’s regular military personnel will simply be absorbed into the newly combined armed forces, however the mercenary pilots are certain to be tried as war criminals.  So, under the cloud of confusion – and with a little help from Mickey, McCoy and Kim – Shin is able to arrange for Sera to escape the base in a borrowed T-38 Talon.  His only request is that she fly first to Paris and deliver a message to Ryoko – telling her that Shin had fallen in the skies of Asran, and to give up waiting for him.

Ironically, Sera, in the borrowed T-38, passes her father in his MiG-21 as she makes her escape.  Worried for his daughter’s safety, the head of the Project 4 air force storms into the Area 88 base and takes Major Roundel hostage before being persuaded by Shin that Sera has already escaped.  Dying from a gunshot wound, he saves the base from destruction by detonating the small nuclear device he had brought as insurance in the skies overhead instead.  Sera, true to her word, arrives in Paris and delivers the message, however Ryoko remains incredulous.  She trusts in the bond that connects her and Shin, and Sera is forced to admit the truth that Shin is still alive… but for how long?

In the aftermath of the Fall of Asran, Saki is finally rescued from his desert landing site by King Zak’s helicopter and they return to the only safe haven left to them – Area 88.  Worried about who will now be paying the bills, the base’s fighting force is heavily depleted after 2/3 of the mercenaries leave.  However many of the key members, including Shin, Mickey, Greg, Kim, Warren, and Ken, remain behind, determined to fly beside Saki to the bitter end.  Sensing that the base won’t remain safe for long, Saki entrusts Shin with a vital mission – transporting King Zak (despite his protests) into the safety of exile in France.  As a reward for the successful completion of the mission, Saki tells Shin that he will receive an honourable discharge from the Royal Asran Air Force as soon as he lands in Paris.

Worried about Shin’s safety, Sera decides to return, not to Project 4 (following the death of her father), but rather to Area 88.  However, in another case of ships passing in the night, she just misses him as he touches down in Paris.  With King Zak safely in the custody of the French government, Shin receives his discharge and his back pay and is turned loose on the streets of Paris.  Although initially happy to finally be free, Shin soon finds that the adjustment back to civilian life is much harder than he thought it would be.  By now an addict to the “drug” of the action-packed mercenary lifestyle, Shin finds himself suffering from withdrawal symptoms when faced with the gentle hum of the city, with its street side cafes and strolling couples in love.  Finding himself drawn to the airbase headquarters of the Patrouille de France (the French aerobatics team), Shin meets up with Lieutenant Colonel Laurent Bosch – another former mercenary who tells Shin about an upcoming opportunity with his old unit, known as Mark III.

Meanwhile, back in Asran, Kanzaki and Gigliola make a startling discovery after they land and take over the command of the Project 4 forces. The reason Abdel Vashtar refused to allow the Anti-Government Forces to directly attack the capital city is because the body of his beloved wife, the Princess Soria, is being held in cryogenic stasis inside a large custom-built and climate controlled mausoleum. As Kanzaki prepares to welcome Abdel back to Asran, he instructs Gigliola to burn down the shrine and film it. By severing Abdel’s one persistent link to the past, Kanzaki is determined to bend Abdel to his will in order to set him up as a puppet ruler in Asran.  From there, Kanzaki will be free to put his real plan into motion – the de-stablization of the entire Middle East, and the seizure of its oil assets, beginning with the invasion of Asran’s neighbouring country, Brasia.  However, pregnant with his child, and torn by her own feelings of wanting to believe in love, Gigliola betrays Kanzaki’s wishes, and instead spirits Princess Soria’s cryogenic coffin out of the country and secretly back to Europe.  With no one else to turn to, Gigliola makes a surprising choice and reaches out to the woman she once tried to assassinate – Taeko Yasuda.

As things continue to deteriorate for Shin, he finally gives up on trying to regain a normal, civilian lifestyle and signs up with Bosch for a Mark III mission in southern Africa.  The mission is a complex plot to stage a coup d’état in the small country of Bamballa in order to gain control of its diamond and uranium resources.  While Bosch is in charge of setting the coup in motion, Shin is placed in command of a small commando unit charged with safely escorting the current President and his family out of the country – thereby winning his trust and unlocking the location of the mines.  So, after making one last tearful “final farewell” phone call to Ryoko, Shin departs Paris – seemingly for good. Emotionally devastated by the sudden contact and rejection Ryoko attempts to commit suicide, but is luckily found by Miss Yasuda in time to save her.

