The Wings of Honneamise |
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Shiro Ledat is a man with dreams of flying high and flying fast. But he's not bright enough to join the Navy and fly their jets, so the only thing he can do that might even remotely give him a chance at flight is to join a branch of the Honneamanian military known as the Royal Space Force.
The Space Force is the laughing stock of the military, run by old professors and cogers with officers too bizzare to be in any mainstream branch of service. Her soldiers are the drop-outs and misfits of the military and for a while Shiro fits in well among them. Then, during the testing of one of the launch rockets, one of his fellow officers is killed.
Shirow then goes on a spiritual journey, pondering the meaning of life and the purpose of existence. He meets a poor young woman who hands out flyers on the boardwalk, trying to turn the sinful over to the world of religion. Curious, Shiro gets to know this girl and her beliefs and is inspired with the purpose he once so heartily believed in. From that moment on, Shiro is a driven man. Setting the pace for the entire Space Force, he pushes for the opportunity to ride a rocket into space and be the first man of his world to orbit it. But as Shirow becomes a public figure he begins to realize that there are more than noble motives at work here, and soon finds himself a pawn and a target. There are some who rate Akira as the masterpiece of Japanese animation. Some even go as far as to say Ghost in the Shell may qualify for this distinction. But, in my eyes, Wings of Honneamise earns the title. While Akira and GitS have style and form, they have no where near the substance of WoH. Visually, this film is stunning. The animation alone deserves top notch honors for excellent use of color, clarity of execution, and the thematic appearance tailored to the story. But better than that is the design. The intricacies of life on a strange, alien world have been meticulously designed here. From a unique form of coin to the elaborate ceremonial dress, it doesn't take any stretch of imagination to know that this is indeed a strange world that appears much different than our own. But then the script comes into play, and we see the same petty politics, the same harsh tribulations of the struggle to survive, the same humanity that is of our own lives in our own world. This allows the viewer to associate with the characters quite easily and makes for quite an engrossing tale. The only minus here is that the English dubbed voice acting is not up to par in Manga Video's production, but not bad enough as to detract from this film. I've only received conflicting reports on the DVD availability of this title, but as soon as I can find it you know that I'm picking up a copy. After all, I've watched my own VHS copy so many times that it's starting to wear! And that's got to be the best evidence for just how good this film is. Get it. Watch it. Do not delay. |