Sky Girls
Encyclopedia
began as a single episode OVA
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...

 anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...

, directed by Yoshiaki Iwasaki and animated by J.C.Staff
J.C.STAFF
, is a Japanese animation studio founded in January 1986. Their first release was the three episode OVA Sengoku Kidan Yōtōden, in 1987. They have produced several well-known anime series, such as Revolutionary Girl Utena, Excel Saga, Shingetsutan Tsukihime, Shakugan no Shana, Toaru Majutsu no...

. The 30 minute episode was released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 on August 25, 2006. A television adaptation of Sky Girls started on July 5, 2007, and ended on January 11, 2008.

Story

The Weapon Of Raid Machines (WORMs), which devastated the Earth have been sighted once again. Three young girls are gathered at the Oppama base, and trained to pilot Sonic Divers. They learn they have been chosen to save the Earth from destruction. Aboard the secret vessel number 113, the Koryu, Sonic Diver Unit team members Eika, Otoha, and Karen help protect Earth against the WORM threat with their flying exoskeletons
Powered exoskeleton
A powered exoskeleton, also known as powered armor, or exoframe, is a powered mobile machine consisting primarily of an exoskeleton-like framework worn by a person and a power supply that supplies at least part of the activation-energy for limb movement.Powered exoskeletons are designed to assist...

 (in the TV series, a fourth then fifth girl is later added).

Timeline

  • 2071 CE Since their sudden appearance, the mechanical cell clusters, known as the WORMs, begin sweeping away the human race on a massive scale.
  • 2073 CE After losing one-third of the population in the war with the WORMs, humanity overcame their national differences and united behind a single force.
  • 2074 CE Not being able to turn the situation in their favour, humanity decided to permit the use of weapons of mass destruction. And they succeeded in the annihilation of the WORMs. However, the price they paid was enormous. All the major continents were broken apart. Antarctica disappeared, and half of the remaining land mass was submerged. The largest damage this war caused was the loss of 90% of all military-age personnel, namely men in their twenties and thirties.
  • 2086 CE The WORMs, once thought to have been eliminated, began their activities again.

Technology

These are fictional technologies unique to Sky Girls.

Weapon Of Raid Machines (WORMs)
Artificial life forms consisting entirely of thousands to millions of 'cells' approximately a foot in diameter, which are themselves created by nanotechnology. These come together to form large monsters that wreak havoc. WORMs are responsible for the destruction of one-third of human population.
WORMs mimic the appearance of the first life-form they see, which is why almost all of them have similarities with maritime life-forms.

Sonic Divers
Sonic Divers are a new technology where a pilot with sufficient innate ability and compatibility controls an exoskeleton that can fly and combat WORMs. The pilot sits are exposed to air inside the Sonic Divers.

Aside from the default "G" mode(glider mode), which is similar to a fighter plane, the Sonic Divers have a humanoid mode called "Mode A"(armor mode), in which the Sonic Diver mimics its pilot's movements.

Every Sonic Diver unit has different weapons:
  • Sonic Diver Raijin
    Raijin
    is a god of lightning, thunder and storms in the Shinto religion and in Japanese mythology.His name is derived from the Japanese words rai and shin . He is typically depicted as a demon beating drums to create thunder, usually with the symbol tomoe drawn on the drums...

     is armed with pairs of gatling guns, rocket launchers and energy cannons, giving it a great variety of ranged attacks.

  • Sonic Diver Reijin
    A6M Zero
    The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long-range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the , and also designated as the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen and Mitsubishi Navy 12-shi Carrier Fighter. The A6M was usually referred to by the...

     is armed with shoulder-mounted laser guns and a MV Sword, a katana with a vibrating blade.

  • Sonic Diver Fu-jin
    Fujin
    is the Japanese god of the wind and one of the eldest Shinto gods.He is portrayed as a terrifying dark demon, resembling a red headed black humanoid wearing a leopard skin, carrying a large bag of winds on his shoulders....

     is armed with a rocket launcher that fires missile clusters. It is also equipped with additional tactical sensors.

