Stratos 4 - worth getting?

[crazianimechick]

Tonight SO and I found the Stratos 4 box set at Best Buy for a good price (29.99). He was tempted to get it since he was on a bit of a buying spree with his tax return. We opted to wait until after getting some input.

So it it worth it? We don't usually get anime without knowing much about it, though there has been some exceptions - Rune Soldier, Angelic Layer, Maze *twitch*

Thanks in advance

[chloes_fork]

I enjoyed the heck out of it. It's got this sort of Top Gun vibe going, only with cute anime girls and fanservice in place of maniacally grinning midget Scientologists -- certainly a vast improvement by any reasonable reckoning. Nothing terribly deep, but a thoroughly fun little series IMO.

[ADC]

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chloes_fork said:
I enjoyed the heck out of it. It's got this sort of Top Gun vibe going, only with cute anime girls and fanservice in place of maniacally grinning midget Scientologists -- certainly a vast improvement by any reasonable reckoning. Nothing terribly deep, but a thoroughly fun little series IMO.

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Maybe not deep compared to, say, lain, but surprisingly so considering the studio's track record (Aika, Najica). The story was quite good, but it didn't really finish in the 13 episodes of the first series, and the OVA was a tangent story. I seem to recall another 13 episodes came out in Japan, but I haven't heard whether those are bound for the States yet. Does that sound right?

Anyway, yeah, pick this one up. Good times to be had. (I got a wicked urge to watch Vandread when I saw Stratos 4 because they share so many voice actors in the Japanese.)

[Kellory]

Stratos 4 is a fun show. Very fanservicey though. Lots of T&A, a bit shy on plot. Essentially the world is under meteor bombardment. There are 2 groups to defend the earth. Space based fighers who take out 90% of the meteors, and ground based interceptor squadrons who clean up the rest.

There are 4 girls who are the main characters and pilots of 2 of the ground based interceptors based on Shimoji Island. They're still trainees though, and are hoping to one day be selected to be one of the space based pilots. They're still students of course, though we dont see much of that. In their offtime they are also waitresses at the local Chinese restraunt. They also board there.

From there on out its the day to day grind of the second tier pilots. There are some supporting characters, but not much really. We follow them as they discover the truth behind the meteor bombardments and the truths about themselves.

Startos 4 is a fun, light show. High on the fan service and nothing earth shaking. It certainly isnt a must see show. However, it is a fair bit of fun. It isnt as high on the fan service as say Girl's Bravo, but it isnt too far behind.

[Fencedude]

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Kellory said:
It isnt as high on the fan service as say Girl's Bravo, but it isnt too far behind.

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Gah?

Stratos 4 is nowhere NEAR Girls Bravo in the fanservice department.

[touma]

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Fencedude said:
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Kellory said:
It isnt as high on the fan service as say Girl's Bravo, but it isnt too far behind.

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Gah?

Stratos 4 is nowhere NEAR Girls Bravo in the fanservice department.

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Right.
I do not recall any nudity in Stratos 4. Even the bath scenes and the lake episode in the OVA did not show anything. The fanservice in Stratos 4 is all in the character design and the very tight, form-fitting uniforms.
Feel free to prove me wrong about the nudity. /images/graemlins/devil.gif
I agree that this is a fun show. If you like science fiction with a bit of comedy and cute girls as the main characters then Stratos 4 is something that you should get. To me it seemed a lot like Stellvia that way.

[ScorpioEyez]

I did enjoy Stratos 4 and it's OVA. I thought that the story and characters were a little thin though, especially near the end but that is made up for with great animation, music, character design and character growth. I also thought it was interesting almost every lead actress in the dub cast had absolutely no anime experience in the past except for one that had maybe one title to her name. In terms of overall quality though, it's worth a buy I think.

[Kellory]

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Touma said:
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Fencedude said:
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Kellory said:
It isnt as high on the fan service as say Girl's Bravo, but it isnt too far behind.

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Gah?

Stratos 4 is nowhere NEAR Girls Bravo in the fanservice department.

[/ QUOTE ]
Right.
I do not recall any nudity in Stratos 4. Even the bath scenes and the lake episode in the OVA did not show anything. The fanservice in Stratos 4 is all in the character design and the very tight, form-fitting uniforms.
Feel free to prove me wrong about the nudity. /images/graemlins/devil.gif
I agree that this is a fun show. If you like science fiction with a bit of comedy and cute girls as the main characters then Stratos 4 is something that you should get. To me it seemed a lot like Stellvia that way.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, there isnt nudity in Stratos 4. Some back shots, but nothing major like Girl's Bravo. However, there is a lot of it. I use the general definition of fan service, which in the case of Stratos 4 means lots of tight clothing and poses that are really there simply for fan service. Even how they're seated in the cockpits of the planes makes no real sense other than for additional gratituous fan service. Since I assume the original poster is a girl, I was just pointing out the relative amount of fan service rather than specifically what that fan service was.

[crazianimechick]

Fanservice is all I need to know. They had quite a few sets, at least 6, but since he's off next week, he'll probably sometime then to get it.

Thanks guys. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[Magic_Knight]

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Touma said:
Feel free to prove me wrong about the nudity. /images/graemlins/devil.gif


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Does this count? (http://www.asian-stuff.com/temp_images/stratos04.jpg) Sure, it doesn't show everything and it is undetailed, but still... /images/graemlins/noseblef.gif

[chloes_fork]

Some things are better than nudity. (http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/9275/stratos4vol129hf.jpg)

[pianocello]

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chloes_fork said:
Some things are better than nudity. (http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/9275/stratos4vol129hf.jpg)

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There is hardly anything better than nudity in anime. Maybe some yuri. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[Njr Scrawl]

The box that came with #1 of the original release is cute.

