A lifelong love of flight inspires Japanese aviation engineer Jiro Horikoshi, whose storied career includes the creation of the A-6M World War II fighter plane.
Direction
Miyazaki's final film before retirement—until he un-retired again.
Writing
The most morally complicated script Studio Ghibli ever attempted.
Director
Hayao Miyazaki
Hideaki Anno
Jiro Horikoshi (voice)
Hidetoshi Nishijima
Honjô (voice)
Miori Takimoto
Naoko Satomi (voice)
Masahiko Nishimura
Kurokawa (voice)
Stephen Alpert
Castorp (voice)
Mansai Nomura
Giovanni Battista (voice)
Jun Kunimura
Hattori (voice)
Mirai Shida
Kayo Horikoshi (voice)
Shinobu Otake
Mrs. Kurokawa (voice)
Morio Kazama
Satomi (voice)
Keiko Takeshita
Jirô's mother (voice)
Sascha
German Security Guard / Flight Engineer (voice)
Kaichi Kaburagi
Young Jiro Horikoshi (voice)
Maki Shinta
Young Kayo Horikoshi (voice)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Lead animator Hideaki Anno, best known for creating Neon Genesis Evangelion, was Miyazaki's protégé and initially refused the role.
The film sparked protests in Japan for 'glorifying' war; Miyazaki responded that he wanted to show how dreams get corrupted by history.
JP