  • Sonic Diver Bachstelze
    White Wagtail
    "Pied Wagtail" redirects here. For the related African bird, see African Pied Wagtail.The White Wagtail is a small passerine bird in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. This species breeds in much of Europe and Asia and parts of north Africa...

     is armed with arm mounted laser guns and a one-handed polearm called "MV Lanze" ("Lanze" is a German term for "lance"). Guidance allows it to be thrown like a boomerang.

  • Sonic Diver Shunya is a customized Diver similar to Reijin. It has no fixed weapons, but can carry a rifle weapon in each hand.


Aside from these weapons, most of the Sonic Diver units seem to be equipped with either a machine gun or a pistol as a backup weapon.

In Episode 17, it is shown that the Sonic Divers are capable of independent movement. While they don't seem to be able to fight all by themselves, they can follow simple orders given to them by their pilot.

Pilot suit
A form-fitting flight suit that resembles a very thin one-piece swimsuit. When used in combination with a nanoskin, a data circuit is created between pilot and sonic diver. The pilot can then operate the Sonic Diver until the nanoskin degrades.

Nanoskin
To protect the pilot during operation of the Sonic Diver, a nanoskin gel is applied over the entire skin. This is made up of nanomachines. This coating lasts only for exactly 21 minutes and 32 seconds, but during that time the body is protected from the rigors of both flight and combat. Piloting it in the absence of a nanoskin gel is referred to as extremely dangerous and probably fatal.

Delta Lock and Quadra Formation
An aerial combat procedure where a weakened WORM is surrounded by three (Delta Lock) or four (Quadra Formation) Sonic Divers. The Sonic Divers attack the WORM and sync themselves to the nanomachines that comprise the WORM's body. The nanomachines become unstable and begin to disintegrate. The WORM can then be destroyed.

Main characters

Lieutenant Eika Ichijo
Eika is quick at making decisions, has fast reflexes, and high stamina. She has a good leadership and more mature than the other two pilots. She excels in overall ability, much more than the other two pilots. This makes her the perfect choice for leading the Sonic Diver Unit. She was skeptic of Otoha and Karen's abilities at first, but later learns to be more forgiving, and gives good constructive criticism. The other Sky Girls look up to her and follow her good examples. Overall, she has a serious personality and is a tsundere
Tsundere
is a Japanese character development process that describes a person who is initially cold and even hostile towards another person before gradually showing their warm side over time. The word is derived from the terms , meaning to turn away in disgust, and meaning to become 'lovey dovey'...

 character.
Master Sergeant Otoha Sakurano
Otoha is a master with the sword, but is otherwise an unknown in her abilities. She comes from an island where her family runs a dojo. She is naive and usually a cheerful girl, although she gets pretty violent with Ryohei Tachibana whenever he says something perverted. Even so, she appears to have feelings for him. Her Sonic Diver Unit is named Reijin, but she nicknames it "Zero".
Master Sergeant Karen Sonomiya
Karen is a genius with an IQ of 170 and is an authority on mechanics. She is a university graduated girl at the age of 16 yrs old. She has trouble talking to boys, as she can be quite shy around them. She has a mild crush on Takumi. Karen also enjoys writing letters to her older brother who works just outside the base and loves him very much.
Elise von Dietrich
Elise is the youngest pilot of the Sonic Diver Unit. She is the sole survivor after the WORMs destroyed the West Europe base. Traumatized by that disaster, she suffers initial problems integrating into the Sky Girls unit, especially with Eika (the squadron leader). Her "selfish brat" behavior was the source of her problems. When she join the team, her overall ability as Sonic Driver pilot is very good, although not as good as Eika. She flies the only mass-produced Sonic Diver unit built before WORMS destroyed the manufacturing facility. She did not appear in the original Sky Girls OAV. She was briefly seen in episode 6 of the television series, and is formally introduced in episode 11.

