Girly Air Force

Girly Air Force was not a "must watch" anime but a decent one for those who like air fights, jets and colorful haired girls. At first, let's cover the negative points that contributed to GAF's low popularity. Hum, the thema itself was quite basic, with aliens named Zai coming on Earth with their very high technology which totally outmatched humanity's current one. Forced to fight, every national armies & research (at least Japanese, American & Russian as we know) managed to create their own weapons, based on alien's jets they somehow destroyed. These researches lead to the creation of Animas, aka girls with very colorful & non-conventionalhairs (a shiny blue, pink, a shiny green, purple and a shiny yellow : you could not miss them in the street). They actually are the only ones able to pilot "Daughters", aka modern fight jets which are efficient against Zai. However, one Anima is unable to pilot alone, until she discovers a human named Kei with whom she suddenly became able to. Yes, the plot totally looks like Darling in the Franxx, before you ask. However, contrary to DitF, GAF had in my opinion a huge lack of background, everything seemed blank or empty behind the main characters and the airport. You could think that they gave every part of their budget in huge and spectacular air battles but... not really. In fact, there were not many battles, I think 3 that were decently noticeable. Quite sad for an anime that has no real or strong plot and a small number of characters (count ... 9 characters who are named in the show, plus other unnamed extras). I think this point was the one which displeased most viewers. Indeed, if you don't really like planes in anime or if you don't really feel attracted by these colorful girls, then you couldn't appreciate Girly Air Force. To be honest, I appreciated these girls who all aren't humans and have a different vision of humanity. They are fighters in their "blood" (or should I say in their components ?) with a programmed personality. The whole anime is basically telling the story of Gripen, a curious, childly, naive and cute Anima who discovers human nature and human mores with Kei. Ah talking about this guy... saying he is a bit dumb and quite irritating sometimes seems right. Instead of presenting a Michael Bay's vision of aliens vs cute girls piloting jets, Girly Air Force showed a semi-romance semi-drama anime with a pinch of battle, a bunch of attractive girls you'd desire to meet (not gonna say why you'd desire such thing) and a fund of technology. It wasn't very popular this season and probably won't become later. It's either you appreciate it or either you hate it, since the background / plot is very weak and most battles aren't memorable. The worst point of this anime was enlightened by Kei himself during last episode. Who are Zai & why do you they fight ? I hereby present you the main question that remains unsolved yet. During 12 episodes we learned how Zai was powerful and it conquered many parts of the world : appearently it was THE enemy for humanity. But as we noticed, this enemy, despite its destructive technology, wasn't such a threat since it left national armies finding a way to counter its plans (if it ever had some). Kei himself wonders why it fought for all this time.

I am astounded and stunned to fathom what's so good about this show, except that it is built on cliches and tropes, one after another. That's what is obvious from the get-go, and unless you're a fan of these irregularities, it doesn't help that this show gives off bad vibes from the start. The story (and worldbuilding) is that mankind/humanity is under attack from extraterrestrial entities only known as Xi, large colourful bird-ish planes who have surpassed human technology and are considered unstoppable. One fateful day, the dull MC, Narutani Kei, stumbles among one of the Xi's many attacks, and is caught in the crossfire betweenthe Zai and the JASDF's way of quantitative and qualitive control: Colourful fighter planes known as "Daughters", powered by autonomous units called "Anima", android-like human girls made from scrap Xi parts, and engineered to only serve one purpose: to repel the Xi in whatever shape and way possible technologically, that mission failures are not tolerated. And then...the storytelling collapses on its feet, HARD, as plot is basically non-existent and non-progressive. And here...is the first problem: Inserting cliches and tropes where it doesn't really make total sense to the current (and future) situation(s). While Kei notices the first of the "Daughter" planes, which houses Gripen (the dull, naive pink-haired girl), he attempts to save her like any other righteous human would...and *kisses* him for absolutely NO reason. (Shit, that weird scene still irks so much in my mind.) Naturally, with the big effect of the Xi's attack for killing his mother, and wanting to know more about the power of the Daughters, he joins the JASDF and joins the staff responsible for the exclusive program in hopes of getting his sweet, sweet (and naive teenage) revenge against the Xi. And then, as luck would have it, Yashirodoori, the scientist behind the reverse-engineering of the Xi's weaponry and developer of the Anima system, notices Gripen's *strange* emotional dependency on Kei, and decides to "pair" them up together (ooh that "pairing romance" troupe). The second problem is with the characters, both mains and sides. Gripen, as blank as she looks, is actually for a reason. Suffering from an inherent emotional defect which leaves her scatterbrained and lacking a sense of purpose, that's the answer to her fragile affinity with Kei (like seriously, can you believe this???). Eagle, the blonde-haired loud-talking girl, she's at best a talking parrot based on her perky and capricious personality, aside from being talented (which naturally is the case). What irks me is that on their first impressions, Eagle takes interest in Kei, but never crosses that line, as saying that the writers initally wanted a harem of sorts. (Oh God, please kill me now.) And last but not least (of the Daughters), Phantom, the green-haired original JASDF Anima that is first to be developed and built, takes a drastic step on her prideful superiority both on ground and in the skies, manipulating information as and when she likes it to gain any tactical advantage firsthand, causing frictions within the team (and I kinda hated her at first but understood her intentions well soon after). Even more patronizing, are both Kei and his childhood friend Song Minghua. Watching Kei stumble and grow is as worrying as his character development built in the process as not only Gripen's "beck and call" backup (his MC appeal), but also the "instant training" troupe that's the cause of his revenge, that beckons to always question his purpose in helping the Daughters fend off the Xi, being 1 step forward and 10 steps back. Even worse, is his childhood friend-cum-"random sibling romance" Minghua. Strapped within the same devastating situation as Kei, she "swore" to protect him...like a girlfriend would (but really never displays "subtle" affections), with Kei sister-zoning her. Wow this is getting great...or so it hoped. I'm not at all surpised when Satelight is involved in anything that is mech-related, as the studio's past experiences have all held up in bits and pieces, whether good or bad, and Girly Air Force is no different. The art styles have all held up decently well, and along with the frantic animation which is both clean and stylish. And of course, the Xi and planes have that artifical CGI feel to them, and is honestly not that bad and is not repulsive either. For a show all about planes and sci-fi action, you would expect a good OST to follow-up on this piece, but what came out of it are all generic tunes, both OP/ED and the BGM. Not impressive, but decently held up. If I can fall flat on this show, it means that this show has failed. Not in terms of expectation, but pure enjoyment. Sure, I'd like some things to at least spice up the action, but episode after episode, even the enjoyment wanes substantially to the point where I can wave my byes away in the moonlight. If you like this show, good for you, but it just isn't for me.

I've re-watched this anime several times, and until now there has been no news of a second season, even though the story is still hanging and makes me curious. Please make a second season for this anine. This anime is very suitable for those who like the military, especially fighter planes, and in this anime you will be presented with fighter jets fighting against Zai. Overall, I think this anime is very good, even though somehow the score is so small. -Beautiful characters, voices and characteristics to match. -Detailed graphics and colors that are pleasing to the eye. -The airplane fight scenes are not stiff and good, there is no brokenCGI like other anime. -The storyline is not long-winded, there is normal everyday life but it doesn't spoil the tension, because there are already good anime with military themes but insert comedy in the middle of a fight is stupid. In contrast to this anime, the storyline is neat and harmonious so that everything is connected well. I hope there is a sequel to this anime, because there are still many mysteries that have not been revealed.

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