Ghibli Blog: Studio Ghibli, Animation and the Movies

Short Personal Update - New Ebooks

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 05:01:00 +0000

Since my last round of publishing on Ghibli Blog, I have published another round of art & photography ebooks. The newest titles are Galaxy Four: Modern Art, Fire Shark and The White Album. Each of these are optimized for viewing on smartphones and tablets, which means that everything is easy to read, watch and enjoy.

All of my art books are available exclusively on KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited. Take a moment to visit my Amazon author page and download a few titles, or read for free if you're a KU member. As always, please share with family and friends, and always remember to write a favorable review on the Amazon product page.

Daniel Thomas MacInnes - Amazon Author Page

Photos - The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 04:56:00 +0000

Studio Ghibli recently surprised the world by releasing hundreds of high resolution screenshots from their catalog films into the public "within the realm of accepted practice." It's a tremendously generous move and one that I hope fans will embrace. I know it certainly makes my work much easier, and I do wish the studio had supplied these art assets to animation websites ages ago. It's a pity that blogs are virtually extinct in 2020, but what can you do? Time marches on, kids.

Anyway, here are some excellent screenshots from Isao Takahata's final masterwork, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. Given that I am such a fan of his work, you would think that I've watched this movie at least a hundred times by now. But I've only watched it once, at the St. Anthony Main theater in Minneapolis during its short US theatrical run. It was shown in one of the smaller rooms, about half the size as their regular auditoriums, but it's ideal for smaller indie or foreign movies. Thankfully, there were many people present to enjoy and marvel in this gorgeous, otherworldly work of art.

I still say Princess Kaguya is the best animated feature of this century. Honestly, nothing else comes close, and that includes Hayao Miyazaki's movies. Paku-san was a genius and this final opus serves as the perfect capstone to his brilliant career.

Conversations on Ghibli: First Book Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Fri, 19 Jun 2020 19:13:00 +0000

I have been promising a Studio Ghibli book for nearly as long as I've had a Ghibli Blog. It was always my great ambition for this ongoing study of the works of Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, and it was a project that suffered through multiple bouts of fits and starts. I was actually working on the book almost four years ago when I was hit by the first major roadblock, at which time I decided to work on a couple other book projects instead, both of which eventually became Zen Arcade and Pop Life. I made several attempts since that time, always becoming stuck and frustrated.

Thankfully, in the past couple months, I have finally managed to make headway in my vast writing project. The idea for a Ghibli book was based on the blog posts, but I have since discovered that the blog is only a reference point, a first draft towards the final script. I found myself heavily revising and rewriting most of what I had done, and most importantly, I was able to cut out the majority of essays and articles. For any artist, the most important tool is not the pen or paintbrush, but the knife.

Now, at long last, I have a solid framework on what Conversations on Ghibli should be about, what topics should be covered, and where I should focus my energies. I know where the writing should go. All that's left is to sit down and grind out chapters.

The page layouts are the second major challenge, and it's the issue that has held me back more than anything. For the longest time, I had resigned myself to simply publishing a text-only book, or one with only a few art assets scattered here and there, knowing that such a book would never sell. Readers and animation fans want lots of photos and illustrations, and I wasn't confident that I could do that, or afford to hire designers to put it all together.

And then a light clicked on inside my head: I already know how to do this. I don't need to hire anyone to put a book together. I've been doing this for years, not only with the art & photography ebooks, but fanzines in my teens and twenties. For some reason, my brain couldn't grok that a print book is just another form of magazine or fanzine. It's the same principles: page sizes, margins, gutters, bleed, text fonts, yadda yadda.

Most importantly: I don't need Adobe InDesign to put a book together. Everything can be created on the freeware program Scribus, which is an excellent little desktop publishing program with a surprising amount of support. I've been watching tutorial videos this past week as a refresher course and to boost my skills.

That brings us to Conversations on Ghibli, and these first pages that I assembled, an essay on the 1979 Anne of Green Gables and the first page of an essay on Marco/3000 Leagues in Search of Mother. The pages are 7" x 10" with one or two columns and a number of screenshots. There will be some minor revisions here and there, but I may be close to having a solid selection of master pages to use for the book.

The main concern for now is length. I don't know how big the final book will be, but it will blast past 100k words with ease. I don't want a book that's 500 pages and I'm still unsold on the idea of multiple volumes (as the pre-Ghibli volumes likely won't sell), so we'll see how things go.

Two of my main reference points are Antes De Mi Vecino Miyazaki, the outstanding book written by our friends Alvaro Lopez Martin and Marta Garcia Villar for Spain's Diablo Ediciones, and The House That Trane Built, an essential biography of the Impulse jazz label by Ashley Kahn. I also have various magazine nearby for ideas, but the book size and large amount of text will mostly dictate the interior design.

Anyway, that's the update on my Ghibli book project. It's not anywhere close to being completed, but it's definitely in the "alpha" stage now. Once I have the page designs and master pages nailed down, I can then focus on the writing. In addition, I also have several other book projects in various stages of completion, including Galaxy Four: Modern Art, an art ebook of acrylic and watercolor paintings from 1998-2002, and Sega Genesis: 500 Greatest Videogames, a book that details the definitive ranking of games for the classic console as chosen by players, professionals and influencers. I'm also taking photos for my next photography book, which will be called The White Album.

Right now, my schedule is as follows: Galaxy Four, then Sega Genesis, then Ghibli. But I'll be working on everything more or less simultaneously. Stay tuned.

Update 7:04pm: I swapped in revised photos, now with better formatting, drop caps and the like.

A Look at the Cliffhanger LaserDisc Arcade Game

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Wed, 20 May 2020 00:56:00 +0000

In 1983, an arcade videogame called Dragon's Lair featured fully animated movie scenes that were streamed off LaserDisc. It was a great success and spawned a mini-boom of likewise imitators. Stern Electronics, the US publisher known for many successful video and pinball games, sought to get in on the action, but lacked the resources to finance a million-dollar production of their own. Instead, they turned to Japan in search of animated movies to use.

They found two anime films based on the popular Lupin the 3rd franchise: The Mystery of Mamo and The Castle of Cagliostro. After securing the rights, Stern hired Evanston, Illinois-based production company Associated Audio Visual, Inc., who assembled action scenes from both movies into an interactive game, and the resulting product was dubbed Cliffhanger.

Like most LaserDisc videogames, Cliffhanger is an interactive movie where you move a joystick or press buttons at key moments when prompted by on-screen displays. This provides the illusion of participating in the action, by dodging enemies, attacking foes or driving a car through crowded roads. Any actual interaction is minimal, and you are really just responding to flashing lights while a movie plays in the background. For the time, it was an impressive feat, but the lack of true immersion combined with high production costs doomed the genre to extinction. By 1984, the US videogame industry was in complete collapse, including the arcades, leaving only a few publishers to survive.

Miyazaki fans will be interested to know that the dubbed segments for Cagliostro were recorded exclusively for this game and appear nowhere else. An effort was made to include these scenes in the Discotek Blu-Ray package, but were unsuccessful due to rights and contracts.

The Cagliostro dub is almost cartoonishly bad. It almost sounds like the pimply teenager from The Simpsons recorded the voices and that all the dialog was riffed on the spot, without any scripting. You can also hear the original Japanese soundtrack playing faintly in the background. The names have also been changed: Cliff (Lupin), Jeff (Jigen), Samurai (Goemon), Clarissa (Clarisse) and Count Draco (Count Cagliostro).

