Windaria

This article is about an anime with the English title of Once Upon a Time. For other uses of that term, see Once Upon a Time (disambiguation).
Windaria
Directed by Kunihiko Yuyama
Produced by Toshihiro Nagao
Written by Keisuke Fujikawa
Music by Ryuji Sasai
Satoshi Kadokura
Production
company
Idol
Kaname Productions
Studio Gallop
Distributed by Victor Entertainment (Japan)
Streamline Pictures, ADV Films (U.S.)
Release dates
  • 19 July 1986 (1986-07-19)
Running time
 101 minutes
Language Japanese

Windaria (童話めいた戦史ウインダリア Douwa Meita Senshi Uindaria, lit. "Fairy Tale War Windaria"), also called Legend of Fabulous Battle Windaria and Once Upon a Time, is a Japanese animated film produced by Kaname Productions and Idol. The film was directed by Kunihiko Yuyama and written by Keisuke Fujikawa. It was released theatrically in Japan on July 19, 1986.

Plot

The mountainous kingdom of Paro and the coastal city-state of Itha had been at peace for over a century. They would have remained that way but for the ambitions of Paro's power-hungry king. Paro invaded Itha, despite the love between Jill, Paro's prince, and Ahanas, Itha's princess. Caught between duty and emotion, the star-crossed lovers were forced to fight a war to its bitter conclusion. Isu was a simple farmer from the neutral village of Saki, but he saved Itha from being destroyed by a spy from Paro, and found himself hungering for wealth and glory that the Ithan monarchy could provide. Agents from Paro made him an offer to fulfill his wishes, and he left his wife Marin behind in what would turn into a battlefield between the two kingdoms.

Voice cast

Japanese English
Character name Voice actor Character name Voice actor
Izu (イズー) Tōru Furuya Allen Kerrigan Mahan (young)
Russell Johnson (old)
Marin (マーリン) Waka Kanda Marie Jane Alan
Jiru (ジル) Kazuhiko Inoue Roland Bruce Nielsen
Anasu (アーナス) Naoko Matsui Veronica Barbara Goodson
Ginevia (ギネビア) Sho Saito Lunarian Queen Catherine Battistone
Haroru (ハロール) Kan Tokumaru
Piralu (クピラール) Ichirō Nagai
Ransuro (ランスロ) Hidekatsu Shibata King Drako Michael McConnohie
Kundori (クンドリー) Rihoko Yoshida Shadowland Queen Melodee Spevack
Kairu (カイル) Norio Wakamoto Lord Legato Abe Lasser
Sharemu (シャレム) Yumi Kinoshita Celina Iona Morris
Druid (ドルイド) Gara Takashima
Toreru (トレル) Kazuki Yao

Production

Windaria is based on a novel of the same name, authored by Keisuke Fujikawa, the film's screenwriter.[1][2] Fujikawa's resume includes the live-action Ultraman and the animated series Space Battleship Yamato, Grandizer, and Cat's Eye.[1] The film was produced by animation companies Kaname Productions and Idol and directed by Kunihiko Yuyama, who previously worked on Magical Princess Minky Momo and GoShogun.[1][3][4] Studio Gallop was responsible for its photography and Studio Cosmos contributed the backgrounds. Mutsumi Inomata acted as both character designer and animation director.[5] The film's instrumental musical score was composed by Satoshi Kadokura. The vocal theme "Yakusoku" (約束, lit. "Promise") was written by Kazuhiko Kato and performed by J-pop singer Akino Arai.[6] The ending theme "Utsukushii Hoshi" (美しい星, lit. "Beautiful Planet") was written and performed by Arai.[7] Arai stated that she did not discuss the composition of the tracks with the director as she would have later in her career.[8]

Soundtrack

Release and marketing

Windaria was released theatrically in Japan on July 19, 1986.[9][10][11] In 1987, Harmony Gold licensed Windaria for release in the United States, trimming the movie from its original 101-minute running time to 95 minutes.[5] The English-language version was edited in order to better market the movie to younger audiences.[2][12][13] According to director Carl Macek, Harmony Gold was given no scipts or translations of the property and they thus had little insight into the plot details.[14] The English version included a new script, an altered plot, scenes switched around, violent and adult-oriented scenes removed, the entire cast given Western names, and added narration provided by Russell Johnson (of Gilligan's Island fame).[2][12][15]

Windaria was first distributed in Japan to home video by Victor Entertainment. The eventual laserdisc release contained a trailer, a pilot film (in which characters are colored differently than the final version), and a second audio track.[16] Victor released Windaria on DVD in Japan on December 16, 2000.[17] This release forgoes the laserdisc extras but includes a director interview on the insert.[16] Atlus reissued the film on DVD on March 25, 2005.[18] Streamline Pictures released the English version, titled Windaria, on North American VHS between 1992 and 1993.[3][19] A laserdisc version was planned by Image Entertainment yet never distributed.[16] ADV Films re-released the English version, as Once Upon a Time, on DVD on March 23, 2004.[20] The uncut Japanese version has never been officially released in this region.[15][21]

