| Wings of Honneamise | |
|---|---|
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| 王立宇宙軍 オネアミスの翼 (Ōritsu Uchūgun: Oneamisu no Tsubasa) |
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| Genre | Drama, Military, Science fiction |
| Anime film | |
| Director | Hiroyuki Yamaga |
| Producer | Shigeru Watanabe Toshio Okada |
| Composer | Ryuichi Sakamoto |
| Studio | Gainax |
| Released | 14 March 1987 |
| Runtime | 125 min |
| Anime and Manga Portal | |
Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise (王立宇宙軍 オネアミスの翼 Ōritsu Uchūgun: Oneamisu no Tsubasa) is the first feature-length anime movie produced by Gainax in 1987. It is directed by Hiroyuki Yamaga. The movie would ultimately be a critically acclaimed Gainax classic, but it was poorly received[1] and sold only modestly domestically and overseas[2]. A sequel was intended to be released set 50 years later, but due to lack of funds, Gainax abandoned it part way through production; Okada Toshio says that what killed the sequel was a fundamental dissatisfaction with the script & plot[3].
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Plot
The story is set in a parallel version of Earth, where an industrial civilization is flourishing amidst the backdrop of an impending war between two bordering nations.
Shirotsugh Lhadatt is an unmotivated young man who has drifted into his nation's lackadaisical space program. After the death of a fellow astronaut, he nurtures a close acquaintance with a young religious woman named Riquinni Nonderaiko, whose loyalty to her faith has seen her through many of the problems in her life. Seeing Lhadatt as a prime example of what mankind is capable of doing and the godliness and ground-breaking nature of space exploration, she motivates Lhadatt, who is then inspired to become the first man in space.
His training as an astronaut parallels his coming of age, and he and the rest of the members of the space project overcome technological difficulties, spiritual doubt, the machinations of their political masters, and a botched assassination attempt by the enemy nation. Amidst the debacle, Lhadatt soon becomes worn out by the overbearing publicity surrounding his space mission, prompting him to stay with Riquinni for awhile; he then comes close to raping her one night while catching her undressing, causing a temporary rift between them that is later happily mended.
These events culminate in the eventual space launch, which is taking place in what is essentially a demilitarized zone with the hope that the enemy nation will act to seize the rocket before launch, giving Lhadatt's country a pretext for war. The launch sequence is indeed interrupted by a vast combined arms invasion by the enemy nation, resulting in a visually stunning finale as propeller-driven Pusher configuration fighters duel with primitive jet fighters, high above an armoured advance towards a defensive trench network. Despite calls to pull out, Lhadatt, already in the space capsule, convinces the vulnerable ground crew to complete the launch. The launch stuns both sides into inaction as Lhadatt goes into orbit. With no more reference to the world below (beyond a slight suggestion that both nation's plans for war have been foiled by the successful launch), Lhadatt prays for humanity's forgiveness.
In a symbolic moment, Lhadatt's capsule is suddenly bathed in sunlight, and a montage of his own life and his world's history and achievements flash (presumably) through his mind. Meanwhile on the planet's surface, Riquinni witnesses the first snow fall and gazes into the sky, thinking of Lhadatt.
Trivia
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (December 2007) |
- In his review of the film, Roger Ebert claims that some of the film's character designs are based on Hollywood stars such as Treat Williams, Harrison Ford, Lee Van Cleef, and Tatum O' Neal. [1] However, in the Gainax autobiography The Notenki Memoirs, Yasuhiro Takeda claims that many of the characters are modeled after Gainax staff members.
- Ryuichi Sakamoto scored the film in the same year that he contributed to the famous Oscar-winning score of Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor. Aside from brief contributions to the soundtracks of Shinji Aramaki's Appleseed and Appleseed Ex Machina, The Wings of Honneamise is the only anime film Sakamoto has scored to date.
See also
References
- ^ "'I don't understand (Gainax's) Honneamise in the least. Therefore it has to be terrific.' -- Yamashina Makoto, Bandai (1987)...That kind of personal feeling might seem like a risky thing for Gainax, raising the possibility that Evangelion might suffer what Okada Toshio, Gainax's first president, described as Honneamise's fate--to be understood by only a fraction of the audience the first time around." "Speaking Once as They Return: Gainax's Neon Genesis Evangelion"; Carl Horn, AMPlus 1.2 1995
- ^ "Considered one of the top 10 films of 1987 by Japanese film critics, The Wings of Honneamise is a bittersweet, introspective tale of an incompetent space program staffed by slacker astronauts who are despised by society at large. It was made by an iconoclastic band of talented twentysomethings who called themselves Gainax. The name is a self-mocking contraction of a Japanese word for great with the English word max." "Heads Up, Mickey: Anime may be Japan's first really big cultural export", Issue 3.04 - Apr 1995, Wired Magazine
- ^ "Pioneer was at one point to finance a sequel to Honneamise, written by Yamaga and directed by Anno, yet the project fell through because, Okada relates, Yamaga's heart wasn't in what he was writing; his script was becoming a parody." Horn 1995
External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Wings of Honneamise |
- The Wings of Honneamise (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
- Ôritsu uchûgun Oneamisu no tsubasa at the Internet Movie Database
- Review at THEM Anime Reviews
- DVD Review at Frankly Mr Shankly
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