Remaking a 1980s anime of the same name, the action-packed television series AREA 88 offers a mournful indictment of the soul-killing nature of war. Based on a classic manga by Kaoru Shintani, the story takes place in the Middle Eastern country of Asran, whose leaders hire international fighter pilots to serve as aerial mercenaries in the desert kingdom's ongoing civil war. The terms of the pilots' employment are harsh: either serve out the full three-year contract, pay $1.5 million to break the deal, or desert and be executed for treason. Japanese pilot Shin Kazama is one such mercenary recruit, having been tricked into service by his former best friend Satoru, who wished to steal away Shin's girlfriend Ryoko. But as time wears on, Shin finds himself becoming inured to the violence and bloodshed he witnesses (and, indeed, wreaks) on a daily basis, irrevocably damaging his psyche and any possibility of returning to a normal life. Realistically depicting the sights and sounds of combat in high-octane acti...