Once Muska, played by Jing Yu, appeared on screen, the story truly began to take shape.
Hayao Miyazaki's works have always been different from other animated films. Most highly praised anime could be instantly recalled through one or more iconic scenes.
For example, '5 Centimeters per Second' was known for the "train pass" scene; 'Slam Dunk' had "Coach, I want to play basketball"; 'One Piece' had its deeply emotional flashbacks.
But with Miyazaki's films, if you really tried to name a famous scene, you'd come up short.
And yet, if you watched the movie from start to finish, fully immersed and engaged, you'd inevitably come away with sincere admiration.
Most people would end up placing his works on a higher tier compared to other anime, not because of a few standout scenes, but because of their overall immersive quality—story, pacing, visuals, and emotion.
At first, you might think: This story? Why's everyone praising it? Seems pretty average.
But as you keep watching, it pulls you in. You get immersed in the world. And even after it ends, the world lingers in your heart.
This was especially true of 'Castle in the Sky' and 'Spirited Away'.
In his past life, after Jing Yu finished watching 'Castle in the Sky', he couldn't stop wondering what happened to Sheeta and Pazu afterward—did they fall in love? Get married? He kept hoping for a sequel.
And 'Spirited Away' was even worse—watching Chihiro leave the other world alone, leaving Haku and Yubaba behind to settle their grudge, Jing Yu was convinced there had to be a Part 2.
Back in those days, the internet wasn't widespread, and kids had no money.
He'd spend weekends wandering nearly half the county, visiting every DVD rental and sales store he knew in the city, searching for 'Spirited Away 2'.
Of course, he never found it.
Not until middle school, when he snuck into an internet café using his parents' ID, did he finally Google it—turns out, there never was a sequel.
And now, in the theaters of Great Zhou, most of the audience was going through something similar.
No matter how many loyal fans Jing Yu had in Great Zhou, the majority of moviegoers were still casual viewers.
No film that achieved billions at the box office ever did so on fanbase alone.
Billions in revenue required over a hundred million viewers. Most celebrities didn't even dare inflate their follower counts over 10 million because it would look fake, much less claim over 100 million fans.
So even in the cinema, most people were just casual viewers—maybe they'd heard of Jing Yu, but this was the first time watching his film.
Their reactions followed the usual arc: from relaxed curiosity → to focused attention → to full immersion.
The central conflict around Laputa, Sheeta's mysterious identity as one of its descendants, Pazu's powerlessness as an ordinary boy...
The government forces, claiming justice, were full of lies, while the seemingly shady sky pirates turned out to be deeply loyal.
And then there was Muska—Jing Yu's villain.
"Old Thief playing a villain is seriously... so annoying!"
"I don't even know why, but the moment I saw his face, I got pissed off."
"Fake, selfish grin—all it takes is one smirk and everything about him screams liar. How's Old Thief's acting this good now?"
"I never thought I'd hate one of his roles. Even when he played that big bad Gilgamesh, I didn't hate him. But this Muska… something's off."
"Yeah! This Muska is so unlikeable! Even knowing it's Old Thief, I can't warm up to him."
What the audience didn't know was that Jing Yu had deliberately used lighting and subtle filter effects to give himself a darker, more sinister aura on screen.
He was afraid that if he appeared too likable, the audience would subconsciously side with him instead of the protagonists—and then, no matter how successful the movie was, it would be a failure in his eyes.
The effect was... perfect.
As the plot progressed, Laputa's dormant guardian robots awakened.
Sheeta was rescued by Pazu and the pirates. Together with the government forces, they flew toward the eye of the storm at the edge of the sky.
Sweeping aerial shots looked down at the land below, showing classic propeller aircraft, scenes of a girl and a boy flying through the air.
The theme song of Sky Castle played once more.
The sky pirates' personalities came through clearly—especially the knife-tongued but soft-hearted matriarch. The midair dogfights followed.
Eventually, they reached the floating city hidden within the storm.
Though countless years had passed, Laputa's robots still patrolled the city with mechanical precision.
These robots, built with deadly lasers and explosive weaponry, moved with shocking gentleness.
Even the birds adjusted their flight paths to avoid disturbing them.
But the humans—especially Muska and the government soldiers—brought only violence and destruction.
In this ancient technological marvel, supposedly the pinnacle of civilization, animals thrived in harmony, while humans sowed chaos.
"A paradise?"
"This movie... Old Thief really nailed it."
"I wish I could live in a city like this."
"Forests, castles, robots, birds, flowers... This is nothing like the futuristic city I imagined."
"No wonder it took so long to make. All the VFX budget went into these scenes."
"So this is what Laputa really looks like."
"Feels kind of sad though."
The murmurs in the theater stopped completely when a Laputa robot gently offered Sheeta and Pazu a flower.