Today, a Cliffhanger arcade is extremely rare and expensive, but the game is playable on MAME, the arcade emulator. It remains an interesting curio from a bygone era, one that could never be allowed to happen again. Miyazaki would probably slap you upside the head if you even mentioned the subject in his presence.

New Additions to Videos

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Thu, 14 May 2020 02:46:00 +0000

I've added a host of new links to the Videos section, including a number of Toei Doga classic features that have never been released in the West and are now frightfully difficult to track down. Don't forget that Heidi, Marco and Anne are also available with English subtitles, and I strongly urge you to watch these while you can.

As always, I strongly urge the owners of these classic films and television shows to release these titles on our shores on Blu-Ray and DVD. There is a small but dedicated following of fans who would scoop them up in a heartbeat.

Hustle Punch: The Complete TV Series

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Mon, 11 May 2020 06:11:00 +0000

Hustle Punch is a TV anime series created by Toei Doga and broadcast in 1965. It ran for only 26 episodes, but is an excellent cartoon with a very strong Hanna-Barbara groove. The series was masterminded by Yasuji Mori, Isao Takahata directed the opening sequence, Hayao Miyazaki and Yoichi Kotabe were key animators, and pretty much the whole gang of regulars that we all know and love worked on this series, which took place while Horus, Prince of the Sun was in pre-production.

Youtube user Felipe Jimenez has compiled all 26 episodes into this single video. It's a great discovery, although the video quality suffers from occasional glitching and there are no English subtitles. That's okay, since you're watching a lot of goofy slapstick cartoon gags that anyone can understand.

Beyond that, some of the animal characters from this series appeared in Animal Treasure Island, and the fox character also appeared as the villain in the third Puss in Boots movie from 1976. Finally, we can see that the junkyard and safe that appears in the opening was later riffed by Hayao Miyazaki in the final episode of Lupin the 3rd: Series One in 1972. Small world.

As always, be sure to watch this show before Toei gets wise and has it removed.

Isao Takahata: GeGeGe no Kitaro (1971)

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Mon, 11 May 2020 05:50:00 +0000

GeGeGe no Kitaro is a popular manga comic that has spawned a number of TV anime series over the years. The first series was produced by Toei Doga and ran from 1968-1969. A second series, this time in color, was created in 1971. Isao Takahata had a minor involvement on this show, directing episode 62 of the original series and episode 5 of the second.

Takahata also directed the opening and ending sequences for the 1971 series, making this his final work with Toei Doga before leaving with Hayao Miyazaki and Yoichi Kotabe to A Productions to join Yasuo Otsuka for Lupin the 3rd and Pippi Longstockings. A Youtube video of this has been posted below.

Currently, there are no complete episodes of the 1968/1971 GeGeGe series on Youtube, but complete box sets are available in Japan for the price of a kidney or any other major organ. One of these days, one of us will have to bite the bullet and purchase those, if only so that we can finally see the Paku-san episodes. Until then, we have his credit sequences to enjoy and share.

Isao Takahata Episodes of Moretsu Ataro

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Mon, 11 May 2020 05:23:00 +0000

Moretsu Ataro (Ataro the Workaholic) is a television anime series created by Toei Doga in 1969-70. Adapted from a gag comic that ran from 1967-1970 in Weekly Shonen Sunday, it's a purely zany and wacky kids cartoon. Isao Takahata directed episodes 10, 14, 36, 44, 51, 59, 71, 77 and 90 (the series finale).

Thanks to Youtube user Mr. Batsugoro, the entire series run has been posted online. There are no English subtitles, but as is the case with most vintage anime, you learn to live with it. What matters is that we are finally able to watch these episodes.

I am posting all of the Takahata-directed episodes here. As always, I strongly urge everyone to store these episodes for posterity. These things have a nasty habit of disappearing suddenly and without warning, and the chances of seeing a commercial release in the West is slightly less than zero. Remember all those fansub copies of the classic Toei Doga feature films that vanished off the face of the earth? Good luck finding those again.

It's always a thrill to discover more of Takahata's work, particularly the late post-Horus Toei period. Enjoy!

Studio Ghibli Video Call Backgrounds

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 19:39:00 +0000

This week, Studio Ghibli provided a series of background images from their movies that can be used in online conference calls or podcasts. Eight backgrounds are currently available with more to follow in the coming weeks. I have posted four, and the others can be found by clicking on the above link.
Ghibli also posted the following notes (courtesy of Google Translate):

It is provided for the purpose of being used by individuals as a background for Web / TV conference applications such as telecommuting, teleworking, and distance learning. It cannot be used for commercial purposes or for advertising of companies or products.

If you would like to introduce us, please use the information and links on this site. Please refrain from redistributing the image data yourself.

When using it, you can change the image size and adjust the trimming to fit the Web / TV conference application.

Ghiblioteque Studio Ghibli Poll is Open

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 19:18:00 +0000

Ghibliotheque, the excellent podcast dedicated to all things Ghibli, is currently running a poll of the studio's best movies. Simply click on the link below to participate and cast your votes. Good luck!

Ghibliotheque Studio Ghibli Poll

Update (5/11): To the surprise of absolutely no one, Spirited Away won the poll. I could have told everyone that and saved all the trouble.

2nd Anniversary of Isao Takahata's Passing

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 03:13:00 +0000

April 5 marks the second anniversary since the passing of animation legend and Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata. His loss continues to be profound, but we are blessed with a career of animated masterworks that span five decades. His work will stand the test of time and his legend will continue to grow.

In the United States, all of Takahata's Studio Ghibli features are available on DVD and Blu-Ray, courtesy of GKIDS. Of the pre-Ghibli period, Lupin the 3rd: The Complete First TV Series is available on DVD, and Horus, Prince of the Sun is available on DVD and Blu-Ray, all courtesy of Discotek Media.

The titles yet to be released on our shores include Heidi, Girl of the Alps, 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (aka Marco), Anne of Green Gables, Jarinko Chie, Gauche the Cellist and The Story of Yanagawa Waterways. In addition, the 2003 anthology film Winter Days, of which Takahata contributed one segment, remains exclusive to Japan. Fan translations for all of these works do exist and can be downloaded online or seen on YouTube (visit the Videos sections for more details). The DVD and Blu-Ray for Gauche does include English subtitles, so you are welcome to import.

Much thanks to Studio Ghibli Weblog for their image of Takahata with his anime characters. Don't forget to visit their site and share with friends and family!

Animal Crossing Meets Studio Ghibli

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 17:29:00 +0000

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the newest installment in Nintendo's beloved series of cartoon virtual communities, where you move into a small town, build a house and spend your days and nights running errands, catching fish, growing trees and making arts and crafts. Its world is an idyllic rural dreamscape where you can relax, chat with friends, share fabric patterns and chase fireflies.

Studio Ghibli makes a perfect match for this laid-back videogame, and it's a joy to see fans bring the two worlds together. I found a sampling of screenshots from Animal Crossing that show off players' Ghibli creations, including costumes, flags and paintings. Some have even recreated the characters from the movies themselves, as shown in these photos. It's cute, it's fun and it's the perfect remedy for the continuing quarantine.

So consider that your homework assignment: stay indoors, play videogames and create some Ghibli artwork to share with others.

