Wings of Honneamise  Highly recommended
Publisher
Manga Entertainment
Director
Hiroyuki Yamaga
Production
GAINAX
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Film
Running time
125 mins
Year
1987
Royal Space Force: Wings of Honneamise Blu-Ray Review
By Stephen Lerch
27th Jan 08 US NAME: Royal Space Force: Wings of Honneamise
JAPANESE NAME: Ôritsu uchûgun Oneamisu no tsubasa Initial Thoughts
This is an amazingly well animated and told theatrical effort brought to the silver screen by Gainax, probably best known for the Evangelion franchise. This was Gainax' first theatrical film, and they brought a film to the table that blurs the line between animation and live action in my opinion. Short Synopsis
The film starts off telling us how Shirotsugh was aiming to become a pilot in the Air Force, however he realized his grades weren't good enough to get him there, he pretty much gave up on that dream and decided to aim for the maligned Space Forces (it's not really clear when the Space Force become such a joke; he may have actually thought the Space Force was worth something before joining). What we then see his attitude for today. He is an underachiever and extremely lazy. It seems the crushing of his dream has crushed his spirit. This attitude quickly changes when he meets a girl whom he seems to fall in love with. Her name is Riquinni and she is quite religious. Almost faithful to a fault really. Shirotsugh meets her, and this is a life changing event. She seems to ignite in him his lost spirit. In the days following this meeting, Shirotsugh takes his new found sprit to the ultimate level of dedication; he decides to volunteer to be the pilot of the first manned flight into space. At the heart of the movie is a raging conflict between 2 political powers, and the political power that possesses the rocket sees this as a way to entice the enemy to attack, thus allowing for a larger scale war. The launch is to be made from a demilitarized zone close to the enemy's border. Assassination plots and political intrigue abound. Can Shirotsugh soar into the atmosphere or will he be the powder keg used to ignite the flames of war between the nations? Video
This is the first HD traditionally animated (not CG) film I've seen. And if this is proof of what can be done with the HD formats, we as Anime fans are in for some amazing treats. The animation in this film is nothing short of spectacular and breathtaking. The colors are deep, rich and vibrant. The Blu-Ray disc is brilliantly authored and is without flaw. The only negative side to this is that all of the dust and dirt has been left in. I say this not because it's a bad thing for me, but because it may detract from some people's view of the movie. To quantify what I am talking about, as we all know, traditional cel animation had some inherent issues with dust and dirt. If a piece of dirt edges its way between 2 cels you will see it if the source material is of any quality. This type of dust is left intact. For me however, this is a non-issue. I want to have as accurate an experience as I would had I been able to view this upon its release in 1987 in theatres. This includes the visible dust. I believe that's what the creators and Blu-Ray authors were going for, an experience as similar to a theatrical presentation as possible. And it works. For me this adds to the depth of the animation. It's not a flaw but how cel based animation is. For me not everything has to be pristine and clean like a digitally animated production. It adds to the life of the film. Audio
Honneamise is presented in 3 different flavors for the Blu-Ray edition. First up is lossless LPCM Stereo. This is a stereo similar in nature to the faux surround given using a Dolby Surround (not 5.1) where you have some rear speaker directionality. The next audio selection is Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 TrueHD. This was taken from the Sound Renewal edition available on Japanese R2 DVD, with the exception that it is now losslessly presented. The final option for audio is the Manga Entertainment original English dub presented in higher bit rate Dolby Digital Surround (not 5.1). I watched in DD 5.1 True HD Japanese, spot checking the other versions. The audio in this is nothing short of amazing. The rear presentation isn't over powering or over used. It actually works really well and I'd say you'd be hard pressed to find any faults with the directionality. It really does add to the level of immersion and I can't recommend enough watching the film with this option if available. The lossless LPCM sounds quite clear and good. The English Dolby Digital track is the only one that disappoints me. Not because it's a bad mix or anything like that but because it's not done in a better format. We are left with a surround track that is pretty much what was presented previously on Manga Entertainments (botched) release of Honneamise. The only difference is a higher bit rate. All three tracks have no audio problems. No clicking, popping, hissing or any other anomalies. Extras
Depending on how you look at it, the extras are either really good or really sparse. The DVD edition, included with both the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray set, could be considered extra if you want to take it that far. As far as video extras, we are given a promo trailer that plays up the movie and also a 4-5 minute short film. This short film contains some animation that wasn't used in the final film. Audio for both is Japanese only with removable English subtitles. From another review I've learned that there was a director's commentary on the Manga Entertainment DVD that is not included in this release. It is unfortunate but this is how it works sometimes. Also included is an informative 20 page booklet with some behind the scenes looks and other interesting tidbits. Packaging
This release replicates the Japanese release in nearly every way. The only difference is the English language descriptions. The box is extremely sturdy chipboard. The DVD and Blu-Ray discs come housed in their own DVD cases with original and unique artwork on them. The two discs are kind of lame in terms of own disc artwork as they just have the name of the movie and a generic looking label to go with it. Final Thoughts
Honneamise has a storied release past in the US. The original release by Manga Entertainment was taken from a very poor print and was also poorly encoded. Manga Entertainment denied it was their fault and all but denied they'd ever re-release it to fix the issues. Many years have passed since that release and BV USA under their Honneamise label brings us a nearly definitive Wings of Honneamise release. All that's missing is a commentary track from the Region 1 release. The quality that the movie exudes, along with the presentation from BV USA, makes a very special movie even more so. They've gone the extra mile and it shows in this release. This was my first HD Anime. In fact, it was my first HD animated film that wasn't CG. And if this is an indication of things to come, we as Anime fans are in for some astounding visual treats in the future! If you can get over the steep asking price you will find yourself owning one of the greatest animated films ever, in it's most pristine presentation so far. So far since we all know there will be something after HD.
-- Stephen Lerch 27th Jan 08
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