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I have seen this anime on a VHS somewhere in the middle 90s. I've only watched a few minutes into it (probably just an opening), and the few details that I remember are:

  1. A spaceship, not too big, probably a single-pilot fighter, with a streamlined design and a small forward-swept winglet protruding from its underside (like a hook of a trencher machine); the ship probably had a greenish tint (though it could be a VHS color artifact);
  2. The pilot was a long-haired girl; her design was probably typical for that era (at least, I can't remember anything particular about her, except for the serious face expression); she was beautiful, that's for sure;
  3. There also was another ship (no winglet) with a female pilot, but I'm not completely sure about that;
  4. I don't remember anything important happening during those minutes (no dogfights etc.)
  5. I don't remember anything "European" or "Victorian" in the design of ships and pilots (as opposed to popular space operas of the 80s); even if there was any, it was subtle;
  6. I don't remember any other characters, ships, or locations from those few minutes;
  7. Overall, it seems like it was a serious title, not a comedy.

I am definitely not an expert in the retro-space-opera department, so it could easily be something totally mainstream. Since it was on a bootleg VHS, it could be an OVA, a full-length movie, or a TV episode.

UPD. The winglet was small, compared to the craft dimensions (see the trencher machine proportions). Overall, the craft design was rather streamlined. It didn't look like a "many pieces held together" thing (in terms of the game FTL: more of the Stealth cruiser than Engi or Lanius one).

  • @Gao I've made corrections to the question regarding the winglet and craft design. Unfortunately, I can't remember any more details. I've seen only a few minutes into the movie, and it was many years ago (around 1992-94). If it can be of any help, it was a bootlegged VHS in Russia (those were abundant in ex-USSR). Since most of those pirated cassettes were re-recorded from several bootlegged sources, there actually was a finite number of movies/anime circulating around. So maybe someone here on SE could've seen the a copy of the same cassette. – Kelly Roadkill Apr 14 '15 at 21:37

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A bit of stab in the dark, but I think you might be referring to something by Leiji Matsumoto. Beautiful long-haired women are a dime a dozen in his works, and there are at least few ship designs with something like a winglet on the underside.

The Spacewolf fighter from the various Captain Harlock TV shows and movies usually has a winglet on the underside. The version on the left below, from Arcadia of My Youth: Endless Orbit SSX, is noticeably swept forward. The enemy Mazone fighters, always piloted by women with long hair, also can have something like a underside winglet, like the example below on the right.

Spacewolf fighter from Endless Orbit SSX Mazone fighter

Apparently the fighters in Space Battleship Yamato sometimes had a bottom mounted winglet:

Cosmo fighter variant from Yamato

It's a bit of a stretch, but but if you didn't realize how big it is, The Queen Emeraldas, kinda sorta fits your description. It has a long "streamlined" shape and the gondola can sorta look like a forward swept winglet depending on how it gets drawn. Despite its size I believe it's usually shown a being piloted by one long-haired woman.

The Queen Emeraldas

(Click on any of the above images will take you to a page with more images of similar craft.)

Unfortunately I'm can't suggest any specific titles or episodes. I'm not that familiar with these works, having only a watched a few Captain Harlock episodes recently and a handful other shows in French as long, long ago as a kid. Hopefully this will at least help narrow it down.

Ross Ridge
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  • It definitely wasn't a zeppelin, but the Mazone fighter on the pic seems pretty close (as far as my memories from early childhood can tell). Thanks a lot for the detailed and illustrated answer, I'll dig in that direction. Apparently, the woman-piloted winglet-equipped fighter-filled space is more abundant than I thought. I'll wait a bit for other versions and, most likely, accept your answer. – Kelly Roadkill Apr 14 '15 at 21:27