The Wind Rises (Kaze Tachinu [2013])

‘The wind is rising, we must try to live.’

Hayao Miyazaki has once again stated that he will no longer be making animated feature films and, although he has been announcing his retirement plans since Princess Mononoke (1998), by all accounts The Wind Rises really is to be his final anime. It can therefore be considered to be the likely swansong of a career that has seen the creation of some of the most beloved animated feature films of all time and a creator who remains Japan’s most financially successful animator.

Young Jirô Horikoshi dreams of becoming an aircraft pilot but he is all too aware that his short-sightedness is not going to permit him to do this. So he decides to learn about designing aeroplanes instead, for the greater purpose of world progress through advancing technology and creative engineering. ‘Instead of bombs we’ll carry passengers,’ he declares. As he grows up Jirô pursues his dreams, dreams that frequently comprise imaginary conversations with Italian aircraft designer Caproni, which embrace his ideas and enthusiasm. And during his waking hours, Jirô studies mathematics and the art of aircraft design. Aeronautical engineering beckons and his desire to create contrasts with the needs of a changing world, with its complex politics and industrial advances, and these will soon dictate his career path. And despite his workload, he manages to find love, with the woman he first met en route to Tokyo University, and whom he helped during the earthquake.

The Wind Rises is the dramatised biopic of Jirô Horikoshi, based on Miyazaki’s manga, the central character voiced by Hideaki Anno, who started out working on the animation for Miyazaki’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984) and was, of course, the creative force behind the superb Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) anime series. Dr. Jiro Horikoshi graduated from the Aviation Laboratory of the University of Tokyo and started his career with Mitsubishi. He was the chief engineer of many Japanese fighter designs of World War 2, including the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter, which was adapted as a kamikaze plane in the closing days of the war. He was known to be strongly opposed to war.

Rather than simply depict his achievements, Miyazaki captures Jirô’s character which unequivocally shows us his humanity, initially during the horrific events following the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923, where he assists some women after a disastrous train crash, one of whom he will eventually fall in love with. Living through troublesome times with the great depression and the tuberculosis epidemic to contend with, he faces all the challenges life throws at him with honour and integrity, taking his responsibilities seriously. Always dedicated to his work, he endeavours to understand the occasional conflicts between science and morality, discussing them with close friend and colleague Honjô (Hidetoshi Nishijima). And then he finds something that makes him truly love the world and appreciate the joy of living when he meets and falls for enthusiastic artist Naoko Satomi (Miori Takimoto). They are utterly dedicated to each other, but how long can their happiness last?

As with every film in Studio Ghibli’s catalogue, The Wind Rises is beautifully designed and filmed. Despite the fictionalised dream sequences, which are realistically portrayed ideals of the central characters’ hopes and dreams, this is one of Ghibli’s non-fantasy films which includes such delights as Only Yesterday (1991), Whispers of the Heart (1995) and From Up On Poppy Hill (2011). Curiously, this is Miyazaki’s only non-fantasy work as a director (bar the similarly aeroplane based short for JAL’s in-flight entertainment). Naturally the primary theme is that of aeroplanes and flying, one of Miyazaki’s passions, and an element that can be found in most of his feature films. Indeed, it even links to the name of Studio Ghibli – Japan’s premiere animation studio was named for an Italian aircraft manufacturer founded, of course, by Caproni.

At its heart The Wind Rises is a beautifully realised drama about devotion, dedication and love, where art embraces aeronautical engineering. This is essential viewing for anyone with a sense of humanity and a desire to see a truly moving story. With planes, of course.