The Sky Crawlers, best anime movie since Ghost in the Shell and Akira

The Sky Crawlers is a great and powerful story that asks us the value of life. What value does a pilot, solider really have? What is war? Who are the true victims of war? Is it those who die or those who survive? This is an ingenious and beautiful anime film, both in English Dub and Japanese with English Subs, created by Hiroshi Mori and directed by Mamoru Oshii, the man behind Ghost in the Shell. The visuals are stunning with a brilliant blend of CG and classical animation that is done so seamlessly. A wonderfully rich original musical score brings extra emotion to the experience. The setting is a serene British countryside set in an alternate universe World War II world. An elegant love story caught in the reality of war, The Sky Crawler deliveries on all the right levels that put it up into the upper echelon of anime films with Akira and Ghost in the Shell.

A game was released in Japan for the Wii developed by Project Aces, the individuals behind the Ace Combat series. The game features an alternate story of the film. Check out the trailer here:
Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces Video Game, TGS 08: Trailer | Game Trailers & Videos | GameTrailers.com

Buy it, rent it, see it! Check it out at Amazon.com. Its also available in Blu-Ray which is just mind-blowingly awesome. It simply outstanding.
Amazon.com: The Sky Crawlers: Rinko Kikuchi, Chiaki Kuriyama, Shosuke Tanihara, Bryce Hitchcock, Ryo Kase, Hisashi Ezura, Mamoru Oshii, Junichi Uematsu, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Seiji Okuda, Tomohiko Ishii, Toru Kawaguchi, Chihiro Itou, Hiroshi Mori: Movi

best since ghost in the shell? wow not saying a whole lot for anime is it? considering the fact that i HATED it,

Akira, is alright too... but even that is not all that great.

i just think they are both just way boring.
on that note, i don't know if i even want to TRY sky crawlers...

I've always been partial to romance stories like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, 5cm per second, family movies like Ghilbi stuff, or slick action films like Sword Of The Stranger (which is awesome on Blu-Ray) but not things like Grave Of The Fireflies, or Barefoot Gen, which your post implies it kind of is similar to (I don't like them because they make me feel depressed, lol).

But I will rent the BD if I see it.

I too was very impressed with The Girl Who Lept Through Time. I think I might try Sky Crawlers since I was a big fan of Akira and Ghost in the Shell.

Originally Posted by Bass X0 You're a very angry engine aren't you, Gordon.

Anytime someone tells me that something is the best since Ghost in the Shell and Akira, I cringe, because I thought both animes were lacking, trying too hard to be something they weren't.

I enjoyed Ninja Scroll better.

I'm at target and movie toys are lame

I feel they're a bit different to compare, although Ninja Scroll is what I measure most samurai based anime against. They tend to come up a little short compared to that classic.

Akira was probably lacking because I think its like the fifth book of eight or something like that. Ghost in the Shell I felt was pretty solid on its own.

Originally Posted by Bass X0 You're a very angry engine aren't you, Gordon.

The Sky Crawlers, best anime movie since Ghost in the Shell and Akira

Not even close. Sky Crawlers was okay, but forgetable.

Say what you will about GITS and Akira, they aren't perfect, but you never forget them.

Personally, the soundtrack reminds me alot of Macross Plus' score.

Then you will hate this movie, dude I fell asleep last night while watching it(or trying to rather)...fell asleep SEVERAL times!

Oh, and yes this movie does try too hard to be what it isn't...with the whole philosophical angle and whatnot. The dogfights are cool, and the premise behind it was interesting, but the pacing was incredibly slow, and ultimately it did try to fill shoes that were far too big for it.

QFT.