Youngsters called Kildren, who are destined to live eternally in their adolescence. The Kildren are conscious that every day could be the last, because they fight a war as entertainment, organized and operated by adults. But as they embrace the reality they are faced with, they live their day-to-day lives to the full.
Direction
Oshii's static compositions make violence feel routine.
Cinematography
Dogfights rendered as gorgeous, meaningless abstraction.
Writing
Conversations so empty they hurt to watch.
Director
Mamoru Oshii
Rinko Kikuchi
Suito Kusanagi (voice)
Ryo Kase
Yuichi Kannami (voice)
Shosuke Tanihara
Naofumi Tokino (voice)
Megumi Yamaguchi
Mizuki Kusanagi (voice)
Daisuke Hirakawa
Aizu Yudagawa (voice)
Mugihito
Kyoku Yama (voice)
Hochu Otsuka
Honda (voice)
Mabuki Ando
Fooco (voice)
Fumie Mizusawa
Call Girl (voice)
Naoto Takenaka
Bar Owner (voice)
Mako Hyodo
Kusmi (voice)
Hiro Shimono
Pilot (voice)
Keisuke Oda
Pilot (voice)
Ooki Sugiyama
Pilot (voice)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Oshii insisted on realistic flight physics; the aerial scenes took years to animate. The planes are fictional but behave like real World War II fighters.
The Kildren represent Japan's lost generation—eternally adolescent, economically stagnant, performing violence for corporate entertainment. Oshii's critique of otaku culture and military fetishization is brutal.
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