My major problem (and I guess that goes for many people as well) with mecha-shows is that these giant robots are very hard to make believable. I mean, their centre of gravity is high, they’re expensive and complicated and why would armies go through the huge trouble to create giant human-shaped robots when tanks and planes are a much easier and efficient choice? Only a select amount of stories can really justify the use of mechas, in my opinion (Bokura no is a good example and a series like FLAG also made the use of human-shaped robots believable enough). Therefore, it’s nice to see that Yukikaze for once just keeps to fighter-planes.

Right from the start it becomes clear that this is a very ambitious OVA. A lot of budget has been put into the graphics, and they look absolutely gorgeous. The storytelling is also slow-paced, to give enough time to flesh out the characters and to give the viewer the chance to connect to the cast. The setting is dark and gritty, and the military organization that it focused on has received a lot of attention to look as real as possible, with multiple ranks, a lot of staff is involved in a mission (and not just one guy who can take care of all the maintenance of an entire fleet). The potential was definitely there, but unfortunately it’s got one major flaw.

Basically, the storyline is excellent, the characters are deep, but the storytelling is very confusing, and at times it’s even too confusing. Often I found myself thinking “what the hell happened?” Entire scenes of explanation seem to have been lost on the cutting-room floor, and there’s also the matter that this series likes to delve into lots of techno-babble at times. Yukikaze consists out of five episodes, and I feel that it would have so much benefited from one more episode that explains everything, completes the background of the different characters and gives depth to the enemy (something they majorly lacked as well).

Even though this series is about fighter-planes, there’s also enough focus on the two main characters: one of the pilots of a rather special plane and his superior (and for once: no teenagers!). The different characters are surprisingly close to each other, and this series makes sure to show this. Basically, every character that gets developed feels complete and genuine, and for that I’m willing to forgive the rather botched-up storytelling.

To say that Twilight Q is different from your usual anime would be an understatement. I don’t think anyone could have expected what was shown here. Basically, two great names in anime, Tomomi Mochizuki (Kimagure Orange Road, Here is Greenwood, Ocean Waves, Seraphim Call, Yokohama Kaidasi Kikou ~Quiet Country Cafe and many, many more; he’s also the one who’s going to be directing Porfy’s Long Journey) and Mamoru Oshii (Patlabor I and II, Ghost in the Shell, Angel’s Egg) came together and both produced a 30-minute long mystery-story. And what mystery it is!

Tomomi Mochizuki is up first, and he comes up with something that starts out as your typical high-school romance, but then turns into something very different. Don’t expect to get answers about everything, and some events may feel a tad too coincidental, but overall the non-linear direction and timeline works out really well in the end.

Then it’s Oshii Mamoru’s turn, and this is where Twilight Q really sets itself apart. Remember Patlabor II? Basically, take out all the action and politics, and the result is the second episode. The entire episode (30 minutes!) is just one huge complicated monologue about a mysterious occurrence that has something to do with a strange girl and her father. I must say that Oshii Mamoru is another one of these directors with his own, distinctive style of complex dialogues and gritty settings, but for me it works out really well.

Unfortunately, it seems that when Twilight Q was originally made, there were plans to include even more episodes, but these episodes never came. It’s a real shame, because the concept screams potential. As a mystery-fan, I just loved the storytelling for both episodes. The characters unfortunately had to be sacrificed, though (they’re not as likable and well-developed as I would have liked; even taking into account the short airtime). Still, Twilight Q is a nice recommendation for if you’re looking for something different.

Mahou Shoujotai (my like, most favourite anime ever), unlike most anime, hasn’t been directed by just one person. Instead a whole bunch of people sat in the director’s seat, and each of them was responsible for his or her own episodes, which surprises me even more that the result turned out so awesome. In any case, it’s a shame but these directors weren’t involved in many other series apart from some work on key-animation for various series. There is one exception, though: Kimagure Robot. It basically consists out of ten two-minute episodes and a number of the directors were given the task to direct one or two of them. After this story, do I still need to explain why I just had to watch this after finding this out? ^^;

Now that I’ve finished watching, I know for sure: these guys are brilliant. Unlike Mahou Shoujotai, Kimagure Robot has no intention to take itself seriously and instead comes with a series of ten random comedic stories about a scientist who invents robots. Because there have been seven different directors, the stories all turn out varied, yet consistent because every director tries to give his own interpretation of the story, while paying in mind what the others have come up with. It’s the same as with Mahou Shoujotai: even though every director was responsible for a different series of episodes, you can see that they worked together very closely.

Basically, every movie turns into a spoof of some kind of television-trope, ranging from the genie in the bottle that grants you three wishes to various kinds of alien-invasions. I honestly laughed myself to tears at nearly every single one of the episodes. I especially loved the end of every episode, which basically consists out of a witty one-sentence summary of what happened inside said episode.

I’m still convinced that these guys need to direct more. Their style is fresh and engaging and definitely recommended if you’re looking for something different. It’s a shame that Kimagure Robot has no plot whatsoever, and the fact remains that you can only do so much with only two minutes per episode, but I’m glad enough that the rest turned out so well. One thing that also should be noted is that the entire short is voiced by just two voice-actors: one male and one female. They basically did all the necessary voices for the different characters.

And the Winter-Season has started! I’m already looking forward to it with such a great start. It finally reminded me why I came to like the original series:

- Likable characters, who are well-developed.
- The drama works.
- And yet it doesn’t take itself seriously all the time.

This episode formed a great introduction to the second season, and it’s promising to become quite interesting. Tina has already gotten one major lead about the guy who killed her parents when she meets the guy who gave him the tattoo. It seems that there are three guys who went on a rampage ten years ago, killing all sorts of foreigners (is it me, or does Rita’s brother look suspiciously much like one of them?).

Rita meets the king of Greedam in the meantime, and you can see why his country is known as a peace-loving one. I’m not too sure about the guy’s son, though. ^^; In any case, now that the political scene has calmed down a bit with the death of Guernia, Rita decides to help Tina with finding the one who killed her parents. Basically, that’s the only part of the episode that felt a bit iffy for me. Still, it was fun to watch and I can imagine how Rita wants to pay Tina back. Apparently, her original plan was to go along with the king of Greedam to propose a cease-fire for Sangatras, but I guess I can imagine how Greedam’s king can handle that just fine. That’s basically the only downfall of this series for me: some of the twists aren’t well thought-out, unlike the characters.