Category: anime

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anime

Totoro, My Childhood Neighbour

My Neighbour Totoro (となりのトトロTonari no Totoro) is a film written and directed by Miyazaki Hayao, which was also named My Friend Totoro when it was released in the United States in 1993. In the release year of 1988, Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, awarded the Mainichi Film Award to this film. The prominent animated cast members are the older sister Kusakabe Satsuki, voiced by Hidaki Noriko; the younger sister Kusakabe Mei, voiced by Sakamoto Chika; the father Kusakabe Tatsuo, voiced by Itoi Shigesato; the little boy in the village Okagi Kanta, voiced by Amagasa Toshiyuki; and the forest protector Totoro, voiced by Takagi Hitoshi. This animated film talks about the two sister’s encounter with a friendly spirit neighbour in the woods, Totoro.

The story is centered around the Kusabake family. The movie starts off with a drive around their new neighbourhood to an old house that they bought for the purpose of easier access to the hospital which the mother is hospitalized in. While settling into the house, the sisters discover tiny soot creatures called makkurokurosuke that like to gather around in old abandoned houses. Because the old house is no longer abandoned, the travelling soot, also known as susuwatari, drifts out of the house and into the night sky to search for its next shelter. The next day, the father and the girls bike to visit their mother, and they talk about the house that they moved into. It is at this time that the viewers realize that Satsuki writes to her mother regularly. The following day, while Satsuki goes to school and Tatsuo is busy with his professor work, Mei energetically explores her new backyard. She comes across bunny-like creatures which she follows into the woods, and eventually she falls into a tunnel in an ancient camphor tree. In there, she meets another similar creature, except he is much larger in size. The creature introduces himself as Totoro. The atmosphere in the camphor tree is too relaxing, and Mei falls asleep on his belly soon after. Mei is discovered sleeping in the bushes by Satsuki and her father later on when Satsuki returns home from school. They go for a walk in the forest and thank the camphor tree for taking care of Mei. The story climaxes to a point where Mei goes missing due to the sudden notice that their mother cannot leave the hospital as anticipated.

A famous rumor in Japan has it that Totoro is a shinigami (god of death) because of the eerie interaction the sisters have with Totoro, and no one else in the village seems to be able to come in contact with this mythical creature. The success of My Neighbour Totoro has brought Japanese animation to global attention, and much hearsay arises through time. The idea that Totoro is a shinigami came about around 2007 due to certain scenes and dialogue in the movie which suggest that Totoro helped Satsuki find Mei not by actually finding Mei, but by bringing Satsuki to the world of death to meet Mei by riding the neko basu, the cat bus. A scene that supports this fact is a part close to the end, where Satsuki and Mei met. The touching display is made bizarre by the fact that Mei and Satsuki do not have shadows when they meet. Another rumour also links the plot of the story to a murder case during the Showa era in Japan. The murder case occurred in a May during the Showa period, and the point in time where My Neighbour Totoro takes place is around 1958 (within the Showa period). The names of the sisters are hinted at as the month of May (Satsuki is May in Japanese, and Mei is a homophone of May). Similarities in location, testimonies given, an ill family member, are all shockingly alike to the movie. My Neighbour Totoro is a film that the teenagers in this generation grew up with, so the idea that this childhood film could possibly be a horror film is shocking to all viewers.

Aside from the horrific rumor about this film, the soundtrack plays a crucial part in the movie. Miyazaki Hayao’s right-hand man, Joe Hisaishi (久石譲,), real name Fujisawa Mamoru (藤澤守), is the main composer of most of Miyazaki’s films, including My Neighbour Totoro. The movie starts off with an opening theme song called Sanpo (さんぽ, translated as “stroll”). This lighthearted song sets up a happy mood for the viewers. Throughout the film, the instrumental music aids the plot of the movie at times of suspense and tranquility. When the susuwatari are forced to move out of the old house, the background music, Wind at Dusk (夕暮れの風, Yugure no Kaze) hints at a sense of sadness from the soot dust. The piece The Huge Tree in Tsukamori (塚森の大樹, Tsukamori no Taiju) merges into the Wind at Dusk soon after it gives viewers a sense of ease while the family is resting for the first night at the seemingly haunted house. Out of twenty tracks played in the movie, the other noticeable ones include Wasn’t It Great (よかったね,, Yokatta ne), The Path of the Wind (風のとおり道, ,kaze no toorimichi), Catbus (ねこバス, Nekobasu), and the ending song My Neighbour Totoro (となりのトトロ, Tonari no Totoro). Without Joe Hisaishi’s composing talent, My Neighbour Totoro might not be as popular because after all, the sense of hearing connects the viewers straight to the images from the film.

Having been around for over twenty years, the fame of Totoro has yet to die down. The works of Miyazaki Hayao through the aid of Joe Hisaishi have successfully become a cultural icon and My Neighbour Totoro is first in line. In today’s fast-paced technological century, Miyazaki’s fight against computer graphics proved to have an impact on a global scale. My Neighbour Totoro is a highly recommended film to watch at any age to appreciate the hard work of drawing over a hundred thousand pictures to present an eighty-minute film.

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anime anti-war

“Howl’s Moving Castle”: Love Makes People Brave.

Howl’s Moving Castle (Japanese title: Hauru no ugoku shiro), released in Japan in 2004 and in the United States in 2005, was directed and written by Miyazaki Hayao. It is an adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones’ novel, “Howl’s moving castle.” The genre is anime, literary adaptation, and drama. There are no actors, and there is only seiyū because this is a colour anime. The seiyū is a voice performer in Japanese. The seiyū of the main male character, Howl, is Kimura Takuya, whose main employment is as a member of SMAP, a Japanese idol group. Baishō Chieko, a Japanese actress and singer, voices the main female character, Sophie Grandma.

