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EP. REVIEW: Girly Air Force


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L'Imperatore



Joined: 24 Mar 2014
Posts: 826
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 7:45 pm Reply with quote
Chris wrote:
is Gripen's existence as an unreliable scatterbrain with a yawning void of personality tied to any factoids about the JAS 39?

Nah, it's just one of usual anime girl tropes...
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your fly is down



Joined: 14 Jan 2018
Posts: 27
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 10:31 pm Reply with quote
^
Being a hardcore aviation fanatic i can attest to that.
Unlike kancolle these 4th gen fighters have had little war experience and thus liitle in the way of quirks like how 2nd and 3rd gen ones do (like the tu-95 being loud or the f-104 being dangerous) perhaps you could argue that the grippen is a well rounded aircraft and little to complain about making it somewhat a boring plane but being the few succesful plane with canards is far from inocuous.
Also being a aviation otaku this anime was by far the biggest disappointment this season. Given this show is aimed at people like me the fact that it does so little in the feild of plane fanservice or even trivia but rather wastes its 2nd ep on a date with a girl that has virtually no commection to the plane is a huge disappointment.
I was hoping for something like the 2nd shirobako OVA but now i see the author has little actual interest in planes OR the team behind the anime has no trust in the whole aspect so it leans heavy on the mahou shojo aspect.
Well at leat i have kotobuki. Now that is a dream come true. Still wishing for some more and better aviation anime.
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OrdepNM



Joined: 14 Nov 2018
Posts: 242
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 10:44 pm Reply with quote
Well, that's a first. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to hear a Portuguese children's song I used to sing in the 90s being sung in anime, and the pronunciation was quite good too.

It's interesting because Portugal was the first European country to make contact with Japan (they even founded Nagasaki) and one can only imagine how alien European technology, appearance and mannerisms must have seemed to the Japanese at the time. In fact, since they showed up during the Sengoku period, the introduction of Portuguese guns was particularly well received.

Given how the second episode hinted at the idea that the Xi may actually not be as alien as initially believed, despite their advanced weaponry, it seems clear that the author is trying to establish a connection with the last time Japan made first contact with a completely foreign civilization.

I definitely think there's an interesting story to be told there, I'm just not sure Girly Air Force is the best show to tell it. The two dates with Gripen we got this episode were endearing and funny at times but I hope the show is willing to switch gears in a more meaty direction, rather than put all its eggs in the aircraft moe basket.
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Cardcaptor Takato



Joined: 27 Jan 2018
Posts: 4807
PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 11:26 pm Reply with quote
I thought the first episode was just ok but I found the MC's childhood friend character to be kind of annoying with how she kept being nosy in the MC's personal decisions. I haven't watched episode two yet but I hope she gets less annoying later on.
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Luke's Yu-Gi-Oh! Channel



Joined: 11 Dec 2016
Posts: 159
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 4:02 am Reply with quote
Episode 1 Comments/Feedback

I thought this was ok.

Lucky guy getting a kiss just like that.

Seems his life will get even more interesting now that he has this role with the JSDF, either he needs to help save the world.

Episode 2 Comments/Feedback

Not sure what the deal is with everyone at the base, they enemy is the Xi, why are they getting upset over him being there.

I'm glad those 2 had a great time together during the day.

10 hours is such a big improvement, hopefully she will be able to fly, having him around is already such a big improvement so I am confident so won't be scrapped.
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Netero



Joined: 10 Jun 2018
Posts: 160
PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 4:07 am Reply with quote
your fly is down wrote:

...perhaps you could argue that the grippen is a well rounded aircraft and little to complain about

Really? There was a lot to complain about, especially if you were a Gripen pilot or a Swedish taxpayer. In its earlier days, the Gripen was infamous for its "crash-by-wire" system and its ballooning cost. So the anime Gripen's characterization is pretty much on point when she regularly crashes for no reason and is in danger of cancellation.
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your fly is down



Joined: 14 Jan 2018
Posts: 27
PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 7:51 am Reply with quote
^
Not really
Compared to the grippens competetion its saftey record is much better than that of, say the eurofighter or rafiel.
The public outcry was due to costs in plane development which after a cold war era didn't make sense to put so much money on a new plane by saab when cheap f 16s could be bought.
So no the grippen was not fond of crashing like our airheaded anime girl is and there is still nothing to testify for her forgetfullness when the grippen is actually an all round good at anything aircraft.
You could take any plane and argue that it had crashes and put her as the first character and argue back that she crashes because the plane crashed in its early days.
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Chaos Wings



Joined: 05 May 2015
Posts: 277
Location: Your guess is as good as mine?!
PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 8:20 am Reply with quote
This one seems firmly planted in the middle-ground not great but not bad either. Tbh watching the first episode my prevailing opinion was I've seen this show many many times before just with slightly different packaging. It's only unique appeal comes down to whether you like planes.

