(The Japanese version of this article can be found here)
Man, I’m going to miss the extended Seinfeld & Curb Larryverse. Did you know the first season of Curb was released on VHS? Although, considering the typical coverage on this blog, VHS might as well be cutting-edge technology.
On a recent trip to Japan, I spent a few days at the library looking for newspaper movie review columns around March 1987. I was looking for reviews of Royal Space Force to try and get a better grasp on the general public (i.e. non-anime fan) reaction to the film around the time of its premiere in Japan. Of course, the publication of a review in a newspaper does not guarantee the reviewer is not an anime fan. Nevertheless, it made more sense than looking for reviews in anime magazines of the time.
While a few of them did have ads for the premiere, unfortunately almost none of them had any movie review columns in the first place — if I recall correctly, it was literally just two or three newspapers. I only ended up finding one RSF review in the Yomiuri Shimbun. I checked the index of the corresponding the March 1987 miniature compilation volumes for a newspaper publication, looking for any movie review columns. If I didn’t find any such entries, then I stopped and moved onto the next newspaper publication. Of course, I may have skimmed too quickly and missed them, or such reviews may have appeared a month or two later. I ran out of time so I wasn’t able to do a more thorough investigation. I may try again on a future trip.
These are the newspapers I checked:
- The Japan Times
- Shimbun Akahata (しんぶん赤旗)
- Asahi Shimbun (朝日新聞)
- Kōmei Shimbun (公明新聞)
- Saitama Shimbun (埼玉新聞)
- Sankei Shimbun (産経新聞)
- Shimotsuke Shimbun (下野新聞)
- Chūgoku Shimbun (中国新聞)
- Chūnichi Shimbun (中日新聞)
- Nikkei Sangyō Shimbun (日経産業新聞)
- Nikkei Ryūtsū Shimbun (日経流通新聞)
- Nihon Keizai Shimbun (日本経済新聞)
- Hokkaidō Shimbun (北海道新聞)
- Hokkoku Shimbun (北國新聞)
- Mainichi Shimbun (毎日新聞)
- Yamanashi Nichinichi Shimbun (山梨日日新聞)
Some of these newspapers would obviously not contain anything along the lines of movie reviews, but I figured since I bothered to go out of my way to check the newspaper archives, I might as well check their indices quickly. Also, there are plenty of local newspapers not included above, but this list was the extent of the available archives.
While I didn’t find much in the way of newspaper reviews, I did find various ads and miscellaneous coverage related to the film which I’m sharing here. Normally, I strongly prefer whole translations of articles for this blog, but I do not have the time nor motivation to do it here. The best I can offer at the present time are some brief summaries and commentaries on aspects which stood out to me.
(I wouldn’t say there are any bombshell discoveries, so you should curb your enthusiasm…)
You can enlarge the images via left-clicking or through the right-click menu.
Yomiuri Shimbun 1987/1/1 Clipping
An RSF ad. I tried to assemble the two halves together with image editing software but there’s still a blank line across the middle.
What stood out to me was the portion in the top right:
アメリカ・スペシャルエンターテインメントツアー
ロサンゼルス（ディズニーランド）
サンフランシスコ６日間の旅
America Special Entertainment Tour
Los Angeles (Disneyland)
Six-day San Francisco Trip
It was priced at 168,000 JPY (at 1987 exchange rates this was equivalent to roughly 1060 USD, which would be roughly 2920 USD in 2024 after accounting for inflation). The attachment of a price tag here implies the tour was open to the general public. I’d previously assumed this tour was restricted to members of the press and people affiliated with the production of the film.
In the bottom left we can see the following:
お年玉クイズ
オネ○ミスの翼
上の○にあてはまる文字はなんでしょう。
●映画公開を記念して実施される、あのチャイニーズシアターのプレミアム試写会ツアーへ全日空機で２名様をご招待。
New Year’s Gift Quiz
Honnê_mise
What letter goes in the blank space?
– To commemorate the release of the film, we’ll invite two people who submitted correct answers aboard the ANA flight and tour for the premium preview screening at the Chinese theater.
It must’ve been a great memory for whoever was selected.☺️
We have some comments from then-Bandai president Mr. Makoto Yamashina.