Ghibli Park Reveals New Concept Drawings

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 16:27:00 +0000

Progress on the highly anticipated Studio Ghibli theme park in Japan are proceeding rapidly. In February, Ghibli Park, Inc., a joint venture between the studio and newspaper Chunichi Shinbun, revealed new conceptual drawings and details of the park.

The Ghibli Park will incorporate several large sections inspired by the studio's movies such as Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. The illustrations reveal details of the Ghibli Large Warehouse (Ghibli no Daisoko) and Youth Area (Seishun no Oka).

This first illustration depicts a shopping street in the Warehouse district, inspired by the theme park shown at the beginning of Spirited Away. Cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops will be found here.

This second drawing shows two large buildings: a blue one that will be used to host permanent exhibitions, and a yellow one that will house a 170-seat theater.

This third and fourth illustrations depict Youth Hill, a large forest area that will include a Cat's Office, inspired by the kingdom of cats in The Cat Returns. It will also feature a tall, Western-styled building inspired by Castle in the Sky and Howl's Moving Castle, as well as the Ghibli Museum.

These two areas, plus the third area, Dodonko Forest, will be completed in time for the park's grand opening in the fall of 2021. Two additional areas will be completed and open to the public in the following year.

Ghibli Park is expected to receive one million visitors in its first year, then 1.8 million the following year once all sections are opened. Construction began in 2019 with a budget of 31 billion Yen ($287 million), plus an additional 3 billion Yen ($27.78 million) for planning and conception.

Ghibli Blog's Greatest Hits: The Top Nine Articles

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Since Ghibli Blog is now beginning its 15th season, I wanted to celebrate by taking a look at this website's top nine articles. These are the most popular posts based on page views and are based on current stats. Let's take a look at our greatest hits and the stories behind them:

1. Mononoke Hime (1980) - The Original Miyazaki Book (2008)

This post originally posted translated pages of the 1980 Mononoke Hime book that composed of storyboards for an unrealized animation project. This post sat unnoticed for three years until an article on io9 brought a lot of new traffic. Internet forums and message boards soon joined in, and word of Miyazaki's storybook spread far and wide. In 2014, Viz Media announced that they would publish the Mononoke book in the US, and so I deleted most of the pages on my post, leaving a sample of pages and encouraging readers to buy the new book.

Was Ghibli Blog responsible for making that happen? Eh, probably not, but who knows?

2. Totoro is Not the God of Death (2007)

I read about a conspiracy theory floating around Japan that My Neighbor Totoro is actually a horror movie based on a real-life massacre of two children. In this telling, Totoro is a gruesome "God of Death" who functions like a fuzzy Grim Reaper who carries children to their graves. I wrote this post to gently debunk the idea. As the conspiracy meme swept the internet, my post was used as a handy rebuttal.

Unfortunately, the "Sayama Incident" conspiracy theory refused to die, which led me to writing a more forceful rebuttal ten years later. Even Studio Ghibli was forced to make a public statement debunking the meme.

3. BREAKING: Disney to Acquire Studio Ghibli in 2014, Takahata and Miyazaki to Retire (2013)

This was my great April Fools joke on Ghibli Blog, and it caused panic attacks from fans throughout the world. And the best part is that they remained scared after realizing it was a prank. Comments continued through the following April. The illustration was not created by me, but found online. I never knew who drew it, but it looks terrific and the joke could never have worked without it.

4. "This Page Intentionally Left Blank" (2011)

This was the Downloads page, one of the main menu items on the site. I posted links to movie and television downloads, largely Toei Doga and Pre-Ghibli works. Most of the links pointed to an anime fan site called Baka BT. A few years ago, they completely shut down their torrent downloads and have closed all new memberships to their forum.

In 2015, I closed everything down and just left the page blank. I didn't want to cause any trouble, definitely didn't want to be tagged as a "pirate" website. And so the page is now blank and unlisted.

5. Ghibli Museum Sketching Set - Miyazaki Teaches You How to Paint (2015)

This informative post shared details of a paint set that was sold at the Ghibli Museum in Japan. Created under Hayao Miyazaki's personal supervision, this set included a set of 24 watercolor paints and a full-color comic drawn by the director who teaches you how to paint, offering several examples of his own work. Ghibli Freaks familiar with Heidi and the House Foods commercials that appear on Ghibli ga Ippai Short Short.

This post remains one of the most popular on Ghibli Blog to this day, which is great. I'm happy to share useful little gems such as this. Somebody ought to produce that paint set in the West!

6. What's the Deal With the Disney Princesses? (2011)

A short, snarky post featuring a cool cut-and-paste collage asking hard questions of all the famed "Disney Princesses" that were enormously popular among children and Disney fans. This is one of those quick bits that I'd zip out in five minutes, mostly as a lark and never deserving more than five seconds' attention. So, naturally, the internet grabbed it and ran wild for months.

It did spark a fascinating discussion about gender roles in Disney cartoons, both pro and con, and I think that's a good thing.

7. Heidi, Girl of the Alps Arrives on Blu-Ray (2012)

The arrival of the magnificent Blu-Ray box set of the landmark 1974 anime classic sparked interest from international fans, many of whom grew up watching Heidi and similar anime shows as children. This is a good example of a solid news article that connects with readers, and it demonstrates the popularity of Heidi around the world. This Blu-Ray set really ought to be released globally, but I fear the legal costs surrounding broadcast rights and dubbed soundtracks make this all but impossible.

8. Studio Ghibli Blu-Rays (Japan) - 2012 Holiday Edition

Another informative news post, this time showing the then-growing library of Studio Ghibli Blu-Ray releases in Japan. These discs came packaged in cardboard cases and included color booklets and postcards of the original movie posters. At the time, very few Ghibli movies were available in the West on Blu-Ray or DVD, leading diehard fans to import shops to pay a premium price for the expensive JP discs.

Today, all of Ghibli's theatrical features are now available on Blu-Ray, courtesy of our friends at GKIDS. Back in 2012, we weren't nearly so lucky. Heck, I remember importing DVDs back in 2005 before anybody knew any of these movies existed. How times have changed.

9. Studio Ghibli Feature Film Blu-Rays (2012)

This article was published in January 2012, whereas the previous article appeared in December. Once again, we see images of all the Studio Ghibli movies released on Blu-Ray in Japan, all of which look and sound fantastic and beat the pants off anything Disney was doing. At the time this article posted, Japan had eight movies on BD, while the US had only two. And those two, Nausicaa and Ponyo, both had problems with picture or sound that irritated fans.

Have I mentioned lately how much we all love GKIDS for their glorious treatment of Studio Ghibli? Go buy all their Blu-Rays as quickly as possible!

Happy 14th Birthday to Ghibli Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 22:36:00 +0000

A nice (and slightly belated) happy birthday to Ghibli Blog, which launched in late March, 2006. Here's a photo of a really cool Totoro-themed cake.

I spent most of today doing the annual spring cleaning, updating the links and content in the Reviews, Library and Videos sections so that everything is current.

Finally, this website has now surpassed five million page views. Hooray!

Toei Doga Movie Trailers: From Hakujaden to Sinbad

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 19:52:00 +0000

A YouTube member named Kenshiro Minami has posted a video compilation of trailers for the first six Toei Doga animated feature films. This is a terrific find that I am happy to share with you.

As we all know, Toei Doga was the leading animation studio in Japan's postwar years, growing into a powerhouse that trained, educated and inspired an entire generation of animators. Nearly every famous anime artist or director from the 1970s and 1980s got their start at "Toei University." And that includes Isao Takahata, Hayao Miyazaki and their many friends with whom they crafted so many classic films and television shows.