Having crushed Abdel’s spirits, Kanzaki is now in full control of the Kingdom of Asran and sets the next phase of his plan into motion.  First, the newly aligned Asranian Air Force units unleash a full-scale attack against the skeleton crew of the Area 88 mountain base and utterly destroy it.  However, although Nguyen Van Chom dies in the assault, most of the other former mercenaries survive, breakthrough the lines, and regroup at a make-shift rendez-vous point created by Saki by burning solid-fuel canisters laid out in the shape of a giant “88.”  This rag-tag group includes Sera, who wishes to join the Area 88 unit (even though there’s now no paycheck!) and brings with her some terrible news.  Project 4 forces, disguised as the Brasian military, have “attacked” Asran across the border.  This gives Kanzaki all “false flag” excuse he needs to mount a full-scale invasion of Brasia in retaliation.  Caught completely by surprise and hopelessly outmatched, Brasia’s defences crumble instantly, and the remnants of the air force are scattered to several neighbouring countries.

Act Three: After the Fall

This turn of events also has a major impact on Shin in Africa, as, now that the oil and gas reserves in the Middle East are up for grabs, there is less imminent interest in Bamballa’s uranium and diamonds.  Instead of rescuing the current President’s family, the team is now ordered to kill them.  However, unbeknownst to them, Bosch has secretly also issued orders to have his own men killed in order to allow the new President to “apprehend and execute the foreign assassins” to help him establish power and an administration more aligned with the Mark III backers’ interests.  As luck would have it, after a chance meeting with McCoy (who was supplying the equipment to Mark III), Shin sees through the ruse of the betrayal and instead puts a plan in motion for all nine of them to escape safely across the border.  However, Bosch personally tracks them down and ends up killing five of the nine escapees – including President Nadat and his wife, before Shin is able to finally kill him. With his dying breath, Nadat entrusts Shin with a Swiss Bank account card, and, after being picked up by McCoy in a helicopter, the group travels to Switzerland.  After a meeting at the bank, Shin is surprised to find himself suddenly in command of a massive personal fortune of nearly 80 billion US dollars.

Meanwhile, Saki and Roundel, having regrouped the remaining forces and moved into a new “guerilla-style” Area 88 base on the Asranian coast, are facing significant challenges in maintaining operations.  Not only is the salty sea air wrecking havoc on the aircraft and other machinery, as guerillas, they are now forced to beg, borrow, and steal mismatched supplies that can only be brought in during very tight windows of opportunity when the Asranian coastal radar system is briefly offline. Desperate for reinforcements, Saki sends Sirene and Kim on a secret mission to recruit the remnants of the Brasian Air Force.  Although they’re successful in rescuing Captain Bam Assam and 19 of his men from ending up as unarmed target practice dummies for the Project 4 training exercises, the new Area 88 recruits are put to the test almost immediately as Kanzaki puts the next phase of his plan into motion – cutting off European access to oil via the Mediterranean Sea by taking control of the Suez Canal. Worried that the invasion route to Suez will drive Project 4 straight through the new Area 88 base, Saki goes on the offensive and attacks Project 4’s heavy machinery supply lines in the Mediterranean Sea, and succeeds in sinking several ships.  However, the victory is ultimately a costly one as it allows Project 4 to triangulate the hidden location of the Area 88 using the mobile radar capabilities of an E-2C Hawkeye.  Exposed and practically defenceless, the Area 88 costal base is destroyed, along with all its fuel and other supplies. Yet, just as Saki is about to declare total defeat, a strange radio call is picked up…

Just in the nick of time, Old Man McCoy shows up at the helm of an Enterprise-class nuclear aircraft carrier – a gift from mysterious and anonymous benefactor… Shin. Although Saki is confused by the massive gift, he wastes no time in christening the ship “Area 88” and putting both the vessel and her crew of 400 ex-U.S. Navy members to work against Project 4.

