The death of a comrade leads Shiro into becoming a hero.

Movie: Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise is set on a planet much like our own, with a wide disparity of wealth and most of the population on the planet living in either relative urban squalor or the vast stretches of countryside, numerous neighboring countries preparing to resume hostilities at the slightest provocation. Military budgets eat most of the government funds, leaving social despair in the wake of the portrayed society where the term "safety net" has not been invented. This is the kind of place where getting a job with the government is seen as a secure means of survival, not so much for power or wealth. The lead character of this morality play is a young man named Shirotsugh Lhadatt; a man whose grades and ambition did not match so his dreams of flying for the military were truncated, the man pragmatically enlisting in the Royal Space Force. The RSF is considered a joke by the rest of the military, the populace (at least the few that have heard of the small branch he works for), and the leaders of the country; the enemy considering it a ruse for a new weapon platform directed at them from afar.

The high tech training program was brutal to the guy.

Shiro is the type of wannabe slacker-hero that lacks guidance or spiritual grounding, causing him to develop an affection for a young female street corner missionary by the name of Riquinni who preaches their version of the gospel. She is awed by his desire to be all that he can be and his ego stokes up on the attention she gives him, even if he is initially skeptical of her religious beliefs. As he matures, he embraces her faith as his own, looking for answers that his life and education have never been able to answer for him. The movie spends considerable time developing their chaste relationship, Shiro wanting more from her than she can give (presumably meaning at least out of wedlock), and given the lifespan of his chosen career path (where candidates die with disturbing frequency); he hopes to make it into space as the first guy into space. The movie shows him as his mind and body develop but also his emotional state to see that he represents something larger to folks, perhaps even the hopes of mankind. If his problems were relatively minimal before the space program was obscure, the propaganda machine of the government propels him into the spotlight, problematic when fringe elements want to end the program the easiest way they know how; killing him. Foreign tensions rise too as the royalty move the launch site extremely close to the border, the political maneuverings of the leaders making it increasingly clear that the newfound status the program has been given is largely for show and perhaps even to spark another world war.

Assassins were only one of the dangers Shiro had to face.

The pacing of the movie is uneven, starting slow and intermittently picking up from time to time, the few action sequences interspersed with a variety of scenes where Shiro prepares for the launch, the support team builds the rocket, and the interactions between him and Riquinni. The historical value of the movie alone makes it worth checking out, as does it's status as one of the first true high definition releases (look for Todd's Blu-Ray review coming out any time now), because for all its flaws, the movie marked another step forward in anime's proliferation into the American market. As long as you don't expect the quality level to reach that obtained by Miyazaki, you can figure to like this one, albeit for all the inherent flaws associated with the script, plot, and moralistic overtones it relies upon. I rated it as Recommended for all it had to offer but more extras would have been appreciated given the price tag this boxed set sports (it has an SD and HD DVD version).

Riquinni's rape scene was not edited out in this release.

Picture: Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise was presented in the original widescreen offering as directed by Hiroyuki Yamaga. The HD DVD version was presented in the VC-1 codec and provided a lot more clarity than the original, edited version released years ago by Manga. There were print scratches, some minor stock damage, and various nuisance issues but the lighting, the colors, and the resolution were all superior to that version most of you might be familiar with. The SD version of the movie was not as clear and had all the same problems (but looking worse in most ways), yet was also an improvement to the original and the VHS version of the movie that I saw years ago. It was encoded in MPEG-2 using a healthy upper 6 Mbps bitrate, the pictures in the review taken from that version. This was one of the major anime titles of the 80's, with hand painted cels rather than the computer generated material so common these days, so the characters and settings were not as consistent but as a work of art; it did leave an impression.

Lift off was a messy experience as the forces of the old order fought for control.

Sound: The audio was presented with a few choices too, the HD DVD version providing a 5.1 Dolby True HD, a Surround linear PCM version (both in the original Japanese) or the English language version in Dolby Digital +; all with optional Japanese or English subtitles that seemed similar to the spoken versions (at least in regard to the English version). The SD version had a 5.1 Dolby Digital Japanese version or the 2.0 Dolby Digital English; both in 448 Kbps bitrate. The HD tracks were the best in terms of clarity, separation, and fusion of the vocals and score but each of them was an improvement over the original releases. The HD versions sounded cleaned up but this also brought out some of the flaws, a close listen showing the problems with magnifying the audio components. Still, like the visual elements, I applaud Bandai for the work they put into it for this 20th anniversary release (the dub might not have been as good as the original Japanese but it was markedly better than most older movies offer).

"Second stage is cut, we're now in orbit..."

Extras: Considering the cost of the boxed set, I expected a lot of great extras this time with my disappointment tempered by the fact that there were two versions of the movie in the boxed set (the SD and HD versions). My favorite extra was the 20 page high gloss booklet with artwork and interviews contained within it. The overview commentary by Ryusuke Hikawa was interesting as an overview to the phenomenon the movie became. It was taken from an interview at the Gainax studio in Koganei City Tokyo on April 24, 2007. The other was a cool discussion by the writer on the art of the special effects that was credited as coming from 1998, revised for this presentation. There was also a Japanese teaser trailer from the original release (with optional English language subtitles) and a longer "Pilot Film" lasting slightly over 4 minutes that gave a broader look at the movie, in effect resulting in a longer form of trailer. The box itself was interesting in how it mimicked many Japanese releases with the red band at the bottom of the box too for those who care.

There were minimal extras but greatly enhanced picture and audio to smooth things over.

Final Thoughts: Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise by director Hiroyuki Yamaga is a story of hope and greater purpose that sometimes came across as overtly moralistic but pioneered certain movie elements in anime form better than most of its contemporary releases of the time. The historical value of the movie aside, it was far from perfect but was an excellent choice for Bandai to release on HD DVD and Blu-Ray. Perhaps a successful release in the newer high definition formats will show them it can be profitable to release other shows as well. The movie offered an alternative look at man's reach for the sky and the need for sacrificing to a higher cause, weighed against our universal push to control others using force; not the cleverest parable but better than expected. In short, Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise proved that companies like Bandai can "get it right" compared to some of their competitors they have once again left in the dust. Here's hoping they continue pursuing excellence in that regard, never looking back as they ascend to newer heights.

If you enjoy anime, take a look at some of the recommendations by DVD Talk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime 2003, Best Of Anime 2004, Best of Anime 2005, and Best of Anime 2006 articles or their regular column Anime Talk.