Soratobu Yuureisen

Flying Phantom Ship is a wonderful mystery spectacle for anyone who loves over the top anime. this film was hard to predict, so many events come out of nowhere. things like Giant robots kaiju attacking a city or A spectral skeleton that is out for revenge stepping out from the shadows that possess a flying ghost ship poised with lasers and rockets! if that doesn't make you curious how about a dog that carries around a bag of momentous? at its core this is a film about a boy and his dog and is a metaphor for the sudden moments of loss and hardships in life. Not a very deep story by any means but much of the joy this film brings is brought from the old school animation and visuals, not to mention all the crazy things that just happen. I would recommend watching this with friends.

I initially stumbled onto this series because of the reference to the film in Moyoco Anno's biographical manga about her husband, "Insufficient Direction"! It was cited there as an early influence for the famous Neon Genesis Evangelion director, so — of course, I had to give this feature a try! I originally expected a spooky, mystery scenario... but the narrative somehow manages to spiral around, and ends up punching you in the face with the message that big companies are bad and don't care about your health! ⚠️ This review will contain spoilers ⚠️ —Story/Characters This film is not what you will expect it to be. We start out with a seaside manor ghost story, starring a vengeful phantom, and then that arc suddenly ends with a suspiciously green soda that is turning people into human-crustacean mutants, followed up by a flamboyant finale battle, that is reminiscent to something out of a tokusatsu TV special! It's wild, apparently one sip of Boa juice turns its innocent consumers into a horde of mindless crab people! The plot actually is able to effectively pull it off, and the corporate executives turn out to be the reason behind Captain Phantom's murder, and is presented, in the end, as a vigilante against an oppressive system, rather than just a menacing bone man! Captain Phantom is a very iconic anti-hero of his time, along with Tatsunoko's "Casshern"! While there is the basic message of "big companies rob the people of their money and health" — there is a split consensus of whether this movie actually has a good message, and here's why... the most obvious interpretation is to show the exploitation of capitalist marketing, but the second reading of the film is a little bit more sinister, you see, the greedy manufacturers of the soda are called "Golem" and after reading a little bit into the usage of the word, a "Golem" is a derogatory word against Jewish people, so there is a slight "Zionist conspiracy" slant to the narrative. According to Moment Magazine, "the golem is a highly mutable metaphor with seemingly limitless symbolism. It can be a victim or villain, Jew or non-Jew, man or woman — or sometimes both. Over the centuries it has been used to connote war, community, isolation, hope, and despair." I had no idea that the innuendo was in the film, until after I had finished watching it and took a deeper look into the "Golem" thing, so while I was watching it, it just seemed like a run-of-the-mill kid's film, similar to an episode of "Scooby Doo" or something! It had underwater bases, giant squids, a giant robot (designed by none other than Ghibli's "Hayao Miyazaki"), and kids beating the baddies with the power of resourcefulness and optimism. Since it was originally released in 1969, the antisemitic innuendoes wouldn't be too out of the question. It would be a shame if that were a case though, this film has such a unique mood and it was genuinely captivating for what it was! —Technical Luna's Favorite Works by Each Respective Creator = ✅ Hiroshi Ikeda (screenwriter and director), notable works: * Dōbutsu Takarajima ("Animal Treasure Island") * Hustle Punch * King Kong: 001/7 Tom Thumb * Mogura no Motoro * Mahōtsukai Chappy — Episode Director * Mahōtsukai Sally — Episode Director * Ōkami Shōnen Ken Commentary: I have only watched a few episodes