Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The Wings of Honneamise deserves a lot more attention that it initially got back in 1987; it was a commercial disappointment when it came out in Japan and it didn't get a wide global release leading the film to fade into obscurity. However, with the blossoming otaku fan base becoming an ever-growing international phenomenon some people have started taking notice of this movie again, albeit in rather small numbers but growing.'Wings' plays like Japan's answer to Stanley Kubrick's hard-science- fiction masterpiece '2001: A Space Odyssey', although unlike Kubrick's film this one takes place on a parallel version of Earth. It follows the journey of ridiculed astronauts who are part of this space agency which hasn't made any progress for generations, almost a commentary on US government-owned agency NASA, and the protagonist of the film, Shiro, hopes to become the first man to get into space.'Wings' is beautifully directed, showing us some of the most detailed animation to ever come out of any anime from the 80s, well written and the music is odd yet fitting for the movie; you don't hear a soundtrack this non-linear for an animated movie. The film is an experience: an artistic and metaphorical story centering on technological progress and humankind's ambitions shown as an eternally inspiring ideology.Is there anything the movie doesn't quite get right? Well, some of the animation does get jerky and not every single frame is perfect, but by god does it look damn good considering that it's already nearly thirty years old.I hope that my review has been helpful and may yet promote this film in some form or another. The Wings of Honneamise deserves to be seen by more people, and should certainly be seen by science fiction aficionados.

Wings of Honneamise has a lot going for it. It doesn't want to be the typical anime. Its slow, focused on drama, analyzing subjects like politics, religion, war, celebrity, and the ethics of space flight. Our main character is not particularly moral or smart, exaggerated by the media, but still develops through the film, growing in ambition and understanding of life. The animation is incredible for the time - it had a giant budget for an anime film, and you can see it in the detail on the machinery and background. There is a lot of world building, making the alternate Earth familiar, yet distinct. As a cherry on top, it tries to be accurate with its portrayal of space flight, much more so than most sci-fi.It wasn't a perfect match for me, but I recognized that this is a quality film. I was going to give it an 8, acknowledging this could easily be your next favorite.But of course...there's that ONE scene that threatens to break the film in half - where our main character attempts to rape his love interest. Its been debated for years whenever or not it contributes to Shiro's character, if its misogynistic, or both. Its enhanced the film for many, ruined it for others.Personally? I thought it was a moral event horizon for our lead. In any other film, this would be his rock bottom. Their relationship would be destroyed. Shiro would be haunted by the guilt, yet still treated as a hero by the media that doesn't truly know him. Shiro and Riquinni's relationship would never fully heal, at best coming to some understanding.But the writing treats the event like Shiro slapped Riquinni on the cheek. The incident is quickly swept under the rug, their relationship no better or worse than before. Shiro gives a few lines on good and evil, but not 5 minutes after the incident, there is a WHACKY chase scene as he runs away from a gun-touting old lady and a street sweeper! There is no proper redemption for this character. The attempted rape scene could have been removed, and you wouldn't have noticed! Its so sudden, yet has so little bearing to the plot. We're still expected to root for Shiro, not as a dark, troubled soul, but as an awkward, inexperienced pilot. The assault does not follow this tone at all. At best, its a contrived attempt to add drama. At worst...it forces in fan service through the sleaziest way possible.Regardless of intentions, it pulls the film down. Everything else is so well-done it only drops a single star. Its great - but what was Gainax thinking!?

Well, I wouldn't say that this film is one of the best anime ever made. It is quite good, but it doesn't reach the same standards of excellence of Ghost in the Shell and Akira, much less the masterpieces by Miyazaki (which are on another league, altogether). Its a solid film, I would recommend it to fans of science fiction and anime, but not for the average film goer: it is not that good.The animation, however, is still quite amazing to look at, it is very detailed and indeed it shows why it was one of the most expensive Japanese animated films in the 1980's, costing the massive sum of 7 million dollars (!!, yep, that was a loot for those days!). Only Akira's animation is superior, in terms of 1980's anime (a film that cost 10 million dollars at the time).

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.