Secondary characters

Lieutenant Colonel (later Commander) Souya Togo
A former skilled combat pilot, he protected Zin Hizaki from a WORM's attack and injured his hands in the previous war against the WORMs and can no longer fly. Now he commands the 13th Aviation Corp (the Sonic Diver squadron). Eika is the squadron leader and his subordinate. His duties mostly revolve around training the pilots, relaying their orders from above and making sure the unit's needs are met. He is the only member aboard the Koryu that does not wear a traditional uniform. Instead he wears an old leather flight jacket with a winged skull on the back, a white shirt, and blue jeans. He also enjoys fishing (although he never catches anything). Although the three pilots see him as a non-sensitive man he actually really cares about them. The reason he is strict and stern to them is for their own good as pilots who drive unusual combat weapon.
Lieutenant Rei Hizuki
A quiet and secretive officer in charge of the Sonic Diver program at the Oppama Testing Facility. While Lt. Col. Togo outranks him, Lt. Hizuki's position in the program puts him above Togo. Unbeknown to the others, he is preparing the Sonic Divers to combat WORMs. He is an unsociable man who is not used to showing his true feelings giving him the appearance of a cold man.
Nanae Fujieda
Lieutenant Hizuki's assistant until she is transferred with the Sonic Diver unit to the naval destroyer, Koryu. She collects and monitors Sonic Diver data. She is a reliable girl who is quick at her work. She is also shy and mousy but is known for having the largest breasts in the show. She was born on an island and has a younger sister named Hakashi and a childhood friend named Kurosawa Hiroharu whom they seem to have a mutual crush. A picture of her is featured every episode when advertising the sponsors.
Takumi Hayami
A kind boy who always smiles and gentle. He is the communications officer monitoring the Sonic Divers and any potential enemies. He helps out in the ship's galley as Chef Gen-san's assistant and enjoys photography as a hobby. He has a crush on Karen.
Ryohei Tachibana
The Sonic Diver specialist who work on Otoha's Reijin. He is a rough man and has a tendency to be a bit of a pervert, which Otoha scolds him for. He and Otoha develop a close bond, even though neither will admit it and they fight frequently.
Ranko and Haruko Mikogami
The two twin sisters are Sonic Diver mechanics. Ranko has pink hair, and is very outgoing and friendly, and is charged with maintenance on Eika's Raijin. Haruko has blue hair, a calm stoic demeanor and is in charge of Karen's Fujin.

Voiced by: Kumiko Higa
Kumiko Higa
is a Japanese female seiyū. She is part of 81 Produce. Kumiko is famous for her role in the Megaman series as Lan Hikari.-Anime:Best Student Council as Sachiko Iijima Bokurano as Maki AnoD.Gray-man as Daisya Barry...

 (Ranko) and Momoko Ishikawa
Momoko Ishikawa
is a female Japanese seiyū from Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, and works for I'm Enterprise.-Notable voices:* Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu: Purezza—Sara Rokujō* Sky Girls—Haruko Mikogami* Toradora!—Nanako Kashii* Sonic: Night of the Werehog—Female ghost...

 (Haruko)

Captain Seibi Oto
Chief Mechanic and supervises the other mechanics. Later he personally handles the maintenance on Elise's Sonic Diver, Bachstelze V1.
Admiral Kadowaki
Commander of the special naval destroyer no. 113, the Koryu
Koryu
is a Japanese word that is used in association with the ancient Japanese martial arts. This word literally translates as "old school" or "traditional school"...

.
Rear Admiral Shima
Second in command aboard Koryu. After experiencing the destructive capabilities of WORMs in the first war, he has serious doubts about the Sky Girls and the Sonic Diver program.
Doctor Aki Yuko
Doctor aboard the Koryu. She is a widow and has a son.
Chef Gen-san
The Koryus Chef
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...