The setting of the movie is a magical European world with many wizards and witches in different countries. Sophie, a nineteen-year-old girl, does not have confidence or know what she really wants to do, so she runs a hat shop which her dead father left. In the beginning, Sophie is on her way to see her half sister, Lettie, when she is accosted by two soldiers before she arrives. At this time, she is saved from this embarrassment by a handsome blond man who has powerful magic; however, at the same time, the man is pursued by shadows. The man quickly brings Sophie to her destination by walking on air so that the shadows could not pursue her. Sophie seems to be falling in love with the man because he heroically saved her. When Sophie goes back to her hat shop, the Witch of the Waste, who controls shadows to catch the handsome blond man, comes in Sophie’s shop to conjure a charm to make Sophie become a ninety-year-old woman. After initial panic at first, Sophie calms down and leaves her hometown. On her way, she meets a friend, a scarecrow who was also conjured by someone. Scarecrow brings Sophie to Howl’s moving castle to rest. There Sophie meets the demon, Calcifer, who makes Howl’s castle move. Calcifer asks her to untie the contract between Howl and him because he wants to be free, but Sophie has to find the key thing to untie the contract. When Howl comes home, Sophie finds that he was the man who saved her before. Sophie tells him that she is a new sweeper for this castle, so Howl allows her to stay without asking anything.

One day, Howl gets mad when he thinks that the world will end soon just because he cannot dye his hair the colour he wanted. Sophie also gets mad because she thinks she can never be beautiful, but Howl is still great-looking even with the wrong hair colour. She thinks Howl is self-centered and wayward. After Howl calms down, he tells Sophie that he is really not the mature man of his gorgeous appearance, but is actually timid like a child. He does not like war, so he asks Sophie to act as his mother and see his teacher, Madame Suliman, to refuse attending the war for him. Getting along increasingly with each other, Howl and Sophie become attracted to each other. Howl soon decides to join the war because now he has important people to protect. Gradually, Sophie’s appearance becomes younger and younger since her thoughts become youthful and confident after she falls in love with Howl.

Although this is an anime movie, Miyazaki still clearly shows each character’s personality through their clothing, the way they talk, and their behaviour. For example, in the beginning, Sophie lacks confidence, wearing only plain clothing and avoiding eye contact when she talks to people. However, after she becomes confident, she wears a beautiful dress and looks steadily at others when she talks to them. Howl, at first, only focuses on his appearance, so he always wears beautiful clothing and dyes his hair. At the end, he finds there are more important things than his outward appearance, so he wears simple clothing and no longer dyes his hair.

The point here is that people can become confident and brave enough to do anything once they love somebody whom they want to protect and cherish. The change of Howl’s attitude to the war from evading to facing is a prime example. In addition, Sophie gains her confidence from loving Howl and becomes brave enough to do anything for him. She does not want Howl to use too much magic to become a full monster, so she did something which may bring her danger by calling Howl back from the war.

All background music and songs were composed by Joe Hisaishi, who has collaborated with Miyazaki for more than twenty-five years. The soundtrack makes each scene more realistic with some important messages. For example, when Howl held Calcifer to conjure, the soundtrack is a realistic heartbeat; some viewers can guess that the key thing to untie the contract may be Howl’s heart. In addition, the ending song, “The Merry-go-round of Life,” is impressive because it is pretty lively yet peaceful and shows that Howl and Sophie must have a bright future. The song is used in the opening, too; however, the intent of the song here is to show Sophie’s hometown is a lively and relaxed place.

In addition, Miyazaki also used 3D techniques to make the moving castle look realistic and painted some pictures by hand, so some scenes are pretty three-dimensional like real scenery.

This is one of my favourite Miyazaki movies because it is the only one in which the central message is love. Although some may think this is just anime, there are many important messages. For example, that love can make people become brave and confident, and that war is bad because it causes suffering. Therefore, I think this film is ideal for older teenagers and adults. In addition, I suggest watching this movie twice in order to gain clear messages from it because although it is based on the novel; many original scenes are cut, so for the audience who do not read the novel before, they may still not easily comprehend the points from a single viewing.

Categories
anime

Will You Be “Spirited Away?”

Spirited Away (Sen to chihiro no kamikakushi) is a visually-creative Japanese anime made in 2001 by director Miyazaki Hayao.  It is a story full of fantasy and adventure as it follows the journey of a ten-year-old girl named Chihiro (voiced by Hîragi Rumi) who finds herself in a world full of spirits, monsters, and other interesting creatures, and has to find her way out to the human world, as well as, save her parents from their dreadful situation.

The tale begins with Chihiro and her parents driving off to their new house in the suburbs, which she is definitely not happy about.  The father decides to take a shortcut through a bumpy dirt road and they end up at a dead end that contains a hillside tunnel.  Despite how frightened Chihiro is about this idea, the parents want to venture through the tunnel to see what is on the other side.  They end up finding an abandoned amusement park, which the parents are excited about, but Chihiro is full of nothing but fear and discomfort.  After gorging out at an empty restaurant full of delicious food out in the open, the parents undergo a magical transformation as they are turned into a couple of sloppy pigs.  Terrified, she runs to seek help and encounters a strange boy named Haku (voiced by Miyu Irino) who promises to help her.  She is lead to a bathhouse that is full of spirits, monstrous non-humans and mysterious creatures, and is told to get a job there as the only way to survive and eventually save her parents.  The bathhouse, however, is run by Yubaba (voiced by Mari Natsuki), a grumpy sorceress.  Through her persistence, Chihiro manages to persuade Yubaba to give her a job, but her name (Chihiro) is taken away and the new name, Sen, is given to her.  Haku cautions Sen to remember her original name even though they have given her a new one, because it is her only way to escape.  Haku, unfortunately, had forgotten his real name and has been stuck in the world of spirits ever since.  Though the labour is hard, she works as hard as she can.  One of her biggest achievements at the bathhouse that earns her the respect of Yubaba and the other spirits, is when she helped serve the most foul-smelling spirit, who turned out to be a very rich and powerful river spirit.  As the story progresses, Haku continues to help Sen/Chihiro to get her and her parents back to the human world, but it is not an easy mission.  Will Chihiro ever save her parents and escape the spirit world? Or will they be spirited away forever?  You will just have to follow this magical journey yourself to find out.

