Battle Skipper

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Battle Skipper


caption = Battle Skipper DVD cover
ja_name = 美少女遊撃隊バトルスキッパー
ja_name_trans = "Lovely-Girl Play Squadron
genre = Comedy, MechaInfobox animanga/OVA
title =
director = Takashi Watanabe
studio = Victor Entertainment
episodes = 3
released = August 23 1995

nihongo|"Battle Skipper"|美少女遊撃隊バトルスキッパー|Bishōjo Yuugekitai|Lovely-Girl Play Squadron Battle Skipper is a 3-part OAV series based on the small toy mecha action figures by Tomy and distributed in North America by Central Park Media.

Plot

The OAV focuses mostly on the girls of St Ignacio's School for girls than the mecha itself. There are two clubs to join:
*"Kareibu" ("Glamour Club") A.K.A. The Debutante Club
*"Reihoubu" ("Manners Club") A.K.A. The Etiquette Club

Three newcomers join the Etiquette club rather than the popular Debutante Club and soon discover its members are part of a secret task force called Exters (ExStars in the dubbed version). Fan service is a predominated feature in the transformation sequence.

Main characters

*Reika Ayanokouji: President of the Etiquette Club and heiress of Uruyasu Heavy Industries. Reika is soft-spoken and always protective of the secrets of the Battle Skippers, fearing they might fall into evil hands. Reika is a blood relative of her spoiled rival Sayaka Kitaouji.
*Rie (The English dub incorrectly pronounces her name as RYE) Shibusawa: Vice-president of the Etiquette Club. Rie is usually brash, hot-headed and unpredictable, a foil for Reika's cool head. Rie is equally strong on the battlefield as Reika and is ever loyal to her and her family. Rie has an extreme hatred for the Debutante Club and is a struggling student at St. Ignacio's.
*Saori Tachibana: Freshman at St. Ignacio's who originally wanted to join the Debutante Club, but was coaxed by Shihoko to join the Etiquette Club. Saori was made to mimic Sailor Moon's hairstyle, but all similarity ends there. Most fan service is towards Saori on occasion.
*Kanami Izaki: Freshman at St. Ignacio's who joined the Etiquette Club for her detestment of Sayaka Kitaouji and the Debutante Club. Kanami is one of the smartest girls in Japan and secretly one of the strongest, much to the amazement of Rie Shibusawa. Kanami quickly became close friends with Saori and Shihoko on her first day.
*Shihoko Sakaki: Freshman at St. Ignacio's and Saori's childhoold friend. After seeing Rie's failed speech of asking people to join the Etiquette Club, Shihoko decides to follow Rie. Shihoko may be shy and frail, but she never gives up.
*Sayaka Kitaouji: President of the Debutante Club, heiress of Makuhari Heavy Industries and the main antagonist of the series. Sayaka wants a Japan ruled by women as powerful as her to dominate the world. Most of the income for St. Ignacio's is funded by Makuhari, which makes Sayaka a little more arrogant.
*Todou: Sayaka's personal assistant and whipping boy. Todou is a bishōnen who would do anything for Sayaka, since he has a crush on her. On the battlefield, Todou is equally cunning and ruthless in his goals to crush the Exters and securing Makuhari as the only sole survivor of the mechanical industry war.

The Battle Skippers

The Battle Skippers are tank like robots each with an AI system connected to enhance the pilot's movement. The manufacturers names are Makuhari, Uruyasu, Toyotomi and Grand Rover. The Battle Skippers piloted by the Exters are Uruyasu while those piloted by the Debutante Club are Makuhari. Saori's Battle Skipper has a Kansai accent while Rie's has more of an Osaka dialect ("country" dialect in the dub).

External links

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