Review for The Princess And The Pilot

Introduction

I was briefly enthused about the Princess and the Pilot a year or so ago. When I first heard about this feature film, it was one that everyone seemed to be raving about as the next big thing to come from Japan. And then on top of that it got a ‘sequel’ in the form of The Pilot’s Love Song television anime, although I use the term sequel in its loosest possible sense. The Pilot’s Love Song may be set in the same world, but it has nothing else in common with the story. I watched that show as it streamed on Crunchyroll, and came away pretty disappointed, and consequently my enthusiasm for the feature film that it spun-off from also waned. So when the check disc for The Princess and the Pilot showed up for review, I had almost forgotten the film existed. Manga Entertainment are releasing this film on Blu-ray and on DVD, and it’s worth noting that it is for them, a rare subtitle only release. There is no English dub for The Princess and the Pilot.

War can have a devastating effect on lives, on people from all backgrounds. The war between Levamme and Amatsukami is one example. Charle Karino is the best pilot flying for Levamme, but he had to gain his position through sheer skill and against impossible bigotry. For Charle is a Bestado, a mixed race child, not even on the lowest rung of Levamme’s rigid caste system. He’s looked upon as a scum mercenary pilot, even while his skills are coveted.

On the other hand you might think that Lady Fana del Moral has it easier, on the highest rung of the aristocracy, daughter of the leading family on the island of San Malfilia, and soon to ascend even higher when she is betrothed to Prince Carlo Levamme, heir to the throne of Levamme. He’s immediately smitten with her, and proudly boasts that their marriage will be a year hence, after he’s beaten the Amatsukami forces.


But a year later, that wedding seems less likely as the Amatsukami forces are superior, and are not only containing the Levamme forces, but are brazen enough to attack Malfilia Island itself. It’s an attack that claims the lives of Fana’s family, and it becomes imperative that she be flown to the Levamme mainland, 12,000 km away, avoiding enemy forces, so she can be safe with her fiancé. They’ll need their best pilot for the mission, but that means putting soon-to-be royalty with the lowest breed of humanity. And worse than that, it seems that the mission has been compromised before it even starts. But it turns out that against all likelihood, Charle and Fana aren’t unacquainted...

Picture

NISA released The Princess and the Pilot in the US, on a Region A locked Blu-ray solely (The DVD appears to be unique to the UK alone), but it looks as if Manga Entertainment have authored the Blu-ray locally, rather than using materials from NISA. Certainly one prominent difference is that they have used a BD 25 where NISA used a dual layer disc.

The film gets a 1.85:1 widescreen transfer at 1080p ratio, and I have to say that I wasn’t that impressed. How much of it is down to the source material is questionable, but The Princess and the Pilot is certainly a soft looking film, not exactly rich with the detail that would shine in high definition, and with an overall soft and hazy feel to the image that almost makes it seem like an up-scale at times. But the colours are strong, and the smoothness and energy of the animation certainly comes through. What is disappointing, and is probably a result of compressing the film to a single layer disc, is the prevalence of digital banding, which while not detrimental to the film to the degree it was in Psycho-Pass, is certainly noticeable at times.


The character designs are pleasing enough, but the real effort is in the world-building, creating a feudal society with the technological trappings of the early 20th Century, and with a steam-punk feel to the aviation, propeller driven fighters accompanied by fleets of armoured airships. While the CG work on the aircraft doesn’t quite hold up to close scrutiny, in the dogfight sequences, the creativity of the animators really does shine through.

The images in this review are sourced from the PR, and aren’t necessarily representative of the final retail release.

Sound

As mentioned, this is a subtitle only release and you get the choice of DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround Japanese, as well as PCM 2.0 Stereo Japanese encoded at 2.3 Mb per second. The off-white subtitles are optional. Manga’s authoring becomes apparent at 21:50 into the film, as once again their discs can’t show more than two lines of subtitles at a time. There are two conversations happening simultaneously, and someone made the daft choice to continue the subtitle stream for the dialogue in the background, meaning the more important exchange in the foreground, between the main character and one other, is left un-translated. Of course this wouldn’t be an issue on a NISA disc, which can show more than one subtitle stream at a time.

Thankfully this is the sole such occurrence on this disc. Otherwise the dialogue is clear, and the subtitles are otherwise accurately timed and free of typographical error. The surround really comes alive for the action sequences, and given the dogfights, there are plenty of those, while the film gets an orchestral soundtrack that really extols the epic fantasy romance nature of the story.

Extras

The Princess and the Pilot gets an animated menu which is simple to navigate, and not too busy. The sole extras are 3 15-second TV Spots, 2 sets of Previews, and 2 trailers, all presented in 1080i resolution. Incidentally these trailers are replete with dialogue clashing with on screen text, and while they may be subtitled on this disc, you won’t be able to make head nor tail of those subtitles when dialogue and screen text clash. It could have been worse, it could have happened in the film.

Conclusion

The Princess and the Pilot turned out to be solid, and fulfilling entertainment, a convincing action romance which works on the strength of its lead characters, and some thrilling animation. If I might have a criticism or two, it would be down to the predictable nature of the story, and the somewhat conventional style of its narrative. Then again, you don’t usually expect the avant-garde or the experimental from a reliable, popcorn chewing mainstream movie, and in every way, The Princess and the Pilot does feel like a mainstream movie. On the plus side, it is a whole lot better than the sequel, A Pilot’s Love Song, as the film only has to concentrate on what’s important, the characters and the emotional journey that they go on. The TV series got bogged down in back story and the twists and turns of its plot, and that’s never a problem in this feature film.

What some may suggest is a drawback is its predictability. It plays very much like a conventional Hollywood picture in that respect. It sets up the two romantic leads as diametric opposites, the princess and the pilot from the lowest rung of the social ladder. It shows us their backgrounds, the life of privilege and of duty and responsibility (including an impending arranged marriage into royalty) that Fana has been born into, and the difficult life that Charle has to live, having to work twice as hard and still never to be recognised as a citizen. But there is a little more to them than just their social backgrounds, and despite the warning to both not to socialise on their flight to the mainland, they quickly get to know each other (naturally, or there would be no movie).


It’s revealed that the two have shared a moment as children, one that has stayed with Charle, and facing adversity together as they flee from the enemy armada, it’s the sort of tense situation that you’d expect romantic feelings to develop, for temptation to strike. Indeed, the inevitable stopover on a desert island offers just that, temptation, including probably the fastest inebriation ever committed to (digital) celluloid. I could see the stopover at the island coming from the moment their flight began, and I could also see the conclusion of the film coming too, as both Charle and Fana have to choose between their feelings and their respective duties.

The Princess and the Pilot is enjoyable despite its predictability, as the two leads are very likable, and the relationship that develops between them is engaging. The film also delivers on the action stakes as the pair tries to flee the enemy, and there are plenty of dogfights and aerobatics to marvel at. The action sequences are very well choreographed, and the music really does lift the film higher. The only thing that marks this as not a Hollywood film is the nature of the characterisations. Charle is perhaps a little more duty-bound than you’d expect, while Fana is a little meeker than a Hollywood heroine. Were this truly a Hollywood film, then the romantic leads would have a lot more in the way of playful antagonism between them to increase the drama and the comedy.


The Princess and the Pilot is a well made, thoroughly enjoyable film, but it’s also predictable and in the end disposable too. Technically, Manga Entertainment’s presentation is less than perfect, but the film is watchable enough on this Blu-ray.