Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise

The planet's first space explorers just happen to be from a land engaged in a border war. This naturally lends urgency to any mission of peaceful exploration, and this is the central message of the film: that we should strive to achieve the impossible, rather than wasting our efforts and squandering our lives bickering with our neighbors. Mankind's future is among the stars.

With its grand sweeping cityscapes and pastoral vistas to tempt the eye and its exciting race against time story of hard working rocket builders struggling to finish their creation before their construction facility is overrun by an invading army, this movie is great fun, marvelous to look at, just a joy to watch.

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.

"Honneamise no tsubasa" is clearly the masterpiece of Japanese anime. I was lucky enough to see this film for the first time at the cinema, and I feel for those of you who have only been able to see it on video. What you miss is the immaculate artistry of the animation: the detail, the complexity, the invention and most of all the beauty. The opening credits are up there amongst my favourites (Vertigo, Delicatessen) not because of any originality - the use of pictures in credits have been done before (Days of Heaven) - but more because of the use of Japanese water painting of these images. It is also the blending of these images with the right music which makes the credits so exquisite. But also the great thing about this movie for all of us, is the wonderful story that is told. The use of a parallel earth in which the events occur is ingenius, it allows the story to remain in a sense inherently Japanese but also universal. See this film it is a gem

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

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.