Battle Skipper DVD

Welcome to St. Ignacio's School for Girls — a prestigious all-girls academy where etiquette, refinement, and proper young-lady behavior are the highest virtues. Or so it seems. When new students Saori, Shihoko, and Kanami stumble their way into the school's Etiquette Club, they discover its hidden truth: beneath the floral arrangements and tea ceremonies lies a secret underground base housing the Battle Skippers — sleek, high-tech mecha suits combining vehicle and combat armor — and the elite volunteer squad known as the Exters, dedicated to protecting law and order. Their greatest threat comes from within the school itself: the Debutante Club, led by the extravagantly villainous Sayaka Kitaouji, who arrives to school functions via personal space shuttle, commands an army of devoted followers, and harbors an elaborate plan to reshape Japan's social hierarchy to her exacting specifications. Only the Exters and their Battle Skippers stand in her way.

Battle Skipper is a delightfully campy and self-aware mecha comedy OVA from 1995, based on Tomy's line of miniature mecha action figures and directed by Takashi Watanabe — who would go on to helm The Slayers. The series leans fully into its absurdist premise: an elite girls' school secretly operating as a mecha defense force, pitted against a spectacular supervillain whose megalomania is matched only by her flair for dramatic entrances. Produced by ARTMIC with mechanical design by Kimitoshi Yamane (Escaflowne) and featuring a standout voice cast including Kikuko Inoue and Ai Orikasa, it is compact, colorful, and consistently entertaining. Released in North America by Central Park Media as a movie compilation of all three episodes.

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Takashi Watanabe (The Slayers, Ichiban Uchuu no Kouki Kanata)
Original Concept: Tomy Co., Ltd.
Mechanical Design: Kimitoshi Yamane (Escaflowne, Macross)
Studio: ARTMIC
Music: Takeo Miratsu

Cast:
- Chinami Nishimura as Saori Tachibana
- Kikuko Inoue as Reika Ayanokoji
- Shiho Niiyama as Rie Shibusawa
- Yuko Miyamura as Shihoko Sakaki
- Yuri Shiratori as Kanami Izaki
- Ai Orikasa as Sayaka Kitaouji

DVD Features

- Central Park Media Previews

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: 美少女遊撃隊バトルスキッパー (Bishōjo Yūgekitai Battle Skipper)
Runtime: ~90 Minutes (Complete OVA, 3 Episodes)
Director: Takashi Watanabe
DVD Release Year: 2001 (U.S. Release)
Original Release Date (Japan): August 23 – December 16, 1995
Publisher: Central Park Media
Rating: Unrated
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Genre: Mecha, Comedy, Action
Themes: Girls' School, Secret Underground Base, Rival Factions, Campy Villainy, Toy Mecha

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.