801 T.T.S. Airbats: 1st Strike

Genre: comedy (could be considered romantic) Length: 90 minutes (3 episodes) Audience Age: 12+

Opinion: Well animated, average story

This is a review of the dubbed VHS version.

From the creator of the hentai title Rei Rei

If you have seen the previews for 801 T.T.S. Air Bats, you probably were able to gain the basic premise of the series which is girls plus jets means $21.60 worth of entertainment. To a certain extent, girls plus anything out of the ordinary will bring some profit in this animation genre, and when a sensitive but less than with it guy is thrown in the mix, the creator is assured an audience. The concept is cute and one will laugh in an on again off again pattern, but if it is not a Tenchi Muyo or an El-Hazard video, the consumer may have some regrets about the purchase.

801 gets a few bonus points from me since learning about jets was once a hobby of mine, but otherwise it is a lot like what I expect from one of these "girls meet boy, they meet…what was that again?" animes.

1st Strike focuses on the adventures or misadventures of Takuyo Isurugi, a private stationed with the all-female Tactical Training Squadron, the 801 Air Bats (is that name redundant). All the girls have ended up here due to some disciplinary problem, or in the pink haired Yohko's case, poor flying ability, so it would seem that the Self Defense Force would rather have them perform at the air shows than carry sidewinders over the island nation.

After a rough first day for our hero, wander in on women changing and they always seem to want to bash the $^!+ out of you, rival pilots Miyuki and Arisa are willing to get to know the new comer, and his willingness to prove that they are both good people puts them into a new contest of who can win Isurugi's heart. This added aggression between the girls could not have come at a worst time for the squadron since the superiors mean to bring down the Air Bats and any variable that will result in a bad flight evaluation will do so.

In the job description or not, Isurugi has to hold the 801 squadron together at the risk of his mental and likely his physical health. Add in the fact that he has to choose one of the girls to be in a relationship with, it seems like matters can only get worst.