The movies featured in this compilation include: Hakujaden (1958), Shonen Sarutobe Sasuke (1959), Saiyuki (1960), Anju to Zuzhiomaru (1961), The Adventures of Sinbad (1962) and Wanpaku Oji no Orochi Taiji (1963).

All of these movies were given limited theatrical release in the US, usually with a change in title, all-star cast and the addition of new musical numbers. These are interesting historical curios that are worth checking out, and are available on VHS and LaserDisc. Alakazam the Great (aka Saiyuki) was even released on Netflix and Amazon Video.

Of course, none of these Westernized variants are anywhere as good as the Japanese originals, which stand as true animated classics of a bygone era, as good as animated classics from Russia, France and America. They remain almost entirely unknown, and only a small number of titles were released outside of Japan on DVD. In Japan, Toei is only now beginning to open the vaults for complete restorations on Blu-Ray, but only for a select few.

In the States, only three Toei Doga films were released on DVD, all by Discotek: Horus, Prince of the Sun, Puss in Boots and Animal Treasure Island. The latter two are now out-of-print and highly collectible, while Horus has also been released on Blu-Ray.

The first six Toei Doga features represent an era of complete creative freedom and dominance. In 1963, manga legend Osamu Tezuka, who collaborated on Saiyuki, Anju and Sinbad, founded his own animation studio called Mushi Productions and moved into television, sweeping in the TV anime era with Tetsuon Atom, aka Astro Boy. The winds of change were sweeping through the industry, and before long, nothing would ever be the same again.

Hayao Miyazaki's Eulogy of Isao Takahata (English Subs)

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 17:21:00 +0000

It's hard to believe that Isao Takahata has been gone for nearly two years. His presence and impact found in his work continues to shine and inspire us, and will continue to do so for many years to come. But his loss is equally profound and will always linger in our hearts.

At the public memorial service at the Ghibli Museum, Hayao Miyazaki offers a touching tribute to his lifelong friend, colleague and rival, offering a couple personal anecdotes from their days at Toei Doga in the 1960s. We still feel the emotional weight of his words.

Studio Ghibli Full of Food

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 16:56:00 +0000

Studio Ghibli Full of Food (スタジオジブリの食べものがいっぱい) is a wonderful little picture book that showcases the many examples and varieties of cooking in Studio Ghibli's movies. Food is an essential part of life, and features prominently in the studio's many animated features. We see all aspects of preparation, mixing, baking and eating. We are also shown many examples of dishes from around the world, from Japanese ramen and rice to Western casseroles, desserts and even the classic eggs-and-bacon combo. Hmm...I could go for some of that bacon right about now.

The layouts of this book are highly colorful and packed with screenshots from your favorite Ghibli films. Text is light and easy and also includes hiragana characters over the Chinese kanji to help you pronounce the words. If you cannot read the text, at least you will be happy with the artwork.

This book is part of a series of Ghibli-themed books. Other themes include vehicles and animals, and if you enjoy this volume, you should pick up the entire set.

Kudos, as always, to Halycon Dreams for their excellent post on this book, including more photos. If you'd like to purchase a copy of the book, please do so through the Amazon link on their site.

My Life at Studio Ghibli: Toshio Suzuki Book Available in USA

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 15:36:00 +0000

Mixing Work With Pleasure: My Life at Studio Ghibli (Amazon Link)

Toshio Suzuki has worked tirelessly as the driving force behind Studio Ghibli since its founding, and his impact and influence is equalled only by the studio's co-founders Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. Many of the story elements, visual designs and marketing concepts hail from Suzuki. His role as the studio's main producer is critical to its success in Japan and throughout the world.

In 2018, Suzuki's memoirs, titled Mixing Work with Pleasure: My Life at Studio Ghibli, shares many great insights into the drama behind the scenes and his relationships with the directors, as well as Yasuyoshi Tokuma, the boss of Tokuma Publishing who was Ghibli's patron and financial backer until his death in 2000.

This excellent book was published in the US in 2018, fully translated by Roger Speares and published by the Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture. If you are eager for an inside view of the workings of Studio Ghibli, you can't do better than this.

Aaron Long wrote a great essay on this book that you should check out.

Hayao Miyazaki: From Horus to Ghibli, or A Very Long Interview-Slash-Homework Assignment

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 05:22:00 +0000

A couple years back, I received a request from a student named Isabelle Lai. She was writing a school essay on Hayao Miyazaki and wanted me to share my thoughts on his work and career from Toei Doga to Studio Ghibli. Hopefully, I did overwhelm her with my long and detailed answers.

After much thought, I decided that I should share the entire interview here in the pages of Ghibli Blog. Hopefully, you will find it enjoyable and illuminating and spark new discussions about these great works of art. It's very long, so be prepared for a lengthy read. Enjoy!

Could you tell me a little bit about your career and your connection to Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli?

I’m part of that first generation of American anime fans, back when it was known as “Japanimation” mostly to diehards who would trade videocassettes at sci-fi conventions. There was a show called Star Blazers that aired when I was in early grade school, and I thought it was the most amazing thing in the universe, after Star Wars, of course. Years later, we were exposed to shows like Robotech and a lot of American cartoons that were animated in Japan, shows like Inspector Gadget and Transformers and Ducktales.

In the late 1980s, comic books were going through a transformation, thanks to Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Scott McCloud and, of course, Art Spiegelman, whose Maus became required reading in schools. There was this fantastic comic book (“ugh, it’s a graphic novel,” the teenagers would whine) from Japan called Akira. It seemed to take the worlds of Blade Runner and Neuromancer and fuse that to the gritty violence and dark realism from The Dark Knight Returns and The Killing Joke and take it to a whole new level.

Then the Akira movie arrived in the States sometime in the early 1990s, and it just exploded like a thermonuclear bomb. There were a few previous attempts to bring Japanese animation to our shores, but they met varying degrees of resistance and either played in a handful of art-house theaters or disappeared on home video. Those works could be dismissed as “cheap, low budget, Saturday morning cartoons” by critics and animation lovers who worshipped at the feet of Walt Disney. Akira just blasted through all of that. It became the first major anime work to be seriously respected. And, of course, it scared the hell out of parents who probably thought it was another nice cartoon to pacify the toddlers. You know, like Bambi, except that Bambi’s mom gets her head shot clean off with blood splattered all over Thumper’s back side while the forest animals slash out endless strings of f-bombs.

Anyway. I loved Akira and sometime around 1994 I found myself scouring the neighborhood video rental stores for more “Japanimation” to discover. I don’t remember any names, but the movies I watched were mostly terrible, low-budget affairs. One movie depicted God as a giant green slug who drove a flying saucer straight into the side of Mount Fuji. I have no idea what that was about. I lost interest shortly after.

In the late ‘90s, you could be expected to find at least one really good anime film per year making its way to the States. There was Ghost in the Shell, which I thought was pretty good but a little stiff. Ninja Scroll was very popular and would get played often when at a co-worker’s apartment for Saturday night binge drinking. I don’t remember the plot very much, only the ridiculous amount of sex and gore which always embarrassed me at the time.

The “big” anime movie for 1999 was Princess Mononoke. I knew nothing about the filmmakers, but I really enjoyed this movie. It felt more mature and disciplined than all the others, and actually had compelling characters and an interesting story. Over the next couple of years, I would stop and watch the movie anytime it was showing on cable, and my respect for it grew and grew. A housemate at the time told me that Mononoke was his favorite animated movie ever, and I found myself agreeing with him.

