World of wind...

When NAUSICAA OF THE VALEY OF THE WIND was first aired, it was 1984. And I was around or 8 at that time. However, this anime movie is dubbed by IMDb as one of the 50 most excellent sci-fi movies. Miyazaki, once again, has succeeded bringing his fan to a world that is so complex and believable at the same time. Lucas, eat your heart out! What's more he succeeds in creating characters that are so strong and memorable at the same time.

The Setting
This movie takes place in a future 1000 years after a so-called apocalypse. The upheaval, obviously, has forced humans to live around the borders of a great woodland of huge poison fungi known as the Sea of Decay. However, the main setting was in The Valley Of The Wind (see picture). This is place is safe from the forest's potent spores by an unceasing sea breeze that is channelled and amplified by the valley's high walls. Initially, the beautiful place was very serene and peaceful until a war errupted...

The Characters
Obviously, as suggested by the title, the main character is a princess named Princess Nausicaa. She is the nucleus of the whole plot as expected by Miyazaki. She is very strong and gifted. In fact she has a strong and almost magical empathy with the environment around her. She believes that co-existing is the only means to survive in this world. Her persistence that mankind must try to co-exist with nature rather than try to defeat it is the predominant aspect of her personality. To illustrate, instead of killing, she single-handedly tames and calms an ohmu (see picture) that was trying to attack a wondering traveler.

The Theme
The central theme of this movie is the importance of co-existing in preserving the environment. Environmentalists all over the world will proudly give a standing ovation for this movie sentiment and intention.

The Verdict
I have nothing to say except these 3 words : IT'S A MUST-WATCH!







[Note]
The way Nausicaa tries to calm the ohmu reminds me the way Ashitaka tries to calm the boar god in the earlier plot of Miyazaki's Mononoke Hime...

Fly Me to the Moon...

Flying, European setting, young female protagonist. These all too familiar elements. That's Miyazaki-sensei!

Kiki's Delivery Services (Majo No Takyoubin) is another masterpiece created by the celebrated storyteller in 1989. This movie is the first Disney/Studio Ghibli deal. The movie was dubbed in 1997 and it was premiered in the United State in year 1998.

The story is about Kiki a witch-in-training. She lives in a small rural village where her mother is the resident herbalist. Traditionally, Kiki has to leave her home to spend a year alone in a new town to establish herself as a bonafide witch. Kiki therefore flies on her mother's broom with her closest companion, Jiji, an eloquent black cat. Seconds after she leaves, Kiki and Jiji are caught in a thunderstorm, from which they take overnight refuge in a freight train. On the next morning, Kiki and Jiji wake up to discover that they have fallen asleep in a cow herd's feed-bag. They leave the trin and continue their search for a place to live.

Kiki settles in the beautiful seaside city, Koriko. Initially, she finds it hard to adjust to the new surrounding and the city's pace. However, due to an accidental incident she starts a delivery service that takes advantage of her ability to fly. In addition, in the story she experiences several difficulties such as slow business, misplaced merchandise, rude customers, and illness. She also must contend with her loneliness, worries, and homesickness.

In the new city, Kiki managed to make some new friends and she has met a boy named Tombo Kopori. At the beginning, she rebuffs Tombo who is the same age with her and is interested in aviation. However, she gradually befriends him.

Another problem she encounters is insecurity. Because of thet, Kiki's powers begins to diminish. Kiki learns about overcoming such obstacles with the help of a newfound friend, a young artist named Ursula, who gives advice regarding inspiration that Kiki needs in order to regain her magic.

In this movie, Tombo is accidentally lifted into the air in a blimp accident. When she is his only hope of rescue, Kiki finds the inspiration to regain her flying ability. Improvising with a street-sweeper's deck brush, Kiki manages to rescue Tombo with some difficulty.

After the incident, she has become the local hero and celebrity. Later, she is on the street of her town and notices a little girl walking past, because the little girl has her hair and clothing styled like Kiki's and is even carrying a small deck broom like the one Kiki flew to save Tombo.