バンダイ第一回自主製作作品・製作にあたり
新年あけましておめでとうございます。「夢・クリエイション」バンダイはこのスローガンのもと、ホームエンターテイメントビジネスをめざし、そのひとつとして映像事業に取り組んでおります。「オネアミスの翼」は、バンダイにおける初の劇場用長編映画として私共が玩具で培ってきたノウハウと、若手クリエーター集団の才能と情熱を結集して鋭意、製作中です。この作品は幅広い年齢層の方々に見て頂ける本格的エンターテイメント作品で、皆様方に「見てよかった」という深い感動を味わって頂けるものと確信しております。皆様方のご支援、ご協力の程、宜しくお願い致します。
On Bandai’s first independent film production
Happy New Year. Under our slogan “dream creation,” Bandai aims to enter the home entertainment business, and one endeavor towards that aim is taking on the film industry. Wings of Honnêamise is Bandai’s first feature length film. The film is currently in production, developed with the know-how we’ve built up in the toys industry, and the earnest talents and passions of a group of young creations. This is a full-scale work of entertainment, targeted towards a wide age range. I have full confidence that you will come away from the film deeply moved and thankful that you watched it. I humbly ask for your cooperation and support.
Yomiuri Shimbun 1987/2/20 Clipping
An RSF newspaper ad.
5万光年の彼方…とどけ、少女リイクニの祈り！
★迫りくるオネアミス滅亡の危機に立ち向かう 聖少女リイクニ。汚れなき愛と祈りを胸にいま、リイクニは冒険の翼に乗った—。アメリカ騒然
日本映画初のワールド・プレミアを実現！
■2月19日、ロス・チャイニーズ・シアターにて特別試写会が開催された！Ｇ・ルーカス、トム・クルーズ、マドンナ…世界映画人が映像に驚き、音楽に酔い知れ、愛のドラマに泣いた！アメリカ大観衆が日本のスーパー・アニメに圧倒され、嵐の拍手が沸いた！凄い！面白い！驚いた！
「風の谷のナウシカ」「天空の城ラピュタ」の名匠宮崎駿さんは…
おめでとう！よくやった！と最大級の讃辞を贈りたい。見終えた僕は喜々とした気持ちで、僕らの次の世代の作り手がやっと登場したなと感じました。もう一度、よくがんばった！
お待たせしました！
★アニメ史を変える名作！日本中がいまオネアミス・ブーム！Young girl Riqunni’s prayers from beyond 50,000 light years!
★ Holy girl Riqunni confronts an impending crisis that threatens the collapse of Honnêamise. With a heart filled with untainted love and prayers, Riqunni rides on the wings of adventure.American Uproar
The first world premiere of Japanese film has happened!
On February 19th, a special preview screening took place at the Chinese Theater in Los Angeles. George Lucas, Tom Cruise, Madonna, and worldwide film industry folks were surprised by the film, entranced by the music, and in tears over this love story! This massive American audience was blown away by this Japanese super anime, erupting in a storm of applause!Amazing! Intriguing! Surprising!
According to the master craftsman of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Castle in the Sky, Hayao Miyazaki…“Congratulations! Great job! I’d like to extend my utmost praise. Upon finishing the movie, I was giddy as it felt like the next generation of creators had finally arrived. Once again, great job!”
It’s finally here!
★The great film that will change anime history! Japan is now undergoing an Honnêamise boom!
This is the first time I’ve seen George Lucas, Tom Cruise, and Madonna mentioned as people present at the screening. However, I’m generally skeptical of the accuracy of the Japanese reporting on the premiere.
I’ve long known about the notorious marketing strategy of Tōhō-Tōwa with regards to the film — the short version is that they basically lied about the nature of the film, heavily emphasizing it as a dramatic romance-adventure story — and have seen the infamous trailer with Riqunni’s “Do you believe in the miracle of love?” line which is never said in the film. Although I was aware of it as historical fact, looking at the marketing in these newspapers leading up to and after the premiere really hit home just how ubiquitous all of this deceptive marketing was in advertisements of the movie.
(This teaser contains Riqunni’s aforementioned line.)
