| I recently finished watching the Area 88 OVA and found myself so enamored with the series and the characters that I felt the need to share my thoughts on the ending: The OVA’s ending leaves things off somewhat ambiguously and left to the viewer’s interpretation. Shin leaves the freedom he had sought for so long and returns to Area 88. The war is coming to an unfavorable end and Saki releases the pilots of their service before one last fight. Things look grim. Does Shin meet up with Saki and the others and save their hides? Or does Shin miss the fight zone and make it back to Area 88 where he’ll be captured and killed? As the story enters this climactic moment we cut to credits. I slap my knee and yell at the screen, “Noooo! It can end here!” I don’t mind ambiguous endings, as frustrating as they can be. And after reflecting on the series a bit I’ve decided that the ending we got was appropriate. On the one hand, if Shin had missed the fight (or even if he got there) there is the plausibility that Saki, Mickey, and the others would die in that last fight. However, as realistic as that may be, I personally would have been devastated by that outcome. The alternate option is that Shin makes it to the fight, saves the others, and then what? With the war over they go back to the real world? They band together to continue the resistance elsewhere? The OVA seems to go out of its way to show that Shin is not ready to integrate back into society yet (if ever). We already know that Mickey doesn’t feel that he can go back to a normal life, and watching Shin roam the streets of Paris is tragically foreboding. One of the themes of the series is that war changes men and many soldiers are unable to return to society - a prominent theme in most stories involving the Vietnam War. It seems inevitable that Shin would struggle with this as well. Now, to deviate a bit from the OVA, I have read (via wikipedia) that the manga’s ending is that Shin is able to return to Japan but has lost his memory about his time at Area 88. How or why he lost his memory I don’t know (and given that the US release was cancelled about half way through, I doubt I’ll get to read it for myself). If anyone has read the manga I would love to know the circumstances of this ending! Based on what little knowledge I have, it seems that even the mangaka felt that Shin would be unable to return to society with his experiences at Area 88 intact. But is this truly a happy ending? He is able to return at the cost of forgetting not only the pain of those years but also the friends he’d made and the ones he’d lost, of the trials they’d been through and accomplishments they’ve made. I guess I personally find this ending equally tragic – even if those years were painful and traumatic, were they worth nothing? Ultimately, I appreciate the OVA’s ending for being ambiguous. The realist in me can’t help but assert that Shin and the others face certain death. But because the outcome is never stated there exists a pocket of hope that they make it, and live to fight another day. |
| My take was he went back to die. Just the way he was dictating the flight parameters to himself like it was one last imaginary mission, coupled with the Vietnamese merc saying they were just "looking for a place to die" or something just before. The Japanese deserter said much the same too; he'd rather be dead than killing. Shin couldn't adapt to civilian life but it didn't seem he could truly learn to love killing either, which leaves no inbetween. But then I'm a morbid bugger sometimes. |
| Shin doesn't seem the type to commit suicide (even if assisted in this case), though perhaps that was because he had always hoped to return to his former life. With the realization that he can't go back to the way he was, maybe he did decide to call it quits and go out in a blaze of glory. It's been awhile since I last watched it, so next time I do I'll have to pay attention to his dictation at the end. I kinda like the idea of him tasking himself with one last mission. Perhaps a bit morbid but also oddly romantic/honorable in a way. |
BlueLobster said: Now, to deviate a bit from the OVA, I have read (via wikipedia) that the manga’s ending is that Shin is able to return to Japan but has lost his memory about his time at Area 88. How or why he lost his memory I don’t know (and given that the US release was cancelled about half way through, I doubt I’ll get to read it for myself). If anyone has read the manga I would love to know the circumstances of this ending! Based on what little knowledge I have, it seems that even the mangaka felt that Shin would be unable to return to society with his experiences at Area 88 intact. But is this truly a happy ending? He is able to return at the cost of forgetting not only the pain of those years but also the friends he’d made and the ones he’d lost, of the trials they’d been through and accomplishments they’ve made. I guess I personally find this ending equally tragic – even if those years were painful and traumatic, were they worth nothing? . You've posted this a while ago... but here's what happened. By the end, Area 88 is no more and everyone is dead (except Kim). The cruel deaths of Saki & Mickey took a toll on Shin and after he killed Kanzaki in a duel (F-5e vs F-18), he snapped & locked away his memories of the past few years. It was too much to bear. |
| Forever Berserk |
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