Act Four: New Beginnings

Meanwhile, Shin finally arrives back in Japan and has a fateful meeting with Kaionji Hachibei, an eccentric old man, at the New Tokyo Airport – narrowly missing a chance encounter with Ryoko and Josie who have also just arrived in Tokyo for a little rest and relaxation after Ryoko’s suicide attempt. Back in Tokyo for the first time in a long time, Shin has some business to settle. First he outright purchases Yamato Airlines – wresting it away from Project 4 control. The then goes to visit his old orphanage, but discovers it has closed down in the name of urban progress.

After another chance encounter at a Tokyo hotel, and an introduction to the lovely young Kaionji Misuzu, Hachibei’s grand-daughter, Shin is invited to a garden party being hosted by the Kaionji family at their mountain villa. Having piqued Hachibe’s interest, Shin’s past is investigated by his Japanese government contacts. When it turns up little information, he confronts Shin directly and Shin fills the old man in on his time in Area 88 and his plans to deal with Project 4. Although he would like to help, Hachibei recognizes the danger that a war between the now fabulously wealthy Shin and the industrialist backers of Project would bring and vows to put the safety of Japan’s economy as the top priority.  As fate would have it though, “Uncle Hachibei” is an old family friend of Ryoko and her father, and with Ryoko attending the same garden party, the stage is set for an epic reunion.

Meanwhile, despite adjusting to life on the aircraft carrier, Saki recognizes the need to re-establish a land-based beach head and – using precision bombing and strategically placed dynamite – creates a docking port for the carrier overnight. Now, finally, with sufficient resources, and bolstered by the members of the Brasian air force, Major Roundel and Saki craft a two-pronged plan to liberate Brasia from the clutches of Project 4. Although, at first, it seems like the attack will fail when the co-ordinating resistance troops on the ground are unable to get into position on schedule, ultimately, between Sera’s attack squadron from the Area 88 carrier and Mickey’s in-land guerilla tactics keeping Project 4 from reinforcing its troops, the attack is a success.

Saki knows, however, that this means all out war. So he sends Kim and Sera on a scouting mission to the old Area 88 desert base to determine its fitness for service – counting on the fact that the radiation levels are low and that the water reserves and filters deep underground are still operational. Where better to prepare for the endgame?  Although Kim and Sera find the base in good shape – despite being in disrepair – they are terrified by the ghosts of the dead at Area 88. Saki, in desperate need of the base, decides to push on and goes to see these ghosts for himself – with the rest of the gang in tow. Shortly before they arrive at the old base, strange things begin to happen and Saki disappears shortly after they arrive. During his disappearance, Saki is confronted by the ghosts of the men he sent to their deaths, and they promise him that “his seven most trusted men will be waiting for him when he dies and joins them.”  Confused, Saki counts Mickey, Greg, Sera, Kim, Warren and Ken as his seven most trusted soldiers… but could Shin be the seventh?

That seems unlikely, as although he’s still having trouble adjusting to civilian life, with Ryoko by his side, Shin finally begins to find some respite from his own inner demons. Of course, the idyllic lifestyle is soon shattered by a surprising phone call – when Kanzaki asks Shin to meet him at a local Tokyo hotel for a chat. Although he plans to kill him, after their meeting Kanzaki almost hypnotizes Shin by finally unveiling the mysterious story of his parents.

As Kanzaki recounts the fruits of his long research, Shin hears the name both of his (supposed) father, Kazama Hideto, and of his mother… Kaionji Shoko! Kanzaki goes on to tell how his own (unnamed) mother was Hideto Kazama’s second wife, but after his rise to political power and becoming the Prime Minister, he divorced her and turned his back on Satoru in favour of Hachibe Kaionji’s eldest daughter, Shoko – Shin’s mother.  However, in yet another twist, Kanzaki reveals that the match was a political and economic union, rather than just a romance. Seeking a credible husband for his unwed and pregnant daughter, Hachibe brokers a deal with Hideto. With Hideto married to Shoko, and benefiting from her political name brand, Hachibe agrees to give up his aspirations of becoming Prime Minister in exchange for Hideto caring for her child as his own.  However, in her rage and shame, Kanzaki’s mother kidnaps the baby Shin shortly after he is born. Although she wraps her own stockings around Shin’s neck, she is ultimately unable to strangle an innocent babe, and drops him anonymously on the doorsteps of the orphanage – ironically the same one Kanzaki would later attend after her own death.

