The Sky Crawlers is a Japanese anime film that was released in 2008 and was directed by Mamoru Oshii, famous for directing Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor 2, and Urusei Yatsura 2. It was made by Production I.G and produced by Tomohiko Ishii. It is an adaptation of a novel of the same name by Hiroshi Mori.
The plot goes as follows: in an alternate history time where although the world is at peace, in order to ease the tension of a future war, private corporations form contracts with fighter pilots to engage in combat against each other for the public’s viewing entertainment. When Yuichi Kannami is assigned to Rostock Corporation as their ace pilot, he begins to wonder if he is a Kildren – humans that have been genetically engineered to live an eternal adolescence. As the days go by, be begins to question who he truly is – and if the people in Rostock are really what they claim to be.
Although I personally have never read the original novel, I felt like I could understand the characters and setting very well, even in the runtime of 2 hours. However, not all the characters are developed fully: besides main characters Yuichi Kannami and his superior officer Suito Kusanagi (who, in my opinion, is very similar to Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell), the other characters are usually given just one character trait: Tokino is a boisterous and easygoing guy, Yudogawa is a mysterious young man, Sasakura is a no-nonsense mechanic, Mizuki is an innocent younger sister, and Midori is a hot-blooded tomboy. However, the focus is not on these characters most of the time, so I could deal with it.
As for the pacing and tone, these are both handled well. The tone of the film remains dark and moody all the way through, with certain psychological and political aspects that aren’t too hard to understand for the regular viewer. The pacing is well thought out for a 2-hour film, whenever a big event happens in the movie’s universe, a lot of time is spent dedicated to explaining why and how it happened, showing us what the individual characters think of what happened, as well as how they attempt to solve the problem.
As for the animation, the animation is simple and concise, with precise details given to interior and mechanical designs. While the plane designs are very detailed, and a lot of attention is given to plane protocol and procedures, the film’s CGI isn’t the best when compared to Oshii’s other films that feature CGI. However, the majority of the movie is still hand-drawn. The soundtrack, composed by Kenji Kawai, while although not much different from his other work, is still beautiful to listen to.
Overall, The Sky Crawlers is a very smart and interesting movie. It sheds a light on very eye-opening concepts such as the meaning of life and why humanity needs fighting to be considered peaceful. Although not all the characters are fully realized and the CGI is wonky, the themes and music are enough to lift the movie up, not to mention the great voice acting work and the relationship between Yuichi and Suito, which is one of the most interesting bonds I’ve seen in any animated motion picture.
Final rating: 8/10.
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