Castle in the sky

Castle in the sky (Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta) is one of the Steampunk masterpiece of Hayao Myazaki, one of the Genius of the japanese animee artist.


The animee belongs to the last 80', the drowning reflects the period, the faces, in fact, are a little less cured compared to the recent works of the japanese mangaka, more angular than before. Considering this the greater work of the Master Myazaki isn't wrong. Castele in the Sky takes some concept from the past works of the same Myazaki: there is a push towards ecologism and antimilitarism, and the sensitive awareness of feeling like friendship and love.

The tales takes place in two different settings. The first remember the Walsh mining town, expecially the architecture, in a steampunk contest which includes both the train and the typical steam culture of the XIX century and the anachronistic element of the military technology (some slements of this scenario will be repeated in Howl's moving castle) and other stuff like the airship. Other elements of the setting, instead, stem from the medievil european culture like building and castle, meanwhile the clothing reflects the european fashion of the industrial revolution.

The Castle of Laputa

Everything changes in the second half of the movie. When the characters reach Laputa they meet a pristine world, where the nature live in peace and armony with the remains of an ancient civilization. The setting becomes more fantasy with the inclusion of issues related to magic and high technology (Like in the game Chrono Trigger). Laputa in a extraordinary, uninhabited fantasy castle where the drowning litterally blows.
The only beings in the castle are Robots built by the ancient Laputa peaple, who live immersed in the nature (emblematic is the scenes in which some birds alight on the shoulders of the robots).

The first meeting of Sheeta and Pazu

The plot tells about Pazu and Sheeta. Pazu meets Sheeta when the girl falls from the sky wrapped in a blue light coming from the stone around the Sheeta's neck. From here, they will live an adventure that take them from the little village of Pazu, first underground chased by the army and the pirates of Dola and then in the sky, in the amazing Laputa castle where the little Sheeta discover the origins of the stone and of her family.



Accompained by a sublime soundtrack and a majestic artistic direction, this animation movie transports the viewer in an deeply moving story of action and feelings.
  





For me Castle in the sky is the highest expression of the steampunk Kind in the animation movie, and one of the best Steampunk works of all time