One aspect of this animated film that really makes it stand out from most American animated movies is its amazing originality that only a brilliant director like Miyazaki can pull off in the perfect degree.  The boundless imagination that gives each character its uniqueness really displays Miyazaki’s artistic talent at its best.  There is a lot of detail in the animation that makes it look all the more realistic despite the fantasy aspect of it.  It is the best cinematography I have seen in an animated feature.  The English-dubbed version of this movie was released by Walt Disney Productions in 2002, and it, too, was a raging success with critics everywhere praising its remarkable achievements as a Japanese animated film.  What Miyazaki was able to achieve in this anime is truly unmatched and impressive.  It is no surprise that this film has won numerous prestigious awards including “Best Animated Feature Film” from the 75th Annual Academy Awards, and the Golden Bear award from the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival.

Another noteworthy aspect of the film is its captivating narrative that really takes you on the journey through the spirit world with Chihiro.  The animated film encompasses fantasy and adventure, as well as, friendships and potentially more, to take its audience on the emotional journey that begins with fear and ends in…well, you would just have to watch it to find out!  The narrative is kept exciting and humour is another aspect of this movie that makes it fun to watch.

The filmmaker’s vivid imagination is what makes Spirited Away (Sen to chihiro no kamikakushi) such a visual masterpiece.  The storyline is enchanting as it is a story of friendship and love, tied in with the wild adventures of a little girl that has to deal with giant, scary ghosts and monsters in a fantasy-filled nightmare.  It is a delightful film full of fascinating creatures and mysterious transformations that makes it truly a magical experience for both adults and children to enjoy.  If you do not feel like speed-reading subtitles from the original Japanese version, the English-dubbed 2002 release by Walt Disney Productions is just as good and it does not take away from the spectacular animation that has been kept in its original form.  This is a must-see!

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anime

Words of Magic and Greedy Gods: A Review of “Spirited Away”

Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (translating to Sen and the hiding of Chihiro, also known as Spirited Away, in English), is a famous masterpiece written by the well-known animation artist Miyazaki Hayao. Written and directed by Miyazaki himself, the film was produced with Studio Ghibli in 2001. The story revolves around a ten year-old girl, Chihiro (voiced by Hiiragi Rumi), when she is moving to a new town in a suburban area with her parents. During the process of moving, she enters a mysterious tunnel and journeys into a magical world of gods and spirits. Filled with limitless imagination and fantasy of the supernatural elements, Spirited Away was the first non-English film that won many prestigious awards: The Oscar for Best Animated Feature, Academy Award, and the Berlin International Film Festival at Berlin 2002.

The story begins with Chihiro in her parents’ car in displeasure. While driving along the countryside and discovering they have gotten lost, Chihiro’s father decides to take a short-cut into the forest, in hopes of finding their way back to the road; however, instead of finding civilization, they come across a mysterious tunnel with a statue that has two faces, back to back. In curiosity, the family exit the vehicle and, on a whim, decide to travel through the tunnel, where then the family discovers an empty town. To their surprise, the seemingly empty town has food freshly prepared, sitting on top of stands. The parents, suddenly struck with hunger at the sight of the food, gobble the mysterious cuisine. Chihiro, on the other hand, wanders off and meets Haku (voiced by Irino Miyu), a boy who seems to know her and warns her about the danger of nightfall. When Chihiro returns to the food stand, she discovers her parents have been turned into pigs and are no longer capable of recognizing her. As the sun begins to set, the seemingly empty town transforms; once-unlit lanterns suddenly become bright and dazzling and empty streets begin to crowd with echoes and chatter of spirits. Haku helps Chihiro to a giant yuuya (bathhouse) where she meets Kamajii (voiced by Sugawara Bunta), an old man who boils bath water that has the arms of a spider. Along with the hint of Kamajii and aid of the yuuya staff Rin (voiced by Tamaii Yumi), Chihiro was able to make her way to the yuuya supervisor Yubaba (voiced by Natsuki Mari), a rich and powerful witch, and convince her to give her a job at the bathhouse.

After a working agreement is signed with Yubaba, Chihiro works at the bathhouse as Sen, and gradually she gains the friendliness of Rin. Together they successfully clean and cure the stink god, when the god’s true identity is revealed to be a river god, heavily polluted. The river god awards Sen a medicinal spell cake. Later on, Sen finds out that Haku, in dragon form, is attacked by a group of flying paper birds casted by Zeniba, Yubaba’s twin sister. It is learned that Haku, at this point, is cursed because he has stolen a seal that is under the command of Yubaba; therefore causing paper birds to endlessly chase Haku. Sen feeds Haku the piece of spell cake from the river god that causes Haku to vomit, where then she retrieves the seal. Sen determines to return Zeniba her seal and cure Haku from his curse. She takes the train to Zeniba’s place with the spirit Kaonashi (literally No Face) who tries to please her but, instead, causes disaster in the bathhouse. In the resulting chaos, Yubaba’s pet raven is transformed into a fly, while her son Boh is morphed into a mouse. The story continues to unravel at Zeniba’s place, where Sen realizes Haku is the same river god who saved her when she fell into the Kohaku River during childhood. Together, Zeniba and Sen’s friends make Sen a special hairband as a souvenir of their friendship, and Haku arrives to take Sen back to the bathhouse to face Yubaba for a final task before she is released to go home with her parents.

