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A decade ago (can hardly believe it's been that long), I posted a series of YouTube video episodes from the DVD documentary How Princess Mononoke Was Born. This television program originally aired on Japanese network NHK, which has had a very long and fruitful relationship with Hayao Miyazaki, going back to his 1978 series Future Boy Conan, which aired on the network. Here are some cool screenshots from the VHS edition, containing the series on three tapes and encased in a stylish box. These sort of deluxe packages were common in the latter days of VHS, and have always remained prized collectors' items. Even if you can no longer play videotapes, it's nice to have these sitting on your shelf, filling out your prized Ghibli fan collection. Unfortunately, this documentary has never been released outside of Japan. It's very unfortunate, because this terrific program deserves to be seen by as wide an audience as possible. Thankfully for fans, an English translation of the Ja...

The Ghiblers is a podcast devoted exclusively to the movies of Studio Ghibli. They began broadcasting in August, 2017 and are now rolling ahead with their latest episode, where they discuss Isao Takahata's 1999 comedy classic My Neighbors the Yamadas. So far, each episode is devoted to one feature film, and the show is progressing in chronological order. I hope this doesn't mean that they intent to quit once they've reached the end. There are endless opportunities for discussing the many topics and ideas expressed in these movies. They'll never run out of material. Believe me, I know. Ideally, I would like to see this show expand its scope to the pre-Ghibli era, including Toei Doga, A Pro, Zuiyo/Nippon Animation, Telecom and Tokyo Movie Shinsha. And, of course, there are always the Hayao Miyazaki comics, of which there is no limit. This show does not appear to have many followers, so we need to change that. The Ghibli fan community needs to come together. I highly recom...

Today's screenshots come from Hayao Miyazaki's 1979 feature film Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro. This beautiful collection of pan shots comes from the excellent website Ghibli Collector . This site mostly features photos and short animated clips and is perfect for social media users. Miyazaki uses many vertical shots in order to heighten a sense of vertigo and scale, and it works wonderfully. I am thinking of that great sequence where Lupin scales to the rooftops of the forbidden castle, replete with cartoonish riffs on the 1969 Toei Doga Puss in Boots (examples are shown here and here ), on which Miyazaki was a key animator. The art direction in Cagliostro is restrained, a bit austere, but highly detailed and packed with color. It's definitely an example of 1970s anime and it holds up very well. Not bad for a movie with a famously short (four months) production schedule. Critics would probably say that it looks like a lavish TV episode, and that's probably tr...

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Medium has an excellent article on the making of the most unique film in the Studio Ghibli catalog: the 1987 live-action documentary The Story of the Yanagawa Waterways . This movie was directed by Isao Takahata over a span of three years, with Hayao Miyazaki serving as producer. In its own way, this movie was directly responsible for the founding of Studio Ghibli. I can't recall if I ever shared that story, but this article does tell the tale very nicely, and there's little that I could add. What I can share with you is that this movie is sublime, miraculous and visually astonishing. It is a detailed and nuanced examination of a region of Japan with a long history of cooperation between humans and nature. The musical score was provided by Michiyo Mamiya, who worked on four Isao Takahata films: Horus, Prince of the Sun, Gauche the Cellist and Grave of the Fireflies. You will also catch a glimpse of a Joe Hisaishi melody from Castle in the Sky. The cinematographer was Takahashi ...

I love Heisei Tanuki Gassen Pom Poko, Isao Takahata's 1994 Studio Ghibli feature, but I understand that it's a very Japanese movie that may feel a bit dense to Westerners who don't know all the cultural icons being cited and quoted. It's really a mock documentary fused with elements of comedy, tragedy and social commentary. It's very surreal, and I always expected this movie to become a cult favorite with stoners and animation buffs. The movie looks spectacular, with some of the wildest and most inventive animation of any Studio Ghibli movie. This is without question the studio's most under-appreciated classic. I always enjoy the emotional range Takahata delivers in his movies. For much of the movie, things are funny and silly and all the tanuki pranks are in good fun. There is a lot of terrific visual and slapstick comedy, funny gags involving shape-shifting animals who pull pranks on humans. Then, halfway through the picture, the tone suddenly becomes deadly s...