Sometime around 2002, I was reading about this new movie from the director of Mononoke, something about a girl in a giant bath house with lots of colorful monsters. It was a blockbuster hit in Japan and was rumored to be even better than Princess Mononoke. I was very curious and tried to learn something about the people behind these animated movies.

It was around that time that I was going through a major obsession with movies. I had a color TV and a VCR and spent every spare minute I could watching classic movies, telling myself that I really need to explore the history of cinema beyond Star Wars and action movies. Roger Ebert’s newspaper column (and subsequent book series), “The Great Movies'' became my reference point for everything. There was also a single-screen movie theater at the University of Minnesota called the Oak Street Cinema that specialized in classic film series and revivals. I discovered Kurosawa, Ozu, Kubrick, Renoir, Fellini, Bergman, The Marx Brothers, Orson Welles, and every screening was a revelation. I felt like Dorothy walking into Technicolor for the first time. You’re at that young age where you’re discovering new worlds at every turn and you’re always hungry for the next big surprise (ProTip: never let that inner flame burn out).

Anyway, there were two anime films listed in Ebert’s Great Movies series: Grave of the Fireflies and My Neighbor Totoro. I rented Fireflies and watched it over the course of two evenings. It was emotionally devastating and overwhelming and I thought it was the greatest animated movie I had ever seen. I then watched Totoro, expecting a cheap family cartoon used by lazy parents to keep their toddlers quiet and docile for an hour (this is the only official reason why animation exists in the West). To my astonishment, this movie felt like a nostalgic ode to the director’s own childhood, romantic and benign and full of wonder. It’s one of those movies that makes you want to run in the woods and climb trees in search of fuzzy animals. It also felt like the yin to Fireflies’ yang, the two striking a balance in structure and style, like Ozu or Renoir painted in watercolors.

Shortly after, I was lucky enough to see Spirited Away on the big screen at the Uptown Theater in Minneapolis. I was completely bowled over and loved every minute. By the end, I was hooked on Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli for life.

As for my “career,” that was a long and winding road. When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a computer programmer. I was quite skilled at BASIC on the Apple IIe computers at school and the Atari 800XL at home, and when I began college it was with a Computer Science major. However, it was one of those loves or obsessions that dominates your teenage years and then sort of falls away when you enter adulthood. It was always a love-hate thing for me because computers were so alienating. Back in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, computer users and coders were social outcasts, treated almost like runaway lepers. I was literally the only “computer nerd” in my high school, if not my entire city, and that was straining. At some point, you just want to be popular and accepted. You want to be able to have dates, but back then, it was either one or the other, full stop. And that goes double for “anime,” “sci-fi” or “video games,” each of which was a social death sentence.

Fortunately, my other great passion while growing up was writing. I was typing out short stories for school and for fun since I was eight, mostly just ripping off comedy bits I saw on TV or other books like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. In high school, I was writing and publishing fanzines (I got busted for using the school’s printer, which always helps you score points for your Teenage Rebellion Street Cred). By my early 20s, my zine was getting reviews in professional video game magazines, which led to paid freelance jobs with GamePro and official press passes to the Consumer Electronics Shows in Las Vegas and Chicago.

In 2002, I was putting together my own website, built entirely by myself with HTML and Dreamweaver 3, as a venue for my writing and art, which had become my new muse by that time. I was pouring over books on art history and film criticism and became a great fan of legendary film critic and firebrand Pauline Kael. Within the following year, I had my site, several art galleries, and very lengthy movie essays on Grave of the Fireflies. Reviews on nearly all the major Ghibli films followed, including Totoro, Mononoke, Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and a number of the studio’s titles that were only in Japan and unknown to all but the most obsessive anime fan.

In 2006, I decided to spin off the Studio Ghibli reviews and essays into a blog called “Conversations on Ghibli,” which I later retitled “Ghibli Blog,” since that’s what I always called it. My goal was to present a comprehensive study of the studio’s complete work, as well as the careers of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.

Has any of Miyazaki’s films personally influenced you? Do you have a favorite? Why?

That’s a very good question. Any exposure to the arts will influence and change you, especially when you are young, because you are being shown new ideas, new ways of thinking, new worlds that you never knew existed. It becomes a continuing journey of discovery. First you watch a movie like Totoro or Mononoke, then you hunt down the earlier films like Nausicaa or Castle in the Sky. Later, you will discover Future Boy Conan, Heidi, Marco, Anne of Green Gables. Finally, you find yourself watching the great Toei Doga films where all that creative energy was born.

Meanwhile, you discover things about other cultures, other myths and legends, be it Japan or Europe or the Americas. You start discovering the artists’ inspirations and follow their own journeys as well. All the while, you are trying to piece it all together in a grand narrative in your mind, as you’re trying to explain an art form that simply doesn’t exist in the West. There is nothing on our shores remotely like Grave of the Fireflies or Omohide Poro Poro or Mimi wo Sumaseba/Whisper of the Heart.

I find that it’s absolutely crucial to understanding the entire careers of Miyazaki and Takahata. Back when I started Ghibli Blog, hardly anybody knew of either of these people, aside from a couple movies, and even today, their vast pre-Ghibli work remains unknown. I remember watching the Disney-released Nausicaa DVD that came with a “behind the mic” documentary with the US voice cast. Actor Shia LaBeouf remarked how happy he was to be working on “Miyazaki’s first film.” My eyes rolled so hard they almost did somersaults. But, to be fair, it was nearly impossible in 2006 to see those pre-Ghibli works without file-sharing and torrent downloads provided by the fansub community.

I think my point is that these filmmakers provide us with an endless bounty. Every time you find another Miyazaki work, be it one of his manga comics or his ‘70s TV series, it changes everything you thought you knew about his Ghibli movies. Every piece comments on the other. Frank Zappa had this idea of “the great note,” where all of his music was, in fact, one enormous symphony. It’s a little bit like that.

As for my favorite Miyazaki movie, I’ll have to just cop out and say I love everything equally. Whichever one I saw the last is my favorite. That said, for his animation, I think Horus, Prince of the Sun, Heidi, Girl of the Alps, Future Boy Conan and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind are his most significant achievements. But I always have a certain affection for Porco Rosso. And I think Mimi/Whisper is just about the greatest thing he ever worked on, even though he was the script writer, while Yoshifumi Kondo was the director.

Hayao Miyazaki’s crowning masterpiece has to be his Nausicaa serial manga/graphic novel. I think that’s the most sprawling, complex and intensely personal of all his works. It also has the benefit of showing his evolution as an artist as it was created in fits and starts over 15 years, and serves as the perfect link between the Nausicaa film and Princess Mononoke. I first read the four-book set released by Viz Media in a matter of days, even skipping sleep entirely so that I could finish the final book. Later, I bought the seven-volume set that matches the size and styling of the Japanese version and loved it even more.

I still don’t think Miyazaki has ever topped that brutal battle scene in Nausicaa, the one where Kai dies at the end. That was the greatest action sequence I had ever seen, film or print. The latter chapters involving Ohma the God Warrior are also astonishing.

Miyazaki has had problems in the past with English translations of his scripts. What is your opinion on this? Is there a significant change in the meaning or quality of his work as it is translated?

