The Princess and the Pilot

The Princess and the Pilot
Cover art of the light novel To Aru Hikūshi e no Tsuioku, as published by Shogakukan
とある飛空士への追憶 (To Aru Hikūshi e no Tsuioku)
Genre	Action, military, romance
Light novel
Written by	Koroku Inumura
Illustrated by	Haruyuki Morisawa
Published by	Shogakukan
Imprint	Gagaga Bunko
Demographic	Male
Published	February 19, 2008
Anime film
Directed by	Jun Shishido
Produced by	Hideaki Miyamoto Ryouhei Takahashi
Written by	Satoko Okudera
Music by	Shirō Hamaguchi
Studio	Madhouse (animation) TMS Entertainment (production)
Licensed by	NA: NIS America UK: Manga UK
Released	October 1, 2011
Runtime	100 minutes

The Princess and the Pilot (とある飛空士への追憶, To Aru Hikūshi e no Tsuioku, "Recollections for a Certain Pilot") is a 2008 Japanese light novel by Koroku Inumura. An anime film adaptation was released in Japanese cinemas on 1 October 2011.

To Aru Hikūshi e no Tsuioku is a joint production by Japanese animation studios Madhouse and TMS Entertainment, and it was directed by the director Jun Shishido. The cast of this film was officially revealed on 19 May 2011.

Plot

Koroku Inumura's original war romance light novel revolves around Charles Karino, a Levamme Empire mercenary aerial pilot who mans the twin-seater reconnaissance seaplane Santa Cruz. One day, he receives a surprise assignment: to fly over 12,000 kilometers of enemy waters to protect a girl named Juana del Moral. This mission is actually a covert operation as the original escort was taken down by the enemy. Charles eventually discovers that both the original operation and the covert operation have been figured by the enemy decoding military telegraphs sent by the crown prince to Juana.

Cast

Charles Karino (狩乃 シャルル, Karino Sharuru)

Voiced by: Ryunosuke Kamiki

A Levammian born mercenary pilot who takes on a secret escort mission assignment to protect a girl who is the future Princess consort of the state. He is subject to severe racist discrimination due to his mixed heritage (he shares a half blood heritage consisting of the Amatsukami Imperium, the enemy state of Levamme Empire in the war). Due to his life long bad memory from racism, he was eager to prove himself and vows flying in the sky as an aviator as his life-long passion, because that "there is no caste, race, nor social status and other inequality among everyone" according to his own account. Although never officially recognized due to his race and social status as a flying ace, he is extremely talented at flying and aerial combat and that he is known to have out-gunned all the ace pilots within the kingdom in various drills and practices.

Juana del Moral (ファナ・デル・モラル, Fana deru Moraru)

Voiced by: Seika Taketomi

The "yet to be" Princess consort, an extremely beautiful woman with beautiful silver-ish locks. Although she has had an isolated life due to her royal birth, she is an elegant, polite, and compassionate lady by character. After a marriage proposal from the Prince of the state in the middle of the war, she is subjected to an assassination attempt conducted by the enemy. Therefore, to get her back to the mainland, the military high command has organized a secret escort mission, operated by Charles Karino, to get her past the enemy line and fly her back to the mainland of the state. Unlike many other fellow nobility and fellow countrymen, she detests racism towards half bloods and shows acceptance and respect to Charles. Although not noticed at the beginning, she once had another encounter with Charles in her childhood.

See also

• The Pilot's Love Song, light novel series set in the same universe.

External links

• Official movie website Template:Ja icon
• Official US movie web site
• The Princess and the Pilot at IMDb
• The Princess and the Pilot (film) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia