Line #7 Headscratchers/Area88


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3	[[folder:The Problem with Gold]]
4	* From the AllThatGlitters episode: Exactly how were the pilots searching for the gold expecting to bring it all back to the base? Or, for that matter, land safely without a runway?
5	** They probably expected a sizable 'finders fee' of sorts for simply locating it, a dedicated transport would have been sent later if true.
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8	[[folder:Why Didn't Shin Contact Ryoko?]]
9	* A far more glaring one springs to mind: Why didn't Shin ever pick up a phone and call Ryoko? It's never explained in the 2004 series at least.
10	** Probably 'cause the Asranian military may monitor all calls out of Area 88. Since he can't leave 'til he pays $1 million bucks...
11	*** Even if they're monitoring it, at the very least he can tell her "Hey I'm alive, don't marry that ass!" And if it's $1 mil they want, Ryouko can help him work it out.
12	** Also, Shin knew that Kanzaki was dangerous because it was Kanzaki who tricked him into signing a mercenary contract. Why didn't he warn Ryoko about Kanzaki?
13	*** Probably to avoid putting her in danger.
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16	[[folder:Why Didn't Ryoko Stop to Wonder?]]
17	* In the manga and OVA, Ryoko is determined to free Shin from servitude at Area 88. Why didn't she ever stops to wonder why he was there in the first place?
18	** Until Kanzaki started really moving in on her, Ryouko had no reason to believe that he was up to no good or that he sold Shin off to the Asran military. After all, Shin and Kanzaki were incredibly close childhood friends. Not even Shin knew the kind of person Kanzaki was until he woke up with a mercenary contract.
19	*** She didn't necessarily need to suspect Kanzaki. It was just strange that, upon learning that Shin was at Area 88, she found nothing odd about a man with a promising future vanishing and resurfacing as a mercenary in the north Africa.
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22	[[folder:Why Did the Asranian Air Force Accept Shin?]]
23	* Why would the Asran air force take Shin, even if his signature was on a mercenary contract? He had no military experience and was fresh out of flight school, so in theory he wouldn't have made a good mercenary.
24	** Simple. They hired foreign mercenaries to do all the dirty work they didn't want their own army doing. As both the manga and anime illustrates a LOT of guys die on every mission. But the contracts always promise a crapton of money, so there's no shortage of people signing up. Not to mention a great deal of the pilots are either criminals on the run or veterans who can't fit into civilian life. In short, Asran has no problem sacrificing foreign pilots so long as it keeps their own soldiers off the battlefield.
25	** Despite the many references to the Foreign Legion and the fact that the contracts are handled in France, the Asran mercenary air force seems to have no plausible connection to the Legion Etrangere. In the French Foreign Legion, one must go through a battery of tests and qualifications to even be considered for training. And then there is the four months of hard training (that one may still fail) for you to actually be officially accepted and get your white Kepi. Also, no contracts or paperwork would ever leave the Legionnaire office. An important document like that would have to be signed in triplicate in their office with official witnesses who can attest to the fact. So Asran is definitely a "mercenary" unit in the truest sense that even the Legion is not.
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28	[[folder:Farina Breaks His Agreement with Kanzaki]]
29	* In the manga, Kanzaki meets with Farina to put a hit out on Shin. Charlie is dispatched to Area 88 to kill Shin, but crashes his jet and dies. A few issues later, Shin crashes in the desert and is taken captive on board Farina's land carrier. Farina knows who Shin is, but does not kill Shin, ''and even gives him medical treatment for his injuries.'' Why didn't Farina kill Shin, under the terms of his agreement with Kanzaki?
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32	[[folder:When Did Greg Learn Arabic?]]
33	* In the manga, Greg finds anti-government documents near the crash site of Gold's aircraft, but he cannot read them because they're in Arabic. Toward the end of the manga, however, he communicates with a frightened Asranian child. [[{{SuddenlyBilingual}} When did he learn Arabic?]]
34	** Having worked for Asran for so long, all of the mercenaries are bound to pick up on the Arabic dialect. As for why Greg can't read Arabic, knowing a language doesn't guarantee literacy. Many people in the world are fluent in one or more language but can't read said language.
35	** How do any of these people communicate with each other? We have a mercenary base in a North African country filled with soldiers from Japan, Germany, Denmark, the United States, Vietnam etc, etc, and all of them can understand each other without any problem whatsoever. Japanese man Rocky meets a Bedouin Chieftan in the middle of the desert and they understand each other perfectly. The most logical answer is that they all know at least some English, but most likely it's just TranslationConvention.
