Angel's Egg (1985): trivia & fun facts

Fun facts

• Many of the themes and elements in Angel's Egg were originally from Oshii's cancelled Lupin the 3rd film.
• Kara Dennison of Otaku USA said "Mamoru Oshii's 1985 collaboration with Yoshitaka Amano is one of the most beautiful anime committed to film."
• Oshii originally intended on making a comedy film, starting with the girl first getting off a flying ark in front of a Japanese convenience store, but changed his mind and decided to make it a pure fantasy film after seeing Amano's art.
• A 4K remaster commemorating the film's 40th anniversary was screened at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
• Amano had initially been slated to work on Oshii's cancelled Lupin film, which anime critic Ryota Fujitsu says makes it obvious that Angel's Egg was inherited from Lupin.
• While Amano was originally invited to work on character designs, Oshii liked his art enough that he ended up in the role of art direction, also designing image boards, and other things such as posters.
• Speaking at an animation film festival in 1997 through a translator, Oshii explained the film did not do well financially upon release and was an obstacle to him getting work again for years.
• The film originally struggled financially upon release with many viewers being confused over its supposed meaning, but it has since received acclaim as a cult classic.
• Miyazaki himself said regarding the film that he "appreciates the effort, but it is not something others would understand" and of Oshii "he goes on a one-way journey without thinking of how to get back".

Source: Wikipedia

Play 9 questions. Test yourself on Angel's Egg and see how everyone else answered.