Le ali di Honneamise

The only frustrating thing about Hiroyuki Yamaga's exhilarating sci-fi anime is that - astonishingly - it has not (yet) been released on region 2. But I would urge all UK manga fans to purchase a region-free DVD player just to watch it - it's that good. Alternatively, order the region-free Blu-ray disc.

Eschewing mecha battles and purple hair, The Wings of Honneamise is an epic poem about peace. One imagines it's the kind of thing Hayao Miyazaki would show his kids once they've grown out of Laputa and Spirited Away (as if that's possible!). Set in an alternate universe, it tells the story of an apathetic young man, Shiro Lhadatt (Leo Morimoto), who signs up to become the first man in space. As the countdown begins, the mission attracts the interest of the public, the media, and finally the military, while a sorrowful religious girl, Riquinni Nonderaiko (Mitsuki Yayoi), attracts the interest of Shiro himself.

It's a fable about the human spirit with echoes of Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff. Indeed, the climactic message won't take you by surprise - but what fun it is getting there. Yamaga's world is fairly bustling with life, all realised with sumptuous animation and some wonderful retro-modern art direction from Hiromasa Ogura (who would go on to work on manga favourites Ninja Scroll and Ghost In The Shell). Shiro's journey to his destiny is full of incident - flying lessons, explosively malfunctioning equipment, an exciting foot chase from a deceiving assassin - but also complemented with moments of dreamy calm. These peaceful moments are not simply excuses for some pretty ethereal music and absent wandering beneath neon verandas; they speak of Shiro's new sense of reflection, of his growing introspection.

Special mention should be made of Ryuichi Sakamoto's score. Like so much of his work, it is considered, emotive and memorable.

It's the best adult Japanese animation ever made, of that I'm certain. And it really isn't for children - this region 1 release retains an attempted sexual assault scene which was cut (by Manga Video, not the BBFC) for the UK video release. Moreover, the religious and political overtones, combined with the patient pacing, may be somewhat testing upon a younger child's attention span. Teens and older should buy it, love it, and feel inspired.

Honneamise no tsubasa is one of the most experimental animated features I have ever seen. It had some amazingly detailed and beautiful visual designs, deep concept and storyline, unique scenes that had never been done before, and so much more. Gainax had done a tremendous amount of research for this title, as a result they succeeded in virtually creating a new world, complete with its own culture, costumes, architecture, tradition, religion, rituals, etc. The character animation may lag at certain points and the film's pacing may feel a little bit too slow from time to time, but they are just minor gripes if you consider the overall greatness of the film. The Anime also contains some wonderful scenes that are practically some of animation's most glorious moments. It has the best ending I have ever seen in an animated feature, in fact, the last 20 minutes of the film are amazing beyond words. You have to see this film yourself , and definitely see it more than once. This is the anime not just for animation fans, but everyone who likes great and grandiose space opera in line of 2001: Space Odyssey

An old anime classic. Not what many would expect from anime, there isn't heaps of guns or robot or weird mythology, it's just a simple story.

The two combating nations in the parallel world to ours, remind me of a cross between the US & USSR (although cooling, the Cold War was still alive & well when this film was made in 1987) mixed with a cross between North & South Korea.

The animation is very good, & holds up well even in 2004, though the soundtrack while very catchy, shows the age of the film with the 1980's synthesizer.

Do not listen to anybody bagging this movie, they do not have the experience with anime to appreciate it. Wings of Honeamise is a pinnacle in Japanese animation, it took anime to it's popularity. It made anime known.

The only way I can describe how this film makes me feel is to compare it to a child watching My Neighbor Totoro. It is animation but not quite what you see everyday. It has a plot but it has subtle and even hidden depth.

To me this film is so good that it ceases to be "just anime" to become film art in the truest sense: it conjures up an imaginary world and makes it real, people have troubles and tribulations and we identify with them, everything comes to conclusion and we are changed by it and for the better.

For people think this is just sunday network cartoons two hours long I recommend watching this alongside Apollo 13 and/or Forrest Gump and try to find the analogies, you'll be surprised.