It didn't really do a good job of selling the characters to me either. I felt an instant dislike towards MC, I can't quite put my finger on why but he just comes across as irritating and his childhood friend just seems like an annoying busybody. Though I will say episode 2 did lessen my agitation towards Kei somewhat.

I don't really expect much from this show but it could turn out to be an enjoyable ride.
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Stampeed Valkyrie



Joined: 10 Aug 2014
Posts: 826
Location: PA
PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2019 9:30 am Reply with quote
2 episodes in and for lack of a better term.. very.. MEH.

It's not bad.. so far, but I was kinda hoping for something akin to "Arpeggio of the Blue Steel." And that is not where this is going.
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Key
Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18166
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2019 2:15 pm Reply with quote
Yeah, thanks to episode 2 this one is now on my "borderline" list for the season, which means that it'll be one of the first to go if I don't have time to keep up with everything that has caught my interest so far. Its one saving grace is that it's on a day (Thursday) which doesn't have much competition.
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DRosencraft



Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 665
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 6:37 pm Reply with quote
The first Ace Combat in years comes out, and we get two anime in the rather rare niche of combat aircraft.

This anime has a number of unique, but so far seemingly random or overly trope-ish choices. For starters, I don't know what logic led to the selection of aircraft. I mean, technically I imagine they were going for a multirole/fighter/attacker balance, but given the enemies they are apparently fighting, i don't understand the choice of generation of aircraft, or adherence to any such role division.

The childhood friend's role thus far is far too muted for the interaction from episode 1 suggested. Her reaction to MC's shounen "guts'll get done" attitude made it seem they were going to push back on that trope... and then completely dived into the deep end of it by going with the "he's special" angle. To spend half an episode now building that up, and then the second half circling the drain on him being too dim to separate from inane bland drama on the not-so secret reveal about Gripen's origins.

Like most folks seem to agree, it's not abjectly "bad", but very, very, dull, and at times baffling. I think the baffling parts are actually, strangely enough, the hook. It kind of keeps you around because you're curious if it'll turn out to be anything bigger, better. I agree with Key; if it was on Friday or Saturday, it would certainly get dropped a lot faster. On Thursday, it's got enough to hang on at least a little longer.
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Luke's Yu-Gi-Oh! Channel



Joined: 11 Dec 2016
Posts: 159
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 9:52 pm Reply with quote
Episode 3 Comments/Feedback

Not too surprised by the revelation of Anima being made up from Xi.

This may answer the question the doctor asked of if they have met before, that flashback might have just given us the answer, quite a cruel fate/turn of events.

I had a feeling she confessed the truth in the letter the moment he rushed off like that.

Well that was almost a disaster, thank goodness Eagle showed up when she did.
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steelmirror



Joined: 22 Oct 2015
Posts: 342
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 11:21 pm Reply with quote
I bailed on this one after the first ep, but I'm reading the reviews to see when the Phantom makes her eventual appearance (judging from the promotional images). My father flew F4s in the Marines, it's always been my favorite plane, so I'm interested enough to drop by and see what the show does with it. Judging from reactions here I'll probably happily drop it immediately afterward, but it will at least get my guaranteed interest for that brief window, and a chance to make a second impression.
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Airfoilfan



Joined: 25 Jan 2019
Posts: 2
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 11:58 pm Reply with quote
I always thought those petal mechanisms on the Daughter Nozzles were Thrust Vector Controls... turns outs they were Speed Brakes
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gridsleep





PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2019 4:36 am Reply with quote
I'm putting money on the Cylons.


Just had a thought. I wouldn't watch this, but I would definitely watch something called Grisly Air Force.


Last edited by gridsleep on Tue Mar 05, 2019 2:25 am; edited 1 time in total
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