Better Late Then Never

A lot of fun.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I saw this after it first hit the video market many years back, and wasn't sure what to make of it. We're looking on the life and times of an astronaut candidate, and he various rigors he goes through to be the world's first man in space on an Earth that might have been in another time and another place.The film somewhat reflects and resembles "The Right Stuff" Japanese style; i.e. we see astronaut candidates go through various tests, physical and psychological, as well as how they interact with regular mainstream society when their program is something being financed outside the public eye. It's a kind of anime-bio-pic drama for people who never existed.As mentioned in other reviews there's the sexual assault scene which, to me anyway, seemed to come right out of the blue. Why it's in this film is beyond me. A more reasonable and logical alternative would have been for the main character to try and romance the object of his affection, but, like the film makers remind us on the commentary, the characters aren't particularly bright.Minus that one scene, this might have been a fantastic anime sleeper. Something that teenage boys of all walks of life could enjoy, as the finale gives us a climatic clash and ultimate resolution to what we anticipate is the final dramatic conclusion of the film.Because of the one scene I find the film to lean more in the "miss" category of "hit or miss", otherwise it could have been a real award winner, and enjoyed by all mature teenagers and older.The alternate world presented is worth seeing for any anime aficionado.If you know what to expect from Japanese mature animation, then this might worth a look.

You have read the other comments so that should get you started. Great music. Great details. OK voiceovers. Didn't see the rape scene so i don't know about that. Slapstick humour works, as its not overdone everywhere in the film. Beauful sceneries and well animated for its time.But its the storyline that is the gem of this film, and the acknowledged ending. You need the slow buildup for the ending to work. Can you spot the parallel Einstein? I don't see this film as hugely religious either, but more humanist. The parallel universe development of humankind in the end shows us how we have all come to were we are today of our own efforts, and take pride in this. It shows the beauty of everyday life and the greatness of small things. Religion is a part of us as well as technology and above all humanity. The message is to us, in this world.Our launch to space, and as well the baby's first step is the key point. Although mass media and movies has made us blind to this. This film reexamines it and points this out. The makes of this film choose the narrow path and were brave.10/10 - A must see movie for anybody.

An old anime classic. Not what many would expect from anime, there isn't heaps of guns or robot or weird mythology, it's just a simple story.The two combating nations in the parallel world to ours, remind me of a cross between the US & USSR (although cooling, the Cold War was still alive & well when this film was made in 1987) mixed with a cross between North & South Korea.The animation is very good, & holds up well even in 2004, though the soundtrack while very catchy, shows the age of the film with the 1980's synthesizer.

The only way I can describe how this film makes me feel is to compare it to a child watching My Neighbor Totoro. It is animation but not quite what you see everyday. It has a plot but it has subtle and even hidden depth.To me this film is so good that it ceases to be "just anime" to become film art in the truest sense: it conjures up an imaginary world and makes it real, people have troubles and tribulations and we identify with them, everything comes to conclusion and we are changed by it and for the better.For people think this is just sunday network cartoons two hours long I recommend watching this alongside Apollo 13 and/or Forrest Gump and try to find the analogies, you'll be surprised.