The power of words is certainly worth mentioning, as they play a significant role in this film. In the spirit world, Yubaba takes control of her workers forever by stealing their original names. For instance, the full name of Chihiro is visually gripped by Yubaba in the film to show that Chihiro is now under Yubaba’s service. In return, Yubaba leaves Chihiro with one character out of the two from her name in an alternative reading – Sen. Names in the spirit world serve as the identity of each individual in the story, thus Haku repeatedly warns Chihiro that she must not forget her original name or else she would not be able to find her way home out of the spirit world. Haku, on the other hand, is the living example of one whom has forgotten their name and therefore forever serves, loyal to Yubaba. Ultimately, Chihiro’s realization of Haku’s original name Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi helps Haku to break free from Yubaba’s enslavement.

However, it is Miyazaki’s careful manipulation and recurring theme of greed, throughout the story, that adds complexity and dimension to his characters (humans and spirits). Chihiro’s parents, obsessed with self indulgence and gluttony, consume the unattended food, ignoring Chihiro when she warns them their actions might not please the owner. The father, instead of stopping, reassures Chihiro that his credit card is fully loaded and continues to eat. Because of the parent’s act of gluttony, they are turned into pigs. On the other hand, Haku, at first, appears friendly but it is later discovered he has a dark side of secretly fulfilling unscrupulous deeds for Yubaba. This is because Haku has a greed for learning magic from Yubaba, thus his name is stolen and he can no longer be free from slavery. Kaonashi, who at first only tries to repay Chihiro for the favour of letting him into the bathhouse from the pouring rain, later becomes greedy of Chihiro’s attention. After seeing how the bathhouse staff reacts to the gold, he continuously produces gold from thin air and roams across the bathhouse for service and eventually swallows three workers. However, the greediest of all is perhaps Yubaba; with expanding slaves and earning money, she actually operates the bathhouse for the spirits to pay and relax, thus showing a parallelism to humans opening business trying to make profit. Many scenes depict her wearing magnifying glasses to analyze her box of jewels. Her room is lavishly decorated with expensive and luxurious materials. We can see that Yubaba herself wears heavy make-up especially emphasized on her eyes, excessive jewels like huge earrings and practically a stone ring on every finger with fingernails painted bold red.

The film has a simple plot and a simple goal of Chihiro’s journey to escape from the spirit world. However, the details of characters and events are extraordinarily weaved and intertwined together. Other than the motif of greed and the power of words mentioned, the film definitely suggests much more yet to be discovered. The film features many kinds of relationships other than love, which was suggested lightly when Chihiro shows her worry for Haku and decides to do what she can to save him. With so much moral meaning of the film for the inner mind to such colorful images for the visual eyes, I definitely recommend this film for everyone whether adult or children.

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anime

“Castle in the Sky”

Castle in the Sky, known as Tenkū no shiro Rapyuta in Japan, was first released in Japan in 1986 and later released in the United States under its English name in 1998. This animated film was written and directed by popular award-winning artist Miyazaki Hayao. The main characters Pazu and Sheeta are voiced by Tanaka Mayumi and Yokozawa Keiko respectively. This film is the Japanese version of the animation with the storyline touching on the themes of aviation technology and the good and evil sides of human nature. The two main characters of this animation Pazu and Sheeta are on a quest to uncover the mysteries of Sheeta’s family history and the mysterious floating city of Laputa.

Sheeta escapes from captivity by the government agents during a raid by Dola and her family of sky pirates and is saved from her stone pendant as she falls towards the earth from the space ship. Together, with her rescuer, Pazu, they escape the continuous pursuits of the sky pirates and government agents while learning along the way about the powers of the stone she inherited. After becoming more acquainted, they grow fond of each other. The two children part ways after they are captured by Muska and his crew of government agents. Sheeta agrees to aid him in his quest to find Laputa in exchange for Pazu’s safe release. After returning home, he finds the sky pirates having a feast at his house. He informs them of what has happened and pleads with them to take him along on their mission to rescue Sheeta and reach Laputa before Muska and his crew does. Meanwhile, Muska uncovers key secrets that will lead him to Laputa’s whereabouts.

During the length of the film, I enjoyed the director’s drawing of frames depicting the scene from numerous different angles. The different angles allow viewers like myself to get a better feel of the setting, surroundings, and excitement the characters in the film is experiencing. For example, during the scene of the sky pirate comparing his muscles and toned body with a villager who is trying to protect Sheeta and Pazu, Miyazaki first illustrates the scene by drawing the men in close-up frames focusing on their toned muscles and then pulling back to show a cheering crowd that has been gathering. These combinations of scenes portray the intensity between the two men while the crowd and the wife of the villager are revealed in the background to add humorous and entertaining touches.

Another aspect of the film that really complimented my watching experience was the accompanying music and sound effects. The sound effects of guns firing, wood creaking, and echoes made the viewing experience smooth and exciting.  In the scene mentioned in the last paragraph where the men are comparing their body figures, the sound effects made it seem like the spectators are watching something entertaining instead of a fight that would turn into something serious. Meanwhile, the accompanying music clearly defines the mood of the scenes. For example, when Sheeta is falling from the space ship, the music played made the falling process seem tranquil and peaceful instead of being intimidating and chaotic.