36	** In the 2004 Anime, the documents are in an alphanumeric code that Greg can't decipher, not Arabic.
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39	[[folder:Farina's Land Carrier]]
40	* In the manga, Farina commissions the construction of a massive land carrier. Once the carrier is in Asran, Farina oversees its attacks on pro-government forces. How on earth did his company transport such a huge monstrosity across the Mediterranean Sea and foreign borders without drawing any attention? For that matter, how did he transport a nuclear weapon for the land carrier without drawing attention?
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43	[[folder:Who's Paying for Asran's Civil War?]]
44	* Exactly where are the two sides of Asran's civil war getting the money to continue the armed conflict? Mercenaries, equipment, and arms are expensive, and Asran does not export its oil, as Saki states in the manga. If Asran can't afford to provide more than a third-world existence to its citizens, how can it afford materials and men for a civil war?
45	** Since the motivation for the civil war ''appears'' to be whether or not they should allow foreign investors to come in and drill for oil, the rebels are probably getting secret funding from countries who want to drill. With the imperial side, it's not really surprising to see their army fully equipped. Even in real life a lot of third-world countries have a fully stocked military because they tend to funnel most of their money and resources into the military. That's probably what the Asran government has been doing to fight the rebels.
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48	[[folder: Area 88's Poor Communication]]
49	* Why does Area 88 seem to have such poor communication with Asranian military headquarters in the manga? When Mario Bandini and the Enforcers/Escape Killers land at Area 88, Saki is unaware of who they are and was not expecting their arrival. How can Area 88 maintain its security if military headquarters doesn't alert them to visitors, and outsiders can breach the base with impunity?
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52	[[folder:Saki's Poor Leadership]]
53	* In the manga, Saki doesn't run a very tight ship at Area 88. During the Wolf Pack crisis, he allows his elite team of mercenaries to manipulate him into giving them free jets and equipment in exchange for obeying orders implicitly, ''which is supposed to be their job''. When Shin menaces a civilian plane and attacks him during a psychotic episode, Saki's only response is to keep Shin in a holding cell for a few days and release him without incident. He can't or won't maintain good communication with Asranian military headquarters, as evidenced by his surprise at the arrival of Mario and the Enforcers/Escape Killers. Saki demonstrates a lack of professionalism in his management of Area 88, so why is he allowed to keep his job? Is the Asranian military willing to turn a blind eye to all this because Area 88 is doing so much damage to the anti-government forces? Is he untouchable because he's an Asranian prince and [[{{Nepotism}} the nephew of King Zak]]? Or is the Asranian military just ''that'' unprofessional?
54	** The fact that Saki is only a Lieutenant Colonel (not even a full bird Colonel) in the Asran miliary may be an indication of how low on the ladder Saki is. He is not a crown prince (being a nephew of the King) so he is for the most part expendable to do such low-echelon work like manage a mercenary base. Also, according to a story that Charlie told Shin, Saki has a history of being a screwup. His scar was due to an error in judgement that resulted in a suprise attack that got his unit killed. He scarred his own forehead in penance.
55	** It is worth noting that Saki, being royalty, still flies commercial airlines, as seen in the manga. Not being a crown prince, he doesn't get the luxury of a private jet.
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58	[[folder:How Did Ryoko Spin This?]]
59	* At the end of the manga, Shin [[spoiler:has amnesia and doesn't remember Kanzaki's betrayal or his time at Area 88. As revealed in his conversation with Ryoko, he thinks he's still a student pilot, and that his combat injuries were caused by an accidental crash. Doesn't Shin find it odd that he's in North Africa instead of France, that he and Ryoko have aged several years, and that he likely has scars from prior combat injuries that he can't explain? Since it's heavily implied that Ryoko never told him the truth, how on earth did she spin this?]]
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62	[[folder:F-18s on the Land Carrier]]
63	* The robot F-18s aboard Farina's land carrier were meant to be a cost effective way to deploy a large and expendable air force. The fact that living pilots are expensive to train has been brought up so there is a savings there. But the cost of the cutting edge F-18 (for its time) offsets that savings. Even if you strip the airframe of all but the basic neccesities, it seems to make the idea still more expensive than it's worth. Why not go with older model fighters or more importantly, smaller, more compact airframes from much less expensive fighters such as the reliable Mig-21s? It should be noted that the advances made in more recent fighters are for the purpose of more efficient pilot function as related to performance. However, an AI (Artificial Intelligence) will greatly compensate for the lacking performance in older jets. Since all this was with the purpose of selling to a customer, this would have made for a more attractive package. The fact that Shin and Mick were able to steal two of these F-18s and escape from Farina's carrier also indicates that they were not as stripped down as they ought to have been. To be economical, they should have been unusable by human pilots due to the absence of avionics, instrumentation, controls, seating, and other elements neccesary for a human pilot. The robot (or more properly A.I unit) would replace all of this. Also, at that time, the militaries of the world had already been experimenting with scaled down drone aircraft. The units used in Vietnam were about 33% smaller than an F-18.