of "Mahōtsukai Sally" and seen a couple of clips of "Dōbutsu Takarajima," so I can't really comment on Mr. Ikeda's overall directing skills, but I thought the atmosphere and some of the animation techniques in Soratobu Yūreisen were impressive, especially for the time that it came out! Great job! Extra: Hayao Miyazaki worked on the key animation for this film. Good Seiyū Work = ✅ Really Enjoyed the Seiyū's Performance = ✅ ✅ One of Luna's Favorite Performances OF ALL TIME = ✅ ✅ ✅ Masako Nozawa as Hayato Arashiyama, notable roles: * Polly Harrington, Ai Shōjo Pollyanna Story * Chico, Anime 80-nichikan Sekai Isshū * Blink and Kakeru Shiki, Aoi Blink * Rascal, Araiguma Rascal * Asura Asura * Dukemon, Digimon Savers and Digimon X-Evolution * Guilmon, Digimon Tamers ✅ ✅ * Hiroshi, Dokonjō Gaeru * Doraemon, Doreamon (1973) ✅ ✅ * Enma, Dororon Enma-kun ✅ ✅ * Son Gokū, Son Gohan, Son Goten, and Son Gokū Jr. — Dragon Ball (series) and Dr. Slump ✅✅✅ * Shen-Long Belvedere, E's Otherwise ✅ * Gamba, Gamba no Bōken (series) * Kitarō, Gegege no Kitarō (1968 to 1972) ✅✅ * Oyaji Medama, Gegege no Kitarō (2018) ✅✅ * Kentsu Norton, Ginga Hyōryū Vifam * Tetsurō Hoshino, Ginga Tetsudō 999 ✅✅✅ * Gaudi, Hatara Kids Mai Ham Gumi * Huckleberry Finn, Huckleberry no Bōken * Hiroshi Suzuishi, Hyakujū-Ō GoLion ("Voltron: Defender of the Universe") ✅ * Iczel, Iczer-Girl Iczelion ✅ * Daizaemon Kaze, Inakappe Taishō * Tarō Kaibutsu, Kaibutsu-kun (1980) * Isamu, Kaitei Sanman Mile * Musashi, Karakuri Kengō Den Musashi Lord * Kenta Ikegami, Maicching Machiko-sensei ("Miss Machiko") ✅ * Green, Midori no Neko * Willi, Mitsubachi Maya no Bōken * Kureha, One Piece * Teppei Uesugi, Ore wa Teppei * Elekid, Pokémon: Pikachu Tankentai ✅ * Hiroshi, Shin Dokonjō Gaeru * Jim Hawkins, Takarajima * Tom Sawyer, Tom Sawyer no Bōken * Sanpei Mihira, Tsurikichi Sanpei * Kintaro, Urusei Yatsura ✅✅ * Poppo, What's Micheal? Commentary: The main kid is voiced by none other than Son Gokū's ("Dragon Ball") seiyū! While her performance as Hayato Arashiyama is one of her earlier roles and comparatively plain, compared to some of her signature characters, Ms. Nozawa is able to give the leading character an energetic enigma and adds a sense of child-like wonder to the ambiance of the film! Amazing talent! Gorō Naya as Captain Phantom, notable roles: * Willibald Joachim von Merkatz, Ginga Eiyū Densetsu ✅✅✅ * Leonard Dawson, Golgo 13 ✅ * Nosferatu, GS Mikami: Gokuraku Daisakusen!! ✅✅✅ * Professor Yamanōe, Jetter Mars * Lord Yupa, Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä ✅✅✅ * Kōichi Zenigata, Lupin III ✅✅✅ * Emperor Xul, Rokushin Gattai GodMars ✅ * Narrator, Shinzō Ningen Casshern ✅✅ * Adam Robinson Jr. — Space Fantasia 2001 Nights * Narrator, Uchū Majin Daikengō * Jūzō Okita, Uchū Senkan Yamato ✅✅✅ Commentary: Mr. Naya is one of my favorite voice actors of all time, to the point where it's often hard to watch the new "Lupin III" adaptations, because no one can replicate HIS version of "Zenigata"! It's impossible! Unfortunately, Mr. Naya passed away in 2013, so he wasn't able to reprise his roles as Jūzō Okita in "Uchū Senkan Yamato 2199," or as Kōichi Zenigata, in any of the newer "Lupin III" sequels. His presence was by far the strongest in this movie, though the mysterious phantom didn't get as much spotlight as he ought to have had, despite being the titular character! Incredible seiyū, rest in peace! Overall, this is a coveted classic by those who grew up watching the film — I personally wasn't one the people who saw it air on its ※ETB time slot, but this film is like comfort food! It's a big, gooey slice of nostalgia-flavored pizza for those who like monster movies like Godzilla and some of the older Osamu Tezuka animations. Despite many of the controversies about what may or may not have been an anti-Jewish sentiment in this film, I felt a specific joviality towards it — that I only really feel towards classic films that have a wholesome and spirited milieu to them, so I will rate Soratobu Yūreisen a 5/10! ※ETB is a Columbian telecommunications broadcast network. Rating: ★★★☆☆