After having enjoyed watching Castle in the Sky, I am now interested in viewing more animations from Miyazaki. The film is light-hearted, fast-paced, extremely exciting, and has left me reminiscing long after having finished the film. I would strongly recommend everyone, boy or girl, young or old, to watch this film as it has certainly become one of my all time favourite animations!

Categories
anime

Laputa’s Existence not a Dream but a Reality?

Miyazaki Hayao is well known for many of his animated movies. Tenku no Shiro Rapyuta (English title: Castle in the Sky), written and directed by Miyazaki is one of his famous works that was released in 1986. Castle in the Sky is a very pleasing movie that creates the feeling of excitement and enjoyment for the audience. Even though it is an animated film, we will see that the theme of power is being explored by Miyazaki throughout the movie. Also, this movie can be related to Sen to chihiro no kamikakushi (English title: Spirited Away), another movie by Miyazaki Hayao, for its adventurous and romantic atmosphere created by the two main characters in the story.

Castle in the Sky is an adventure movie about how two children are in search of Laputa, a legendary castle that is hidden behind the clouds in the sky. One of the children, Sheeta is accompanied by some government agents on a civilian airship. The ship is then attacked by a group of pirates which leads Sheeta to take a small necklace from one of the agents named Muska. The pirates’ leader, Dola seeks to rob the necklace but Sheeta prevents that from happening when she falls off the ship with the stone necklace on her. Her falling awakes the necklace’s power which emits a blue light that allows Sheeta to float gently down to the ground. Pazu, a young miner coincidently sees the blue light and decides to investigate the abnormal light that was slowly coming down. As Pazu gets closer to the blue light, he sees an unconscious Sheeta floating down and he decides to bring her to his house. At Pazu’s house, Sheeta learns that Pazu’s father accidently discovers Laputa. Pazu believe that Laputa does exist and he wants to find it for other people think it is just a myth. And then the story continues with the two children’s adventure on searching for the castle in the sky.

One thing that struck me about this movie was Miyazaki’s focus on the images of the characters. Miyazaki seems to like to focus the scene on a character’s facial expression which seems just like long steady and close up shots. For example, when in one of the scene, Pazu has been tied up at his own house by Dola, he begs Dola to release him because he wants to save and take care of Sheeta. This moment, the scene zooms in at Pazu’s face and even though it is only an animation, I was able to see clearly Pazu’s readiness in his eyes that all he was thinking at the moment of the scene was he wants to save Sheeta from the government and to take care of her after. Another example is when Sheeta was held prisoner by the government. A long steady and close-up focus shot at her facial expression occurs during the scene. From Sheeta’s expression at that time, I could see that in her eyes and facial expression that all she wants is freedom from the cage she was trapped in. Not only on these two children that the long steady close-up shots were used but Miyazaki uses it on characters that are more significant to the plot of the movie. It may seem obvious, what they want, but I think Miyazaki’s long steady close-up scene allows characters to show their true intentions deep inside their hearts or minds without stating it clearly. Even though it is an animated movie, it still surprises me that I can see what the characters are thinking with just the long steady close-up shots on them.

Another aspect I liked about this movie was the element of humour that Miyazaki inserts. The movie itself gives sympathy and a sad feeling for Sheeta who is an orphan and is being hunted down by pirates and government agents throughout the whole movie. It contributes to how Sheeta is always gloomy but because of the humour that Miyazaki puts in, I can see that Sheeta is not just a depressed girl but she can also become a joyful girl. This element of humour allows Sheeta to act as a character with a different mood.  Not only does this element of humour contribute to the character of Sheeta but it also gives the audience something to laugh at, which shows how entertaining and interesting this movie is.

This film gave me an understanding on how John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton stated “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The film gave an example of this quotation and I think Miyazaki is simply trying to teach people the theme about power. This film’s storyline was extremely interesting, and I found that the film was not too long nor too short which adds some credits towards the film. Overall, I would recommend Castle in the Sky to any viewers that like anime or any viewers that simply enjoy watching films.

Categories
anime comedy

Totoro: The Spiritual Guardian

The 1988 Studio Ghibli film, Tonari no Totoro (English title: My Neighbor Totoro), written and directed by Miyazaki Hayao, is a fantasy-filled anime well-known to most Japanese. The main characters are the Kusakabe sisters – Satsuki (Hidaka Noriko) and Mei (Sakamoto Chika), and Totoro (Takagi Hitoshi).

When Satsuki and Mei move to Matsugo, the countryside, with their father to be closer to their hospitalized mother, they are thrilled by the discovery that the forest surrounding their rickety, “haunted house” is inhabited by magical creatures. They are left dubious upon finding acorns falling from the ceiling as they explore their new home. The girls first encounter makkuro-kuro-suke or susuwatari (black soot), when they open the back kitchen door. The grandma from next door explains that these creatures are only visible to children. When four-year old Mei finds a number of shiny acorns consecutively as she plays in the garden, she picks them up one by one until she spots a little half-invisible to solid white creature. As she follows the creature, it is joined by another medium-sized gray creature. They go into the forest, into the hole on the bottom of a huge camphor tree, where Mei meets an even larger creature of the same kind, named Totoro. She befriends Totoro and before long, she falls asleep on his tummy. She is awakened by Satsuki, who finds her younger sister sleeping on the forest ground. Though Mei tries to find Totoro to prove that she met him, she is left frustrated, unable to revisit her recent adventure.