. He is a hard taskmaster, giving his assistant, Takumi Hayami, plenty of work to do. However, the Chef develops a fatherly relationship with Elise, often pampering her and preparing her favourite dishes. This is because Elise looks very like his granddaughter.
Zin Hizaki
Pilot of the Vic Viper and old acquaintance of Togo. At first he is quite arrogant to the Sonic Diver pilots and looks down on the Sonic Divers which pisses off Otoha and Ryohei.
Kiriko Suou
Ally of Rei Hizuki and guardian of Aisha. She supervises the WORM task force and the Sonic Diver program.
Aisha Krishnam
A mysterious, shy girl of Indian origin whose late father conducted scientific work on nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...

 connected to the origins of the WORMs. She has shown limited 'remote control' of the WORMs (episode 20). Near the end of the series she becomes the fifth Sky Girl, and pilots the Sonic Diver Shunya.
Admiral Ichijo
Eika's father. A high ranking naval commander with jurisdiction over the Sonic Diver and Vic Viper projects. He and his daughter Eika are very similar, but they don't get along. Because after Eika saw her father flying as a pilot, she herself wanted to be a pilot, but her father would not let her so she left the house. Because of that Eika always hates when other people mention about his father and family and always scold other people not to mention about them.

Yuuki Sakurano
Otoha's twin younger brother who disappeared many years prior to the time depicted in the anime. Otoha loves her twin brother and before his disappearance they got along well and had the same dream to fly in the sky. Later it is known that his disappearance was caused by WORMs.

Episodes

The English translations of each episode title are unofficial, and neither the OVA nor the TV series have been licensed for foreign release.
Episode Title Summary
00 Sky Girls OVA A direct to video animation story introducing the Sky Girls. This precedes the Sky Girls TV series and differs slightly from it. Eika, Otoha and Karen are stationed on a naval destroyer and are about to face their first WORM. There is no fourth Sky Girl.
01 Candidates Three young girls are recruited to become test pilots for the new Sonic Diver program.
02 Sonic Diver The girls travel to the military base and are introduced to each other and the other base personnel.
03 Flight Eika performs the team's first test flight of a Sonic Diver.
04 The Holiday's Corner Alley After all the girls have flown their Sonic Divers, it's their first pay day, and first day off. They meet a new friend, Takumi Hayami.
05 Look After Me, Zero! The girls learn to fly as a team. Otoha has trouble with the shooting practice.
06 Nanae's Secret Elise survives the destruction of the West Europe base. Back at Oppama base, Otoha finds a large bra and MUST find the owner. And the girls have a surprise in their combat simulators.
07 Naming The Sky Girls It's time for the girls to debut at the Oppama Air Festival, and they need a team name. The prototype fighter plane, the Vic Viper, debuts and its pilot causes the girls difficulties.
08 Let's Go To A Hot Spring Fun and trouble at the local hot spring
Onsen
An is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsen scattered along its length and breadth...

. The girls learn the truth about the Sonic Diver program.
09 Delta Lock The girls learn how to perform the "Delta Lock", a combat maneuver which traps the enemy WORM into a field where its cells collapse and can be destroyed. They also experience their first combat with a real WORM. Karen gets shot down and suffers a concussion and sprained arm.
10 Ghost Base The girls chase down rumors of a ghost on the base.
11 Fourth Sky Girl The girls meet Elise, a Sonic Diver pilot from the destroyed West Europe base.
12 Good-Bye, Oppama Karen schedules a meeting with her older brother, but must miss it when she's called on a rescue mission. The Sky Girls team is moved from the base to a special-purpose ship called the Koryu.
13 Koryu, Move Out! The Sky Girls team settles into its new home at sea. Ryohei becomes seasick, preventing him from working on Reijin. When a WORM approaches the ship, Otoha is unable to launch, until Ryohei overcomes his illness and repairs their Sonic Diver.
14 Quadra Lock The Sky Girls battle as a group of four for the first time but Elise, occupied by vengeance, has problems working together as part of a team. Vic Viper is involved in its first battle against a WORM, albeit briefly.
15 Father and Daughter The military's strategy against the WORMs and their plan for the Sky Girls is made clearer. The Koryu is ordered towards a supposed location of a nest of WORMs. Eika's Father faints from over working. Eika's past is somewhat revealed as well.
16 Stopping at a Port The Koryu docks at a small island, which happens to be Nanae's home. Nanae is reunited with her childhood friend, Kurosawa Hiroharu, but lies about her job when he displays hostilities toward her ship. He finds out when a WORM attacks, he's saved by the Sky Girls.
17 The South Island of the Sky Girls The Girls become stranded on an island in the south Pacific and have to battle internal fissures that have not fully healed until they are rescued.
18 Intruder A new smaller WORM invades the Koryu.
19 Aisha Chronicle Elise is suspicious of Aisha. The Sky Girls learn the origins of the WORMs.
20 First Impression of that Find Takumi finds some camera film. Otoha and the crew get to know Aisha. A new faster WORM attacks.
21 United Front A Vic Viper squadron attacks a WORM with a self-recovery ability
Autotomy
Autotomy or self amputation is the act whereby an animal severs one or more of its own appendages, usually as a self-defense mechanism designed to elude a predator's grasp...