Finally, Shin comes to understand why Kanzaki – who blames him for his mother’s death and his own life as a miserable orphan – hates Shin so deeply. As Kanzaki prepares to return to the Middle-East he declares to Shin that he doesn’t just want to kill him, but wants to destroy any chance at the life of peace and love that he and Ryoko will have.

Act Five: The Beginning of the End

Although he has returned to Asran, before he left Japan, Kanzaki leaves behind a little souvenir – he has Project 4 sell controlling interest of several major Japanese companies to the West.  This, of course causes Hachibei to react quickly to the danger to the Japanese economy – first he mobilizes a top secret Japanese government “M” fund, one which dates back to WWII, to buy back the companies. He then covers up his actions, by making it seem that Shin is the one to have have done it and is now financially weakened.  Hachibei, concerned that a financial power struggle between Shin and the Project 4 backers would have a devastating effect on the Japanese economy makes the hard to choice to have Shin “forcibly removed from the country” by Japanese government agents, Major Tsukasa, of the Ground Self-Defence Forces (GSDF) and Agent Fujido of the Cabinet Research Office (CRO) – basically the Japanese military and the CIA. However, Shin, wracked by guilt that his friends are still fighting in Asran, has already made the decision to return to Area 88 to project his loved ones with his own hands and deal with Kanzaki’s treachery once and for all.

Despite McCoy’s misgivings, Shin re-signs an Area 88 contract and is once again thrust back into the conflict. However, Ryoko, not content to merely sit on the sidelines and wait for Shin’s return, instead decides to support her “husband” by staging a “Women’s Battle.”  Using her corporate connections, Ryoko establishes the Tsugumo group in order to disrupt Project 4’s financial backing.

Meanwhile, back in Europe, Princess Soria, cured of the rare form of cancer that was killing her,   has regained consciousness and emerged from her frozen coffin. When Miss Yasuda comes to check in on Gigliola – who is pregnant with Kanzaki’s child – she is startled to see Soria awake. Having lost her memory, Soria believes that she is Gigliola’s sister and is happy to stay and help her through the final stages of her pregnancy.

Shin’s return to Area 88 is not quite as smooth as you might expect. Although Kim is overjoyed to see Shin back in action, Mickey, who had hoped and believed that his friend and truly been able to escape the cycle of addiction to conflict that he and the other mercenaries at Area 88 have succumbed to, was not. So, instead of a warm embrace, Shin receives a punch in the face from Mickey. However, Sirene – who has now become quite close to Mickey – goes to talk to him and calms him down. Then, once Shin has a chance to explain his reasons for re-joining Area 88, namely his need to protect his future wife and child by finishing Project 4 and Kanzaki’s ambitions once and for all, the band gets back together – as Saki looks on and wonder’s about Hoover’s ghostly prediction.

However, there’s not much time for reflection as the newly unified Area 88 must be prepared to stand in the way of Project 4’s imminent invasion of the Suez.  The runway of the original Area 88 desert base is repaired, but camouflaged to trick any unwanted eyes into thinking the base is still abandoned.  Not yet able to commit to an all-out attack, Saki once again employs guerilla tactics against Project 4 – including a hit-and-run attack against the B-52 bomber squadron that P4 has brought in to give the newly promoted Gary MacBurn the air power he needs to mount an invasion of Tanduria and secure the Suez within a week.  As the invasion kicks off, Mickey and the rest of the Area 88 pilots are frustrated by Saki’s unwillingness to commit more forces to blunt the attack. However, Saki, who realizes, given the realities of their supply lines and logistics, that they will only get one shot at success, continues to grit his teeth and hold back.

