Royale Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise is a 1987 Japanese animated science fiction film written and directed by Hiroyuki Yamaga. The film takes place in an alternative world were a disgruntled young man called Shirotsugh is inspired by an idealistic young woman called Riquinni to volunteer to become the first astronaut which creates both public and personal conflict for him. Royale Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise is an interesting anime film that any fan of old school anime should watch.
The direction in the film is good. One of the films main themes is war which is running throughout which also creates a real sadness to the film. The world of the film is unique it’s sad, dingy, and oppressive combined with elements of eastern mysticism. Lhaddatt the astronaut in the film is not a good person as the higher ups in the world of the film act with hypocrisy. With the military like theme in the film a lot of the characters are to the public eye shown to have a type of formality and respect to them, however in reality the military and the public have no respect to the space force. The films tone is a mixture of weird surrealism in a futuristic setting combined with a traditional look creating a unique world, which is also combined with a great oppressive tone to it with the space force being the outcasts of society. The film has a unique viewpoint on its subject as no one likes the space force which is further helped with the films gritty and sleazy look.
The film uses its streampunk setting to create a unique world with things like a steampunk brothel in the film. The film also has an interesting religious subject to it with the young woman handing out religious leaflets as her innocence is used in contrast with the sleaze of the film. the films religious subtext is again shown throughout the film with the world seemly going to hell as shown through the space warfare program, as Lhadatt wants to be free from all the troubles of the world and wants to be free amongst the stars. The film uses detachment as the higher ups have pride in the space force and themselves which is contrasted with the pilots being bad at their job and the negative image they have with the public. This is further sown as the film contrasts this with footage of the people leading normal lives and normal people criticising the program. Space work in the film is sleazy and low budget and full of delinquency as the film contrasts the grand delusions of the space force and its works with the reality of the hard work they must put in for this operation. The film is very much a rag tag operation as they have no money, a great scene is the film is also when the pilot goes up in the airplane showcasing the wonder of the film which is contracted with the rain where he lands showcasing the grim reality of the situation. The astronaut training, he goes through is dangerous and on a budget as they are creating a very complex and expensive machine, as they use their contacts to help them, the film again has a biblical allegory to it as mankind wants to be like God.
The program is full of constant setbacks as everything is done with a sense of duty. People are angry as the space program is taking away money from the people that can’t afford to eat again subverting a traditional showcase of astronauts as nobody likes them. This subversion of the space pragma is also sown as people are annoyed at isn’t giving the people work and they don’t want a war in space, this also creates a conflict within the film as the space force ay work is work but Lhadatt doesn’t want to work on something that will create war. The use of propaganda in the space program is interesting in the film as politics drive everything. The film very much has biblical overtones to it as everything is full of sin. Lhadatt ends up becoming a pretty face for the propaganda machine which makes him sad. The media wants to get involved in the space program for its possible war uses as Lhadatt hates that he has become a propaganda peace. The films politics are shown to be a battle of futurism and traditionalism with Lhadattt caught in the middle as a pawn as a main theme in the film is that of science vs traditionalism. Late on Lhadatt tries to sexually assault Riquinni but manages to stop himself as Riquinni knocks him unconscious. Lhadatt begs for forgiveness the next day, but Riquinni blames herself before running off, as Lhadatt realises that he is a bad person, but his friend tells him he has a propose. This is further reenforced as people hate him and want him dead with a old woman shoots him with a gun as him and his friend escape as someone tries to run him over in a street cleaning truck as Lhadatt tries to kill them, the film also has very interesting themes throughout the film stating that humans are not a advanced civilisation as they depend on war.
Lhadatt, Manna and Riquinni then repair their friendships with one another, as the republic military prepare to invade Honnêamise. Lhadatt works on his fluff peace speech with talks about being fake, and he also finds the rocket underwhelming. The film has interesting idea in it such as the rocket standing on prehistoric rubble and that in the future their rocket will look the same way to those people, as the intelligence agency’s try and shut them down. They end up pushing the mission forward due to the military invasion, as they get told to evacuate as there launch area is about to become a military battleground. The era then erupts into a war zone as they decide not to launch. However, Lhadatt refuses to pull out and convinces the ground crew to launch as a dog fight engages between the two forces. The invasion starts as gunfire is exchanged, and the rocket is launched with no sound for a second. Before sound of the engine enters the film as it take off as everyone including the enemy looks on with awe. The rocket ends up making it into space as everyone celebrates.
Lhadatt now is space broadcasts about how it will probably end up just as bad as everywhere else humans have meddled. The film states that humans have ruined the land, the air and now seek a new place to live. He is worried about humanity pushing its limits as he asks people to be thankful for humans being on the earth. He wishes for the sins of the past to be forgotten and a brighter future. This relates to the religious allegory of the film as the film is about humanities potential transcendence into heaven and whether they can achieve that. The film then shows all the places of earth and things on earth showcasing the evolution of humans and history. The film ends with Riquinni handing out leaflets as the snow falls and she gazes into the night sky as the camera pans out to show the world floating in space.
The voice acting in the film is good. Leo Morimoto does a good job as Shirotsugh Lhadatt a scummy astronaut that is hated by everyone and goes through a change in the film. Mitsuki Yayoi does a good job as Riquinni Nonderaiko a young innocent religious woman that Lhadatt defends. Aya Murata does a good job as Manna Nonderaiko Nonderaiko’s younger sister. Kazuyuki Sogabe does a good job as Marty Tohn. Minoru Uchida does a good job as General Khaidenn. Chikao Otsuka does a good job as Dr. Gnomm. Masato Hirano does a good job as Kharock. Bin Shimada does a good job as Yanalan. Hiroshi Izawa does a good job as Darigan. Hirotaka Suzuoki does a good job as Domorhot. Kouji Totani does a good job as Tchallichammi. Masahiro Anzai does a god job as Majaho. Yoshito Yasuhara does a good job as Nekkerout. Ryuji Saikachi does a god job as Prof. Ronta.
