Knave-iators of The Air Corsair Corps
Sky pirates, was what I was going for there. Though they occupy a mid-point between sea pirates and space pirates, air pirates are perhaps the most fun of any of the pirate phyla. At the very least, they seem to pop up a lot whenever a JRPG features H.G. Wells-esque airships, which is all the time. I've thrown in a few non-JRPGs too, of course, since not everyone is as fond of them as I am. I'm sure there's way more examples too: it's an enduring trope.
It's funny, but while playing Ni no Kuni I've been thinking about just how often JRPGs have drawn from Ghibli's vast library of anime features in the past, and how often I'll bump into bits and pieces of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and Laputa: Castle in the Sky without even being on the lookout for them. A few items on this list in particular feel like they borrow quite a bit from Castle in the Sky's lovably incompetent band of air pirates, led by the elderly adventuress Dola (her hairstyle especially is a big giveaway).
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