Another fact I’ve long known about is that the objective of the Hollywood premiere of the movie (under the name Star Quest) was primarily intended to hype up the film to Japanese audiences back home. Again, something I knew as more of a historical fact but didn’t really grasp that clearly until looking at these newspaper ads. I don’t really doubt that the audience applauded after the film was over, as any polite audience would in the company of the filmmakers, but the “high praise” aspect strikes me as fairly exaggerated — though to be fair, a lot of Japanese marketing sounds overly exaggerated when translated to English. We also know the historical reality: the premiere did not result in any sort of massive die-hard following for the film, certainly not compared to its contemporary Akira which has left a much bigger mark in American anime fandom.
(By the way, it’s actually not so uncommon that anime fans of my generation have never even heard of Akira. Shocked? Haha.)
Yomiuri Shimbun 1987/3/4 Clipping
This is mostly just a brief notice about upcoming Spring theatrical releases of anime movies, March 14th onwards.
アニメの春到来
14日から一斉公開
春休みを前にして、十四日からアニメ映画が一斉に公開される。
まず、松竹系は、アクションものの「バツ＆テリー」は、高校生バッテリーが、恋に野球に青春を燃焼させる痛快編。一方、テレビシリーズで人気を集めた「ダーティペア」は、プロポーション抜群の二人の美女が、怪事件解決のため、宇宙を駆け回る。
一方、東宝洋画系が「オネアミスの翼・王立宇宙軍」。未来都市を舞台にした愛のドラマで、総製作費八億円という大作だ。音楽は坂本龍一。東宝系では、おなじみの「ドラえもん／のび太と竜の騎士」「オバケのQ太郎／とびだせ！1／100大作戦」「プロゴルファー猿／影の忍法ゴルファー参上！」が出る
Shōchiku’s lineup had Bats & Terry and Dirty Pair. Tōhō-Yōga’s lineup had Wings of Honnêamise: Royal Space Force. Tōhō’s lineup had Doraemon: Nobita and the Knights on Dinosaurs, Little Ghost Q-Taro: Fly! The 1/100 Grand Operation, and Pro Golfer Saru: Golfers of the Shadow Ninja Arts Appear!. RSF is described as being a romance drama set in a future city, with a production budget of 800 million yen with music from Sakamoto Ryūichi; those aspects were often emphasized in marketing for the movie.
I have to admit, I am intrigued by the concept of golfers trained in the shadow ninja arts… presumably in the pursuit of ultimate golf technique, haha.
Yomiuri Shimbun 1987/3/6 Clipping
An RSF newspaper ad.
ついにアメリカが驚いた！
●2月19日、ロスアンゼルスで日本映画初の海外試写会を開催！
大観衆は息を呑み、会場はやがて拍手の嵐につつまれた！ノア・ハザウェイ（ネバーエンディング・ストーリー） いつまでも大切に心の中に留めておきたい素晴らしい作品です。本当に楽しかった。
ニーノ・Ｒ・ジャメロ（ルーカス・フィルム副社長） リューイチ・サカモトの音楽とアニメＳＦＸによる映像は忘れられない美しさだ！
オネアミスで何が起ったのか！！
●迫りくるオネアミス滅亡の危機！汚れなき愛と祈りを胸に、いま少女リイクニは冒険の翼に乗った！松本典子さん（歌手） オネアミスは、過去や未来や夢がひとつになった、知らないけれど知っている世界。すごい。
不思議映像の秘密！
●映像テクノロジーの最高スタッフが完成させたアニメＳＦＸ！宮崎駿さん（「風の谷のナウシカ」「天空の城ラピュタ」監督） よくやった！と最大級の讃辞を贈りたい。次の世代の作り手の登場を実感しました。
大友克洋さん（「アキラ」「童夢」作者） キャラクターがイキイキとしているのに感動。彼らは実写以上に人間的だった。
松本零士さん（「宇宙戦艦ヤマト」「銀河鉄道999」作者） これぞまさに若者による若者のための映画！その創造のエネルギーには感服しました。
Finally, America is in shock!
– On February 19th, the first overseas preview screening of a Japanese movie was conducted!
The massive audience was speechless, and then the venue erupted in a storm of applause shortly after.Noah Hathaway:
A wonderful film I’ll always cherish in my heart. Truly enjoyable.Nino R. Jamero (Lucasfilm Vice President):
An unforgettable, beautiful film courtesy of music by Sakamoto Ryūichi and anime special effects.What happened in Honnêamise!!
