OVA
Description
Aria Hitotose serves as the primary protagonist in the fictional anime "Third Aerial Girls Squad," produced by the in-universe studio Musashino Animation. Shaped by an unspecified past trauma, she maintains a reserved, stoic demeanor, earning her the nickname "Ice Doll." This emotional suppression functions as her coping mechanism during combat missions.
She commands a Mitsubishi F-1 supersonic attack jet within the 307 Aerial Squad, codenamed "Hell Alice." The squad operates in a post-invasion world where alien Builders have assimilated advanced human technology. The Builders' disregard for post-1970s tech forces human resistance fighters to rely on outdated aircraft, making Aria's piloting skills critical. Her squadron includes international pilots flying antiquated jets like the F-4 Phantom II and MiG-23.
Her narrative arc begins during the "FALLING ANGEL" mission to rescue survivors at Midway Base, where Aria retrieves the sole survivor—a teenage girl with amnesia. After witnessing squadron leader Olivia's sacrificial death against a Builder-controlled ATD-X prototype, Aria bonds with the survivor, who later adopts the name Catherine Weller. During their escape, Catherine observes Aria's emotional vulnerability when she breaks down in tears, contradicting her "Ice Doll" persona and signifying the first crack in her emotional armor.
Catherine eventually joins the 307 Aerial Squad as one of Aria's closest comrades. Official media diverges from its source manga regarding Catherine's fate and Aria's subsequent development. In the manga continuity, Catherine dies in combat, causing Aria to permanently lose her will to fly. The anime adaptation revises this outcome: following Catherine's death, Aria visits her hometown and encounters Lucy, Catherine's sister. Motivated by a renewed purpose to protect Lucy, Aria overcomes her grief and resumes flying. This narrative shift provides a more hopeful conclusion, emphasizing protection as her new driving force.
Aria's personality combines tactical precision with underlying emotional depth. Her leadership evolves from isolated stoicism towards accepting vulnerability and responsibility for others. Visual design elements include distinctive bangs, gloves, and military-inspired attire with a ribbon accent. She operates within a technologically restricted combat environment where her piloting expertise proves pivotal against Builder forces employing reverse-engineered modern aircraft like F-22s and F-35s.
She commands a Mitsubishi F-1 supersonic attack jet within the 307 Aerial Squad, codenamed "Hell Alice." The squad operates in a post-invasion world where alien Builders have assimilated advanced human technology. The Builders' disregard for post-1970s tech forces human resistance fighters to rely on outdated aircraft, making Aria's piloting skills critical. Her squadron includes international pilots flying antiquated jets like the F-4 Phantom II and MiG-23.
Her narrative arc begins during the "FALLING ANGEL" mission to rescue survivors at Midway Base, where Aria retrieves the sole survivor—a teenage girl with amnesia. After witnessing squadron leader Olivia's sacrificial death against a Builder-controlled ATD-X prototype, Aria bonds with the survivor, who later adopts the name Catherine Weller. During their escape, Catherine observes Aria's emotional vulnerability when she breaks down in tears, contradicting her "Ice Doll" persona and signifying the first crack in her emotional armor.
Catherine eventually joins the 307 Aerial Squad as one of Aria's closest comrades. Official media diverges from its source manga regarding Catherine's fate and Aria's subsequent development. In the manga continuity, Catherine dies in combat, causing Aria to permanently lose her will to fly. The anime adaptation revises this outcome: following Catherine's death, Aria visits her hometown and encounters Lucy, Catherine's sister. Motivated by a renewed purpose to protect Lucy, Aria overcomes her grief and resumes flying. This narrative shift provides a more hopeful conclusion, emphasizing protection as her new driving force.
Aria's personality combines tactical precision with underlying emotional depth. Her leadership evolves from isolated stoicism towards accepting vulnerability and responsibility for others. Visual design elements include distinctive bangs, gloves, and military-inspired attire with a ribbon accent. She operates within a technologically restricted combat environment where her piloting expertise proves pivotal against Builder forces employing reverse-engineered modern aircraft like F-22s and F-35s.