Man... what a movie. This is a love letter to B movies verry fun while being at the same time deeper than it seems in the fisrt place by a subtle critic of capitalism, war, and polution. (Not so surprising when you know that the movie was half financed by soviet union) Story: The plot is not so incredible but the sub text of the movie was really intelligent and still relevant. I think even if you are an alt-right guy you will not feel that what is depicted in this movie is wrong. It really was a good surprise. 8/10 Art: It's some of the best of what was done in 69, whith the great team of animators who worked at Toei Douga at the time (Hayao Miyazaki, Yasuo Otsuka, ...) really great. 7/10 Sound: Average but cool music. 5/10 Character: It's maybe the week point of the movie they are fonctional and not really developed. But the girl is a good prototype of miyazaki's heroin, woman with courage and the capitalist guys are really realistic. 5/10 Enjoyment: It is a really good movie and you don't feel the time when you watch it, really great. 8/10 Overall : 7/10

This is quite a terrible film. It started out promosing enough but quickly unravels and falls by the wayside. The movie is filled with manipulative writing to connect with the protagonist, but none of it is earned and by the end of it, you just want to move on and forget about what you watched. Nothing that occurs feels like it belongs. The dog looks like Scooby-Doo and comes across as goofy. After just recently watching The Dog of Flanders, the dog in The phantom ship might as well be a stuffed animal or toy as it doesn't emit anything genuine. The main protagonist is far too assertive and everything just falls conveniently into his lap as the movie progresses. There are boring exposition scenes through narration that are intended to spoon feed the audience constantly. The art direction is ugly and has very limited redeeming qualities to it -- it kind of looks like something Tezuka might dream up if he were hungover. That is to say, it would be one of his weakest works of his career. I watched this film due to Miyazaki being attached, but unfortunately, there was nothing here that gave me a sense of his involvement. If not for that, I never would have come across it and that would have been for the best. I have watched a bunch of classic anime of late including: The Orphan Brother (1961), The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon (1963), Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon (1965) and Horus: Prince of the Sun (1968). While none of those films are perfect and all suffer their own, sometimes signficant flaws, they each had a unique vision to them with some fantastic, memorable moments. That cannot be said of The Phantom Ship and it might be a good thing that this film has fallen into obscurity.

Now, this film may be 51-years-old, but it is well worth the time! That is... as long as you bear in mind that it is a kids film. Even so, the plot, although parts have been used a lot now, is actually very unique if you consider when it came out. The visuals are about what you would expect... it is clunky and simplistic, but lovable all at the same time. I guess that lovable side comes from the fact that Hayao Miyazaki was one of the key animators. The audio, as was all audio in anime in 1969, was a little crackly and makes it clear just how old this movie really is.

This is a strange Toei film. Dealing with loss of family and addiction to soda seems to be the points of this film, and I'm not joking. The movie switches focal points of the plot from a giant robot terrorizing the city, to a revenge plot on an ever escalating scale. Some points of this movie range from good such as showing familial love to an adopted child, to bad as the children towards the end of the movie seemingly embrace suicide as an attempt to stop the enemy, when an escape pod was ready and available the entire time. Overall, this movie is a good watch just to see what an adventure movie from Toei would be like back before anime exploded into what we know today.

A largely nonsensical movie that constantly changes focus and direction every 10 minutes or so from start to end. There are some apparent critiques directed at consumerism and corporate corruption but nothing really makes any sense. You're telling me people are literally dissolving into bubbling foam on the sidewalk in full view after ingesting this mass-marketed beverage and only this young boy has noticed and bothered to say something? It's all just dumb like that. What's interesting here is how inconsistent the animation is. Most of the animation and the character designs are typical for late 1960s anime and rather unimpressive but then a tank or flying pirate ship will show up that looks like it was ripped right out of an early Studio Ghibli film. In those moments you know right away that Miyazaki has to be the one responsible for those sequences given the obvious attention to detail. These sudden spikes in animation quality are at times actually jarring compared to the general quality of the rest of the film. The plot is completely forgettable and the dialogue is also uninteresting but the action sequences are decent for the late 1960s and these standout bits of early Miyazaki animation are worth checking out for those who are inclined. Also the ending sequence is somewhat hilarious and shameless from a tonal perspective. MC sails around in a yacht with his new friend and his dog while a song in the background hypes him up as the savior of the world. Then the memento of his deceased mother (that brought him to anger and sorrow earlier in the movie) falls off the boat into the ocean and he doesn't give a single care or look back. Good stuff.

Pretty standard sci-fi fare for the time, with giant monsters and Tetsujin-type giant robots. Decent for what it is, but with only an hour runtime. Miyazaki worked on this anime, and you can tell by the art style, especially the main heroine who unfortunately appears for only the last 20 minutes. Character and plot development is minimal, and the film could've benefitted from an extra 30 minutes. Compared to anime just a few years ago, the animation is great and looks more like anime would in the 70s. There's an environmentalist or anti-capitalist message in this film, but because of the short runtime it's hard to make sense of it here.

Flying Phantom Ship is an interesting bit of animation film history as one of Miyazaki's earliest works but a little half-baked. It begins weak with a flimsy plot that seems a little worrying in how plain it is, strongly resembling Scooby Doo with the haunted house and dog. It rapidly changes later with an intriguing, underdeveloped plot and several big twists, almost reminiscent of Studio Ghibli's films decades later with how much it surprises the viewer, but not anywhere near as earned. The run time is only an hour, so there's little time to develop anything, and scenes transition without much weight given to any actions. However, it has solid characters and themes, if somewhat boilerplate by today's standards, feeling quite engaging with the always surprising way the narrative changes over time. I liked the Phantom Ship Captain, Kurosio, the "Boa Juice" subplot, and the idea of "Boa" later in the plot. Despite its shortness, it's almost two or three film's worth of ideas crammed into the hour. As said at the top, it's a worthwhile bit of animation history, particularly for anime. You see glimpses of what the famous team behind this film would do later. The animation varies heavily in quality, starting very weak, but there are some solid moments later where it does have some genuinely good stuff. However, the animation shows its age and has many obvious cheaper bits of animation. Considering it's a 1969 film, it's hard to blame them for these shortcomings, but it's pretty hard to ignore. The music is also decent, but nothing memorable. For an hour of your time, it's worth it for the experience, especially when it's free on YouTube. However, it is no gem and has many apparent issues probably stemming from when it was made; frankly, it's impressive that it's as good as it is.