There’s a new Hayao Miyazaki film in theaters right now, and since it’s arguably my job to watch anime, I decided to go see it last night. It’s called 風立ちぬ Kaze Tachinu (English title “The Wind Rises”) and is the story of Jiro Horikoshi, a young boy who wants to become a pilot but he can’t because of his bad eyesight, so he decides to design airplanes instead. As Jiro travels to Tokyo to attend engineering school, the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 hits, and he helps a young girl named Naoko and her mother get home safely. When he encounters Naoko again a few years later, an extremely moving love story begins. When famed animator and director Hideki Anno of Evangelion and Nausicaa fame asked to be allowed to work on the film, Mr. Miyazaki surprised him by offering him the lead role instead, because he had become fascinated with Mr. Anno’s unique voice. I thought The Wind Rises was a great film, and I hope it gets a lot of attention around the world.
A new film by Hayao Miyazaki, The Wind Rises.