– Holy girl Riqunni confronts an impending crisis that threatens the collapse of Honnêamise. With a heart filled with untainted love and prayers, Riqunni rides on the wings of adventure.Noriko Matsumoto (singer):
Honnêamise is the past, future, and dreams all rolled into one familiar, yet unfamiliar world. Amazing.The secrets of a mysterious movie!
– Anime special effects accomplished by a top-tier film technology teamHayao Miyazaki (director of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Castle in the Sky):
Great job! I’d like to extend my utmost praise. I truly felt the arrival of the next generation of creators.Katsuhiro Otomo (author of Akira and Domu):
I was deeply moved by the liveliness of the characteres. They were more human than live-action.Leiji Matsumoto (author of Space Battleship Yamato and Galaxy Express 999):
This is it! Truly a film for the youth, made by the youth! I was impressed by such creative energy.
I didn’t find much about “Nino R. Jamero” in relation to Lucasfilm. However, there is a Nilo Rodis-Jamero who worked in several art and design roles on the Star Wars films. I also tried briefly searching for who the Lucasfilm vice-president would’ve been at the time but nothing turned up. I wonder if the reporter was just mistaken on both the name and role of the person they quoted.
Yomiuri Shimbun 1987/3/13 Evening Clipping
This was the sole newspaper review that I found. It was published the day before the premiere in Japan. Notably, it actually includes some criticism of the movie so it is not mere advertising fodder.
This review has already been shared around social media in the past, but I’ll include it here for so it’s more easily viewable by those without registered accounts on said social media platforms.
芸能
スクリーン
「オネアミスの翼」
（バンダイ）丁寧に描き立体感
現代の社会像を注入
登場人物の末端まで見事に描き分けたキャラクター・デザイン、超遠景から近景まで丁寧に組み立てた立体感にみちた映像、アニメーションとしては、素晴らしい出来ばえだ。せりふも表情も自然で、動きも洗練されている。
主人公はオネアミス王国宇宙軍所属のパイロット。しかし、この王立宇宙軍は、世間から無駄金遣いの余計者扱いされていて、隊員は鬱屈（うっくつ）している。
そこへ待望の軌道宇宙船打ち上げ計画にゴーサインが出る。しらけ気味の仲間に冷やかされながらも、主人公は思い立って宇宙飛行士を志願、猛訓練が始まる。
「トップガン」的なヒロイック・ファンタジーを期待すると、当てが外れる。きわめて正面きった青年の成長物語である。快楽の追求に走る一方で不満を抱える民衆、それを操る政治。原案・脚本・監督の山賀博之は、現代日本社会への自分のイメージをすべて注ぎ込もうとしている。それも声高にではなく、こころ優しいソフトなタッチで。
ただ、そうした思いを一本の強力なストーリーにまとめ上げることに成功しているかというと、残念ながらそうではない。間延びして退屈なところもあるし、話がバラバラなまま盛り上がりを欠く悩みもある。
だが、これだけ金も時間もかかった大作に、既成のアニメのパターンに寄り掛かることなく、飾りの無い率直な自分のイメージを貫いたところは、あっぱれといわねばなるまい。（寧）
—十四日からニュー東宝シネマー、新宿オデヲンほかで上映。Entertainment
Screen
Wings of Honnêamise
(Bandai)Delicately drawn depth
An injection of modern society
This film is rich with depth, with characters designed down to the finest detail and delicately assembled scenes from the far-off background to the foreground. It’s a marvelous work of animation. The dialogue and expressions are natural, and the motion is refined.
The protagonist is a pilot of the Royal Space Force. However, this Royal Space Force is treated by society as an unnecessary waste of money. Its members are depressed.
They get the go-ahead to carry out their plans, long in the making, to launch a spaceship into orbit. While being ridiculed by his lackadaisical teammates, the protagonist decisively volunteers to become an astronaut and undergoes intense training.
If you’re expecting a heroic fantasy like Top Gun, you won’t find one. It’s very openly a coming-of-age story. In contrast to the pursuits of pleasure, you also have a disgruntled populace and a government which controls them. Hiroyuki Yamaga conceived of, screen-wrote, and directed this movie. This is his attempt to inject into a film all his notions of modern Japanese society — not on the nose, but rather with a soft, delicate touch.