Satsuki meets Totoro when she and Mei wait for their father to come home in the rain at the bus stop. Entertained by the sound of the raindrops falling on the umbrella, Totoro takes the black umbrella that Satsuki lends him on to the cat bus that picks him up. In return, he gives the girls tree seeds wrapped in bamboo leaves, which they plant in their garden. After the night they experience the magical workings of Totoro, the sisters are convinced that the magic was “a dream but not a dream” – that the magical creatures as portrayed in their picture book are real in their eyes. Finally, when Mei is disheartened by the news of her ill mother not being able to come home for the weekend, she gets into an argument with Satsuki that provokes her into running off on her own, determined to go to Shichikokuyama hospital. Satsuki, with the help of the villagers, search for the missing Mei. After long hours of searching and the villagers losing hope, Satsuki is struck with an idea that she believes is the last resort.

The family-friendly anime reflects the typical Japanese family lifestyle, as well as the culture and traditions embedded in the theme of spirituality. The ritual of taking a bath at night, especially parent-child bathing, is a common practice for Japanese families, and is a way of bonding. This is portrayed when Satsuki and Mei are bathing with their father. They are frightened by the strong wind blowing outside, but with good times and laughter, they weather all fear, even the makkuro-kuro-suke that are said to reside in dark, empty houses. Hanging laundry outside in the morning is also another standard custom, as the sun rays entail purification. These scenes imply the concept of driving evil or unwanted spirits away, only welcoming the good ones, like the “ghost” Totoro. The fact that Totoro is a favorable spirit is made apparent when the girls and their father greet the camphor tree to show respect as new residents in the village. The sweet corn that Mei picks from the vegetable farm of the grandma next door symbolizes a cure for her ill mother, as the grandma tells the girls that vegetables from her garden are healthy and can cure all diseases. Believing the corn would heal her mother, Mei takes it with her as she tries to find her way to the hospital after the quarrel with Satsuki. Other scenes suggesting Buddhist/Shinto values common in traditional Japan include one where Satsuki and Mei pray to Ojizôsama (stone statues of the Jizô) as they shelter the sisters from the pouring rain; and the scene where the grandma is found ardently praying with the one sandal in her hands that was found in the rice fields, believing it was Mei’s. Such scenes emphasize the conclusive theme of spirituality.

Satsuki, being the eldest, is characterized as a mature girl with a motherly role despite her still being in the early years of elementary school. She prepares breakfast and obentô (lunch boxes) for her family, and the way she interacts with Mei depicts the way mothers deal with their children. Satsuki carries Mei on her back when Mei is falling asleep as they wait for their father at the bus stop; and their quarrel indicates their level of maturity. She does however also have a childish side, which is displayed in cases when she and Mei scream when they are scared or nervous as they explore their new “haunted

house;” and also when they dance around the planted tree seeds and experience magic with Totoro and his friends. Mei on the other hand has more solid traits of being the spoiled but sweet and playful little girl. Her stubbornness is eventually what makes her run away, but the combination of her and Satsuki’s character is what allows the film to successfully portray the strong bond of the sisters that only tightens with the climax of the film.

Tonari no Totoro is an excellent fantasy-adventure film that illustrates modern-day rural Japan with a touch of creativity most enjoyable for families and children of all ages. It is a must-see for viewers hoping to get a gist of Japanese culture and traditions in anime form. Children will definitely come to adore Totoro, just as Satsuki and Mei grow to treasure their magical friend and spiritual guardian.

Categories
anime drama, melodrama literary adaptations

The Sea of Decay: Miyazaki and “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind”

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Kaze no tani no Naushika) was originally released in 1984, prior to the establishment of Studio Ghibli. It is artfully directed by Miyazaki Hayao who has gained a deserved reputation for other better-known works such as the Academy award-winning Spirited Away or My Neighbor Totoro. The film is based on the manga of the same name, written and illustrated also by Miyazaki. The first English release of the movie was in 1985; the film was cut and re-titled Warriors of the Wind and it was not until 2005 that the uncut English version of Nausicaä was released with Disney’s collaboration. The English dub in the uncut release was performed by now-famous names such as Uma Thurman (Lady Kushana) and Shia LaBeouf (Asbel); however, this review is based on the subbed version of the film, with the original Japanese voice actors: Shimamoto Sumi as Nausicaä, Naya Goro as Lord Yupa, and Sakakibara Yoshiko as Lady Kushana.

Like much of Miyazaki’s work (Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke), Nausicaä follows the story of a young female protagonist. The heroine in question here is, of course, Nausicaä, a princess who resides in a valley near a toxic wasteland known as the Sea of Decay. Hers is a post-apocalyptic world, one that has been devastated—as the titles inform us—by a thousand-year war, but pockets of humanity continue to survive scattered over the planet. Though skilled in combat, Nausicaä is presented as having an enduring compassion for all living things, whether they are human or giant insects. She has a natural gift with animals and she makes frequent visits to the toxic jungle in an attempt to find a way to purify the polluted land. When two nations bring their war to her home, she is left with little choice but to fall into the middle of the conflict before what remains of the world falls under further destruction.

The message of the film is not especially subtle, but it is subtle enough to prevent from distracting the viewer while watching the plot unfold. Although the toxic forest is originally presented as responsible for the uninhabitable state of much of the planet, we quickly learn that it was the war itself that had damaged the ecosystem—the responsibility, therefore, falling squarely on human shoulders. This type of damage to the environment is eerily similar to the wasteland images one might imagine when considering a nuclear fallout; as Miyazaki had written this story in the early to mid-1980s in the midst of the Cold War, it is not surprising that he has chosen to go with this line of thought. The theme of fear as a motivator for violence also runs throughout the film: Nausicaä tames what seems to be a ferocious little creature by telling it not to be afraid and later, Lady Kushana explains that her reason for invading another country was fear of their growing power, and that she was seeking to obtain a powerful weapon before they could. Again, there is a strong parallel between the film and certain events occurring in the world at the time.

