Nobody talks about this one. It's a 1994 OVA that treats its aerial acrobatic team like real people instead of character designs: Miyuki and Arisa's rivalry actually breathes because the show gives them space to exist outside their conflict. The mechanical animation is sharp enough to make you believe these pilots know what they're doing, and the relaxed slice-of-life rhythm lets each of the five Airbats become someone you'd want to hang around with, Sakura gambling away her paycheck, Yoko stress-eating between flights, Konishi trying to keep it all from falling apart. It never needed a grand story to justify itself. Seven episodes of competent people being competent at something they love, with enough personality in every frame that you genuinely wish there were more.

Aviation mechanic and anime fan Takuya Isurugi is transferred to the 801st Tactical Training Squadron and finds far more than he expected. The Airbats are an all-female aerial acrobatics team overseen by stubborn veteran ace Mitsuru Konishi. The unit includes the unpredictable Miyuki Haneda and Arisa Mitaka, karaoke-loving gambling whiz Sakura Saginomiya, and junk food fan Yoko Shimorenjaku. Miyuki and Arisa already clash, and their rivalry sharpens when both fall for Takuya. Meanwhile the whole Japan Air Self-Defense Force doubts the team, so the Airbats must learn to work together or be disbanded. The seven-episode OVA mixes adventure, comedy and romance.