Today I recorded an episode of the Mousterpiece Cinema podcast . The episode discusses the 2006 Studio Ghibli feature film Tales From Earthsea (Gedo Senki). Directed by Goro Miyazaki, this movie has always remained controversial among Ghibli fans, but there are many topics worth discussing, and I'm sure you will enjoy listening. I had a lot of fun with this show, and was able to provide many stories and insights about the making of this movie and its many inspirations taken from the career of Hayao Miyazaki. The Earthsea episode will be released to Apple iTunes on March 3. Be sure to download and enjoy. Check out their other episodes as well (there's a great episode about Disney's Fantasia).

Ni no Kuni 2 (Another World 2) is a sequel to the popular videogame released on Playstation 3 and Nintendo 3DS. This new title will arrive on Playstation 4 and Windows PC on March 23. It features art designs and animation from many former Studio Ghibli artists, many of the very same people who worked on the original, including a musical score by Joe Hisaishi. The software studio is Level-5, is best known for the Professor Layton and Inazuma Eleven series of videogames, and has been extremely successful since its founding in 1998. Ni no Kuni 2 is receiving a great amount of positive buzz, and it's clearly easy to see why from these screenshots. The character and art designs practically scream Ghibli, which is understandable given the involvement of studio alumni. Veteran director Yoshiyuki Momose is once again directing the animation scenes in this sequel, as he has done with the first Ni no Kuni. I always wondered what could have happened if he was given the chance to direct a feat...

Now this is just too cool for words. Ghibli Freaks of all ages have been screaming, pleading, begging for years to have videogames based on their beloved movies. Now a small team of indie developers have delivered the goods.* And it's awesome. Mimi's Delivery Rush is a loving tribute to Hayao Miyazaki's classic 1989 movie Kiki's Delivery Service, with names changed to protect the penniless. In this game, you play "Mimi" (wink, wink) as she flies around town on delivery runs. I am partially reminded of all the great Castlevania games over the years, but I'm also reminded of Sega's Crazy Taxi, one of the all-time great quarter munchers. The graphics are presented in a classic 16-bit side-scrolling platforming style, and everything looks terrific. There's a lot of color and detail, and the software team wisely avoided the popular trend of making "retro" graphics that are massively over-pixelated. This is much closer to how videogames looked...

YouTube essayist Steve McCarthy continues his series on Studio Ghibli with this excellent video retrospective on Isao Takahata. I am always thrilled when anyone in the West acknowledges the great Paku-san, who remains a cult figure in relation to Hayao Miyazaki. I am especially thrilled to find a film scholar who not only understands the director's career, but also criticizes it as well. For true fans who enjoy grappling with film art, this is great viewing. McCarthy follows Paku-san's career from Toei to the present day, highlighting Horus, Prince of the Sun (of course), his World Masterpiece Theater trilogy of Heidi-Marco-Anne, his collaboration with Miyazaki on Future Boy Conan, his pre-Ghibli movies Jarinko Chie and Gauche the Cellist, and continuing through the Studio Ghibli era, discussing each film at length and sharing his likes and dislikes in equal measure. I would offer one critique on this video essay. Heidi, Girl of the Alps is described as a series that was "...

There are many YouTube videos that examine the life and career of Hayao Miyazaki. This one is easily the best I've seen. It examines his entire career from Toei Doga to Studio Ghibli, citing the director's major touchstones like Horus, Prince of the Sun and Heidi, Girl of the Alps and Lupin the 3rd, and showing how his filmmaking style evolved into the Ghibli era and the present day. Steve McCarthy doesn't wallow in hero worship or drown in "member berries"; instead, he offers an honest critique of Miyazaki's work, praising his strengths but also highlighting his weaknesses. I find myself largely in agreement with his assessments. It's good to have an honest discussion on popular culture instead of merely pandering to fanboys. This is an excellent video that all Ghibli Freaks will enjoy watching. You may even be inspired to track down Miyazaki's pre-Ghibli works such as Horus, Heidi or Future Boy Conan. You'll be glad you did. Great jorb!

