Summary
The Wright brothers will always be remembered for their contribution to humanity with the invention of the airplane. This invention revolutionized the world in various aspects, including commerce and themilitary. One of the great things about anime is how there are shows for just about every niche. No matter what a person’s niche is, there is probably a show for them.
This is the same with flying, aviation, and everything about planes. There are stories to tell that incorporate this stunning invention and the power to soar through the clouds via a machine.
Just because a story is somewhat cliche doesn’t mean it isn’t beautiful. In a warring kingdom, amercenary pilot,Charles, is tasked with the important mission of taking the princess Fana to her husband-to-be. To do this, they would have to avoid detection, which is never easy.
The film was animated by Madhouse which is why the visuals are stunning and the feeling of watching a dogfight or evasive maneuvers just made it a fun watch. The end was pretty divisive, and some fans would have loved to know Fana better, but it does a great job capturing the freeing feeling of being in the air.
3
1993
Source
Manga
The Cockpitis actually three short stories all aroundWorld War IIand is one of the few pieces of anime that tells the story of the war through the eye of an enemy combatant. All three stories feature planes and some aspect of the war.
The animation of the three stories are different and that absence of consistency could be jarring to some, butThe Cockpithas an important story to tell, not one that humanizes evil forces, but rather tries to grapple with the idea that both sides were made of some regular humans fighting for the things they valued.
1
2008
Novel
The Sky Crawlersis a movie from the famed director ofGhost In The Shell, Mamoru Oshii, and some of the stoicness of some characters feel almost similar to some aspects of GITS. Two mega corporations have pilots fight one another as a means to de-stress the world, and a new pilot, Yuuichi Kannami, finds more and more mysteries to uncover.
The animation of the planes is incredible, and the dogfights are entertaining. This is where the movie truly excels, and while the overarching message talks about the evil of war, it also has an underlying mystery that is pretty engaging if one is willing to be patient.
Last Exileis a show about conflict and how innocent people can get sucked into the fighting and violence. This is the story with Claus Valca and Lavie Head who are couriers who get stuck with a mysterious girl who they are to protect from several parties that want to kill her.
The show was made by studioGonzoand the visuals are what one would expect from them. The fantasy world also added some flavor to the show and the innovative “vanship” was also an amazing invention that was fascinating to witness. There would be a sequel, Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing which perhaps isn’t as well remembered as the original.
Area 88tells of Shin Kazama who signs away his life thanks to a devious ‘friend’ and ends up fighting as a mercenary. To get out of this life and to be with the woman he loves, he’ll either have to serve for three years, earn $1.5 million, or desert the team with deadly consequences.
Area 88 is a serious piece of media that tells a harrowing story of a man who has to live with the decisions he made and the attempts he makes to continue to live by his convictions. It has the nostalgic artwork ofan 80s animeand some pretty decent air-to-air action.
12
2006
Original
Rescue Wingsis a realistic take on what it is to save people in distress. It follows Kazuhiro Uchida who is transferred to a rescue centre located in a small town while training to become a fighter pilot. He initially takes a while to understand the job, but slowly starts to fall in love with it.
While the major mechanism used in this show is a helicopter, it is more of a serious drama. Rescue Wings has a lot of characters, but it excels at telling the story of victims who are the object of the rescue. It’s an underrated show that should get more love.
Perhaps it makes the story more palatable, but one of the more common tropes in anime is making cute girls do different things. The Magnificent Kotobukiis about the Kotobuki Squadron, a team of elite female pilots and their adventures in adeserted worldtorn by battles.
Kotobuki focuses a lot of its attention to making air battles look super cool and it gets it right most of the time. While some would have loved a bit more character development, this is more than made up for with the gorgeous action sequences.
Porco Rossois a 1992Studio Ghibli moviewhich is somewhat underrated and isn’t always listed as one of the best from the famed studio. However, as an aviation-themed story, it is great. The titular Porco Rosso is a bounty hunter who takes on jobs and gets into a bit of a kerfuffle with an American/Italian pilot called Donald Curtis.
The animation, as with Ghibli movies, is incredible. The setting of Europe in the post mortem of the first World War also gives the movie a vintage feel. Porco Rosso’s iconic red plane is also an excellent design choice, and the characters are lovable as one would expect from a Ghibli offering.
