History Anime / SkyGirls

For a show with a similar concept that began with an OVA and was later turned into an anime, see ''Anime/StrikeWitches''. Both shows share the same character designer, Humikane Shimada, which may further explain their similarities. For another show and toyline that inherited Shimada's design style, there is [[Toys/BusouShinki Busou]] [[Anime/BusouShinki Shinki]] - and yes, there were Sky Girls action figures made with the Busou Shinki [=MMS2=] body-type.

* TenMinuteRetirement: [[spoiler:Otoha]], although it takes much more than just 10 minutes for her to completely recover. To be fair, TheReveal was [[BreakTheCutie a little cruel]].

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: It's kind of easy to understand after such a war.

** For Eika, who is introducted being defeated by a surprise move from another test pilot in a vastly superior machine. In episode 26, she puts that same move in an ''inferior'' plane against ''two'' other ''superior'' planes and teaches their pilots not to bdepend too much of the machine's performance.

* BookEnds: For the Sonic Divers team, whose first mission was meant to be an airshow which a natural disaster turns into a rescue operation, and whose very last sortie is to put a ''kickass'' airshow for [[PassingTheTorch their replacements]], a dedicated ''rescue unit'' of brand new Sonic Divers. Slightly PlayedWith, as the first book end happens several episodes into the series.

For a show with a similar concept that began with an OVA and was later turned into an anime, see ''Anime/StrikeWitches''. Both shows share the same character designer, Humikane Shimada, which may further explain their similarities.

** The last episode, showing how every character seems to have achieved in the end what they wanted, ''[[spoiler:averts]]'' this trope particularly hard, after 25 episodes of using it more or less straight.

** The last episode, showing how every character seems to have achieved in the end what they wanted, ''[[spoiler averts]]'' this trope particularly hard, after 25 episodes of using it more or less straight.

* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Karen. In and out of combat; her cockpit display is set to provide her a wealth of information so huge that a normal person would only perceive "noise", and she's able to both memorize the enemy's weapons firing patterns so accurately that can intercept them firing over the shoulder ''without looking'', and [[spoiler: calculate Nanae's [[FunnyMoments breast size]] (that she' hidding behind documents)]] just upon visible measuraments, human averages, angles and proportions.

* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Karen. In and out of combat; her cockpit display is set to provide her a wealth of information so huge that a normal person would only perceive "noise", and she's able to [[spoiler: calculate Nanae's [[FunnyMoments breast size]] (that she' hidding behind documents)]] just upon visible measuraments, human averages, angles and proportions.

* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Karen. In and out of combat; her cockpit display is set to provide her a wealth of information so huge that a normal person would only perceive "noise", and she's able to [[spoiler: calculate Nanae's [[FunnyMoments breast size]] (that she' hiddingn behind documents)]] just upon visible measuraments, human averages, angles and proportions.

* AcePilot: Eika. She soundly defeated TWO [[CoolPlane Vic Vipers]] using an old model aircraft. The reason? "You two relied on it too much and let your skills down." Keep in mind that the people she fought weren't random strangers, but members of a friendly rival squad. ''Elite'' rival squad.

For a show with a similar concept that began with an OVA and was later turned into an anime, see ''Anime/StrikeWitches''. Both shows share the same character designer, Humikane Shimada, which may further explain their similarities. See the entry below on CharacterDevelopment.

* CharacterDevelopment: Which arguably sets it apart from similar shows like ''Anime/StrikeWitches''.

* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: [[spoiler:If the military forces listened to what the creator of the [=WORMs =]had to warn about his achievements, the Earth wouldn't be what it is now.]]

* CharacterDevelopment: Which arguably sets it apart from similar shows like ''StrikeWitches''.

* PettingZooPeople: Strangely enough, the Motion Slits include hair decorations that vaguely resemble animal ears and has a cable extension connecting their spine to the Sonic Divers resembling tails. This become even more pronounced at the second generation Rescue Sky Girls, whose hair decs are even more varying. Seems Fumikane decided to cut the middleman and made everyone in StrikeWitches magically sprout animal ears and tails without any other explanation other than [[AWizardDidIt their magic powers did it...]]

* XMeetsY: Sky Girls is a future version of ''StrikeWitches'' meets ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' meets [[Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross Variable Fighters]] (minus the GERWALK Mode).

* CouldHaveAvoidedThePlot: [[spoiler:If the military forces listened to what the creator of the [=WORMs =]had to warn about his achievements, the Earth wouldn't be what it is now.]]

In the latter half of the 21st century earth is threatened by creatures called WORMS, which are huge artificial life forms resembling the first thing they see--usually sea organisms. After a devastating war they seem to have been defeated, only to suddenly appear again.

* AIIsACrapshoot: [[spoiler:The story behind the WORMS.]]

* CouldHaveAvoidedThePlot: [[spoiler:If the military forces listened to what the creator of the WORMs had to warn about his achievements, the Earth wouldn't be what it is now.]]

* CreatureHunterOrganization: The Sky Girls, with their nanocells suit for protection and Sonic Divers for offense they're the ones to call for fighting WORMS.

* EnfanteTerrible: [[spoiler:Yukki, who's resurrected by the WORMS with the power to vaporize nanoskins and pilot his own Sonic Driver.]]