The DTM Newsletter is a weekly newsletter that I publish every Wednesday. It features essays and news updates from yours truly, including the latest events on our book publishing empire. We continue to add new subscribers every week, and if you are among them, you have my thanks. Everyone who subscribes to the newsletter receives a free ebook. Previously, that free gift has been the 42-page zine Bocanada. However, now that my KDP Select contract has ended, I can offer you one of my full-length books instead, Greatest Hits: An Anthology in Four Volumes . Greatest Hits is an anthology of essays and stories taken from four other books, hence the title. Two of the books are now available, Pop Life and Zen Arcade: Classic Video Game Reviews. The two remaining book titles are still in production. It was an interesting experiment that I wanted to try out, and to be completely honest, it was my original intention to make this the "free book" for the mailing list. I just got greedy at...

Hayao Miyazaki fans have been screaming for videogame adaptations of his classic animated movies for years. Thankfully, our prayers have been answered...in Japan, at least. This is Future Boy Conan on the PC Engine CD-ROM, which was released in the West as the Turbografx-16 and TurboDuo. It is based, obviously, on the 1978 Miyazaki television series, which is just about the greatest cartoon series ever made. Unfortunately, neither the anime series nor the videogame ever made it to our shores, but thanks to the magic of import shops (and internet downloads, cough, ahem), we can enjoy Conan in all his greatness. I will freely admit that, strictly on the standards of videogame criticism, Future Boy Conan is a somewhat standard, almost rudimentary side-scrolling action-platformer. Its layouts and level designs are nowhere near the genre's greats, and if you're expecting the next Super Mario or Sonic, you'll be greatly disappointed. The game largely exists for players who wish t...

Here is one of the more interesting riffs in the Ghibli canon. In Princess Mononoke, we see a character named Kaya who serves as a romantic interest (of sorts) for Prince Ashitaka. The relationship is shown shown in brief moments, but she clearly loves the boy and is devoted to him. As he is cast out of the village and sent on his quest, she gives him a crystal dagger as a symbol of her memory. Later in the movie, Ashitaka meets San, the "Princess Mononoke", and falls in love with her. He gives her his crystal dagger as a sign of his devotion to her. Later, during the dramatic climax, San lashes out in anger by striking the same dagger into Ashitaka's chest. In the end, while the two share love for one another, they both realize that they cannot live together, and must stay in their separate worlds (don't kid yourself; when the girl you are dating says "I need my space," you're never seeing her again). Now here's where things really get interesting. ...

At long last, all of the Studio Ghibli feature films are now available on home video in North America. On January 16, GKIDS released My Neighbors the Yamadas and The Cat Returns; on February 6, they released Pom Poko and Tales From Earthsea. The collection is now finally, thankfully complete. When I began writing about Studio Ghibli in 2003, only a handful of movie titles were available on home video, either on VHS or the new DVD format. Even with an Academy Award for Spirited Away and the support of Disney, new catalog releases remained elusive. For many die-hard fans, it seemed as though expensive importing would be the only option for building a complete Ghibli movie collection. Now, under the direction of GKIDS, that journey has finally reached its end. We have everything! We have all the Ghibli features from Nausicaa to The Wind Rises. We have Omohide Poro Poro and Umi Ga Kikoeru. We even have Yoshiyuki Momose's excellent 2002 short film Ghiblies Episode 2, which I honestly ne...

In 2004, Lupin the 3rd scholar Chris Meadows took inspiration from a Roger Ebert essay on DVD audio commentaries, and decided to record his own commentary track for Castle of Cagliostro, Hayao Miyazaki's 1979 action-comedy-caper classic. In 2017, he returned once again with a revised and updated version to share with all the fans. The idea of fan-generated audio commentaries was a hopeful one, but for various reasons never really caught on. The only real example of this model is Rifftrax, a movie commentary website curated by alumni from Mystery Science Theater 3000. YouTube and podcasting are similar in many respects, but the idea of a full-length audio companion to your favorite home videos remain an idea ahead of its time. Whatever. Meadows performed a minor miracle with his 2004 Cagliostro commentary, and his new 2017 commentary is that much better. It is a must for all fans of Lupin or Miyazaki or movie fans in general. You can download Meadows' Lupin audio recording on hi...