The Sky Crawlers is an overlooked movie from Mamoru Oshii, but the exciting piloting film featured unique animation and a scathingly critical plot.

To this day, Mamoru Oshii is remembered for his landmark anime movie adaptation of the manga Ghost in the Shell. This makes sense given how influential the cyberpunk film was, but it's not the only incredible (or incredible-looking) anime film Oshii has directed. One of his latter-day filmography entries was a high-flying adventure that actually had a lot more going on under the surface.

The Sky Crawlers combined traditional animation with CGI for impressive computer-generated dog fights, but its beauty was in more than the art. The seemingly basic storyline, rife with many of Oshii's tropes, also seemed to be a subtle critique on the direction of the anime industry. Here's why the overlooked final animated movie from the acclaimed director is such a good watch.

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Adapting a novel from Hiroshi Mori, The Sky Crawlers' world is one where war as humanity knew it has become an obsolete concept, though peace is not what many expected. To keep countries from officially going to war with each other, private companies conduct aerial battles to determine "victors." Along with this development, there's also the presence of "kildren," genetically engineered "humans" who are eternally young. The protagonist is Yuichi Kannami, who's transferred to a new area after the deaths of previous pilots. Bonding with other young flyers who are all seemingly destined to die for the sake of peace, Kannami begins uncovering more concerning the nature of the kildren and their connection to one of his superior officers.

The recent success of Top Gun: Maverick will likely color any series with aerial dogfights, but the comparisons to Blade Runner and even some of Oshii's previous works are easy to make as well. The idea of artificial humans who are indistinguishable from the real thing is very similar to Blade Runner. That movie, which itself loosely adapted a book, is emblematic of the cyberpunk genre, as is the aforementioned Ghost in the Shell. The latter also shares these ideas of being not quite human.

The Sky Crawlers even features a character with the surname Kusanagi, just like Ghost in the Shell. Bringing these different concepts together is a blend of 2D and 3D animation, and though parts of it are now dated, many scenes still look great. Of course, like most of Mamoru Oshii's movies, there's a good bit of depth and message hiding beneath the film's undercarriage.

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In some ways, it feels as if the central premise in The Sky Crawlers subverts and satirizes the anime industry's direction. The movie has a group of pilots who are eternally kept the same as they always had been, with their repetitive lives determining the world's fate. Given how anti-authority some of Mamoru Oshii's movies can be at heart, the subtext isn't exactly hard to pick up on. The kildren are a stand-in for creators in the anime industry, who are forced to ploddingly repeat many of the same popular themes or concepts to keep anime going. This sees trends such as isekai, moe and other repeatable tropes take precedence over true artistry and "life" in the medium.

Perhaps this is also why the film tries to move things forward, at least in terms of animation. While it might not be as well-done or dynamic, the CGI fusion in The Sky Crawlers was just as revolutionary and as much of a breath of fresh air as what Ghost in the Shell did with its animation. Speaking of which, the latter franchise -- which is regularly trotted out for a quick cash-in but lacks the soul of its original incarnations -- is a great example of the criticism The Sky Crawlers has for the industry.

Perhaps because it wasn't part of a well-known franchise, The Sky Crawlers is sadly often forgotten in Oshii's pantheon. Nevertheless, it's a thrill to watch, with the exciting flying being just as forceful as Oshii's signature blunt direction and writing. The movie can be rented/bought through Vudu and Prime Video, though it's no longer streaming anywhere for free.

Timothy Blake Donohoo is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he majored in Communication and minored in Creative Writing. A professional freelance writer and marketing expert, he’s written marketing copy and retail listings for companies such as Viatek. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, playing video games, watching documentaries and catching up on the latest Vaporwave and Electro-Swing musical releases.

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