This has always been a touchy subject among Ghibli and anime fans, and I do admit I was something of a purist when I was younger, insisting upon Japanese soundtrack with English subtitles over the US dubs. To be charitable, I think the American producers became better at their craft as time progressed. The early dubs for Castle in the Sky and Kiki’s Delivery Service were embarrassing. The later DVD releases became steadily better, and the theatrical releases for Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo and The Wind Rises are quite excellent. I even admire the Miramax dub of Princess Mononoke for what it achieved at the time, employing A-list Hollywood actors and script adaptation by Neil Gaiman.

The issue has always been one of acceptance, not only of Japanese animation, but of animation itself. I’ve often used the phrase “the electric babysitter” to describe the Western attitude towards the artform, which means that “cartoons” are considered nothing more than “play pretend” movies for small children, and exist only to make toddlers shut up and stay quiet.

I think animation continues to reach broader acceptance, thanks to the films of Pixar and many other wonderful independent films from overseas. The steady stream of excellent anime movies from Japan from many great filmmakers has also made a great difference. Today, you have far better odds of meeting someone who knows the name Satoshi Kon or Isao Takahata than you would even 10 years ago. And Hayao Miyazaki has become a household name among cinephiles of all stripes (the two Academy Awards certainly helps).

When it comes to the Ghibli dub scripts, the problem in the past often came back to this “babysitter” stereotype. Since only five-year-olds are going to watch this, we should make the necessary changes so that they can understand it. In other words, dumb everything down, make everything explicit, and throw in extra dialog to cover up any extended moments of silence (lest the tykes get bored and start wandering around, or, worse yet, start asking questions).

Here’s one key example: in Porco Rosso, the scene where Marco tells his story of the war. His best friend had just been married, but he was ordered back to active duty before the honeymoon. In the fog of the aftermath, Marco discovers ghostly planes floating away, the pilots who were killed. He then sees his best friend, and to his shock and horror, shouts out to him. In this moment, he reveals that Gina, the woman of the hotel, is the bride.

This is the emotional climax to the movie. There is a romantic tension between Marco and Gina that is only slowly unveiled over the course of the story. We learn that they share a long history, that she had lost three husbands who were also pilots, and that the two share an unspoken bond. So why doesn’t the fat pig get off his butt and do something about the woman who is obviously waiting for him? Because of his best friend who was killed in the war. The flashback story is the key that explains both of these characters.

So how does the Disney script handle this scene? They throw everything away in the very first line, tossing out Gina’s name almost casually, giving away the surprise and killing all the suspense. It’s bad enough that Cindy and Don Hewitt (the US script writers hired by Disney for several Ghibli DVDs) tried to literalize Marco as the “pigman,” as though he was bonked on the head by Glenda the Not-Very-Good Witch. There are a lot of little slights like that on the Disney/Ghibli movies.

Again, the quality of the translations became better over time, especially once GKIDS took over the distribution reins. I still prefer the original Japanese language but that’s just personal taste. There are some subtleties that the Japanese audience will understand that might be missed by Westerners, but this is perfectly normal and true of all world cinema. If you’re curious about the subject, I highly recommend Linda Hoaglund’s essay on subtitles for the Criterion Collection release of Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood (fantastic movie, btw).

Why do you believe Miyazaki’s animations have been able to gain popularity overseas? Do you think his work will continue to stand the test of time?

Japanese anime has always been difficult to export to the West, because it’s so steeped in cultural and artistic ideas unique to Japan. The use and evolution of “limited” animation and frame-rate modulation is one such example where the East radically diverged from the Walt Disney archetype of “full animation.” The subject matter of many anime films and TV series is also a challenge, as many deal with adult subject matter. Even the great “Heidi Marco Anne” trilogy created by Takahata and Miyazaki brings a level of complexity and sophistication to children’s literature that Western animation wouldn’t dare touch. Example: the 1979 Anne of Green Gables vs the 2001 Canadian animated series.

I think Ghibli’s best strength is that so many of their movies are European by heart. They’re accessible in a way that most anime is not, and that’s especially true with Miyazaki. Kiki, Porco, Spirited Away, Howl and Ponyo are fairly easy to understand and relate to even casual viewers. Castle in the Sky and Future Boy Conan remind you of Spielberg, and Totoro reminds you of good ‘ole Sparky Shultz and your own childhoods.

Compare this to Paku-san, whose films I love dearly, which became increasingly inscrutable to anyone outside of Japan. Anyone could relate to Heidi, but you really need a study guide to fully grok Omohide Poro Poro, Pom Poko and Princess Kaguya. I think My Neighbors the Yamadas is his most accessible of his Ghibli works, but you’ll have to go back to Gauche the Cellist to find something that’s similarly easy for Westerners to digest.

These movies are still growing in the Western mind. Ghibli is more popular today in the West than it was a decade ago. And before the turn of the century, they were all but unknown. A decade from now, Ghibli will be even bigger, and the pre-Ghibli period will finally find their place among the canon.

I noticed on your blog that you wrote and edited content for both the Blu-Ray and DVD of Horus, Prince of the Sun in 2015 and 2017. How did it feel to be contributing your work to the same film two years later in 2017?

A quick story on how all that came about. I first saw Horus, Prince of the Sun back in 2005. I bought the UK DVD release and discovered the fansub copy online at the same time. I was completely blown away by the film’s energy and vitality, and it really did feel like I had found the original foundation for everything, not just Takahata and Miyazaki, but the modern anime era itself. It’s a flawed movie and certainly wells its scars, but that only makes me love it all the more.

Over the next few years, I collected what information I could about the film (Ben Ettinger’s AniPages blog has always been invaluable for understanding the Toei Doga days). I also spent some time tinkering with the subtitles, which were extremely poor on the DVD, missing large chunks of dialog and all of the song lyrics. I also pushed the movie on Ghibli Blog as often as possible, trying to turn everyone into fans.

Then in 2015, I noticed that Discotek Media had picked up the rights to release Horus on DVD. I made some inquiries to Mike Toole, the great anime scholar who has worked with the label on many projects. I somehow convinced the powers-that-be that I could provide English subtitles for the film as well as other supplemental material.

In a way, I saw Horus as my baby and it was my duty to protect it from being wrecked. For example, Toei wanted Discotek to use the title, “The Little Norse Prince” instead of the Japanese title. This is because that was the name of the film’s US release when it was picked up for distribution back in 1969. So I had to fight to save the correct title. In the end, I offered a compromise, where the title would read “Horus, Prince of the Sun” with “Little Norse Prince” in parentheses.

Back in 1985, New Line Cinema secured the US distribution rights to Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and then they proceeded to cut 30 minutes from the running time, change all the character names, drop entire plot threads and change the title to the insipid “Warriors of the Wind.” The poster is one of those all-time classics of clueless cheese, featuring a litany of characters from other sci-fi and fantasy movies, none of whom have anything whatsoever to do with this movie. I wasn’t going to allow that to happen again, not on my watch. Thankfully, the guys at Discotek were very supportive and I’m aware of the pressures that license holders put on them, so kudos for the happy resolution.

For Horus, I wrote all the English subtitles, which took three or four drafts, a million playthroughs of every spoken line of dialog and endless consulting of my Japanese-English dictionary. I also used other releases as reference, especially the French DVD, which had one fantastic line where an upset boy yells at Horus after his father is killed by a giant fish. “You didn’t have the right!” I loved that line.

In addition to the subtitles for the movie and trailer, I wrote two essays and edited two other essays written by others, including one by Ben Ettinger that was stitched together from three separate blog posts. I also provided all the vintage photos and memorabilia that I could find for the production gallery.