Perhaps one of the most impressive aspects of the movie, though, is the carefully rendered world in which the characters reside. There is a tragic beauty to the forest. Full of toxins and strange plants, not to mention large, vicious insects, the forest is tinted a cool translucent blue that suggests a lack of warmth and a kind of deadness—yet the scenery literally glows with life. The humans, by contrast, live in a harsh landscape of dry desert; while the sun shines brightly, the desert is devoid of any signs of environmental life. Through these images, Miyazaki seems to suggest that despite outward appearances, the forest teems with potential while the desert has been stripped of it. Beyond thematic significance, however, the aesthetics of the film are simply a visual pleasure to watch. The opening scene in particular, where Nausicaä explores the forest, resembles a series of soft watercolour paintings in motion. The variety of plants and creatures are wonderfully imaginative, but contain edges of familiarity (dragonfly-like insects, squirrel-like pets), giving audiences a world that is exotic yet at the same time recognizable enough to not be mistaken for another planet altogether. It is Earth as it would be if we are not careful.

The one element that occasionally seems out of place is the music. Although the score is beautifully haunting at times, the use of a synthesizer in several of the action sequences is somewhat jarring where one might have expected more of a traditional orchestral tone. Nevertheless, it is a minor quibble that does not take away from the rest of the film. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is overall a tightly crafted, well-paced story, accompanied by an impressively delicate style of animation and sympathetic characters. While it is arguably not Miyazaki’s strongest work, the film is still well worth viewing.

Categories
anime literary adaptations

“The Girl Who Leapt through Time”: Time Waits for No One

The Girl Who Leapt through Time (2006) is an anime film directed by Hosoda Mamoru. Hosoda Mamoru is a Japanese animator and director whose work includes such feature-length films as Dijimon (1999) and Summer Wars (2009). The Girl who Leapt through Time is a film sequel to the novel Toki o Kakeru Shojo (1967) by Tsutsui Yasutaka. Released in 2006, the film won several awards for best animated picture, including the Animation Grand Award for the year’s most entertaining animated film and the Gertie Award at the Catalonia Sitges International Film Festival. Though not a box office success when initially released, the film would attract through ‘word of mouth’ a growing audience. The Girl Who Leapt through Time is a touching film that examines friendship, love, and the nature of time through the eyes of an ordinary high school girl.

Seventeen-year-old Makoto is a tomboyish girl who appears to be happy with her life just the way it is. Like the three musketeers, she and her best friends Chiaki and Kousuke are inseparable. One day, while dropping off some career surveys at the science lab, Makoto accidentally falls on a strange object, which imprints a number on her arm. Shortly after this incident, she escapes a near-fatal accident by moving backwards through time. Thus she discovers she has the ability to “time-leap”. From that day forward, Makoto uses her new power for the most trivial purposes such as improving her school grades, gaining additional time on the karaoke stage, and raising her batting average. But a problem arises when Chiaki confides his feelings for her. Embarrassed and unaware of her true feelings for him, Makoto decides to prevent Chiaki from making his love confession by time leaping. It is only later that she discovers that the number on her arm indicates the number of times that she can time-leap. She further discovers that time-leaping can adversely affect others.

With only one leap remaining, she witnesses Kouske and his girlfriend die in a bike accident. She has every intention of preventing this accident, but instead, uses her last time leap to prevent Chiaki calling her on the telephone to ask if she knows about time-leaping. As Makoto is watching the accident unfold, time suddenly stops and Chiaki appears. He tells her that he is a time traveler from the future and then disappears. Only then does Makoto realize her true feelings for Chiaki. She looks for him everywhere but to no avail. Having revealed his identity, Chiaki has no choice but to disappear. Meanwhile, Makoto discovers that because of Chiaki’s time leap she has gained one additional time-leap. With one time-leap chance left, Makoto uses her last leap, and then the thrilling conclusion takes place.

This film explores an intriguing subject: time travel. Her ability to time leap allows Makoto to relive as well as alter the past. However, in the scene where she reveals this newly acquired power to her aunt, Hosoda offers another interpretation regarding time leaping. After Makoto reveals her ability to time travel, the aunt remarks that this kind of experience is not uncommon for girls her age, implying that Makoto may only be fantasizing about possessing a supernatural power. The aunt’s interpretation is plausible if one considers those occasions when Makoto engages in time leaping: when her best friend Chiaki confesses his love for her; when she wants more time at the karaoke; when she wants to eat something that she had yesterday; when she is late for class. Most of these occasions have one thing in common: they are the kind of circumstances that any teenage girl would wish either to avoid or experience again. There is an obvious desire here to escape from embarrassing moments or from an uncertain destiny. Makoto’s time-leaping has a dream-like quality about it in that it defies the laws of logic and of space and time in order to realize the dreamer’s wishes.

This anime film has a forceful message: “Time waits for no one”. These words appear repeatedly throughout in the film, written on a classroom black board. Makoto uses her power to alter what are really trivial events, because she does not wish to change; rather, she wishes to change the situation. Ironically, when she feels ready to accept change—for example, when she realizes that she loves Chiaki—time will not wait, and the opportunity with all its promise is lost forever.

The adage that “Time waits for no one” not only means that time does not wait for the individual to think and act; it also means that “The time we have right now will never come back”. Moreover, in a scene where Makoto uses her power to travel into the past, she realizes that despite the changes that occur through time, there are some things that do not change, such as Chiaki’s love for her. She also comes to realize that the time one has right now, will not come again, and because it will not, it is so special and valuable.

One thing that saves this anime film from becoming a cliché is that the protagonist is responsible for her actions. Most films allow the protagonist to learn his or her lesson in time to make everything right. However, in this film, Makoto learns her lesson too late to avoid the terrible consequences. The message Hosoda has for us applies to everyone, not just teens. Because time leaping is impossible, the film advises, enjoy every moment and love as much as possible, for the past cannot be relived. As the old saying goes, “Time waits for no one”.

