Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise | HearLore
Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise
In the annals of animation history, few stories begin with a man who does not want to be there. Shirotsugh Lhadatt, the protagonist of Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise, is not a hero in the traditional sense. He is a disengaged, unmotivated young man who once dreamed of being a fighter pilot but settled for a job in his nation's fledgling and demoralized space program. His journey is not one of eager ambition but of reluctant, stumbling maturation. Set in an alternate version of Earth, the film presents a world where the scientific level resembles the 1950s, yet the atmosphere evokes the 1930s, creating a unique visual tapestry that feels both familiar and alien. The story unfolds in the Kingdom of Honnêamise, a place where a corrupt government manipulates public opinion, and where the space program is viewed with skepticism and fear. Shirotsugh's life is upended when he meets Riquinni Nonderaiko, a young religious woman who spends her days street preaching and lives with a sullen child named Manna. Riquinni's idealism and her belief in the sanctity of human existence inspire Shirotsugh to volunteer for the Space Force's last attempt to send the world's first astronaut into orbit. This decision sets in motion a series of events that challenge the very fabric of his reality, forcing him to confront his own inadequacies and the harsh truths of the world around him. The film's narrative is a deliberate departure from the typical anime tropes of the time, focusing instead on the mundane and the realistic, capturing the raw, unfiltered emotions of its characters. The story is not about saving the world in a grand, heroic gesture, but about the quiet, personal struggle of a man finding his place in a world that seems determined to crush him. The film's climax, where Shirotsugh launches into space despite an invasion, is not a moment of triumph but of desperate, almost suicidal resolve. It is a story about the human condition, exploring themes of isolation, faith, and the search for meaning in a world that often feels devoid of it. The film's ending, with Shirotsugh broadcasting a prayer for humanity's forgiveness, is a poignant reminder of the fragility of human existence and the enduring hope that lies within it. The film's impact on the anime industry cannot be overstated, as it paved the way for future works that would explore similar themes of realism and emotional depth. The film's legacy is one of innovation and courage, a testament to the power of storytelling to transcend boundaries and connect with audiences on a profound level.
The Birth Of Gainax
The creation of Royal Space Force was not merely a film production; it was the birth of a studio that would go on to define a generation of anime. The project began as a proposal presented to Shigeru Watanabe of Bandai in September 1984 by Hiroyuki Yamaga and Toshio Okada from Daicon Film, an amateur film studio active in the early 1980s. Daicon Film was associated with students at the Osaka University of Arts and science fiction fandom in the Kansai region, and its members, including Yamaga and Okada, had already made a name for themselves with their live-action short The Return of Ultraman and their 8 mm short Daicon IV Opening Animation. The proposal for Royal Space Force was unusual for an anime pitch in that it described the setting and story but never named the main characters. Okada and Yamaga requested that Mahiro Maeda and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto prepare a set of over 30 image sketches in watercolor to support the written proposal, depicting the world to be designed for the anime. The proposal listed five initial core staff for the anime: Yamaga as the concept creator and director, Okada as the producer, Sadamoto as the chief character designer, Hideaki Anno as the chief mechanical designer, and Kenichi Sonoda as responsible for the settei. The proposal also included a self-analysis of recent animation culture from the perspective of young people, arguing that the anime industry had fallen into a feedback loop with its audience, producing a cul-de-sac of cute and cool-looking anime content that reinforced the negative and introverted tendencies of many fans. The proposal described Royal Space Force as a project to make anime fans reaffirm reality, to make people look again at the society around them and reassess it for themselves. The proposal was a radical departure from the norms of the time, and it was met with skepticism by many in the industry. However, Bandai's company president Makoto Yamashina, who himself represented a younger corporate generation, saw the potential in the proposal. Yamashina's response to reading Gainax's proposal was, I'm not sure what this is all about, but that's exactly why I like it. Yamashina would later state in an interview that this viewpoint represented a grand experiment by Bandai in producing original content over which they could have complete ownership, and a deliberate strategy that decided to give young artists freedom in creating that content. The decision to make the project as a theatrical film would be subject to review at the end of 1985, once Gainax had produced a complete storyboard and settei. The project was a gamble, but one that would pay off in the long run, as it laid the groundwork for Gainax's creative independence and the success of their later works. The film's production was a collective effort, involving many creators, including some from outside the anime industry, to construct a detailed alternate world. The film's chaotic production, with its rejection of anime motifs and visual complexity, was a testament to the collective approach to filmmaking that defined the project. The film's success, despite its initial failure at the box office, was a testament to the power of storytelling and the enduring appeal of its themes. The film's legacy is one of innovation and courage, a testament to the power of storytelling to transcend boundaries and connect with audiences on a profound level.
