What Is Girly Air Force All About?

Hello everyone and welcome to our place!

Time to review the first episode of Girly Air Force. This is another one of those Anime shows which are completely out of my comfort zone. This way, again, I feel a little bit at loss in how to review this first episode. So, until I get some idea, let me give you the synopsis of the story.

Girly Air Force happens in a not so distant future (?) where mysterious flying creatures called Zai suddenly appeared in the World with no apparent reasons. Though it is called “creatures” everywhere, these mysterious flying thingies just seem to be futuristic aircraft which are able to move in ways that the ordinary aircraft can’t.

To fight this menace, an automated piloting mechanism called “Anima” is created. These “Anima” have the appearance of small girls (with personality) and have the name of “Daughters”. Basically, they must be something like androids.

The story begins with Narutani Kei fleeing from China to Japan by ship when they are attacked by these Zai. They end up being saved by one of the daughters. However, the Anima is struck and ends up falling into the sea. Kei goes to help the person inside of it and, for his astonishment, he finds a small girl inside of it passed out. Sensing his presence, Gripen, one of the daughters, wakes up, kisses him and falls asleep again.

Already in Japan, Kei finds out that there is one airforce base around the city. He decides to go there and see if he’s able to see the aircraft who saved him. However, he gets more what he bargains for. He ends up being recruited on the spot… It seems that he is the one who Anima resonates the most.

The Episode is All Over The Place

In my opinion, there are many parts of episode 1 that just don’t add up.

First, why would Anima be designed to appear like cute girls and then be called daughters? Can we take a second to think a little bit about this? Basically, what the Anime is making us believe is that a bunch of middle-aged guys sat in a meeting and decided to create this type of android.  Wouldn’t it be easier if the IA was integrated into the ship itself without any kind of personality? I’m pretty sure that it would work best than have someone who may not answer your orders.

Second, the main character also is a little bit over the place in the first episode. He just doesn’t seem a character that wants to join the army… Until he actually says that in the middle of the episode, of course. To be honest, I was a little bit surprised with such a statement. However, this thing about him wanting to join the airforce does not change the story in any bit, which leads me to the third point…

The Abduction Scene Didn’t Have To Happen

Third, I don’t understand at all the abduction scene. Basically, Kei ends up seeing the Anima being transported in the town he moved to (talk about luck) and discovers that there is an airforce base near town. He, of course, goes there in the middle of the night to see if he is able to discover more information. At the same time, his best friend, who is against Kei joining the airforce, follows him.

While near the base, both are abducted and the audience is put in suspense. Afterward, the image we get is Kei being tied up and ready to be tortured. Basically, it seems they think he is a spy… But, this only happens for about 2 minutes (?) Maybe even less. After that, everything ends because the Anima resonated with Kei and showed she was not pleased in how they were treating him.

Ok, it could make sense… If they had interrogated Song Min Hoa, Kei’s best friend, which did not seem to have happened. There are only 2 options… This scene does not make sense, or the Intelligence affairs do a terrible job when it comes to enemy spies.

But, one thing happens besides that outcome. The idea that Kei is joining the airforce because of his love for aircraft ends up being completely useless… Even if he didn’t like it, he would be obliged to do it none the less.

But, Are the Aircraft Fights Cool and the Girls Cute?

Well, taking aside everything random happening to the plot, I have to say that, yes, the aircraft fights are cool and the girls (the ones who appeared until now) are cute.

However, I have to say that if you are looking for the old-fashioned aircraft which I discussed in Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai then this is not the Anime for you. Girly Air Forces is more about how cool the animation is, not about strategy or showing how aircraft fights actually happen. You will be able to see airship doing some over the top maneuvers thought.

When it comes to the girls… They are cute, but, this first episode didn’t really show much of them. The episode was around Kei and there was more skin seen from him than the girls… Meaning… At least, this first episode did not show much of fanservice when it comes to the girls. The other way around though, we were able to see Kei in his underwear which always good in my book.

However, this makes me question what is this show going for as who is its target. First, it’s not strong enough to be a good action/sci-fi Anime. But, it also doesn’t have what it needs to be a harem or a CGDCT kind of Anime either.

This way, I can’t actually recommend you either to watch Girly Air Force or to just pass it. Hopefully, by the time I watch episode 3 and do its first impressions, I’ll be able to come up with a better conclusion! 🙂