Anime Profile: Battle Skipper - The Movie

I don't care what the title says, Battle Skipper is a 3-part OVA series, NOT a movie. Set sometime in the future, three new students to Saint Ignacio's School for Girls must now decide which school club they would like to join. The most obvious choice would be the Debutante club, helped by president Sayka Kitaouji, as that's the club that every other new student dreams of joining. Just about everyone who gains membership eventually goes on to great status, but the line for applicants is insanely long, and very few every get accepted. But our three girls are looking at an alternative, the Etiquette Club, led by president Reika Ayanokouji along with vice-president of the club Rie Shibusawa. The Etiquette Club is the complete opposite of the Debutante club in that very few people ever even apply for membership. In fact, the current membership consists of only Reika and Rie.

The three potentials of the Etiquette club are Saori Tachibana, Shihoko Sakaki, and Kanami Izaki. Saori and Shihoko were already friends before starting at St. Ignacio's, and it's at an assembly that they both met Kanami. Earlier in the day, Shihoko became instantly infatuated with Rie during their brief encounter, so she definitely wants to join Rie's club. Saori, being Shihoko's friend, agrees to go along with her, while Kanami seems to have her own reasons for wanting the join. So together, all three enter the door to club building... only to be greeted by arrows flying right toward them. Saori and Kanami easily avoid or deflect the arrows, but unfortunately Shihoko takes one right to the forehead. Fortunately, the arrows were tipped with suction cups. Unfortunately, the arrows were a test, and Shihoko failed.

So Saori passed and made membership, even though she didn't want it, while Shihoko failed to become a member, even though she really wanted it. Anyone see a solution coming? Yep, Saori agrees to be a member if they also make Shihoko a member. Vice-president Rie objects, but president Reika accepts, and thus the extremely unpopular Etiquette club now has a total of five members. We find that this number holds some sort of significance, as Rie lets slip some comment about it, but we're not told precisely what. Ah, but don't worry there friends! You all know that we're going to be finding out really, really soon! Plus we also learn during this conversation that Kanami Izaki is actually an extremely talented young lady that could have easily been at the top and made it into the Debutante club. So why exactly did she choose this club...?

Later that evening we find our three new recruits sneaking around the building, searching for the secret of the club. They soon find it. With the touch of a hidden button, the whole room begins to change. The floor begins to move downward, taking them to a completely metallic room, with five numbered tubes set into the wall. A quick peek by Shihoko into one of the tubes activates a suction that pulls her right in, and closes it up. Unsure of what to do, Saori and Kanami each take a tube and follow her down. During the journey, their clothes are magically replaced by some kind of skin-tight uniforms. The end of the tubes spit them out into robotic vehicles called Battle Skipper Multipurpose Robot Vehicles (MRV). So it seems the secret of the club is that it's actually just a front for the Ex-Stars, a group of fine young ladies that uses extremely sophisticated robotic combat vehicles to help protect the world.

Anyway, the girls surmise that Reika and Rie are in trouble, and take off to help. At the end of the conflict, two things are clear: the new recruits definitely have the drive and desire to become full Ex-Stars, and the new recruits need a lot of training! But don't worry, if anyone can whip these recruits into shape it's Rie. The only question is can she do it in time to face off against their most powerful foes to date, a new military model MRV that packs a ton of firepower. Oh yeah, and did I mention that mastermind behind the plot to take down the Ex-Stars is none other than the president of the Debutante club, Sayka Kitaouji? Apparently she holds some kind of grudge or something. Ah, but I'm sure it'll all work out.