Windaria

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Windaria (also rebranded Once Upon a Time for its English release) is a 1986 Japanese animated anti-war fantasy feature film, co-produced by Kaname Productions and Idol, directed by Kunihiko Yuyama. It is recognized as one of the landmark early animated works tied to Japan's emerging OVA market of the 1980s, centered on two rival kingdoms driven to senseless war over shared water resources, with intertwined tragic personal relationship arcs across both sides of the conflict.

Key moments

July 19, 1986Original full-length Japanese theatrical cut of Windaria premieres in Japan
1987Modified localized English dub produced by Harmony Gold, renamed Once Upon a Time, is released for syndicated television broadcast in the United States, with edits to reduce dark and graphic content
Mid-2000sTie-in mystery dungeon style video game adapted from the Windaria IP is launched for the Nintendo DS platform

Distinct anti-war narrative design

Unlike most mainstream 1980s fantasy anime that centered heroic victory, Windaria intentionally rejects triumphal story beats: almost all major sympathetic characters die, while opportunistic, self-serving figures that escalated the conflict survive. This bleak framing delivers a blunt message about the pointlessness of war, framing miscommunication and human greed rather than external villains as the root cause of societal collapse.

Creative breakthrough for 1980s anime audience expansion

As part of the first wave of Japanese animated productions not explicitly targeted exclusively at young children, Windaria explores mature themes including broken vows, moral compromise, and the cyclical nature of human conflict that had rarely been presented in theatrical animation for general audiences in that era, paving the way for later more serious, adult-oriented anime fantasy works.

Impact of localization modifications

The heavily edited English syndication version altered far more than just the title, trimming down tragic character deaths and softening the film's core anti-war messaging to fit 1980s Western broadcast content guidelines, creating a markedly different work for Western viewers that obscures much of the original production's thematic weight.

director	Kunihiko Yuyama
producer	Toshihiro Nagao
writer	Keisuke Fujikawa
based on	Windaria by Keisuke Fujikawa
music	Ryuji Sasai Satoshi Kadokura
studio	Idol Kaname Productions Studio Gallop
country	Japan
language	Japanese

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. Meanwhile, 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 couldn't 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.

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, Grendizer, 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) was written by Kazuhiko Katō and performed by J-pop singer Akino Arai.[6] The ending theme "Utsukushii Hoshi" (美しい星) 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 film from its original 101-minute running time to 95 minutes.[5] The English language version was edited in order to better market the film to younger audiences.[2][12][13] According to director Carl Macek, Harmony Gold was given no scripts or translations of the property and they thus had little insight into the plot details.

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]

References

Drazen, Patrick. Anime Explosion! The What? Why? & Wow! Of Japanese Animation Stone Bridge Press, January 1, 2002^

Houston, Don. Once Upon A Time DVD Talk, April 1, 2004, retrieved June 18, 2011^

The Complete Anime Guide: Japanese Animation Film Directory & Resource Guide Tiger Mountain Press, February 1, 1997^