Yukikaze Vol. 1: Danger Zone
Synopsis
Unbeknownst to the general population, an alien force opened an inter-dimensional gate in Antarctica over 30 years ago in an attempt to invade the Earth. The unified forces of Earth formed an elite military unit under command of the United Nations to combat the aliens and to push them back towards their own dimension. But the war still rages on.
Rei Fukai is an elite pilot of the Special Air Force (SAF) and designated pilot of the Yukikaze, an advanced fighter armed with a sentient computer control system. When fear of alien infiltration within the SAF spreads, the Yukikaze may be the only weapon humanity has to bring an end to this war.
Review
Think of any Macross series before Zero, juice up the animation and you will get Yukikaze. The title sounds cool, but does it actually live up to its’ name? When I watched this I was already bored out of my mind so it was only natural for me to throw anything in the DVD player… anything. The attractive point of this show is that it looks good. The DVD cover looks cool, the planes look cool and of course the fighting scenes look cool. Other than those listed criteria the show is not much attractive. The story is about aliens invading Earth, by creating a warp hole to directly send their troops to attack Earth. The humans on the other hand have to battle back the aliens and try to stop them from invading permanently.
Yukikaze is a title that draws the viewer in closely as they are watching. Even if the viewer does not know anything about it, the show makes it so that the viewer will want to know more about it and soon enough, you will find yourself craving for more and more. Titles that feature air planes usually do not live up to my expectations, maybe it is because I expect a lot, but nonetheless, Yukikaze just does not have that deep impact I was looking forward to experience. Not that I am drawing a comparison here, but those of you who have seen Macross Zero should know how it feels watching that show. There is this excitement, this feeling where you want to get in one of those planes and fly it kind of feeling. Yukikaze does not provide that, it gives you the story and you, the viewer will just have to follow through with it.
Certainly this show is very enjoyable, especially the air craft designs, the animation and the battle scenes. Turn on your subwoofer to max and you will feel the engines of the planes roaring down the runway. Think that is not enough? The missile explosions are all deafening, so do turn up those subs with caution. I do not know what happens later on as volume two is not released yet, but this show right now is good as is. There is not a stupid love relationship going on within the story to mess up things. Do not get me wrong, I like anime series that incorporate love relationships, but Yukikaze just does not flow right with one. The lead character, Rei Fukai is way too freaky to be in one :).
The Breakdown
It is unfair to compare two different titles, but I have to say that Yukikaze is inferior when compared to Macross Zero; another air planes title.