If you had chance to watch Disney's version, you will notice one apparent difference: the background music. The background music is embellished and the opening and ending theme are also replaced.

The movie exudes the theme of coming of age and self-discovery. The protagonist has to be independent and discovers her own strength and drive. This can be seen when she embarks on the journey on her own without any adult companionship. She also works as a 'messenger' for a living. This definitely summarizes the whole sentiment of the movie.

Building Castle in The Sky : Laputa

The anime movie entitled Laputa: Castle in The Sky has captured my heart in totality! Kudos to the extraordinary master storyteller Hayao Miyazaki.

When watching this anime movie, my heart soars in freedom along with the characters Pazu and Sheeta. The adventure and the characterizations are mesmerizing. Some might say that the characterizations are very simple compared to other Miyazaki's previous work, nevertheless, they have elements of the human personality to which we can all relate. Similarily, his story echoes the same sentiments: flying adventures.

In this instalment, Miyazaki has shown the audience the real utopia. World governed by non-humans, robots to be exact. Somehow, I feel a tad uncomfortable with this sentiment. As if, in my humble opinion, he tries to exude atheist-ism view in this anime (somewhat Asimov's way of thinking). In this installment also, he conveys that anything, be it tools, technology or knowledge, can be used for both good and evil. And just as in real life, good and evil are not always immediately recognisable by mere appearances.

In the final analysis, this anime is for all to watch but for young viewers, this anime needs to be watched with an appropriate guidance. My two-cent!

Princess of Monsters : Mononoke-hime

I would like to recommend to all anime lovers to watch this award winning anime created by none other Hayao Miyazaki. These are the awards that the movie has claimed so far :

• Best Picture; The 21st Japanese Academy Awards
• Best Japanese Movie, Best Animation, and Japanese Movie Fans' Choice; The 52nd Mainichi Movie Competition
• Best Japanese Movie and Readers' Choice; Asahi Best Ten Film Festival
• Excellent Movie Award; The Agency for Cultural Affairs
• Grand Prize in Animation Division; 1st Japan Media Arts Festival (by the Agency for
• Cultural Affairs of the Ministry of Education)
• Best Director; Takasaki Film Festival
• Best Japanese Movie; The Association of Movie Viewing Groups
• Movie Award; The 39th Mainichi Art Award
• Best Director; Tokyo Sports Movie Award
• Nihon Keizai Shinbun Award for Excellency; Nikkei Awards for Excellent Products/Service (details)
• Theater Division Award; Asahi Digital Entertainment Award
• MMCA Special Award; Multimedia Grand Prix 1997
• Best Director and Yujiro Ishihara Award; Nikkan Sports Movie Award
• Special Achievement Award; The Movie's Day
• Special Award; Houchi Movie Award
• Special Award; Blue Ribbon Award
• Special Award; Osaka Film Festival
• Special Award; Elandore Award
• Cultural Award; Fumiko Yamaji Award
• Grand Prize and Special Achievement Award; Golden Gross Award
• First Place, best films of the year; The 26th "Pia Ten"
• First Place; Japan Movie Pen Club, 1997 Best 5 Japanese Movies
• First Place; 1997 Kinema Junpo Japanese Movies Best 10 (Readers' Choice)
• Second Place; 1997 Kinema Junpo Japanese Movies Best 10 (Critics' Choice)
• Best Director; 1997 Kinema Junpo Japanese Movies (Readers' Choice)
• First Place; Best Comicker's Award
• First Place; CineFront Readers' Choice
• Nagaharu Yodogawa Award; RoadShow
• Best Composer and Best Album Production; 39th Japan Record Award
• Excellent Award; Yomiruri Award for Film/Theater Advertisement

The movie is set in Muromachi Period (1300s) and it portrays the beautiful and green scenery of mountains and forests. It centers on the struggle between the supernatural guardians of a forest and the humans who consume its resources, as seen by the outsider. This is common issue dealt by Miyazaki. It tells us that this anime offers more than just entertainment. It is an eye-opener to the real and current situation, even the setting is not the present. In addition, it gives us the insight on how environment is treated nowadays and how people can be profiteering. Furthermore, the portrayal of characters is really 3-dimensional and thorough. The life-stories of San and Ashitaka are exposed in detail. It's proven that Miyazaki is a master story-teller!