But whether or not those ideas successfully blend into a solid, cohesive story is another matter. Unfortunately, it does not. It runs on too long and has dull moments. It’s concerning that the story remains scattered and lacks a climax.
However, this great work was so expensive and time-consuming to produce. Yet, it doesn’t conform to existing anime tropes. It candidly presents the director’s ideas without adornment. On those points, I can’t help but applaud.
Screening in New Tōhō Cinema, Shinjuku Odeon, and other theaters from the 14th onwards.
Asahi Shimbun 1987/3/20 Evening Clipping
This contains an article covering Ryuichi Sakamoto and some of his comments on the production of RSF and The Last Emperor. The copy I have is kind of hard to read, so I’d like to get another one the next time I have the opportunity.
共感とズレを感じながら、楽しくやりました
While I simultaneously did and did not relate, I had fun working on it.
What stood out to me, besides being a rare instance of Sakamoto acknowledging the existence of RSF post-release, was the publication date. It’s less than a week out after the premiere. Therefore, Sakamoto’s relationship with Gainax by this point should have been in shambles. Despite that, Sakamoto’s comments towards the production are positive overall, if anything, so I wonder when the interview was conducted.
Maybe by this point he’d not yet seen the film and possibly was not yet aware that his instructions were ultimately overridden. If so, even if this interview was conducted post-premiere, the experience had not yet become bitter in retrospect.
Perhaps he had no choice but to talk about RSF due to contractual obligations, and said obligations would have prohibited negative commentary. Alternatively, he may have opted not to air his grievances simply as a matter of being a professional.
Whatever the case may be, it’s quite rare to see such comments from him about the film post-release.
Yomiuri Katei Keizai Shimbun 1989/3/23 Clipping
Fast-forward two years, here’s a newspaper ad for Friday Roadshow, a regular TV slot which would air feature-length films. This airing of RSF was how many people saw the movie for the first time.
3月24日金よる9時
金曜ロードショー
オネアミスの翼～王立宇宙軍～「アニメＳＦＸ」ついにドルビーサウンドで初登場！
実写を越えた迫力の描写、実物と見まがうばかりの背景美術、そして坂本龍一による魅力あふれる音楽で公開されるや大ヒット。
初の宇宙飛行士となった青年の愛と勇気の物語。原案・脚本・監督／山賀博之
声の出演／森本レオ、弥生みつき ほかMarch 24th, Friday night at 9 o’clock.
Friday Roadshow
Wings of Honnêamise ~ Royal Space Force ~“Anime special effects” finally rendered in Dolby Sound for the first time!
It premiered with impactful drawings which surpass live-action, background art that could easily pass for real life, and the enchanting music of Sakamoto Ryūichi. A huge hit.
A tale of the romance and bravery of a young man who became the first astronaut.Original Idea / Screenplay / Director: Hiroyuki Yamaga
Voice Actors: Leo Morimoto, Mitsuki Yayoi, and others
(You can see the Friday Roadshow opening lead-in to Royal Space Force below. The official title at the time was still in its flipped ordering: Wings of Honnêamise: Royal Space Force.)
Nikkei Shimbun 1995/7/26 Clipping
A 1995 interview with Hiroyuki Yamaga — he was the president of Gainax at this time. It touches a little on Gainax’s early days and RSF, but then moves onto Yamaga’s thoughts about CG and the emergence of the internet.
八七年に製作した「オネアミスの翼 王立宇宙軍」は、日本で最初の原作がないオリジナルアニメ映画だった。
The ’87 film Wings of Honnêamise: Royal Space Force is Japan’s first original feature-length anime film.
What stood out to me was this claim from the interviewer. In other words, supposedly RSF was the first non-adaptation feature-length anime film.
Really? I would’ve thought that one of the 60s Tōei-Dōga movies would have been first. What about Horus: Prince of the Sun? Anyway, I’ll leave it to the anime historians to dispute or affirm that one. Also, keep in mind this was published in Nikkei, a finance newspaper. Accuracy on anime trivia is perhaps besides the point. The interviewer was probably more focused on how Gainax as a company was going to utilize emerging technologies.
To be continued next month… or maybe the month after.
Heisei Etranger 