It starts out with our lead hero, Yuuichi Kannami who has no recollection of his past when he is first assigned to be his new base. However, as days go by, he slowly begins to find things familiar and struggles with the identity of the mysterious pilot whom was the owner of his current plane.
Soon after, he begins to understand the reason behind his commanding officer, Kusanagi Suito's stoic behavior. In reality, all the pilots who die in battle are somehow reincarnated so that their skills are not lost. And the mysterious pilot whom Kannami was so interested about was actually him before he was shot by Kusanagi at his request.
The story tells of philosophies about war and why up till today, it is rare to find a time of absolute peace. Suito had in her drunken state explained that wars were around to keep everyone at the tips of their toes, ensuring that they do not take peace for granted. Unfortunately, wars in one way or another, also allow the Kildren to feel alive.
Whatever philosophy about war that is seen in the story is understandable and true and can also be related and compared with our modern day situations. It also shows the fortune of being able to grow up and not living your life by repetition.
The animation is absolutely breath taking with the detailed portrayal of their battles. And it is really amazing how the creators managed to incorporate fluent English and well as Japanese into the character dialogues. The soundtrack was beautiful and the instrumental is a favorite of mine.
The story will probably not be appealing to everyone especially children of 12 years and below as many major events in the story are not clearly distinguished. To put it bluntly, you would have to multi-task of both watching the movie and reading between the lines of what each character is trying to portray. However, if given a chance to be well-absorbed and understood, a magnificent and absolutely worth watching anime.
Simply breath taking.
