This is a 1964 anime about a Zero fighter pilot in World War II, which means it's made by people who lived through that war, not people making a historical drama about it. The show has no irony. No commentary. Just a man flying a plane, winning fights, and living in the moment that was happening to the people making it. That proximity to real experience changes everything about what you're watching.

Hayato flies a Zero fighter in World War II, and the story follows his adventures as a pilot during the war. The 1964 television production runs for 38 short episodes, each built around the exploits of the man in the cockpit of Japan's wartime fighter plane.