The gorgeously ingrown subgenre of Japanese manga and anime known as shojo, entertainment aimed specifically at young girls, is arguably the most interesting stuff coming out of that vast Japanese entertainment factory at the moment. The TV series Virgin Fleet, created by shojo veteran Ohji Hiroi (Sakura Wars), isn't quite as extravagantly expressionistic as Revolutionary Girl Utena or Escaflowne, but it comes close, and its sleek retro "alternate history" setting is a cut above. Unfolding in a warped version of Japan in the 1920s, the series follows a group of adolescent female warriors, mysteriously endowed with an occult lighting-bolt power known as "Virgin Energy," who are recruited as cadets in a top-secret military unit in the run-up to World War II. The story lines combine typical schoolgirl crushes and peer-group rivalries with exhilarating aerial-combat sequences. As is often the case in shojo anime the visual embellishments are gratuitously lush, the emotional entanglements surprisingly intense and complicated. The central character, Shokase, is an orphan who puts her marriage plans on hold in order to continue defending the motherland against its rapacious Western enemies. The tape has been self-rated as suitable for viewers aged 13 and up, and that seems about right; the virginity issue is discreetly presented.