* EvilCounterpart: [[spoiler:The penultimate episode or final battle with the WORMS has them develop their own Sonic Driver with Otoha's long-lost brother as its pilot.]]

* TheReveal: The origin of the WORMS. [[spoiler:Also why Otoha's brother went missing: He has been "synchronized" with the WORMS, giving them a close equivalent of a leader.]]

* CoolShip: Kouryuu. Also the carrier that later arrives carrying the Big Vipers.

* ImprobablyFemaleCast: The entire Sonic Diver team is female. The rest of the crew and the Big Viper squadron are much more mixed however.

* LatexSpaceSuit

** Incidentally, the in-universe documents refer to it as "Powered Exoskeleton". Talk about classification hell.

** Obviously, [[spoiler:the appearance of [[VideoGame/{{Gradius}} Big Vipers]]]]. This IS an anime made by Konami after all...

* SuperPrototype: Subverted: Although Reijin, Fuujin, and Raijin are prototypes, the mass-produced Bachstelze performs just as well. The catch? [[spoiler: The production plant got bombed to kingdom come just after one model is built]]

* TechnoBabble: Quite numerous, but legible. This is the reason why the girls have to go around in a latex swimsuit with a 20 minute time limit in every battle.
** Speaking of swimsuits, even Karen notes how Motion Slits are even thinner than swimsuits.

* TheCameo: As seen above, the cast has to compete against the [[{{Gradius}} Vic Viper]] in an air show.

** Obviously, [[spoiler:the appearance of [[{{Gradius}} Big Vipers]]]]. This IS an anime made by Konami after all...
** [[{{Gradius}} That core totally got destroyed at the end of the show.]]

* XMeetsY: Sky Girls is like ''StrikeWitches'' meets ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' meets [[Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross Variable Fighters]] (minus the GERWALK Mode).

'''This page is for the TV series only'''

!!This series contains examples of:

* XMeetsY: Sky Girls is like ''StrikeWitches'' meets ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' meets [[SuperDimensionFortressMacross Variable Fighters]] (minus the GERWALK Mode).

* DoomedHometown: [[spoiler: poor Elise has to be evacuated from West Germany base and had to witness it being bombed to kingdom come before her very eyes.]]

* MoodWhiplash: As a general rule, expect a dark reveal of some sort to any "light" episodes. For example, the same episode that has Otoha running around the base to find the owner of a large bra is also the episode where Elise is introduced [[spoiler: by having her hastily evacuated from the destroyed West Europe base]]. Also, the real reason why Sky Girls are formed, during an OnsenEpisode.

* AccidentalPervert: The entire cast, [[CrowningMomentOfFunny at the same time]].

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Due to the obvious fact that on OVA has only 30 minutes, the PowerTrio is depicted in a very stereotypical way, sometimes at odds with how the series portrayed them. While Otoha's character largely stays the same, Karen's trait as a Teen Genius is more accentuated by her spouting off [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness exact minutes and percentages]], while Eika comes off as a little narcissist by taking sunbathing [[SeriousBusiness seriously]]. Other subtler traits however, are used as basis to build their characters in the series, such as Karen's shyness with boys, Eika's seriousness as the only military girl, Otoha's chemistry with Ryohei, Ryohei's love of motorbikes (alluded in the ending theme), Takumi as the TeamChef, etc.

'''Eika''': *[[BlatantLies ahem]]* [[GratuitousEnglish No comment]].

* {{Heroic BSOD}}: Otoha, after {{The Reveal}}.

* MiniMecha: The Sonic Divers kinda [[IncrediblyLamePun straddle]] the line between PowerArmor and MiniMecha. They're not much bigger than the girls, and the limbs respond as extensions of the pilots' limbs. But it's hard to call it armor, since the pilots are ''completely'' exposed at the front in the interest of {{Fanservice}}.

* SchizoTech: it seems there are technologies still reliant on oil.

* {{Super Prototype}}: Subverted: Although Reijin, Fuujin, and Raijin are prototypes, the mass-produced Bachstelze performs just as well. The catch? [[spoiler: The production plant got bombed to kingdom come just after one model is built]]

* TheMedic: Aki Yuko, introduced when they move from Oppama to Kouryuu.

* TheBrigadier: Rear Admiral Shima. He can never be relaxed around the antics of "those annoying kids". It is revealed later that he is anxious because he had seen so many of his men die during the first WORM War.
* TheReveal: The origin of the WORMS. [[spoiler:Also why Otoha's brother went missing: He has been "synchronized" with the WORMS, giving them a close equivalent of a leader.]]
* TheSquad: The entire anime revolves around how a Squad is formed, how it fights, and how it finally ends.

* AfterTheEnd: The backstory has it that most of humanity has barely survived a war with a colony of rogue nanomachines called [=WORMs=], which required the united earth forces to NukeEm. This caused the sea levels to rise and most settlements are trying to rebuild.

* KansaiRegionalAccent: The resident mechanics Haruko and Ranko has them. While Ranko is a stereotypical GenkiGirl, Haruko is much more calm, and in a true RedOniBlueOni fashion, they also are red and blue themed.

* {{Heroic BSOD}}: Otoha, after {{The Reveal}}