. Togo's backstory is also further explained.
22 Southern Cross - Holy Night Koryu holds a Christmas party celebration. A portion of Otoha's first encounter with WORMs is further revealed. A WORM in the shape of Otoha's long-lost brother makes a dramatic appearance.
23 Lost Wing Otoha deals with the ramifications of her brother having been resurrected by the WORMs.
24 Fight The crew of the Koryu prepare themselves for their last battle with the WORMs.
25 Otoha, once again. All five Sky Girls and the Vic Viper squadrons engage in the final battle against the WORMs' nest.
26 The Next Time The story catches up on the Sky Girls' lives six months after the WORMs were defeated and Aisha wake's up.

TV DVD Specials

Episode Title
01 Fierce Battle! Trout Fishing Contest.
02 Big Catch! Mudskipper Fishing!
03 Seashore Battle! Blackfish Fishing!
04 Astonishing! Piranha Fishing!
05 Protect the indigenous species! Bass Fishing Contest! Please finish eating the fish that you've caught!
06 Fish the porgy with prawns, Black Porgy Fishing!
07 The porgy's really tough! Getting poorer by the day! Red tai fishing!
08 Tempura, deep-fried food, and sometimes, skates! Pond smelt fishing on top of ice!
09 There's no part that should be thrown away! Great battle with the whale of the great deep!

Theme songs and soundtrack albums

Opening Song (OP):
  • "Baby's Tears" by Riyu Kosaka
    Riyu Kosaka
    is a J-pop singer, as well as a member of the Konami-produced J-Pop group BeForU. Kosaka was born in the Kanagawa Prefecture on January 17, 1985.- Discovery by Konami :...

     (OVA) (This song also appears in the Japanese music video game Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova
    Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA
    Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova is an arcade game in the Dance Dance Revolution series of music video games. It was produced by Konami and released through Betson Enterprises. The game was released in Europe on April 28, 2006, followed shortly by the North American release on May 15...

    , SuperNova 2
    Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova 2
    Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA 2 is an arcade game in the Dance Dance Revolution series of music video games. It was produced by Konami and released through Betson Enterprises. The game was released in Japan in August, 2007, while the North American version was released several months later. The...

     in North America.)
  • "Virgin's High!" by Mell
    Mell
    Mell is a female Japanese singer from Sapporo, Japan. She is a senior vocalist of I've Sound, and one of the main vocalists. She has released six singles and one solo album...

     (TV anime)


Ending Song (ED): by Saori Gotō
Saori Goto
is a Japanese voice actress.-Anime:*Anpanman *[C]: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control *Di Gi Charat Nyo! *Fairy Tail *Galaxy Angel X...

 (OVA)
  • "True Blue" by Saori Gotō
    Saori Goto
    is a Japanese voice actress.-Anime:*Anpanman *[C]: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control *Di Gi Charat Nyo! *Fairy Tail *Galaxy Angel X...

     (TV anime, episodes 1–13)
  • "Diamond Sparkle" by Azusa Kataoka
    Azusa Kataoka
    is a female Japanese seiyū and singer. She was born in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.-Notable voice roles:2004*Aishiteruze Baby 2005*Onegai My Melody 2006*Artificial insect KABUTO BORG Victory by Victory...

    (TV anime, episodes 14–26 )

External links

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