movoning

I absolutely loved it. This movie perfectly shows how you can take something really basic and simple and make it into something complete and special. There aren't many stories on piloting, but there are plenty on flying and wars. Of course, with the theme of flying and war comes the theme of freedom, and when you put a woman and a man together, you get romance. This movie isn't any different in those basic ideas, so if you are looking for a genre breaking show, this isn't the right one for you. However, don't skip it just because it's conventional. This didn't bore me atall, and in fact, it's so much more refreshing than most of the anime aired these days. If you are like me, who need occasional breaks from tsundere and yandere girls and harem loving boys, come and watch this please. I wouldn't call it serious or deep, but it's real. Yes, it's real as in, it's how real people are. I'm not trying to offend quircky and crazy characters or random and insane plot twists. It's like I said, I need a break sometimes. I digressed from the review a little bit, but honestly, if I say one little thing about the plot or characters, it'll basically ruin the series for you, since everything is as straightforward as they can be, and should be in my opinion. The soundtracks and animation are really good, and the fighting scenes are very well made. It's like one of those studio ghibli's works, simple but solid, and in my case, will be remembered fondly.

ZiharkXVI

What to say about this movie. It at once delighted me with a well paced story and gorgeous dogfights. The growth of our two characters was detailed in the moments of downtime. I was sucked in by its premise, and treated to the most superbly done forbidden romance that I've seen in awhile. If my score confuses you, this film committed one cardinal sin, however. It resolved nothing. The story it was telling was certainly not finished, and frankly the ending epilogue was insulting. Understand something. If the theme of the movie was nationalist racist bigotry meantto cultivate that turn of the century feeling, we should have spent the movie on that. One downtrodden pilot and a pampered princess cannot carry that story arc unless you make it clear. The princess didn't have to overcome that boundary in the movie. From the get go she was pure and noble in her intentions toward the pilot. Even from childhood it seemed. Her growth was in her own strength of will and experience. She moved from completely dependent to independent. She never once hated the pilot for his race. Likewise, the pilot was overcoming his own feelings of self worth by undertaking this mission. And by the end of it knew he wasn't just a worthless dog out for money. All symbolized in the romance by a girl falling for the boy who taught her to fly and a boy falling for a girl realizing he could be a man worthy of her affection. I absolutely was baffled by him flying off into the sunset and the princess off to marry some idiot prince. The boundaries won! They failed to overcome their respective roles, settling for the most society would allow them. And then the movie tells us the princess worked hard to end discrimination. Big deal. We don't care about this fictional world. We only care about the characters, and the fact that the movie thought it could placate us with a three sentence epilogue was horrendous. This isn't world history. Its a fictional drama. The story was ultimately defeated by its own incompetent ending. I have heard from some that it defies cliche in that regards, but this is not a good thing. Perhaps the only way this could have succeeded is if the two did end up in a relationship, or at least tried. Again, when your story is about these two characters growing, you must show where they grew at the end. The pilots end is much like his beginning and it is doubtful he even changed - always kind, always willing to serve. He still didn't reach out and grab what he wanted, and according to the epilogue just disappears. Wow. Or are we to believe he just wanted to complete his mission? He didn't even do that without the princess! The princess was supposed to take charge, but at the end runs off to marry the prince. And she fights for peace apparently. Does she do that in tea parties I wonder? How pointless. She could very well be doing the same thing after one horrific battle without the pilot. Her stance would have fit if she'd become an independent nation leader. Heck, marry the pilot and put down the warmongers by defying their expectations. Realistic? Not really, but story wise it makes far more sense. And really, do we expect anything to be realistic in this drama of two people from opposite ends of the social strata to undergo a romance? Nothing in this movie is real or even remotely reflects reality so I suggest that the story needs work. The ending ruined this movie.