📖 Synopsis
The Wind Rises is a profound historical anime drama by Hayao Miyazaki, blending fact and fiction to depict the life of Jiro Horikoshi, the Japanese aviation engineer who designed the famed Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter plane used in World War II. The film explores the beauty and burden of creation through the lens of dreams, war, and love.
The film opens in the early 20th century with a young Jiro dreaming of flying airplanes. Due to his severe nearsightedness, becoming a pilot is impossible, but he finds inspiration in the work of the Italian aeronautical engineer Giovanni Caproni, who visits Jiro in dream sequences, encouraging him to pursue engineering instead.
Jiro studies aeronautical engineering at Tokyo Imperial University. In 1923, while traveling by train, he meets a young girl, Naoko Satomi, and her maid. A devastating earthquake (a fictionalized version of the Great Kanto Earthquake) derails the train, and Jiro heroically helps them. He vanishes before giving his name, leaving a lasting impression on Naoko.
Jiro graduates and begins working at Mitsubishi, a company that tasks him with designing cutting-edge aircraft for Japan’s growing military ambitions. Sent to Germany to observe Nazi technological advancements, Jiro becomes more aware of the dangerous path his country is taking. Still, he’s driven by his passion for aircraft design, believing in beauty over destruction.
Years later, Jiro and Naoko reunite at a summer resort. Their affection quickly rekindles, but Naoko is gravely ill with tuberculosis—a disease that carries a heavy emotional weight throughout the film. Despite this, the two fall in love, and Naoko insists on living with Jiro rather than wasting time apart.
While Jiro is immersed in creating a revolutionary aircraft—the one that will become the Zero fighter—Naoko’s condition worsens. She eventually returns to the sanatorium, leaving Jiro heartbroken. Even so, she remains supportive, watching over his progress from afar.
As the Zero is completed and deemed a technical triumph, it is also clear that it will be used in war. Jiro achieves his dream but at a deep personal cost: Naoko has died. In a final dream, Caproni congratulates Jiro on creating something magnificent while acknowledging the dark reality of its purpose. Jiro, somber but calm, reflects on what he’s gained and lost.
🎭 Cast & Crew
🎙️ Japanese Voice Cast:
- Jiro Horikoshi – Hideaki Anno (Notable as the creator of Neon Genesis Evangelion)
- Naoko Satomi – Miori Takimoto
- Giovanni Caproni – Mansai Nomura
- Kurokawa (Jiro’s boss) – Masahiko Nishimura
- Satomi (Naoko’s father) – Keiko Takeshita
🎙️ English Dub Voice Cast:
- Jiro Horikoshi – Joseph Gordon-Levitt
- Naoko Satomi – Emily Blunt
- Caproni – Stanley Tucci
- Kurokawa – Martin Short
- Castorp (the German exile) – Werner Herzog
🎬 Production Team:
- Director & Screenwriter: Hayao Miyazaki
- Producer: Toshio Suzuki
- Studio: Studio Ghibli
- Music: Joe Hisaishi (A longtime Miyazaki collaborator)
- Art Direction: Yōji Takeshige
- Original Release Date (Japan): July 20, 2013
- Runtime: 126 minutes
⭐ IMDb Ratings & Reception
- IMDb Score: ★ 7.7/10
- Metacritic Score: 83/100 (indicating “universal acclaim”)
- Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 88%
📊 Critical Response:
- Widely praised for its visual artistry, poetic pacing, and emotional depth, The Wind Rises marked Miyazaki’s final feature film before his temporary retirement.
- Unlike his fantasy films, this one embraces realism but retains the dreamlike beauty and moral complexity that define his work.
- Many critics highlighted its ability to reflect on the beauty of creation vs. the burden of its consequences, particularly relevant given Jiro’s role in designing a plane used in warfare.
- Some Western critics debated the film’s handling of Japan’s wartime history, but most praised it for its nuanced anti-war sentiment and powerful human drama.
- The film was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 86th Academy Awards and won Animation of the Year at the Japan Academy Prizes.
🌬️ Themes & Legacy
The Wind Rises is a deeply introspective and philosophical work, more subdued than Miyazaki’s other films but no less powerful. It deals with:
- Creative Passion: Jiro’s dedication mirrors Miyazaki’s own craftsmanship—both striving for beauty even in morally ambiguous circumstances.
- Impermanence and Loss: Love, health, peace—all are fleeting in the film’s world, yet characters strive forward.
- Moral Responsibility: Jiro’s conflict—building machines of beauty destined for destruction—embodies the ethical dilemmas of creators and inventors.
This is a film for adults more than children, exploring the human cost of progress and the idea that even beautiful dreams can have tragic consequences.
🧩 Final Thoughts
The Wind Rises is not just a historical film—it’s a meditation on life, dreams, love, and the burdens of genius. Though it marks a departure from Miyazaki’s more fantastical works, it stands as one of his most emotionally resonant, artistically mature, and philosophically layered films.
Watch The Wind Rises on Kisscartoon
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