Route 20: Galactic Airport

Short film/pilot from year 1985 for the Royal Space Force movie that came out two years later.

"I will not give up. I will realize my dream...even if it means death!" When cadet Shiro Lhadatt signs up with the Royal Space Force, he encounters ridicule and apathy from manipulative leaders and a cynical public. But a chance encounter with a devout young woman spurs Shiro on towards his destiny: to become the first man in space! While military leaders conspire to use the space program to spark an all-out war, Shiro and a team of aging scientists race against time to complete the first launch.

This work was produced as the ninth special animated piece for the 24-hour television program by Tezuka Production, which took full charge of the original story, screenplay and direction. Tezuka Osamu crafts a love story in the time when humans are expanding into space at the end of the 21st century, employing an omnibus form similar to Bradbury's "Martian Chronicle." The story line is similar to "Phoenix: Nostalgia." Leaving the earth after marriage, a woman is left behind in space when her husband suddenly dies of a cosmic disease. These background details were used in "The Phoenix" as well. This time, her friends on the Earth head for space to save the woman who was once everyone's ideal lady. In this special animated piece, Tezuka Osamu emphasizes his basic concepts that "love can save the earth" and "only love can save humans."

An animated pilot film for Ninja Bugei-chou released to the public over three decades later on Ninpuu Kamui Gaiden DVD volume 7. The pilot film was created in 1969 as director Nagisa Ooshima was wanting to make a TV animation to build off his controversial film from 1967. The pilot was rejected by Shirato himself (the original comic creator the film was based on) and the plan was changed to animate Ninpuu Kamui Gaiden instead, a side story to the Kamui Den manga also created by Shirato. Though with this change, Ooshima did not partake in Ninpuu Kamui Gaiden's production.