The Sky Crawlers (スカイ・クロラ, Sukai Kurora) is a 2008 Japanese adult animated war film, directed by Mamoru Oshii.

[2][3][4] Animated by Production I.G, the film was written by Chihiro Itō, featuring character designs by Tetsuya Nishio and music by Kenji Kawai.

The Sky Crawlers is set in an alternate history timeline where although the world is at peace, in order to ease the tension of a populace accustomed to war and aggression, two rival private corporations, the Poland-based Rostock and the Ireland-based Lautern, contract fighter pilots to engage in actual combat operations against each other.

The film introduces characters known as Kildren (キルドレ, Kirudore, "kill-dolls") - humanoids genetically engineered in a way that enables them to live eternally in adolescence.

He meets the base's commanding officer, Suito Kusanagi, who names the previous pilot as Kurita Jinroh but refuses to say what happened to him.

Shortly afterward, he meets the rest of the base's pilots: Aizu Yudagawa, Yuriyuki Shinota and his roommate, Naofumi Tokino.

That evening, Tokino takes him to a local spot, Daniel's Diner, where they meet two women named Kusumi and Fuuko.

The pilots talk about the enemy company's most feared ace, called The Teacher, who flies a plane with the silhouette of a black jaguar painted on its side.

Kusanagi orders all the remaining pilots to sortie to hunt down the Teacher, taking Kannami's plane personally.

Midori visits Kannami, and suffers a nervous breakdown, wondering if she is a Kildren, and realizing that she cannot recall any memories of her childhood.

The pilots leave on patrol as Kannami contemplates how one can find new experiences even if one has travelled the same path before, and regains his memories as Jinroh.

Rostock Lautern Sources:[4] Author Mori said he felt The Sky Crawlers was the "most difficult" of his works to adapt, and only consented to its filming after learning of Oshii's directorial involvement.

The song used in the end credits, "Konya mo Hoshi ni Dakarete", sung by Ayaka, was not included in the soundtrack.

[14] A tie-in game for and prequel to the film,[15] The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces, was released for the Wii in October 2008 in Japan, before being localized for the Western world in early 2010.