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66	[[folder:Kanzaki's Deal with Maxwell]]
67	* The deal that the Maxwell company made with Kanzaki to land him 25% of Yamato Airlines stock would not stand up to close scrutiny. A young and fairly new pilot getting this much power early on and rising to the presidency all within about two to three years after his joining the company. Everybody should have suspected something much earlier than they did.
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70	[[folder:The Escape Killers]]
71	* Mick recalled that he heard stories about three Black pilots who kill deserters, the Escape Killers. If these guys had such a reputation, then why weren't they recognized much sooner? Although Area 88 is a racially diverse base (other Black pilots such as Kim serve there), shouldn't the sight of a trio of Black pilots flying identical aircraft (in this case, the English Electric Lightning) jar a few more memories? One red flag is the possible observation that these guys may not be going on regular missions like everyone else, since it's not what they are there to do.
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74	[[folder:Desertion]]
75	* Deserting by stealing a fighter plane (or even using your own) is just about the worst way to desert. You would have to find a place that will clear you for landing, no questions asked; something that doesn't happen anywhere. You will surely be detained for serious questioning, especially since you are a "under the table deal" mercenary and not on any official business with any country. Chances are high that you will eventually be positively identified. The time it takes to do this will be time enough for Asran's military (or the Escape Killers) to locate their escapee.
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78	[[folder:Charlie's Reasoning]]
79	* Charlie is one of the few pilots at Area 88 to survive a three year contract. Yet he is coming back. As part of a contract to [[spoiler: assassinate Shin]]. In Charlie's first appearance, he is unnamed but talking to someone on the phone (presumably Farina) explaining that after he does the job, he will be incommunicado for a while. Presumably because even if he fulfills the "hit" early on, he is still contracted to the usual Asran Air Force three year contract. He's risking a lot just to carry out a hit. He must be confident that either he will survive another three years, or that the war will be over long before that.
80	** You're forgetting the escape clause in the contract. I'm assuming Farina (or less likely but still semi-plausible, Kanzaki) would be ponying up the $1.5 million to help him buy out his contract. It's quite a lot of money for a hit, especially in the 70s, but money in this series never made any sense.
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83	[[folder:What If the War Ended?]]
84	* Kanzaki tricked Shin into signing three years of his life away at a mercenary base on the expectation that he is likely to be killed. What if the war in Aslan were to unexpectedly end prematurely? A ceasefire or surrender could be called on a moment's notice. Shin would naturally be released from his contract and definitely Kanzaki would be up the creek without a paddle.
85	** Speculation, but I'd imagine that the situation on the ground in Aslan at the time lead Kanzaki to believe that if the war did in fact end prematurely, the rebel forces would win, and they would not allow one of the foreign soldiers who gave them so much trouble escape with his life. Considering in most continuities we see Area 88 on the back foot, it's not hard to see his reasoning.
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88	[[folder:Why Is Tracy in a War Zone?]]
89	* During Act III, in a very awkward moment, Mick and Shin very briefly meet Tracy, Mick's former fiancee whom he left in order to become a mercenary. She is with her new husband and the man innocently walks up to them and asks Mick to take their picture. He probably wouldn't have known who Mick was and although speechless, neither Mick, nor Tracy reveal that they knew each other. In fact, they don't even directly exchange words during the encounter. After taking the photo, Mick openly wishes the two happiness. Why was a vacationing couple in a warzone like Aslan? And did Tracy later explain who that nice guy was?
90	** The city/coastline area Tracy and her husband were in was considered off-limits for either side to attack; that's why the later rebel attack on the city is such a huge shock.
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93	[[folder:Open Radio Channels]]
94	* Right before making his move, Charlie revealed to Shin [[spoiler:" I've been hired to kill you. Can't say by whom. It's just business."]]. The problem is, he did this over the radio while they were in combat. Isn't it a possibility that this might have been overheard by other pilots. Channels are generally open to all squadron members during combat.