A gentle emotion stirred in every heart.
The animals feared humans, but not the massive robots. They frolicked atop them freely.
In contrast, Muska's sinister plan came to light. Also a descendant of Laputa's royal family, he seized control of the city's systems—and immediately used them to massacre his own allies.
"This Old Thief is insane."
"I can't stand him!"
"First time I've ever wanted a character Jing Yu played to die."
"The movie must be nearing the end now."
"I feel like this film says it's an adventure between the leads, but it's really about something deeper—like the relationship between humans and nature."
"Laputa's royalty once gave up the city due to the harm their tech caused. Now others rediscover it, craving power. Ironic, right?"
"Tech isn't evil. But once people solve hunger and survival, they start using it for dangerous things."
The film never dragged. Muska's character was given decent screentime, but when it was time for him to exit, it was swift and clean.
Sheeta, the true royal heir, used a single incantation passed down in her family—a self-destruction spell that caused Laputa to collapse.
Muska, smug and power-hungry, perished immediately.
In the final scene, the sky pirates and the leads parted ways mid-air, under the warm glow of the setting sun.
They flew off in different directions.
The theme song swelled again.
The two-hour film came to an end.
Many audience members sat in silence, unsure what to say.
They could clearly tell that this film was special. It didn't feel like any of Jing Yu's past works.
The movie hadn't pushed the audience toward any specific thoughts—but still, many came away with the same feeling:
War is horrible. Human desire is the root of all evil.
This kind of theme was common in Miyazaki's films—subtle, but thought-provoking.
One by one, thoughtful viewers filed out of the theater.
Online, countless people were waiting for these early viewers to post their thoughts—trying to decide which Spring Festival movie to watch.
The forums were already buzzing.
"So? Which Spring Festival film is best?"
"I watched 'Frontline'. It was awesome! Huge war scenes, amazing effects. Haven't seen the others yet, but I bet it'll top the box office."
"'The Fool' was hilarious! My kid was laughing the whole time. The ending felt rushed, though. Still, totally worth it."
"What about 'Castle in the Sky'?"
"Where are Old Thief's fans? No comments yet?"
"What's there to say? I'm already planning a second watch."
"What genre is it? Romance? Fantasy?"
"Neither. Simple story, but full of emotional impact. Hard to explain. I gave it 9.9 out of 10—docked a bit for the leads' acting. They were good, but compared to Old Thief's Muska? The gap is obvious."
"What do you mean by 'hard to explain'? I'm telling you now—'Castle in the Sky' is a masterpiece! What else is there to say?"
"The Laputa collapse scene was mind-blowing. But I'll admit, some of Old Thief's fans may find it hard to accept how little romance there was. It's mostly adventure."
"Honestly, it was refreshing to see him not focus on romance. The film made me think about humanity's relationship with nature. Sure, I'll probably go back to polluting the planet tomorrow, but for these two hours? I felt something."
"Didn't watch the other two films, but 'Castle in the Sky' was absolutely worth the ticket. Even as someone who loves nitpicking, I had nothing to complain about."
Early viewers' opinions were already influencing ticket sales for the rest of the day.
Of the three biggest Spring Festival films, 'The Fool' and 'Frontline' had louder online fanbases, actively promoting them.
But 'Castle in the Sky' fans were quiet—not because they didn't love it, but because they were still emotionally processing it.
Some were already searching online for the S'Castle in the Sky' theme music to buy or download.
But even without posting, their ratings spoke volumes.
By the afternoon, the professional review site Yindou Net released its numbers:
'Castle in the Sky': 9.7
'The Fool': 9.0
'Frontline': 9.1
Each score was based on tens of thousands of viewer ratings.
Only after emotionally recovering did Jing Yu's fans start showing up online, passionately recommending the film.
Some even watched all three big films by 4:30 p.m. And among those viewers, 7 or 8 out of every 10 called 'Castle in the Sky' the best.
This included a good number of professional critics in Great Zhou.
They started publishing their takes:
"A cinematic epic. A surreal journey above the skies."
"Jing Yu has finally moved beyond young love stories and is now exploring humanity's relationship with nature."
"From 'Your Name' to 'Castle in the Sky', just one month apart. What inspired Jing Yu to create two such vastly different films?"
"Once again, the genius creator surprises us. I thought he'd peaked. But 'Castle in the Sky' proves that while he may have reached the top of romance films, he's still a king in other genres too."
"My personal pick for best Spring Festival film. Its scale blows the competition out of the water."
"Jing Yu's boldest experiment. He's showing the world he's not just a romance guy. He's a top-tier adventure filmmaker, too."
"Robots protecting nature while humans bring only destruction—this movie is full of subtle, biting commentary."
Whether from early viewers or seasoned critics, the consensus was clear.
Even the previously skeptical crowd suddenly understood the hype.