The Wind Rises

Jirou Horikoshi dreams of the sky, but poor eyesight keeps him grounded. Leaving his hometown behind, he heads to Tokyo Imperial University to study aeronautical engineering, determined to build aircraft like his idol, Italian designer Giovanni Battista Caproni. When he arrives in Tokyo, the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 strikes, and in the chaos he helps a maid working for the family of a young girl, Naoko Satomi—an encounter that lingers as Japan enters decades of unease on the road to World War II.

As Jirou’s career advances toward the creation of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter, his dedication is tempered by what he learns along the way: the weight of how his designs will be used and the difficult turns in his own life. With each step forward, he’s forced to consider how much he’s willing to sacrifice in pursuit of a dream he refuses to abandon.