Film

Royal Space Force - The Wings of Honneamise

Name: Royal Space Force - The Wings of Honneamise
Genre: Animation, Science Fiction
Released: 1987
Cast: Leo Morimoto, Mitsuki Yayoi, Aya Murata, Kazuyuki Sogabe, Masato Hirano

A 1987 anime film of staggering ambition: a coming-of-age story wrapped inside a sci-fi cold war thriller, all rendered with hand-drawn animation of breathtaking detail. It's meditative and urgent at once, asking what it costs to dream when your world is burning. For people who think animation can be serious art.

TMDb rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love slow, melancholy science fiction where the wonder of rockets comes wrapped in political unease and ordinary human doubt, in the spirit of Hayao Miyazaki's quieter, more earthbound work.

Skip it if you need brisk plotting or constant spectacle, since much of its running time goes to everyday routines, quiet conversations and a deliberately unhurried build toward the launch.

What it asks of you: Around two hours, unfolding at a patient pace with long stretches of observation, so it rewards viewers who will sit with mood and small details rather than wait for big set pieces.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Neon Genesis Evangelion1995

Another '90s anime that uses giant robots and apocalypse as scaffolding for a deeply personal story about a young man's paralysis and growth. Same philosophical weight, different flavor of weirdness.

But It's deliberately uncomfortable and ends in a place of profound ambiguity. Some find it brilliant; others find it frustrating.

Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket1989

A six-episode OVA that proves anime could tell intimate, character-driven stories within giant-robot warfare. Shares Honneamise's conviction that spectacle serves the human story, not the reverse.

But It's short and quiet for something about mobile suits. If you want constant action, this will feel slow.

Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket poster

Akira1988

Released a year after Honneamise, this cyberpunk masterpiece has the same jaw-dropping animation craft and asks similar questions about power, responsibility, and what one person can change.

But It's more chaotic and visually overwhelming. Honneamise is meditative by comparison; Akira is a sensory assault.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Royal Space Force - The Wings of Honneamise

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Andrei Rublev1966

Both are films about the cost of vision and creation amid war. Both believe that human achievement matters precisely because the world is chaotic and broken.

Tarkovsky's three-hour meditation on art, faith, and the possibility of beauty in a violent world. Like Honneamise, it's about one person trying to create something transcendent while history burns around him. Utterly different medium, identical spiritual question.

But It's in Russian, black-and-white, and moves like a glacier. If you want plot momentum, you will be frustrated.

Warriors of the Wind1984

Miyazaki's ecological epic shares Honneamise's seriousness about consequences and features a quiet protagonist thrust into world-changing events. Both treat animation as a vehicle for ideas, not just spectacle.

But The pacing is deliberate. If you need constant plot movement, it can feel like watching paint dry.

Ghost in the Shell1995

Oshii's cyberpunk noir also uses sci-fi premise to explore identity and agency. Like Honneamise, it trusts the audience to sit with philosophical questions without spelling everything out.

But It's visually dense and intellectually demanding. Easy to feel lost if you're not in the right headspace.

Patlabor 2: The Movie1993

Oshii's follow-up is a political thriller disguised as a robot movie—very much Honneamise's spiritual sibling. Slow-burn plotting, gorgeous animation, and genuine stakes.

But There's minimal action. It's a thinking film about power structures and manipulation, not an exciting one.

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms2018

A more recent anime that channels Honneamise's spirit: gorgeously animated, emotionally intelligent, and willing to let silences breathe. Proof that this approach to animation still works.

But It's a fantasy film, not sci-fi, and more openly sentimental. If you want harder sci-fi, this will feel too gentle.

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms poster

Perfect Blue1998

Satoshi Kon's psychological thriller uses animation with the same seriousness as Honneamise—as a tool for exploring fractured consciousness and ambiguous reality. Lean, propulsive, formally brilliant.

But It's deeply unsettling and occasionally graphic. The subject matter (exploitation, obsession) is darker and uglier than Honneamise.

Your Name.2016

Modern anime that shares Honneamise's emotional maturity and painterly backgrounds. A body-swap romance that becomes something far larger and more melancholy about connection and loss.

But It's a love story first. If you're seeking hard sci-fi philosophy, the sentiment might feel saccharine in comparison.

For All Mankind2019

Both treat the space program as moral and personal drama, not just technical achievement. Both ask: why do we reach for the stars when we're still killing each other?

An alternate-history series where the space race never stopped, driven by Cold War competition and genuine wonder. It captures Honneamise's central obsession—what space exploration means as both political ambition and spiritual yearning.

But It's live-action, sprawling across multiple seasons, and often melodramatic. Honneamise is focused and painterly; this is messy and operatic.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin I – Blue-Eyed Casval2015

Both are animated sci-fi films from the same creative lineage, treating war and technological progress as tragic inevitabilities that don't absolve us of moral choice.

A four-part prequel OVA that reimagines the original Gundam with animation approaching Honneamise's sophistication. It's sci-fi war drama that cares as much about character as spectacle, with a fatalistic grace about human ambition.

But It assumes you know the Gundam universe. Even if you don't, it's slow and philosophical when many expect giant-robot action.