Welcome to my AREA 88 fan site!

Known in Japan as エリア88 (Eria Hachi-Ju-Hachi), Area 88 is an award winning manga series written and drawn by Kaoru Shintani (新谷 かおる).

Originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Big Comic (週刊少年ビッグコミック) between 1979 and 1986, Area 88 is the story of a young Japanese pilot named Shin Kazama and his experiences as a mercenary fighter pilot stationed at the foreign legion airbase known as “Area 88” during the fictional Kingdom of Asran’s civil war.  Duped into service by a duplicit and jealous “friend”, Shin is forced to leave behind his fiance Kyoko, the beautiful daughter of the president of Yamato Airlines, and his promising career as a civilian pilot and fight in a war he wants no part of.  His choice: fulfill his 3 year contract, raise $1.5 million dollars to buy out his contract, or die trying.

According to the liner notes from the BGM soundtrack (which was released in 1984), Kaoru Shintani was inspired by an old television commercial that featured American soldiers serving during the Vietnam War crying as they listened to a radio broadcast of the American national anthem.  This emotional scene inspired him to ask himself what a Japanese person, serving in similar circumstances, in an equally foreign land, would do upon hearing the famous folk song “Sakura Sakura” (さくら さくら, “Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms”).  And so, by drawing on some classic elements of the Count of Monte Christo (betrayed by a friend, yearning for a lover, and swept off to an island prison), and (according to an interview done with Tamiya News) swiping the name from the 1/35 scale model German 88mmGunFlak 36/37 released by Tamiya in 1972, Area 88 was born.

Although Area 88 has the distinction of being one of the first three manga (along with Mai, the Psychi Girl and The Legend of Kamui) to be officially translated into English and published in North America by Eclipse Comics and Viz Media, the long-running manga series was never completed.  Altogether, roughly 2/5 of the series was completed before it was eventually abandoned.

However, despite that, the series has continued to enjoy popularity. Besides the manga series itself, in 1985 it was adapted to a direct-to-video animated trilogy, in 1989 it was released as an arcade video game (known in North American as “U.N. Squadron”) and in 2004 it was once again revived as a 12-episode animated television series.

As a 100% fan site, I will try to collect all the information on the various incarnations of our beloved series, as well as share information on the author, his other works, and loads more fun stuff!

Enjoy your stay!