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Categories
action anime anti-war literary adaptations

“Akira”: A Review

Akira is a beautifully composed and philosophically rich anime film written and directed by Otomo Katsuhiro in 1988, based on his hit manga series of the same name. Set in a futuristic “Neo-Tokyo” in 2019 that is recovering from an apocalyptic “World War Three”, the film centers on the characters of Kaneda (voiced by Iwata Mitsuo) and his close friend Tetsuo (Sasaki Nozomu), who are members of a tough adolescent biker gang. During a violent encounter with a rival gang, Tetsuo stumbles across a disfigured child who has escaped from the confines of a government testing facility. The Japanese military, in hot pursuit of the young escapee, interrupts the gang battle and takes the child back into their custody. Heavily injured, Tetsuo is also taken to be rehabilitated, and soon undergoes extreme experimentation under the orders of Colonel Shikishima (Ishida Taro) after discovering Tetsuo’s unique, super-human mental frequencies.

Kaneda takes off on a quest to find Tetsuo, where he joins a group of revolutionaries and falls in love with a young rebel named Kei (Koyama Mami). Upon finding the military base where Tetsuo is being held, Kaneda and the rebels witness the government experiments as they go horribly wrong, causing Tetsuo to gain extremely unstable telekinetic abilities. Here Tetsuo transforms from a friendly member of the bike gang into a ruthless, psychopathic super-villain. Tetsuo’s obsession with his newfound power corrupts his personality, and he sets off on a mad rampage, threatening anyone around him, including Kaneda. The lifelong friendship between the two reaches a breaking point as Kaneda reluctantly chooses to protect Neo-Tokyo and the rest of humanity from his destructive friend. An epic battle ensues between the two, and the end result leaves the viewer in complete visual and thematic awe. Issues of government versus the people, corruption versus morality, power versus love, and even the origin of the universe tangle together in a heart-wrenching conclusion, where only one of the two friends can be left standing.

This work of anime is of particular interest because of its cultural relevance to the real-life, post-war psyche in Japanese society during the 1950’s. For instance, Akira reveals societal fears that one could more readily expect from films closer to the conclusion of World War Two, such as Gojira’s (Honda, 1954) undertones of war and atomic destruction. The fact that Akira was made more than 40 years after World War Two and still conveys fears of the threat of wartime bombing clearly shows the longevity of such an entrenched concern in Japanese culture. Further, the morbid, apocalyptic imagery at the hands of Tetsuo’s wrath is strikingly similar to the historical images of destruction from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Indeed, it can be argued that Akira’s opening images of a massive explosion directly reflect the outcome of World War Two. Thus, there is ample evidence in Akira that speaks to Japan’s unique history and reveals the nation’s most intimate cultural fears.

Perhaps the most important element of Akira’s cultural relevance is how it reflects the post-war Japanese desire to reconstruct a new identity on their own terms, liberated from the restrictions of the American occupation government and rising from the ashes of wartime devastation. Certainly, Akira’s Neo-Tokyo is on the brink of falling apart, and Tetsuo’s rampage opens a window of change and opportunity where the citizens begin to question the ills of their society and government. One quote from a government test-subject in the film sums up the post-war Japanese mindset perfectly: “There ought to be a future we can choose, and it is up to us to find it”.

As an anime film, Akira’s magnificent visual backgrounds deserve mention. The majority of the film is set in Neo-Tokyo’s inner-city, and Otomo creates a glamorized, yet representative portrayal of Tokyo’s dense metropolitan atmosphere. City scenes are dominated by the bright, never-ending sea of lights from apartments and skyscrapers that loom ominously in the background of nearly every shot as Kaneda’s bike gang weaves their way through Neo-Tokyo’s never ending streets. These metropolitan backdrops are so imposing that the viewer does not see a single speck of the night sky, visually reinforcing the inescapability of the bikers’ dangerous lifestyle and the complete corruption of Tetsuo’s personality due to his newfound powers. In addition, these backgrounds greatly heighten the film’s aesthetic value: it is almost as if we are viewing a piece of art rather than a film. Indeed, this is what one desires from a filmic adaptation of such a vibrant Japanese manga series, and in this respect Akira does not disappoint.

The true mastery of Akira’s backdrops are revealed when we reach the climax of the film, as we escape from the claustrophobic cityscapes into the vast expanse of blue sky depicted over the final battle between Kaneda and Tetsuo. Here the artistic choice to dominate the frame with a natural, wide-open sky serves a deep purpose; it foreshadows and symbolizes Neo-Tokyo’s potential liberation from Tetsuo’s destruction.

Overall, Akira deals with numerous themes of power and corruption, post-war Japanese politics, love, honor, destiny, and even the elusive search for the origin of the universe. For some, the film may try to include too much thematic meaning or address excessive cultural and philosophical questions that could overwhelm the viewer. Certainly, it is nearly impossible to wrap one’s mind around the scope of the film and its profound moral, cultural, and metaphysical avenues by viewing Akira just once. However, from an artistic standpoint I highly recommend this film, as it lends its magic through magnificent aesthetic detail in every scene, as well as its awe-inspiring use of backdrops which “set the stage” perfectly. One must view this film with respect for its artistic creativity, where Otomo’s attention to detail is invaluable, regardless of minor issues in conveying clear and concise themes. For a younger audience, some discretion is advised, as the film contains a brief moment of nudity and excessive violence and gore. However, in accordance with the rest of the film, these instances are so dramatically depicted that they themselves mesh harmlessly into the gorgeous visual spectacle that is Akira.

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