I simply adore this movie and it's definitely a must-watch!

Animeman Extraordinaire : Miyazaki-Sensei...

...children's souls are the inheritors of historical memory from previous generations.

For those who claim themselves as anime lovers MUST have known HAYAO MIYAZAKI! If you are unaware of him and his works must, at once, rip the title as 'anime lover'! He is a sheer genius and a magnificent story-teller! He is the ultimate animators and anime director, the one and only. In fact, so far, he is the only Japanese animator that has won the Academiy Award for his superb masterpiece, Spirited Away. He was raduated from Gakushuin University with a degree in political science & economics (1963). And for that reason, he usually deals with themes of politic, environmentalism, anti-war and most importantly good and evil.

He also believes that there is always good in evil or vice versa. For example in Mononoke-hime, Lady Eboshi knowingly exploits the forests for raw materials at the expense of animal life, while simultaneously sheltering lepers and former prostitutes in her city. The same is true for Spirited Away, where, according to Miyazaki, "the heroine [is] thrown into a place where the good and bad dwell together ... She manages not because she has destroyed the “evil,” but because she has acquired the ability to survive."

When it comes to theme of enviromentailsm, in Spirited Away, this theme is made concrete through the "stink spirit", and consequently he himself, has been polluted and is cleansed by the protagonist, Chihiro.

The reason why his work is accepted world-wide is because his work has European flavor, excellent visual and audio quality as well as unique themes. Eventhough, most of the settings are based in Japan, the European influence can be seen in the setting.

His most prominent trademark in his work is flying. He frequently includes scenes or sequences in which the characters fly. Another trait of his work is, he likes to pay homage to working-class people. This can be seen in Spirited Away, Mononoke-hime and also Howl's Moving Castle. He is truly a director that appreciates children and youngster and that is the reason why most of his protagonists are children or teenagers.

In the final anlysis, I believe Miyazaki's work has transcended time and space. And it will be appreciated and enjoyed by all!

My name is Chihiro : Spirited Away

This movie is produced by Studio Ghibli . It's written and directed by the famous and celebrated Hayao Miyazaki in year 2001. For those who don't really know who is Hayao Miyazaki, he is the famous writer and director ofnumerous well-known anime movies such as Mononoke-Hime, Howl's Moving Castle, My Neighbour, Totoro,  Laputa and the list goes on. In addition, Spirited Away had claimed an international accolade by winning an OSCAR (yes... you heard me right!) in the same year. And then, the movie snagged another 35 wins and 18 nominations.

The original title of this movie is SEN TO CHIHIRO NO KAMIKAKUSHI. Literally it means, Sen and Chihiro Spiriting Away. But when it is translated into English the title is shorten into SPRITED AWAY. The tagline of this movie is The tunnel led Chihiro to a mysterious town (don't ever ask me the Japanese translation...).

It's undeniable that Miyazaki is the wizard of Japanese Anime. He, more often than not, creates works of such incredible beauty, stunning visual and sensory enchantmens. He is definitely the master of storytelling, that one can only be left speechless. Overwhelmed. Intoxicated with wonder. This is the magic of Spirited Away

The plot is simple yet very spellbinding. Filled with unique, lovable, quirky and spunky characters that will amuse and mesmerize the audience. Miyazaki reminds me of Charles Dickens. Both of them have the knack in creating such memorable characters with unique mannerisms. This anime will absolutely be enjoyed by everybody from all walks of life. Children and adults alike will be enthralled from start to end.

I simply love this movie since it radiates a magical, awe-inspiring, tearful, laughter-filled, heartfelt journey through a land of sweeping fantasy and dreams.