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97	[[folder:Mario's Lack of Professionalism]]
98	* In the manga, Mario Bandini was a former member of the Frecce Tricolori, the Italian Air Force's aerobatic team. Mario repeatedly demonstrates unprofessional behavior such as grandstanding, endangering other pilots, and disobeying orders. How did Mario last five minutes in the Italian military, much less long enough to earn a place on the Frecce Tricolori team? Any air force worthy of the name would have kicked out a soldier who demonstrated so little discipline and professionalism.
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101	[[folder:What if a Mercenary Goes Broke?]]
102	* A pilot must pay for all of his expenses. So what happens if he goes broke and can't afford to fly? Especially if it happens long before the end of his three year contract? Obviously this wasn't an option for getting out of your contract as Shin probbly would have easily chosen to do this. But what if they survive a crash and can't afford another plane? Are they demoted and carted off to one of the regular low budget infantry (assuming the strong likelihood that they also have merc ground troops), where they can expect a much lower pay rate as a ground troop? There's no indication that [=McCoy=] offers loans or payment plans for broke pilots. It wouldn't be good business anyway since if they get killed, they can't repay him.
103	** Most likely they just get their fuel, ammo, parts, and the like on credit from the Aslan military like normal, and what they owe gets added on up. So they keep flying and doing missions for reward money as usual, but instead of it being put in an account for them specifically, it gets applied to their debt first, until that debt is paid. in fact the pilots begin in debt, since they have to 'buy' their aircraft when they join as well. these sorts of financial tactics are a fairly straightforward "company store" system, similar to how the company run stores in many mining towns used to operate. since they were so isolated, the mining company owned the housing and stores, and prices were usually inflated so that the workers spent as much or more on the day to day expenses than they earned in the same period (and credit was always available.. from the company.) as a result, many workers ended up in virtual slavery, because until they paid off the debt they couldn't quit, and the longer they worked, the deeper into debt they usually got.
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106	[[folder:Kanzaki and the Italian Mafia]]
107	* Kanzaki, a full blooded Japanese man, poses as an illegitimate son of Farina [[spoiler: after assassinating Farina]]. The real Mafia is quite racialist and takes lineage very seriously (hence the rule that only men of Italian descent may join). They would require him to prove his claim and even then, the very conservative, traditional Mafia, takes a very dim view on illegitimate sons (bi-racial or otherwise), even those of important men like Farina. Likely, for Kanzaki to get anywhere in the Mafia, he would have been required to start at the bottom.[[/folder]]
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109	[[folder:No other Asranian officers on the base]]
110	* Area 88 seems to have no other Asranian officers except for Saki himself. Even Major Roundell appears to be foreign. This hammers in the relative low status that Saki appears to have. Even the French Foreign Legion officers are mostly French nationals. A mercenary base should probably have more officers (lieutenants and captains) to keep these mercenaries in line and then they wouldn't have so many BunnyEarsLawyer types for pilots. Although it would be understood that the officers were not there to pilot missions, they were there to maintain some discipline. Even Non-Commissioned Officers such as Sergeants would have been sufficient in that capacity since the pilots themselves, being foreign mercenaries, would technically rank below even the lowest ranking national soldier.
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113	[[folder:Foreign Legions and privacy/confidentiality]]
114	* During the incident where Saki is aboard a commercial airliner where bombs were placed under the wings (an attempt by the other side to assassinate him), he calls Shin and Mick to shoot the bombs off of the wings, saving them all. A relieved Kanzaki, who just happened to be the pilot of the plane, inquires as to who those pilots were. Saki casually gives him both of their full names. Never mind the fact that this is what tips Kanzaki off to the fact that Shin was still alive, causing him to seek out a hitman. But in the real foreign legion, this is serious violation of both Shin and Mick's privacy, especially as many men join the Legion to vanish.
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117	[[folder: The problem with legal documents]]
118	* Ryoko and Taeko visit one of their friends, Suzuki, who happens to be an historian and expert on Military affairs in the Middle East. In the OVA, he recalls a rumor or report that he heard about a Japanese airline student being tricked into joining a foreign legion. Where did these rumors start? And why hasn't anything been investigated concerning this report? He mentions that the signature is like the personal seal in Japan, infallible, thus the lack of any serious scrutiny into the rumors. Never mind the fact that signatures or seals can be forged or obtained from someone under duress (or intoxicated as Shin was). There is also the fact that those official documents were not signed in any official location with any official witnesses.

Context Headscratchers / Area88