Series Recommendation #8: Sentou Yousei Yukikaze

Can you hear it, Lieutenant? The voice of Yukikaze.
30 years ago, humanity was invaded by the JAM – a mysterious force from another dimension. Humanity has managed to drive the JAM to a distant planet called “Fairy” – where the war between us and the JAM still rages on. Fairy is connected to Earth through a dimensional passage way.

The story follows Lt. Fukai Rei, the pilot of the FFR-31MR/D Super Sylph (aka “Yukikaze “) to fight against the JAM. As he keep piloting Yukikaze, it began speaking to him and perform feats that was out of his understanding. Along with that, the JAM and the Earth’s military also make moves on their own, trying to outwit each other. What will Lt. Fukai do when he learn the truth about the JAM, the Earth’s fate and about Yukikaze itself?
Plot: A pretty straight-forward plot following a pretty narrow set of characters. The series only has 5 episodes (each ep is around 30-40 minutes). There are some sequences that seems out of place and unexplained throughout but it was minor details. Overall, the story’s events are coherent but the timeline is a bit fuzzy. But it doesn’t affect the story all that much.

Animation: Great animation on fight scenes. The CGI models are great and action are really nice. However, the characters seems like they attend a funeral all through-out the series. Their eyes are drooping and they never smile. Aside from the depressing character designs, the actions is where Yukikaze shines.

Music: We got a decent ED and an okay-ish OP. The OP is vocal-less however. We got almost zero-to-none OST during the fight scenes.Designs: by designers Ebikawa (Gundam 00, FMP), Ikuto Yamashita (Eva), Atsushi Takeuchi and Seiji Kio. The Super Sylphs are sleek, modern and is a very good design.

Conclusion: Overall, the series is a decent watch. It might requires a bit of thinking because the nature of the JAM isn’t explored all that much but instead they left hints for the viewers to figure out. Fight scenes are awesome accompanying by call-outs in a very realistic manners. The director must have someone who is well-versed in air-force call signs to work on it.

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