My last contribution for the Horus DVD proved to be the most difficult: the audio commentary track. I was struck with the worst case of stage fright in my life. I couldn’t get three words out of my mouth to save my life. It was like One Froggy Evening brought to life. I compiled pages and pages of notes, sketched out an outline and just couldn’t get the words out. So with the final deadline looming, I assembled a collection of reviews and essays from various authors and recorded them. I wasn’t able to fill out the entire film running time, so there’s this very awkward thing where I just ran out of material and stopped talking. Hah, oy, froinlaven.

Now to the Blu-Ray release of Horus. I didn’t know if there would ever be one, but I began preparing my research notes in case the opportunity arose. In 2016, Discotek informed me that they did secure the BD rights, and asked if there was anything I wanted to change or add. I made a number of copy edits to the written essays and updated the essay on “Ghibli Riffs,” which are quick shots that reappear in later Studio Ghibli movies (all of the Ghibli films are packed with riffs).

The major change was the new audio commentary track. This time, I was ready, had all my notes, and in one evening I was able to record all the audio tracks and make it to the end of the movie. I covered the film’s production history, it’s many great achievements and influences, and discussed a number of themes. I was very happy at the end, and consider the BD Horus to be the definitive version.

In addition to my contributions, Mike Toole provided an excellent audio commentary track to the DVD/BD, and two video interviews with Isao Takahata and Yoichi Kotabe were imported from the French disc.

How do you feel about some of the more recent films that Studio Ghibli has released? Can you tell the difference between movies that Miyazaki had helped create versus movies mainly produced by other members of the studio?

I think the struggle to find a suitable successor for the studio haunted Ghibli for years, and it’s a shame that they never could solve that riddle. I think Yoshifumi Kondo was the obvious heir apparent, and had he lived, I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see Hayao Miyazaki retire much earlier and stay retired. Kondo had such a wonderful touch, a gentle style that fit in perfectly between Miyazaki and Takahata. Mimi is my second favorite Ghibli movie after Omohide Poro Poro, and I’m also a big fan of Kondo’s 1984 Nemo pilot film, which is one of the all-time great anime classics. I’m also a great admirer of Tomomi Mochizuki’s directorial work on Umi ga Kikoeru/Ocean Waves. That’s a wonderful little charmer of a film that always flies under the radar and sinks its claws into you.

After that, I think Ghibli’s best director was Yoshiyuki Momose, who was the director of Ghiblies Episode 2 and the Capsule music video trilogy. He only worked in short films, but he should have been given the chance to direct a feature. I would have personally given him the promotion over Goro Miyazaki.

Goro-san remains Ghibli’s greatest gamble, the best hope for continuing the studio after its founders are gone. Unfortunately, he was dropped into the director’s chair with absolutely no experience for Tales From Earthsea, and it shows. His second effort, From Up On Poppy Hill, is better, but that’s because his father is hovering over his shoulders every second. Left to his own devices, the son doesn’t seem to know exactly who he wants to be or if he even wants the job. He has spent far too long complaining about his career as an animation filmmaker. That said, I am hopeful for his upcoming movie project.

Hiromasa Yonebayashi showed a lot of potential with his two Ghibli features, Arrietty and When Marnie Was There. I prefer the latter to the former, thanks to its more thought out story and compelling characters. Arrietty was the studio’s most popular movie in the US, but it felt a touch derivative, as though everyone were consciously trying to make a generic “Miyazaki movie,” but missing the exuberant energy or creative risk-taking.

Frankly, Ghibli’s biggest mistake was in losing Mamoru Hosoda, who was the original director of Howl’s Moving Castle before being chased away by Hayao Miyazaki. Here was an original with boundless talent and potential, someone who could bring the studio into the future without resting on its legacy. Unfortunately, that never happened.

Do you often receive contact from individuals who follow your website? If so, what are they like and have fans of Miyazaki and his studio changed over the years?

I always enjoyed the attention I received on Ghibli Blog, and during its glory days, there was a nice little community. Everyone was always friendly and respectful and added something new to the conversation. And I was just happy to know that somebody out there was reading my humble little blog. I am also humbled to know that my writing has had an influence on other Ghibli scholars, including Alvaro Lopez Martin and Marta Garcia Villar, who wrote the wonderful Mi Vecino Miyazaki in Spain. I consider that to be the definitive Studio Ghibli book in terms of content and layouts. I wish it would get a US release.

The Ghibli fan community has definitely changed over the years. Today, the fan art is what dominates. There are many talented artists out there who have put their own stamp on these iconic characters. I do wish there were more film blogs out there, but blogging in general went into serious decline a number of years ago, and Ghibli Blog’s popularity peaked back in 2011 when Arrietty was released in the US. There was a large spike in 2017 when Miyazaki announced his un-retirement, but once it was known that his next (and presumably final) feature film won’t be completed until 2021, the visitors left just as quickly as they came.

Today, there are many more places to find news about Studio Ghibli than there was back in 2006. The studio is more widely known, all of their feature films are available on Blu-Ray, and you can easily find others who enjoy these great movies.

What is your favorite part about owning a blog dedicated to Studio Ghibli?

Ghibli Blog was a terrific experience for me. It certainly helped me to hone my writing skills and it was fun to bring others along on my own personal journey of discovery. I worked my fingers to the bone for that website, and for a while I was able to actually make it work somewhat, earning over a thousand visitors daily. The downside, of course, was the eventual burnout from work overload. If I had to do it over again, I would have found one or two collaborators to help lessen the load. But that’s all water over the bridge.

I am proud that I have created an online resource for Miyazaki and Takahata fans, where everyone can explore the amazing movies and television programs over a five-decade span. There are reviews, essays, commentaries, debates, movie posters, videos, screenshots, artwork, memorabilia, and anything of interest that crossed my mind. I would even throw in other animated works now and then, from Japanese anime to experimental Western animators like the Whitney Brothers.

Artist Spotlight: Gio Gio Art

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Tue, 10 Dec 2019 20:06:00 +0000

I found this terrific illustration of San the Princess Mononoke at the Reddit Ghibli thread. It was created by a person named "Gio Gio Art," who also has an Instagram account at "Giorgio.rt."

This piece has a great sense of tension in its pose, a sense of action and motion. I think it defines the character very well, who is defined by action and assertiveness. San is not a "cutesy" anime character but a tough gal who will whomp you six ways from Sunday.

I also enjoy the color palette with its light brown fur and ample use of empty space. The red tones on the mask are especially nice as well, as are the blood splatters. All in all, great work.

3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (Marco): The Series Playlist

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Tue, 10 Dec 2019 19:42:00 +0000

I present to you 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (aka "Marco") in its entirety. This 52-episode series was the 1976 season of World Masterpiece Theater, and the second in Isao Takahata's celebrated Heidi-Marco-Anne trilogy of masterworks.

This video contains the playlist for all 52 episodes, presented in Japanese audio with English subtitles.

Now a few quick notes about its creators. This series was a teamwork collaboration between Takahata (director), Hayao Miyazaki (layout, scene design) and Yoichi Kotabe (character design). It is the direct followup to Heidi, Girl of the Alps, which became a groundbreaking success in Japan and throughout the world. The trio had begun at Toei Doga and continued as a team for a number of years, first teaming with alum Yasuo Otsuka on Moomin and Lupin the 3rd, then working tirelessly on the Pippi Longstocking project that was notoriously scuttled by author Astrid Lindgren, then finally to Heidi.