Little by little, Saki’s plan works. Bogged down on the battlefield by Area 88’s guerilla tactics, and feeling the pressure in the boardroom from the combined forces of Hachibei Kaionji and Ryoko’s Tsugumo Group, Project 4’s backers give Kanzaki an ultimatum – he has two days to complete the invasion of Tanduria and secure the Suez… or they will withhold his funding.

Under immense pressure, Kanzaki decides to put the invasion of Tanduria on hold – right on the opposite bank from their goal – and turn his sights squarely on Area 88.

Act Six: The End

This is it.

With Saki realizing that the stall of the Tandurian invasion signals an impending all-out attack on Area 88, he springs into action. It’s time to throw absolutely everything at Project 4 and fight like there’s no tomorrow – because there isn’t one.

Ordering Major Roundel to return and take command of the Area 88 Aircraft Carrier, Saki decides to lead his troops in a final assault on the Asranian capital city to liberate it from the yoke of Project 4.  Knowing that there’s no coming back to the Area 88 base – because this assault will signal an end to the war, one way or another, Old Man McCoy, ever so slightly emotionally packs up his equipment and supplies and bids farewell to the site of his longest stay… and biggest loss.

As the attack on the city begins, Project 4 orders the Asranian air force to take to the skies and defend the city against the attacking Area 88 forces. However, remembering the speech Greg made back at Area 85 about how the Asranian soldiers are fighting for the future of their country, the Asranian normal forces decide to instead stage a coup, and join with the Area 88 mercenaries to expel Project 4 from their country and let Asran’s fate be decided by Asranians.  This comes as a major surprise to Project 4, and quickly turns the tables in favour of the Area 88 forces.

However, the battle is not won yet and Greg’s A-10 is shot down over the city. As usual, Greg survives the crash with barely a scratch and is picked up by the Asranian military, who are only too happy to have the “Father of the Rebellion” escorted back to a newly re-taken air base.  However, along the way, nature calls and Greg stops to relieve himself. Then, hearing the sounds of crying, he comes across a scared little girl kneeling next to the corpse of her dead mother. Despite his efforts to calm the young girl, she surprisingly pulls out a gun and shoots Greg through the chest. Greg stops the Asranian soldiers from killing the girl in retaliation, telling her she needs to grow up to be a good mother. With the girl calmed down, and his Asranian escort rushing to get a medic… the un-killable Greg Gates dies.

Meanwhile, over the skies of the capital, Shin spots Saki in trouble. Although he regains consciousness, Saki’s crippled plane won’t make it far. Spotting the Royal Palace though, he opts to eject.  In the drama, Shin forgets his own fuel issues and is forced to follow Saki to the ground.

Thinking that the outcome of the battle is now assured, Roundel is convinced to leave the aircraft carrier in his Buccaneer and re-join the search for the missing Saki, but it’s a bit too early to count success and he’s forced to sacrifice himself to save the aircraft carrier after a surprise missile launch threatens to sink the mighty vessel. Like the hero he is, Roundel, throws his plane into the missile, saving the carrier, but dying as a result.

At the Palace, while searching for Saki, Shin encounters Kanzaki making his escape. Once again Shin passes on an opportunity to kill Kanzaki in favour of a face-to-face confrontation.  Kanzaki, who has no such scruples, shoots Shin in the shoulder… and would have killed him if not for the timely arrival of Kim’s Harrier providing air support while in hover mode.  Although Kanzaki escapes in the confusion, Kim is re-united with the now wounded Shin, and the pair set off together to search the sprawling palace grounds for Saki.

Realizing the battle is hopelessly lost, MacBurn begins to make his own plans to escape to Turkey, but the sudden receipt of a telegram telling him of his daughter’s death means Mac loses the will to go on, and grimly accepts that he will die in Asran.  The sudden loss of both Greg and Roundel causes Sera to become worried for Mickey.  Fearful of the loss of the future plans the two have been discussing, she pleads with Mickey to be careful.

Having escaped the palace in Asran, Kanzaki reunites with Mac at the P4 base in Ippa.  However, instead of simply planning to escape to South America, Mac is horrified to learn that Kanzaki plans to launch an IRBM straight at the capital city and reduce it to ashes. He betrays Kanzaki, knocks him unconscious and orders his men to make one last attack on the Area 88 forces before they flee their separate ways.