A generous amount of Windaria-related merchandise has been marketed in Japan since the movie's 1986 debut. Fujikawa's Douwa Meita Senshi Windaria bunkobon was published by Kadokawa Shoten during March 1986.[22] Shortly after the premiere of Windaria, several official guide books were released, one (Settei: Windaria) containing Idol's sketches, storyboards, and promotional materials. A special omake was published on August 25, 1986, as part of Kadokawa's "Mediamix Special" imprint.[23] Inomata's 1988 art book Gatsu no Koe Hoshi no Yume contains some of her illustrations from the film.[24][25] Arai's album Natsukashii Mirai, containing both the film's opening and ending themes, was released by Victor on October 21, 1986.[26] Arai later re-recorded "Utsukushii Hoshi" for her 2005 album Sora no Uta due to her dissatisfaction with the first version of the song.[8] The film's original soundtrack was released by Victor on both LP and CD on July 21, 1986, and CD was reprinted in March 24, 1994.[27] It was reissued on June 23, 1999 alongside the soundtrack to Birth, another anime by Kaname.[16][28] Finally, a 2008 Nintendo DS video game based on the movie was developed by Compile Heart under the name Dungeon of Windaria (ダンジョン オブ ウインダリア) and released in Japan.[29][30]

Reception

Critical reception for the original Japanese version of Windaria has been favorable. Ralph Jenkins of Mania.com called the film "the quintessential anime tragedy". The reviewer elaborated, "The overriding theme of this grim allegory is that a promise -- especially between lovers -- is something so sacred that it thrives even beyond death, and taking it for granted can beget devastating consequences." Jenkins noted both Inomata's character designs and the film's musical score to be memorable.[16]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Drazen, Patrick (January 1, 2002). Anime Explosion! The What? Why? & Wow! Of Japanese Animation. Stone Bridge Press. pp. 223–9. ISBN 978-1-880656-72-3.
  2. 1 2 3 Houston, Don (April 1, 2004). "Once Upon A Time". DVD Talk. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  3. 1 2 Ledoux, Trish; Ranney, Doug & Patten, Fred (February 1, 1997). The Complete Anime Guide: Japanese Animation Film Directory & Resource Guide. Tiger Mountain Press. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-9649542-5-0.
  4. ↑ Oppliger, John (August 1, 2008). "Ask John: Which Women Have Made an Impact on Anime Production?". AnimeNation. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  5. 1 2 McCarthy, Helen (July 1997). The Anime! Movie Guide. The Overlook Press. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-87951-781-6.
  6. ↑ "'Do You Remember Love?' Composer Kazuhiko Katoh Found Hanged (Updated)". Anime News Network. October 17, 2009. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  7. ↑ Oppliger, John (February 23, 2007). "Ask John: What are the Most Impressive Anime Songs?". AnimeNation. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  8. 1 2 Ayou (March 25, 2008). "Akino Arai Press Conference". Jame-World. Retrieved April 6, 2012.
  9. ↑ ウインダリア [Windaria]. Newtype (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. August 1986. p. Back cover.
  10. ↑ Lucas, Tim and Donna (1996). Video Watchdog (31–36): 26. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ Patten, Fred (September 1, 2004). Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews. Stone Bridge Press. pp. 47–8. ISBN 978-1-880656-92-1.
  12. 1 2 Oppliger, John (August 16, 2002). "Ask John: Is Carl Macek the Al Capone of Anime?". AnimeNation. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  13. ↑ Lent, John A. (August 1, 2001). Animation in Asia and the Pacific. Indiana University Press. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-253-34035-1.
  14. ↑ Bertschy, Zac and Sevakis, Justin (January 15, 2010). "ANNCast: Macek Training". Anime News Network (Podcast). Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  15. 1 2 Sevakis, Justin (July 17, 2008). "Buried Treasure: Windaria". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Jenkins, Ralph (2001). "Old Skool Anime: Windaria & Birth". Mania.com. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  17. ↑ ウインダリア [Windaria] (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  18. ↑ "ウインダリア DVD" [Windaria DVD] (in Japanese). Atlus. Archived from the original on July 21, 2006. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  19. ↑ Hartl, John (May 17, 1992). "Here comes summer and so is a raft of children's videos". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  20. ↑ Oppliger, John (December 23, 2003). "AD Vision Announces New DVD Titles". AnimeNation. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  21. ↑ Oppliger, John (January 9, 2009). "Ask John Editorial: What Anime Features Haven't Been Licensed?". AnimeNation. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  22. ↑ ウィンダリア　童話めいた戦史 [Windaria Fairy Tale War] (in Japanese). Book Shelf. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  23. ↑ マニア館入荷情報 「内山まもる ウルトラマンメビウス外伝」ほかムック本入荷しました [Stock Information Stock Mania "Ultraman Mebius Gaiden protect Uchiyama" mook other books in stock] (in Japanese). Mandrake. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  24. ↑ 月の声星の夢　いのまたむつみ画集 [Dream in a Voice, Star in a Moon: Mutsumi Inomata Collections of Paintings] (in Japanese). Doga Books. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  25. ↑ Inomata, Mutsumi (November 1988). 月の声星の夢　いのまたむつみ画集 [Dream in a Voice, Star in a Moon: Mutsumi Inomata Collections of Paintings] (in Japanese). Fujimi Shobo. pp. 25–57. ISBN 978-4-8291-9101-9.
  26. ↑ 懐かしい未来 [Future Nostalgia] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  27. ↑ ウィンダリア 音楽篇 [Windaria Musical Chapter] (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  28. ↑ ウインダリア/バース [Windaria/Birth] (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  29. ↑ "『ダンジョン オブ ウインダリア』人気アニメがダンジョンRPGに" [Dungeon of Windaria: A popular animation is in a dungeon RPG] (in Japanese). Famitsu. March 11, 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  30. ↑ Spencer (March 11, 2008). "Dungeon of Windaria's loose link to the source material". Siliconera. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
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