Heidi succeeded because the trio of Takahata-Miyazaki-Kotabe worked together as a team, contributing story ideas and characters together. With the Marco series, however, Takahata took a more firm control over the story, pushing relentlessly in the direction of emotionally-charged melodrama. Its scale became epic, spanning two continents, an ocean and a widely varied cast of characters, and all stylized after the Italian Neo-realists. Flights of fancy or imagination are almost nonexistent. Marco's journey is not driven by wonder or discovery, but obsession, suffering and pain. Imagine the Book of Job starring James Dean and you'll have some idea of what to expect.

It would seem that Marco's obsession reflected Takahata's, and is it said that his relationship with Miyazaki and Kotabe suffered as a result. By the end of the series, Kotabe walked away, effectively breaking up the band that had stuck together throughout the decade. He would return five years later to work with Paku-san again in the 1981 movie Jarinko Chie, and later with Miyazaki in Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, but his animation career began to decline. In the mid-1980s, he found himself working at the most unlikeliest of places: Nintendo. There, he would help with art and character design for many of the company's most beloved videogames, including Super Mario Kart and Pokemon. Remember Pikachu? That's Kotabe.

Hayao Miyazaki would finally begin his solo directing career (not counting the 1972 Yuki's Sun pilot film) with the spectacular 1978 series Future Boy Conan. Yasuo Otsuka, who served as the animation director, famously noted how his friend's relentless creative drive and work ethic had exploded during his time as Paku-san's right hand. And while Miyazaki did return one final time to serve as layout/scene designer for Anne of Green Gables in 1979, he left the series after 13 episodes to join TMS's Telecom studio to direct his first feature-length movie, Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro, once again with old friend Otsuka by his side.

The next time Takahata and Miyazaki worked together was on the infamous Nemo movie project, traveling to California as members of the Japan delegation. Both walked away over creative differences, and while Takahata continued to thrive with the wonderfully sublime 1982 film Gauche the Cellist and the 1982-83 TV version of Jarinko Chie, his colleague struggled after several years of commercial and creative failures.

Miyazaki retreated to his first love, drawing manga comics, creating a serial comic for Animage Magazine called Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind in 1983. After a long period of begging and pleading by the magazine's young editor, Toshio Suzuki, Miyazaki was convinced to direct a film adaptation of Nausicaa which was released to great success in 1984. Its success led directly to the founding of Nibariki, Miyazaki's production company, and, of course, Studio Ghibli, which found its first commercial success in 1989 with Kiki's Delivery Service*. The rest, as they say, is history.

Takahata, as I've said, continued to enjoy success as a director, and he was the top dog at the time. He helped Miyazaki by guest-directing two episodes of Conan, and brought along young animator Yoshifumi Kondo as the animation director/character designer for Anne of Green Gables. Kondo had previously worked on Lupin Series One and he quickly became Paku-san's new prized student, the right-hand-man for the famous "director who cannot draw" in Grave of the Fireflies, Omohide Poro Poro and Pom Poko. Kondo died in 1998 from a brain aneurism, leaving Takahata reportedly guilt-stricken over working his prodigy so hard**.

3000 Leagues in Search of Mother sits at a fascinating crossroads in these three careers. It represents the peaks of the post-Toei years, drives the evolution of 1970s anime and sets the stage for Studio Ghibli. It represents a beginning, middle and end of converging eras. And despite any creative turbulence behind the scenes, this series remains a masterpiece of dramatic storytelling and naturalist animation. In my opinion, it is the greatest of the Heidi-Marco-Anne trilogy, the richest and deepest and most compelling, filled with mythic grandeur.

Watch this series. Just put down whatever is on your Netflix playlist and watch this instead.

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(*Note: That's correct, the first three Ghibli features -- Laputa: Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies -- all lost money in their initial theatrical runs. Their success, especially Totoro, would come years later with home video and merchandising.)

(**Note: This story came from a rather strange rant last year by Toshio Suzuki, who accused the late Takahata of being a tyrant who drove away talent and led Ghibli to ruin. It's very odd as this portrayal of the director as a hotheaded control freak is greatly at odds with his image as the epitome of zen cool ("walking logic" in Mamoru Oshii's words) and more descriptive of Miyazaki.)

Artist Spotlight: Iggy Starpup

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 16:01:00 +0000

Phoenix-based artist and illustrator Courtney Doom, aka Iggy Starpup, has created a series of lovingly crafted Studio Ghibli felt embroideries. According to her bio profile, she crafts pop culture-themed embroidery hoop art and subjects also include Harry Potter and Pokemon.

Iggy Starpup is an arts graduate of Arizona State University and enjoys crafting, drawing, photography and film. You can purchase her work directly from her Etsy page.

More photos of her Studio Ghibli craft works are available below the jump.

(h/t to the excellent Ghibli Collector)

Poster: My Neighbor Totoro (China)

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 15:36:00 +0000

This charming and artistic poster design for My Neighbor Totoro was created for the film's theatrical release in China on December 2018. It marked Studio Ghibli's long-awaited foray into mainland China and has already been followed by Spirited Away in June of this year. Four more Ghibli features are planned for release as well: Castle in the Sky, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle and The Wind Rises.

I enjoy the spaciousness of this poster design, very much in a classical Asian style of utilizing negative space. You can almost feel the fur of the giant Totoro as the two girls wade through, like walking through boundless fields of grass. The text simply describes the title, Hayao Miyazaki's name and the voice cast. No need for any tag line or description as this is a well-known children's classic.

Chinese movie lovers, of course, have long been able to watch My Neighbor Totoro on home video formats, to say nothing of pirated bootlegs. But this theatrical release was a first and marks a new development in the growth of Ghibli across the globe. Whatever becomes of the studio, its catalog titles are guaranteed a long and bright future.

Hakujaden Blu-Ray Box Released in Japan

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Thomas MacInnes) — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 07:53:00 +0000

This is great news for all animation lovers. Toei Doga's seminal 1958 animated feature Hakujaden is now available in Japan on Blu-Ray. This wonderful box set includes a treasure trove of memorabilia, including a copy of the poster, illustrations, newspaper clippings and a color booklet.

Hakujaden is Japan's first feature-length animated movie, as well as the first animated movie in color. The story is based on a Chinese folk myth of a magical serpent who transforms into a young woman and falls in love with a young man. She is pursued by a monk, and a pair of cartoon animals tag along for the adventure. The key animation was drawn entirely by the studio's founding veterans, Yasuji Mori and Akira Daikubara, and young animators who began their careers here include Yasuo Otsuka, Reiko Okuyama and Akemi Ota, as well as visionary anime director Rintaro, who I absolutely adore for his masterful 2001 Metropolis that he created with Katsuhiro Otomo.

Unfortunately, it does not appear that English subtitles are included in this release, which is extremely fortunate for those of you who have not seen it. A fansub translation was released a decade ago, but it has completely disappeared since then as the related anime sites have disbanded or shut down. It would have helped greatly if Toei would include subtitles in their home video releases, now that their legendary movies are (finally) arriving on Blu-Ray.

The Hakujaden Blu-Ray is available on Amazon JP for 10,258 Yen, or roughly $94USD. Be sure to spend a few minutes begging your favorite anime publisher to pick up this title for a Western release. Hey, GKIDS, is anybody listening? Discotek? Anybody? Bueller?