Royal Space Force was a deliberate attempt to break away from the conventions of anime and create a work that felt real, not just in its visuals but in its emotional depth. The film's director, Hiroyuki Yamaga, envisioned the fictional Honnêamise kingdom where most of the events took place to have the scientific level of the 1950s combined with the atmosphere of America and Europe in the 1930s, but with characters who moved to a modern rhythm. The inspiration he sought to express in anime from Niigata was not its literal look, but rather a sense of the size and feel of the city and its environs, including its urban geography, the relationships between its old and new parts, and between its denser core and more open spaces. In August 1985, six members of the crew, Yamaga, Okada, Inoue, Sadamoto, and Anno from Gainax, accompanied by Shigeru Watanabe from Bandai, traveled to the United States for a research trip, studying postmodern architecture, aerospace history, and witnessing a launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery. Documentary footage of the trip was shot by Watanabe and incorporated into a promotional film released two weeks before the Japanese premiere of Royal Space Force. Yamaga made revisions to the script during the American research tour, and the film's animation style was generally straightforward, without the characteristic quirky techniques to create visual interest or amusement often associated with anime. The film's animation was a deliberate departure from the norms of the time, focusing instead on the mundane and the realistic, capturing the raw, unfiltered emotions of its characters. The film's climax, where Shirotsugh launches into space despite an invasion, is not a moment of triumph but of desperate, almost suicidal resolve. It is a story about the human condition, exploring themes of isolation, faith, and the search for meaning in a world that often feels devoid of it. The film's ending, with Shirotsugh broadcasting a prayer for humanity's forgiveness, is a poignant reminder of the fragility of human existence and the enduring hope that lies within it. The film's impact on the anime industry cannot be overstated, as it paved the way for future works that would explore similar themes of realism and emotional depth. The film's legacy is one of innovation and courage, a testament to the power of storytelling to transcend boundaries and connect with audiences on a profound level.
The Design Of A World
The visual design of Royal Space Force was a meticulous process that involved a team of artists working to create a world that felt both alien and familiar. The film's worldbuilding process went on for roughly a year, and was described as a converse process between Yamaga and the team of designers, expressing his ideas into concrete terms, but also bringing their concrete skills to bear toward the expression of abstract ideas. This reciprocal process influenced Yamaga's writing on the film, as he stated, My style is not I have a story I created, so you help me make it. Creators come first, and this is a story I created thinking what story those creators would shine at the most. The film's design was a deliberate departure from the norms of the time, focusing instead on the mundane and the realistic, capturing the raw, unfiltered emotions of its characters. The film's climax, where Shirotsugh launches into space despite an invasion, is not a moment of triumph but of desperate, almost suicidal resolve. It is a story about the human condition, exploring themes of isolation, faith, and the search for meaning in a world that often feels devoid of it. The film's ending, with Shirotsugh broadcasting a prayer for humanity's forgiveness, is a poignant reminder of the fragility of human existence and the enduring hope that lies within it. The film's impact on the anime industry cannot be overstated, as it paved the way for future works that would explore similar themes of realism and emotional depth. The film's legacy is one of innovation and courage, a testament to the power of storytelling to transcend boundaries and connect with audiences on a profound level.
The Sound Of Silence
The music of Royal Space Force was a crucial element of the film's success, with Ryuichi Sakamoto serving as the musical director. Sakamoto was already regarded for his work in the pioneering electronic band Yellow Magic Orchestra and his soundtrack for the 1983 Nagisa Oshima film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. The year following the release of Royal Space Force, Sakamoto would share the Academy Award for Best Original Score for the soundtrack to The Last Emperor. In 1986 Sakamoto was prominent also in the Japanese domestic film market for his soundtrack to its top-grossing movie of that year, Koneko Monogatari. Sakamoto's first commercial release of music for the project occurred three months before the Japanese debut of the film itself, in the form of a 12 maxi single entitled The Wings of Honnêamise: Image Sketch, containing early mixes of four key initial pieces he had composed for the film's soundtrack. The background music pieces not included on the Original Soundtrack would eventually be collected as a bonus feature on the 1990 Royal Space Force~The Wings of Honnêamise Memorial Box LaserDisc edition. The film's music was a deliberate departure from the norms of the time, focusing instead on the mundane and the realistic, capturing the raw, unfiltered emotions of its characters. The film's climax, where Shirotsugh launches into space despite an invasion, is not a moment of triumph but of desperate, almost suicidal resolve. It is a story about the human condition, exploring themes of isolation, faith, and the search for meaning in a world that often feels devoid of it. The film's ending, with Shirotsugh broadcasting a prayer for humanity's forgiveness, is a poignant reminder of the fragility of human existence and the enduring hope that lies within it. The film's impact on the anime industry cannot be overstated, as it paved the way for future works that would explore similar themes of realism and emotional depth. The film's legacy is one of innovation and courage, a testament to the power of storytelling to transcend boundaries and connect with audiences on a profound level.
The Marketing Gamble
The marketing of Royal Space Force was a contentious process that involved a series of arguments and compromises between the film's creators and its financial backers. By late 1986, signs of nervousness had appeared among sponsors and investors in the film, as the footage of Royal Space Force neared completion and was found to be inconveniently free of many merchandising spin-off opportunities. The project had been pitched, developed, and approved for production under the name Royal Space Force, but All Nippon Airways, one of the film's sponsors, desired that the title include the word wings, while Bandai favored that the title should use the form Something of Something, on the reasoning that the last big anime hit had been called Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. As Royal Space Force was not sexy enough and Riquinni was conveniently female, the initial push was to use the title The Wings of Riquinni. Although the plan to make Royal Space Force had been known around the anime industry since mid-1985, the official announcement of the film was not made until the 4th of June 1986, in a press conference held at the prestigious Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. The announcement used Royal Space Force as the main title of the film, with The Wings of Riquinni as a smaller subtitle. Privately, Yamaga objected strongly to the subtitle, pointing out the purpose of the film was to expand the audience's view of the world, and that he did not want a title that focused on one character. As 1986 drew to a close, publicity for the film gradually relegated Royal Space Force to the status of a smaller subtitle beneath The Wings of Honnêamise. The conflict had involved not only the film's title, but also its length, with Okada acknowledging a shorter movie could have potentially increased ticket sales by allowing the film to be shown more times per day. At the time, however, Okada had refused, arguing that the box office was not part of his job. The film's marketing was a testament to the power of storytelling to transcend boundaries and connect with audiences on a profound level.