The Wind Rises
Jiro dreams of flying and designing beautiful airplanes, inspired by the famous Italian aeronautical designer Caproni. Nearsighted from a young age and unable to be a pilot, Jiro joins a major Japanese engineering company in 1927 and becomes one of the world's most innovative and accomplished airplane designers. The film chronicles much of his life, depicting key historical events, including the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the Great Depression, the tuberculosis epidemic and Japan's plunge into war. Jiro meets and falls in love with Nahoko, and grows and cherishes his friendship with his colleague Honjo.
Despite a mid-range budget of $30.0M, The Wind Rises became a box office success, earning $117.9M worldwide—a 293% return.
Nominated for 1 Oscar. 26 wins & 54 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
The Wind Rises (2013) reveals meticulously timed narrative architecture, characteristic of Hayao Miyazaki's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 2 hours and 6 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 4.5, the film takes an unconventional approach to traditional narrative frameworks.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Jiro Horikoshi
Naoko Satomi
Giovanni Battista Caproni
Honjo
Kayo Horikoshi
Kurokawa
Main Cast & Characters
Jiro Horikoshi
Played by Hideaki Anno
A brilliant aeronautical engineer who dreams of creating beautiful airplanes, torn between his artistic vision and the military use of his creations.
Naoko Satomi
Played by Miori Takimoto
Jiro's love interest, a gentle and strong-willed woman who faces tuberculosis with grace while supporting Jiro's dreams.
Giovanni Battista Caproni
Played by Mansai Nomura
An Italian aircraft designer who appears in Jiro's dreams as a mentor, encouraging his passion for aviation despite the moral complexities.
Honjo
Played by Hidetoshi Nishijima
Jiro's close friend and colleague at Mitsubishi, a loyal and supportive companion throughout his career.
Kayo Horikoshi
Played by Mirai Shida
Jiro's pragmatic younger sister who becomes a doctor and provides grounded perspective on his pursuits.
Kurokawa
Played by Masahiko Nishimura
Jiro's demanding boss at Mitsubishi, a stern authority figure who pushes for results under wartime pressure.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Young Jiro dreams of flying through the sky in a beautiful airplane, establishing his lifelong passion for aviation and his idealistic vision of creating beautiful flying machines.. Notably, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when Jiro is hired by Mitsubishi and assigned to the fighter design team, launching his professional career as an aircraft engineer and setting him on the path toward his destiny.. At 10% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 27 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 22% of the runtime. This shows the protagonist's commitment to Jiro commits fully to designing a revolutionary new fighter plane, choosing to push forward despite technological limitations and political pressures. He dedicates himself completely to his vision., moving from reaction to action.
At 57 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 45% of the runtime—arriving early, accelerating into Act IIb complications. Significantly, this crucial beat Jiro learns that Nahoko has tuberculosis and is seriously ill. This false defeat shadows their relationship with mortality, raising the stakes and marking the end of the purely hopeful phase of the story., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 83 minutes (66% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Nahoko, knowing she is dying, leaves Jiro to return to the sanitarium without saying goodbye. This "whiff of death" represents the loss of love and the realization that beauty and dreams are fleeting., indicates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 89 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 71% of the runtime. In a dream, Caproni asks Jiro if he would choose to live a life without creating airplanes. Jiro accepts the tragedy inherent in his choice—that he pursued his dream despite knowing the cost., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
The Wind Rises's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping The Wind Rises against these established plot points, we can identify how Hayao Miyazaki utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish The Wind Rises within the animation genre.
Hayao Miyazaki's Structural Approach
Among the 13 Hayao Miyazaki films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 5.6, showcasing experimental approaches to narrative form. The Wind Rises takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Hayao Miyazaki filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional animation films include The Bad Guys, Puss in Boots and Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll. For more Hayao Miyazaki analyses, see Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro and Howl's Moving Castle.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Young Jiro dreams of flying through the sky in a beautiful airplane, establishing his lifelong passion for aviation and his idealistic vision of creating beautiful flying machines.
Theme
Caproni tells Jiro in his dream: "Airplanes are not tools for war. They are beautiful dreams. Engineers turn dreams into reality." This establishes the central tension between beauty/creation and destruction.
Worldbuilding
Jiro grows up in 1920s Japan, studies engineering at university, experiences the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, and helps Nahoko and her maid during the disaster. His path as an aircraft designer begins to take shape.
Disruption
Jiro is hired by Mitsubishi and assigned to the fighter design team, launching his professional career as an aircraft engineer and setting him on the path toward his destiny.
Resistance
Jiro struggles with early failures in aircraft design, travels to Germany to study advanced aviation technology, and learns from international engineers. He debates whether Japan can compete with Western engineering.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Jiro commits fully to designing a revolutionary new fighter plane, choosing to push forward despite technological limitations and political pressures. He dedicates himself completely to his vision.
Mirror World
Jiro reunites with Nahoko at a resort hotel in Karuizawa. Their romance begins, representing the human connection and beauty that contrasts with his technical work and foreshadows the theme of transient beauty.
Premise
Jiro works intensely on aircraft designs while his relationship with Nahoko deepens. He experiences the joy of creation and love simultaneously, living out the promise of pursuing both his professional dream and personal happiness.
Midpoint
Jiro learns that Nahoko has tuberculosis and is seriously ill. This false defeat shadows their relationship with mortality, raising the stakes and marking the end of the purely hopeful phase of the story.
Opposition
Jiro faces mounting pressure to complete the Zero fighter as Japan moves toward war. Nahoko's health deteriorates despite their marriage. The tensions between his dreams, the military's demands, and Nahoko's illness intensify.
Collapse
Nahoko, knowing she is dying, leaves Jiro to return to the sanitarium without saying goodbye. This "whiff of death" represents the loss of love and the realization that beauty and dreams are fleeting.
Crisis
Jiro completes the Zero fighter amid his grief. He confronts the emptiness of his achievement without Nahoko and grapples with the knowledge that his beautiful creation will be used for war and destruction.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
In a dream, Caproni asks Jiro if he would choose to live a life without creating airplanes. Jiro accepts the tragedy inherent in his choice—that he pursued his dream despite knowing the cost.
Synthesis
The final dream sequence shows Jiro walking through the wreckage of war, meeting Caproni and Nahoko one last time. He confronts the full weight of his creation's legacy while Nahoko releases him to live on.
Transformation
Nahoko tells Jiro "You must live" and vanishes. Jiro stands in the wind, having accepted that he lived a life of beauty and tragedy, creation and destruction, love and loss—the wind rises, and he must live.