10 Best Anime Films Of The '80s

These days Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise is held in high regard, an often-praised example of impeccable world-building and rich science-fiction that transcends the usual cliches of the genre to deliver a captivating film about humanity's journey into space.

This wasn't always the case however, as both Western and Eastern reception to the film was incredibly mixed upon its release. In fact, because production company Gainax had so much riding on the film, it was actually considered a commercial failure as it only managed to make back roughly "120 million yen" - a paltry sum in comparison to its 800 million yen budget.

The story of Royal Space Force's production and release is an incredibly long tale, filled with name changes, threats of cutting the film's runtime, squabbling amongst its director and producers, and a poorly received Western translation.

All is well that ends well, though. Even though the film almost bankrupt Gainax, it did eventually make its money back by 1994 - seven years after its release. Director Hiroyuki Yamaga stuck with the company and ended up releasing Neon Genesis Evangelion in 1995, earning both him and the studio critical acclaim, as well as financial stability.