I hope BE has licensed the Advance TV series. Hoping for an announcement soon /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif

[Captain Impulse]

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Wrath of the Njr said:
The box that came with #1 of the original release is cute.

I hope BE has licensed the Advance TV series. Hoping for an announcement soon /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif

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That would certainly make my day as well. It had to do well enough for them to at least consider it, since they brought over the OAV's as well. <pleades with Bandai>.

And while they're at it...announce "Galaxy Angel AA", pronto!

[XenoCrisis0153]

for $29.99, I would get it. I only saw the first 3 volumes and lost interest in the main storyline toward the end, but for that price, having the complete collection is worth it. Make sure it has the voice-actors' trip to Shimoji Island (the location they used as scenery reference). IMO, those are possibly the best extra features in the market, you don't wanna miss out.

Go get it. $30 for a 4-DVD set with a chipboard box is a really good deal. It even came with the pencilboards from the original V.1 + box and single releases /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[Speedy Boris]

I was thoroughly bored watching Stratos 4. I mean, nothing really pulled me into the story, especially not the characters, who acted (and looked) so generic. The whole thing just felt lifeless, and the average animation, repetitive background music, and lame comic moments didn't help its cause. If you're looking for fanservice like other Studio Fantasia properties, you'll be disappointed because this is relatively tame in comparison to stuff like Aika or Najica. It's not one of Bandai's better dubs, either.

I dunno, even for $29.99 I'd skip it but I'm definitely outnumbered in this thread.

[macross011a]

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Kellory said:
Even how they're seated in the cockpits of the planes makes no real sense other than for additional gratituous fan service.

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There is a practical use for pilots seated in a prone position other than fanservice. By sitting in a prone position, the pilots allow to fly under higher G-forces than a normal pilot seat. That was experimented in the 1950s during the infancy of the jet age, but didn't caught on. <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>In episode 3, two pilots can't bail out of their TSR-2 without parachutes because their seats are not ejection seats.</span>

[macross011a]

As a lot of people said, the primary fans for Stratos 4 are for aviation fans and fanservice onlookers.

Being an aviation fan myself, I like Stratos 4 for showcasing aircraft and Studio Fantasia is no exception. Its past works had featured real-life aircraft a lot of times, such as obscure Russian planes in Agent Aika and the Comanche helicopters (which didn't went in real-life service) in Najica Blitz Tactics.

A couple of aviation fans from Britian that I know like the series for showcasing the BAC TSR-2 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAC_TSR-2), a British supersonic strike fighter that never went into service despite its advanced capabilities.

Aside from the subplot that later becomes the focal point in the series, the anime studio went into great lengths in accuracy. Hiring an aviation expert was one of the extras in the DVDs (he later makes a guest appearace as a character in Stratos 4 Advance) and a travelogue that shows the locations in Shimoji Island, hosted by the cast and production team.

Is it recommended? Yes and no. Unless you like airplanes, the only thing there is a quartet of average rookie pilots who want to want to be astronauts.

Stratos 4 is akin to an earlier anime from Studio Fantasia, 801 TTS Airbats, which involves a rookie airshow squadron.

[macross011a]

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XenoCrisis0153 said:
for $29.99, I would get it. I only saw the first 3 volumes and lost interest in the main storyline toward the end, but for that price, having the complete collection is worth it. Make sure it has the voice-actors' trip to Shimoji Island (the location they used as scenery reference). IMO, those are possibly the best extra features in the market, you don't wanna miss out.

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One thing I that I liked in the travelogue was the actresses who went to the beach ended up as a drawing in anime style in the artbox. One great example is that Fumiko Orikasa (the voice of Karin) wears the same shirt as Karin in the drawing. /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[macross011a]

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Captain Impulse said:
That would certainly make my day as well. It had to do well enough for them to at least consider it, since they brought over the OAV's as well. &lt;pleades with Bandai&gt;.

And while they're at it...announce "Galaxy Angel AA", pronto!

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Ditto. I would like to see that OAV here in R1 too. And I would like to see more extras.

And yes to more Galaxy Angel!!! I want more of Forte!!!

[CuriouslySane]

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ADC said:
(I got a wicked urge to watch Vandread when I saw Stratos 4 because they share so many voice actors in the Japanese.)

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Ah, that explains it. I was wondering why they had a couple of the Vandread girls walk by in the festival episode.

Hearing that the same studio that did Aika is involved also explains a lot.

It's probably a bit late to help the OP, but I absolutely don't recommend Stratos 4.

The plot is ridiculous, sloppy, and unoriginal (in the inane and cliched sense, not that of parody or homage). The characters are so stereotyped that even what passes for their "development" is completely predictable. Everything about Stratos 4 screams "marketing". It's simply not worth the time; you've seen it all before elsewhere, and better.

[notanumber]

So is the OAV required viewing? I seem to be having a hard time finding it around here, but can order it online if it is recommended.

[chloes_fork]

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notanumber said:
So is the OAV required viewing? I seem to be having a hard time finding it around here, but can order it online if it is recommended.

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I didn't love it. It didn't suck, it just seemed somewhat unnecessary and tacked-on. Doesn't really add much to the series, IMLTHO.

[ADC]

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chloes_fork said:
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notanumber said:
So is the OAV required viewing?

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… it just seemed somewhat unnecessary and tacked-on. Doesn't really add much to the series, IMLTHO.

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Well, it is a side story. It doesn't bring anything new to the main story and is, therefore, unnecessary on that count, but it is also a kind of neat diversion, with a little extra of the fanservice if that's a factor. (And really, when is fanservice not important?)

[notanumber]

Well, I'm not against fan service by any means /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif, but if it's a side story, I'll pick it up sometime and not make it a priority.

Thanks.