What's not to find here that you would expect in an elaborate tragedy: War, corruption, greed, betrayal... At its core Windaria is about the journey of a boy, ambitious yet unaware of at what cost his ambitions will come to fruition. Buyer beware, true love doesn't conquer all in this, mostly unknown in the west, gem. Quite the contrary, blinded by greed, lust and the desire for self-worth through the admiration of others, love takes a distant fourth place right up until the end when our protagonist repents for his sins and decides that love was all he needed after all. As it stands, it works more of as a cautionary tale. Full disclosure: I watched it first as a young boy at the age of 8 or 9 and it had quite an impact on me so that years later when I managed to drag it from the collective knowledge of the interwebs, I had no idea whether the actual experience of it would match the memory. In all fairness, it came as close as possible.

Echoing the comments made by others here, I would agree that the original Japanese version (rather than Harmony Gold's English dub) is by far the superior movie. The original is a tragedy in the classic sense of the word, while the English rewrite significantly softens the impact by grafting on a different ending, an ending that undoes the gravity and impact that the story had worked so hard and so skillfully to build.The original version of "Windaria" is a genuinely moving and beautiful film, and deserves a new dub that is true to its dramatic spirit and content. Even if this never happens, however, the film is worth viewing in the original Japanese; such is the skill of the animators and writers that the story doesn't really require spoken dialog. Even if you don't understand a word of Japanese, you'll still be moved.

When American critics and anime fans begin to start searching for other (older) anime to put on a list of classic and important anime films to watch, sooner or later they will find and add "Windaria" on that list."Windaria" and Miyazaki's "Nausicaa of the Valley wind" are two of the most beautifully crafted and carefully plotted animated ecological/anti-war movies created in the mid 80's. These two films are both timeless, with beautiful artwork and very memorable characters.Because the romance between the characters in "Windaria" are so strong, well thought-out, and believable, the characters and their story help draw the viewer completely into the film's beautiful yet tragic tale--it is a finely crafted story about the loss of romance, loss of humanity, and the tragedies of war. It is truly a classic film. (One hopes for a complete, uncut, subtitled version of "Windaria" to be available very soon along with a new, complete, and uncut dubbed version.)As many people here have commented already, "Windaria" is a gem that may bring tears to your eyes. I highly recommend this film. It is a classic film and is certainly worth viewing.

Windaria: Legend of Fabulous Battle is a classic anime movie from the mid-80s--a deeply moving tragedy with gorgeous character designs by Inomata Mutsumi (Leda: Fantastic Adventure of Yohko) and one of the most effective musical scores of any anime film. Note, however, that the U.S. "adaptation" bears no resemblance to the original Japanese movie apart from the visuals; the script was completely rewritten from scratch by Carl Macek back when he worked for Harmony Gold. Even the soundtrack was altered, and yes, scenes were cut (ironically, the movie's closing ballad appears on the American "Best of Anime" CD, but not in the U.S. release of the movie). I would definitely recommend this film to anyone who enjoys epic dramas or animated films, but make sure you get the original Japanese version.