mante.tiffany - 2013-08-08 11:25:09

Ouritsu Uchuugun: Honneamise no Tsubasa (Honneamise) manages to flawlessly combine a man's personal story with a broad perspective on humanity as a whole. It shows how our small and seemingly meaningless lives still have an impact on others, and that this is something we should account for. Its presentation of how history leads up to the lives of every individual, and that each of us are a part of that history and should try our best in continuing it in the best way possible, is portrayed in a way not many works would manage to accomplish.

Setting
The bizarre setting seems to be somewhat of a comedic parody on our industrialised world at times, yet presents itself often as a gritty alternative. The ridiculous and nearly surreal machines and outfits are made into something you won't laugh at because of the sinister environment they are located in, but at the same time manage to become a relief for not having to force yourself into taking everything extremely seriously. The superb visuals provide us with a setting with incredible detail, and the political and societal background contains that same amount of detail. The places the characters take within this societal context is therefore sufficiently grounded, and can be understood in a realistic manner.

Plot
The story is focused nearly exclusively on the protagonist and therefore relies heavily on his position and the decisions he makes. Nearly any major decision accounts for something, and leads up to something bigger later on. Most plot devices are backed by a believable psychology or political aspects and seem to always have a satisfactory explanation. There are a few moments where the necessity of plot devices is questionable, and though those have likely been implemented to reach some specific developments and an overall greater character depth, that purpose is most of the time satisfactory enough and rarely does it come without any justification at all.

Characters
Though the protagonist plays such an important role, the side characters are certainly not without depth themselves. Though the central cast is rather small, and no major development can be found in most of them, they are well-defined and are not going out of their way in order to achieve some sort of goal which the plot would require them to. This makes them balanced and believable, and despite this they still manage to come to rational compromise.
The protagonist himself goes through a lot of development however, he is entirely different at the start than he is at the end. This duality of his character is nicely bridged with a mental conflict in between. And though he's certainly not a likeable and a somewhat shallow character at first, this helps in the ultimate progression of the movie. His personality in the conclusion remains rather undefined however, but the result should be pretty obvious from other developments.

Development
The ultimate development of the plot is hinted at right from the start and the outcome doesn't veer very far from the initial premise. This doesn't mean however that the story is linear, without its highs and lows, or that it's incredibly predictable in any way. Many of the variety is maintained in the personal story of the protagonist, and the world around him progresses in a magnificent parallel alongside him. More personal issues and emotions are explored in the protagonist's life, without the film losing a grip on the growing influence of his surroundings.
The development of the protagonist is not flawless however, and some of the aforementioned questionable plot devices cause him to change character rather sudden at times. The progression from his inital character all the way to how he ends up becoming is a long one however, and it is still rather commendable how well it is displayed in a single film.

Immersion
The amazing setting, visuals and overall story development manage to keep the film interesting throughout. They combine the meaningful story with some great comedy, and it manages to be both serious and comedic without it being disruptive. The progression of the main character and story in general might be slow at first, but it quickly develops into something which is obviously building up towards a more meaningful purpose. This manages to create a constant suspense leaving you wondering whether all of this will conclude into something spectacular, or whether something will happen which you won't be able to foresee. And even though the story follows a certain stable path, every event still manages to invoke interest and surprise you with the outcome.

Emersion
A lot of the motives in Honneamise have to do with responsibility, both personal and societal. The protagonist comes to several realisations concerning these matters, and as a viewer you can easily relate to the development he goes through. It is not necessarily that you'll come to similar realisations, but it is understandable nonetheless, and you'll find yourself taking an understanding position towards him.
But aside from that, though the movie is impressive, there is not much food for actual thought or any gripping emotional displays. Being dramatic is however not at all what the movie is trying to do, yet it lacks a bit at times it is trying to be honestly thought provoking.

Voice Acting
The voices fit the characters really well, it brings out their personalities and adds to how believable the characters already were. The acting itself is not remarkable, but combined with the animated facial expressions it still does a very good job.

Art
The art is absolutely amazing, the colouring and backgrounds are vivid and detailed, and the designs of locations add to a great and unique atmosphere. Scenery often presents great use of perspective and camera angles, and do well in displaying the setting and scene locations. The lighting adds real charm and is perfectly combined with motion and effects. The animation is not the most fluid, but it is still detailed and lively. Overall superb.

Sound
Soundeffects are rather unimpressive however, they sound rather old, unlike the art, and don't have the best timing. Voices often have poor lip-synching, and most sounds suffer from poor volume and direction control. It is not something that should recieve too much criticism regarding its age, but it's still rather mediocre. The music has a lot of the oddities of the art-style, yet a more classical score would not have been such a bad idea. The use of experimental and unique instruments was a risky choice, and though it wasn't poorly done, it didn't really work out for the better either.

Overall personal experience
Honneamise is one film which manages to remain incredibly interesting throughout, and apart from a somewhat questionable ending, it never disappoints. The gradual build-up and suspenseful and meaningful storytelling will pull you in and leave you in awe. And though it's hard to see it as something personally influential, it shows a broader perspective on things and shows a lot for the minimal investment it takes. It's humorous and an easy watch, yet manages to show quite a lot in such a short amount of time. In short, a meaningful film about responsibility and humanity, told within an easygoing and relateable story of personal struggle.

Comments
Story (setting, plot, development), Animation (art), Sound (sound, voice acting), Character (characters) and Enjoyment (immersion, emersion, overall experience) were split up into more manageable portions so I could remain focused on 1 aspect of the series in an attempt to remain objective and spoiler-free. Also no unnecessary synopsis, and the OP and ED of a series aren't an actual part of the anime! Know that all feedback is appreciated, please use the helpful button as intended, and thanks for reading!