Area 88 is a 3 part OVA series that started in 1985. The first 2 episodes, Act I and Act II, ran at 50 minutes each and were released a few months apart in 1985. Both episodes were extremely close to the original manga series that started in 1979 but was still running while the OVA series was being animated. The third episode, Act III, a feature length episode, was released in 1986 and ran at 90 minutes long. Since the manga was still being written at the time, the creators decided to create their own path for the the characters of Area 88. Many fans consider Act III to be the only weak part of a brilliant OVA series. It deviated too far from the original story and was too inconclusive with the fate of all the characters. The OVA series only covers a third of the manga, which is a shame since it would have been a marvelous spectacle to see all this wonderful material transferred onto screen.Fans who want to complete the story by reading the manga will be frustrated to know it's never all been translated into English for western fans. Viz picked up the manga in 1987 and distributed it through Eclispe Comics. All 172 issues were planned to be released but only 42 issues were released until it was cancelled in the middle of 1989 due to declining sales. Viz then tried releasing the manga in book form but only 1 volume made it out the presses.Luckily the Area 88 anime has been more fortunate through history, geting the complete release and exposure it merits. Central Park Media picked up the series in 1992 and released it subtitled on VHS and then Laserdisc a bit later. Then in 1998, Central Park Media was one of the first companies to embrace the DVD format and released Area 88 Act I on dvd, which also included an English dub. However due to underwhelming sales, never put out Act's II and III. This meant new fans now had to hunt down tired and used copies on VHS or LD, which was a real tragedy considering how good the series was. Another classic, Gunbuster would suffer an almost identical fate.In 2006, out of nowhere, ADV announced it would release Area 88 on DVD. It would include the remastered dvd print used on the R2 Japan releases, as well as an exclusive interview with the original manga creator, Kaoru Shintani. At first, this looked like the perfect release, however two problems would surface that would smear this release. First of all the sound on the Japanese track had been botched on Disc 1, the sound crackles throughout when charcaters speak or music plays. Thankfully Disc 2 is perfect. Dub fans should rejoice as the English track doesn't suffer from any of these sound issues and ADV redubbed the show for your viewing pleasure. Next on the list, this release is sadly the movie edited version. Act's I and II are combined into one feature long episode, some important scenes have been removed, most noticeably is the conversation Kanzaki has with Ryoko in a cafe in episode 1. Thankfully episode 3 is left untouched and is blight free.Area 88 is a brilliant story packed with more angst than any other show that had come and gone before it. It's a dark story with everything from love triangles, betrayals, morality choices to just pure off the seat action as you witness the rollercoaster ride that is Shin Kazama's life. For purists and true fans, the links below provide Act I and II in their original, unedited form. However if you wish to finish the story, I recommend fans purchase the official region 1 DVD which is around $7 at Amazon Marketplace, to see the final Act III.OVA 1 - Download - Area 88 Act IOVA 2 - Downoad - Area 88 Act IIOVA 3 - Buy the DVD to find outOverall Grade/Rating: ACommercial Availability: VHS (Japan, USA), Laserdisc (Japan, USA), DVD (Japan, USA)
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