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THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE.
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hmm figured there would've been a discussion thread for this movie already, oh well. Just watched this for the second time early this morning after I came across an exquisitely released copy from THORA (Commentary track!), and this time around I had some lingering thoughts that I might as well put down so they'll get out of my head.

By and large I thought it was an excellent movie. It was paced perfectly for having a fairly long run-time, with nearly every scene at least serving some purpose, whether it was the advancement of the Space Force's goal to successfully launch the rocket, or Shiro's own development from a slacker nobody to the determined pilot he becomes over the course of the movie. Even some of the more filler-ish elements of the movie (like those with Riquinni and Manna) seemed to bolster Shiro's development, though in more subtle ways I believe. But aside from that the animation was gorgeous and multilayered, the side characters were light on development but engaging, and the music largely felt out of place and distracting, a sentiment that seems to be fairly unanimous from what I've read on.

Some scenes I liked or ones that stuck out:

Shiro and Riquinni's last scene together in the movie was nice; may be a bit cliche perhaps but I really like the way it didn't delve into anything melodramatic, just, "I gotta go..." and, "Come back soon." No sadness, no nothing, and that really stayed with me. And how Shiro was about to say something to her, and you almost believe it's going to be something all romantic ... but nope. He stops himself. And I think it was right there that I decided that there wasn't really any romantic connection between Riquinni and Shiro, or at least in the traditional sense.

That scene between them also stood out (you'll probably know what I'm talking about if you've seen it) as well. But it is not really the moment in question that sticks with me, it's the conversation that happens the next day. Where Shiro goes to apologize and try to do all that stuff you'd expect to happen. But Riquinni apologizes to him instead. It was a very interesting moment on her character, and I'm itching to watch it again with the commentary on to see what GAINAX was going with it.

And then there was Shiro's monologue at the very end of the movie. Felt very reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin's moment at the end of The Great Dictator; not necessarily the topic raised, but more of the nature of the speech, that plea for humanity.

There's more I could blab on about moments I liked in Honneamise, but I'll leave it at that ... except that perhaps, just perhaps, this movie is underrated. But different tastes suit different people, so I'm not going to stress that in the slightest.

The scene that stuck out to me was the part when the rocket shot launched and how the soldiers stopped fighting to watch it. and when the rocket flew above the fighting planes

It was a fantastic movie. It was just a pleasure to watch the Blu Ray version of it. The opening and ending scenes could have been better and more polished (evolution of civilization). However, the stunning animation and realistic characters show how amazing animation can be when used as a vehicle for story telling.

A Blu-ray version? =0 I think I found the next thing I need to pick up. I haven't seen this movie for years. Simply a great story.

Speechless, incredible movie, really deep and intense, really shows the dark side of man and humanity, because evil exists no one is pure good. The art is stunning, better than some of today's standards. This movies doesn't get a 10 from me because it has a rather slow start and it felt a little long, but it develops into an amazing story.