>That's almost certainly the most popular one. And it's good! I like
>being serviced as much as the next fan. My favorite, though, is much
>more serious. It's sort of a super-stylized re-envisioning of the key
>scene from episode 206, "Honor Doesn't Compromise" - the part where
>Zero, having shot down P-40, protects her from the local Japanese Army
>unit, because (on the CO's own recognizance, it is strongly implied)
>they've started killing downed flyers instead of taking them prisoner.

I had that as my phone wallpaper for a while. Beyond the the connection to the episode it's just a great piece of art in general. Fly Girls was pretty lucky in that they had some damn good artists working for them on all levels. I've seen a lot of merch for other shows - official merch even! - where you're lucky if the characters are on-model.

(Though if I'm going to be fair, my absolute favorite bit of Fly Girls art isn't official, it's from a doujinshi. The Last Blank Spot on the Map is a prequel doujin about the adventures of DC-3 around the world featuring a bunch of interwar aircraft and more flying boats than you can shake a stick at. There's a double-page spread of DC-3 flying over Macchu Picchu that's just downright amazing. Storytelling's not bad either, sort of a pulp adventure version of the anime: DC-3's a civvie transport so she has to outwit trouble instead of shooting it. Check it out if you haven't read it already.)

>It's a beautiful interpretation of a terrific scene from one of my
>favorite episodes, and perfectly encapsulates why Zero & 40 are many
>people's favorite rivals on the show. Including mine, even though,
>canonically speaking, 40's rival should be Hayabusa, since Zero is a
>sailor and China-Burma-India was a land campaign. I understand why
>they made that exception, though. Zero is by far the most popular of
>the Japanese characters, she's far more engaging than Haya (who is too
>ruthless and amoral to be likeable even as a so-called villain), and
>they had to telescope the cast a bit. It's an editorial decision, not
>a mistake. I'm OK with that.

The manga gets deeper into 40's interactions with Haya and... well, yeah. I'm going to say that I like the chapters where 40 and Hayabusa throw down, it's a right slobberknocker as the man once said, but they made the right call in focusing on the honorable-enemies stuff between 40 and Zero in the anime.

>I know, right? 190 really shouldn't have gotten on the radio and sung
>the P-39 song, however funny her accent made it. :)

I believe they call that a "teachable moment." :)

--
Mr. Fnord