The story is about a young pilot named Shin Kazama and his experiences at Area 88, a mercenary air force base secluded in the desert in the fictional nation of Aslan.

Shin goes from head of his class at a world-renowned aviation school, dating the beautiful daughter of an airline president, to a mercenary fighter pilot bound to Area 88 by a three-year contract that he was duped into signing by a jealous and competitive childhood friend.

He is determined to earn $1.5 million to buy his way out of the obligation and return home, and killing becomes second nature to him as he quickly rises to the top rank at Area 88.

Overwrought with shame and self-loathing for what he has become, Shin begins to question whether he is still fighting for survival, or, like his fellow mercenaries, for the sheer excitement and camaraderie of battle.

While it appeals to aviation fans for its realistic depictions of aircraft and aerial combat, it has also been critically acclaimed for its strong character development and Shintani's poignant storytelling, combining action, tragedy, romance, and comedy.

[6] The government uses mercenary fighter pilots, stationed at the desert airbase Area 88, to fight its war and pays them for each enemy aircraft shot down.

In this version, Makoto, the photojournalist, was originally sent to Area 88 by Satoru to capture a photo of Shin dying to prove his death to Ryoko.

Area 88, along with Mai, the Psychic Girl and The Legend of Kamui, was one of the first three manga to be translated to English and published in North America by Eclipse Comics and VIZ Media in May 1987.

With issue #37 in December 1988, VIZ Media took over the series, and in addition to featuring photographs of actual fighter jets on the cover, the publication went from bi-weekly to monthly and the price from $1.50 to $1.75.

In 1992, Central Park Media's U.S. Manga Corps released the OVA series, subtitled in English, in North America for VHS and laserdisc, and re-released the first volume for DVD on 14 July 2000.

An updated 12-episode anime television series with CG graphics, produced by TV Asahi, Animax, Group TAC and Media Factory, began production in 2003 and premiered across Japan on TV Asahi and the anime satellite television network, Animax from 8 January 2004 to 5 March 2004, which later aired the series across its other respective networks worldwide, including Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, South Asia, South Korea, Taiwan, and other regions.

[13] The DVD release notably removed the licensed trance music, replacing it with a handful of original compositions by Miyake Kazunori reused across the series.

[citation needed] For the release of the English dub to English-speaking countries, the ADR team at ADV Films sought the assistance of Capt.

Each pilot also had special abilities; Shin mastered normal weaponry at the highest speed, Mickey inflicted extra damage with his armaments, and Greg recovered from attacks almost before they occurred.

An October 2014 crossover event took place in Ace Combat Infinity where aircraft and emblems used by the main characters of Area 88 were added to the game.

With mechanics based on the GDW board game Imperium, the Area 88 in Desert War and Peace in the Aslan Kingdom have the game counters, instructions and battle map (a fictional representation of the Sinai Peninsula) printed in standard bond paper, with players left to cut up the counters and attach them and the map in cardstock.

Kits included Shin's Crusader, F-5G Tiger II and F-20 Tigershark, Mickey's F-100 and F-14, Saki's Kfir, Greg's A-10, and two planes from the Counter-Governmental Air Force—a Yak-36 Forger and a MiG-27 Flogger-D.

"[19] Anime News Network praised Area 88's English dub released by ADV, especially with most of it done with the assistance of a consultant from the US Air Force.