The writing in the film is good. The film starts with Lhadatt as a young guy who wants to be a pilot to help with the war effort but due to bad grades, he joins the space program as he is shown as stupid and kind of useless. The film has elements of eastern mysticism as well as this the film shows that no one has respect for astronauts. There disconnect of the social classes is shown as the general killed a guy but is angry people are late to the funeral as they sing their anthem at the funeral.
The people in the space force want to get out of the program, as his friends are embarrassed around him because he is in his space uniform. No one likes the space force, and his friends make fun of him as he as an astronaut is known to be sleazy. The film very much has religious subtext, as shown when he meets the woman Riquinni who is religious and hands him a leaflet. This woman is shown as genuine, but he just wants her body, there is also again religious subtext in the film as people talk about the film going to hell. Lhadatt is a soldier being sent into space for military purposes, he also likes Riquinni as she respects him and the work she does. Lhadatt wants to be free from all the troubles of the world a go amongst the stars. There is a detachment in the film as the higher ups of the space force have pride and see themselves as great in contrast to the pilots who see themselves as rubbish and have a negative image in the public. This is further shown as the film intercuts the normal lives of the space force with people criticising it. Shirotsugh volunteers for the space program they don’t want him as a delinquent but are forced to accept him, the film contrasts the grand delusions he has in his head with the hard work reality of the situation. He is still a low-level student however, as shown when he goes up in a plane. The pilots and astronauts then get into a fight as the assembly of the spacecraft causes a lot of problems as well as this is astronaut training is contrasted with them creating a very complex and expensive machine.
Lhadatt then goes to see Riquinni the woman he befriended and shows her the stars and a picture of the earth as the war going on emits light from earth symbolically making sin in space. She gives him a bible and they get into a fight as the royal space force is shown to get money though there lose royal family contacts. Lhadatt goes to help Riquinni quickly leaving his space training showing there destroyed house as again the film has biblical allegories with man trying to be like God. The mission is fraught with constant setbacks as their engine blows up as well as the doctor in the group dies and they have a military cremation. The public are angry that the space program is taking money away from the people that can’t afford to eat. They say that they are annoyed as the space program isn’t giving people work and they don’t want war machines in space. The space force say work is work however Lhadatt says he doesn’t want to work on something that will create war. Lhadatt is moulded to be a propagandist as the defence ministry uses him to show military might, they ultimately want to abolish the space program, but they are worried about their image and the politics of the situation. The film has biblical overtones, and everything is full of sin. Lhadatt has become the pretty face of the propaganda machine and he is sad at this. The media wants to get involved in the space program and its possible war use as Lhadatt wants to be used as a propaganda peace. People want to control the space program for political and military gai witch links into the themes of science and traditionalism. Lhadatt tries to sexually assault Riquinnni but manages to stop himself as Riquinni knocks him unconscious. Lhadatt begs for forgiveness the next day, but Riquinni blames herself before running off. Lhadatt realises that he is a bad person, but his friend tells him he has a purpose, as he survives an assassination attempt as an old woman shoots a gun at him as him and his friend escape.
People hate him and want him dead as an old woman shoots him with a gun and him and his friend escape as they try to run him over in a street cleaning truck as he manages to kill them, as a main theme of the film is that humanity is not that advanced as civilisation depends on war. Lhadatt finally befriends Manna as he repairs his relationship with Riquinni. The republic military prepare to invade Honnêamise as Lhadatt works on his fluff peace speech as he talks about fakeness. Lhadatt finds the Rocketship underwhelming, as the film then explains that the rocket is standing on prehistoric rubble, and the film ponders that in the future will their rocket look like prehistoric rubble to those people. The intelligence agencies try to shut them down as they decide to push the mission forward due to a military invasion. They get told to evacuate the launch area as its about to become a military battleground as the area erupts into a war zone as they decide not to launch. However, Lhadatt refuses to pull out and convinces the vulnerable ground crew to complete the launch as a dog fight erupts between the two forces. The invasion then starts with a hail of gunfire as the rocket is launched, there is no sound for a second before the sound of the engine is heard and the rocket takes off as everyone including the enemy looks on in awe. The rocket then makes it into space as everyone celebrates.
The cinematography in the film is decent. The film has a good use of neon lights as we’ll as beautiful shot of a bed covered in flowers. The film uses old looking footage showcasing a failed launch as well as a good use of sped up animation as the images go faster and faster showcasing the g forces of the airplane. The film also uses black and white imagery with TV footage and a good POV shot. The film also has a good use of yellow lighting as well imagery being presented in the from of a news broadcast of Lhadatt being the fest man in space. The film also uses old looking footage of Lhadatt training as well as a use of drawn still illustrations in the film. there is a good POV shot of the airplane swirling around as well as a good shot of looking at the rocket through water as well as a good POV shot of the rocket.
The animation in the film is great. The film has great 80s anime animation as well as a dark gritty feel. The film has an interesting animation style as the film has both a weird surreal futuristic feel as well as a traditional look to it companied with a good steampunk look through the animation. There is great anatman with a scene with a flower bed, as well as a failed launch which is presented like old archive footage. There is a good use of animation of them going faster combined with the g forces of the airplane, as well as a use of new broadcast looking footage showing Lhadatt being the first man in space. There is also a use of drawn still illustrations in the film as well as very impressive fire animation when the rocket launches.
Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise is a good, interesting, unique anime film that any fan of old school 80s/90s anime should watch.