At the palace, Kim and Shin finally catch up to Saki, who has now, almost completely lost his eyesight.  Practically blind, he mistakes the drugged Abdel, who Kim had liberated, for a wounded Shin. However, realizing his mistake, Saki prepares to execute his father. Only Shin’s interference prevents it and Kim is ordered to return to Area 88 and secure a rescue helicopter to evacuate Shin, Saki, and his drugged up father.  As they wait for Kim’s return, Abdel is separated from Shin and Saki, and begins to make his way towards Soria’s mausoleum. Attacked and mortally wounded by the P4 guards, Abdel regains his senses to explain to Saki that the reason he intended to bring in foreign capital to Asran – the fundamental difference of opinion that caused the entire civil war – was to fund the country’s medical capabilities to the point where they would be able to revive his beloved wife. Surprised to hear that his mother still lives, Saki nevertheless decides that the people of Asran will never forgive either he or his father for the tragedy that has befallen the country. So, thanking Shin for bearing witness, Saki takes his father’s body into the mausoleum, and commits suicide – much to Shin’s horror.

Although Kim arrives with the helicopter and saves Shin, he is delirious from both his wounded shoulder and the mental anguish over losing Saki – he asks himself what was the point of any of it?

Mac’s forces make their final attack on the Area 88 base of operations, just as Kim and Shin arrive in the helicopter.  After Warren is shot down, Ken saves Kim from an attacking MiG only moments before he too dies as his wounded aircraft crashes.  Mickey and Sera confront Mac, who has become unbalanced by the death of his daughter and blames Mickey for all the things he never had in life.  To balance the scales, he decides to take what Mickey cares most about – Sera. In the ensuing dog fight, Mac nearly shoots down Sera, but Mickey is able to get his damaged F-14 in between them and takes the shot meant for her. He calls to Mac and convinces him that they’re now even, and Mac decides to leave. Now on fire, Mickey prepares to land his F-14 back at the base, but crashes in the attempt – to the horror of Sirene.  Throwing her own personal safety away, she charges forward to the burning wreck to rescue Mickey – refusing to be left behind alone by the love of her life. As Mickey’s F-14 finally explodes, the lovers share one final kiss before their death.

Kim is left in total shock and disbelief. One by one, almost every member of the Area 88 family has died… leaving only himself and Shin remaining.  Just when it looks like Shin is finally going to crack under the mental strain he receives a phone call… from Kanzaki.

Kanzaki reveals he’s at the “place where you go after you’ve been betrayed”, and Shin realizes that he is at the old, now totally abandoned Area 88 base.  Kanzaki explains the difference between them, and shoots an unarmed Mac who has followed him to the base, saying he kills those who betray him.  Kanzaki then challenges Shin to a final duel at dawn – which Shin accepts, much to the horror of Kim.

And so, it all comes down to this. As Ryoko is about to land in Asran, Shin takes off in his classic F-20 Tigershark to confront Kanzaki’s F-16. During the final dogfight, Kanzaki reveals one final secret – that just before his mother tried to commit suicide and take her young son with her, she had murdered Shin’s parents by using her car to drive them off a cliff.

As the pair confront each other face-to-face, Shin’s battle-honed instincts take over automatically and this time there is no hesitation as he shoots Kanzaki out of the sky – with his own air craft is severely damaged in the exchange.

The war in Asran is finally over.

With almost all of his friends dead, Shin suffers a mental breakdown and loses all his memories of his time at Area 88. When Ryoko visits him in the hospital, he’s confused, thinking he must have had some sort of accident at the flight school in Paris – the last time he felt joy.  Worried that Kanzaki is sure to laugh at his mishap, Ryoko and Shin board a plane headed home to Japan – passing an anonymous Kim at the airport without recollection.

In the new Republic of Asran, Zak, Soria and Rishal return to help guide the country towards a brighter future.

As she watches Shin and Ryoko’s plane depart the airport, Gigliola comforts her baby, Satoru… an innocent soul who bears no taint from the evils of his father.

Fin.