The Wind Rises

So, it's kinda been a while since I did a Studio Ghibli movie review, but I'm back to continue them with The Wind Rises. This is apparently another one of the Ghibli movies that was said to be their last movie ever, but they just kept making more afterwards. Anyway, the first time I saw this, I thought it was okay, but I did acknowledge how well made it was and how adult it was in regards to the fact that this is another more mature Ghibli movie that doesn't have that much going on, but, like so many of the other Ghibli movies I've reviewed, I rewatched it again recently and it did actually did get a bit better. I think the reason a lot of these have gotten better on the second viewing is because, when you see a movie for the first time, you're paying attention to the story and trying to follow along and understand it, and when you see it a second time, you know what's gonna happen and so you can enjoy it more and take it other great aspects about it and I think that's what it was like for me with a lot of these. So, moving onto the movie itself, I remembering first hearing about this years ago and not being all that interested like a lot of these Ghibli movies, but, these days, I'm glad I decided to finally watch it and all the others too and it's been great to see my thoughts on this one change in particular. Anyway, moving onto the story, it follows a guy in Japan named Jiro who has a dream of designing airplanes to be made. This also takes place during World War 2 and so Japan is really poor and he's trying to do what he loves with designing planes while all sorts of things happen around him like an Earthquake happens, he meets a girl and they start to fall in love and there's a whole bunch of trouble going on with the military. So, like what I've said for a few of the other Ghibli movies, this is another one that's super realistic and, not only that, but I heard this is actually based on a true story, so that's interesting. And speaking of, even though I usually don't care that much for stories like that, the way this movie does it and tells its story makes even some of the traditional stuff I'd usually find boring very interesting. Something that I think helps with that is the fact that a lot of the characters are very relatable. What I mean by that is that a lot of the movie is spent with Jiro trying to do everything he can to do what he wants to do because he has this huge dream of designing airplanes and how there's some problems going on around him but he's trying to push through to be able to keep doing it. Even though there are a lot of moments of him and the other characters having normal conversations about the state of things around them, somehow, they still manage to find a way to keep it engaging enough to be interesting. And they do it where you can also feel sorry for him in different ways too because a lot of his creations keep failing but he keeps trying to get better with the designs and make the best planes he can, and it's made even better because he's also doing it with his friend you like their relationship too since they try to help each other. It's like what I've been saying about a lot of these other Ghibli movies where, even though there's not that much going on and you're just watching people have casual conversations but they have great dialogue to make it so fascinating. I think I also appreciate the fact that they don't ignore the repercussions of the planes too because since this is set in World War 2 and it's about making planes, they explain how this could take so many lives and cause many people to die. Especially at the end when they show Jiro having a dream of planes crashing and you see him talking to someone he admires and how when he has people flying his planes, he worries since they could never come back from it and I admire the fact that they don't ignore the fact that the pilots could die and they could kill many people. So I totally give them huge respect for having it so that Jiro does do what he wants but that he also has to face the realities of it. So, in terms of that whole stuff, I liked it a lot. If there was one thing in the film I didn't like all that much, it's the romance between Jiro and the girl named Nahoko. I dunno, it wasn't terrible, but I didn't really care for that all that much and it felt kinda rush and not that earned. Maybe it had something to do with making it more faithful to whatever the true story is and so maybe that's why there was a romance at all, but, I still think it was the weakest aspect to the film. I think that also affects the runtime a bit too. I mean, the film is 2 hours and 6 minutes long and, while I give them respect for making a lot of it be involving the creation of the planes, the whole romance did make it feel like it was going on a bit too long. I will say, it was pretty tragic by the end because I'm pretty sure it's implied that Nahoko died, so it does work in that way because you do feel sorry for them. But, aside from that, I still really admire a lot of how this film played out. I love how they somehow took a concept for a movie that I'd generally think was not my thing and made it very entertaining. Again, how they address different things like Jiro's love for his work and creations really helped bring the film to life for me. Speaking of, kinda like what I said about my review for Grave Of The Fireflies, the animation helps with it too because it's a lot more realistic and so it compliments the entire movie, and they do great effects with it like the earthquake scene. The dubbing is also incredible here and, again, the fact that this is so realistic, the voice acting helps make the dialogue more interesting than I'd expect. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jiro, Emily Blunt as Nahoko, John Krasinski as Kiro, Martin Short as Kurokawa, everyone is still just as perfectly cast as all the other Ghibli movies. Really, I just feel like this is another example of how Ghibli movies can tackle any kinda movie and make it extremely enjoyable no matter what the subject matter. So, yeah, despite this not being the traditional fantasy kinda story like most Ghibli movies tend to be, I would still say this is a great movie to check out. So, guys, that's my review for The Wind Rises. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.