Miyazaki Discussion
Posted by erin at April 7, 2003 12:36 PMThis was to be the Lilo & Stitch entry, but then a huge Miyazaki discussion got started...
Top Five Miyazaki movies:
1. Totoro
2. Nausicaa
3. Kiki's
4. (spot reserved for Laputa)
5. Monoke
Comments Individual Archive Index
April 7, 2003 05:07 PM, John said:
Speaking of Miyazaki...
I just saw Castle in the Sky at this film festival outside of LA. It was awesome and, I believe, a major inspiration for the storylines of Final Fantasy. Since it came out in 1986 (i think) and has very similar details (crystals, floating cities, airships, etc.), that's my guess.
Anyhow, I was very impressed by it and am looking forward to seeing the 2-disc set of it and the 2-disc set of Kiki's Delivery Service (which I have seen before). They're coming out April 15, I think.
Now I just need to see Naussica: Valley of the Winds and Porco Rosso. Anyone seen those?
April 7, 2003 05:22 PM, Rick said:
Yep. Naussica is arguably his best. Some snobs don't like it because they think the comic is better (it is, but the movie is still good) I would say Porco Rosso is probably his worst film (maybe Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke is worse). And I'm sure there's plenty left for you to see besides those two. Unless, of course, you've already seen Horace: Prince of the Sun, Future Boy Conan, and Sherlock Hound.
April 7, 2003 05:48 PM, Erin said:
There's no way Porco Rosso could be as bad as Pon Pocco.
John: Go see Naussica immediately. It's even better than Monoke, but not as good as Totoro. Also, there's a big illegal collection of Miyazaki's work, 11 movies and 1 short, on 4 disks, that I would recommend you find and purchase immediately. Possibly in Canada. Or if you send me $100 I'll buy it for you in Chinatown and ship it to you.
April 7, 2003 06:05 PM, Rick said:
>There's no way Porco Rosso could be as bad as Pon Pocco
Well ok. I was only comparing it to movies Miyazaki had directed. Pom Poko is the worst Takahata film I've seen.
April 7, 2003 10:19 PM, Kari said:
No way! Porco Rosso may not be as good as some of his other work, but it has the best fight scene. I love when they run out of ammo and start throwing tools out of their airplanes at each other!
April 8, 2003 01:00 AM, Erin said:
Yeah! That part was really good!
Anyhow, "Worst Miyazaki Film Ever" is still so much better than any normal movie.
Um... yeah... so Lilo and Stich... first thing tomorrow morning, I swear.
April 8, 2003 01:00 AM, Halifax said:
What's the worst Kondo film, you've seen Rick?
And Porco Rosso is better than Kiki--more melancholy, and no Hollywood ending.
April 8, 2003 10:05 AM, Eugene said:
Ack! Erin, did you just recommend that someone go and buy the illegal Ghibli set!? Granted that is the only way to see a bulk of the films now, but Disney at least seems to be starting to release them now... I would hope that anyone who buys the bootlegs would also get the commercial DVDs, but I know some people at least who refuse to, so. I'll shut up about it now before I get in trouble.
I would be happy to copy or lend any of my free fansubs of unreleased Ghibl films to those who want to see the movies; the quality is just bad enough that it would be necessary to buy the DVD whenever it comes out and you wouldn't be supporting a company of bootleggers. (It might seem odd for me of all people to be stomping out bootlegging, but I try to be as legit as possible when I can afford to be!)
That said, I really think Mononoke Hime and Castle in the Sky are my favorite Miyazaki films, with Nausicaa and Totoro coming in close seconds. Oh, and Castle of Caglisostro! Nausicaa is really excellent in any form, but the graphic novels expand on the story a lot, so if you like the movie you might want to check them out. I am also a big fan of the Conan: Boy in Future series and Sherlock Hound (though he only directed four episodes I think). The Miyazaki Lupin III episodes are also noticeably his work, and thus even better than regular Lupin!
And Lilo & Stitch is quite good as well :)
April 8, 2003 12:53 PM, Rick said:
>What's the worst Kondo film, you've seen Rick?
Well the worst, best and only Kondo film I've seen (and to the best of my knowledge the only one made) is Whisper of the Heart, which is super-awesome.
Eugene, by any chance do you have access to tapes of Miyazaki or Takahata's pre-Ghibli stuff?
April 8, 2003 04:02 PM, ET said:
Disney only held back on releasing Ghibli movies because the contract said that they had to wait for Ghibli to do the Japanese DVD releases before they started. I think it's because it's actually cheaper to buy American import DVDs than it is to buy local release DVDs in Japan. (Anyone can feel free to confirm this as I'm too lazy to do so.)
Anyway, I buy a lot of anime fansubs in Chinatown, but anything from Ghibli or most of the stuff from Gainax is worth getting legit if it becomes availible.
April 8, 2003 05:14 PM, Rick said:
>I think it's because it's actually cheaper to buy American import DVDs than it is to buy local release DVDs in Japan. (Anyone can feel free to confirm this as I'm too lazy to do so.)
Confirmed. DVD prices are ridiculous in Japan (I know the Eva movies were around $80) The same is true for CDs which is why Japanese versions always have bonus tracks (in order to discourage people from getting the import which would have less tracks).
April 8, 2003 06:57 PM, John said:
Also saw Cowboy Bebop the movie on Saturday.
Wonderful to see the crew onscreen, in any shape or form, but the movie was sort of stunted. Which I expected. I'm glad tho, that I held off until I could see it on the big screen and with the voice cast (which I really like, although I know Erin does not).
Other people's thoughts?
April 8, 2003 07:37 PM, Maggie said:
"Ghibli" is pronounced (roughly) "gee-blee", not "jee-blee", right?
April 8, 2003 07:56 PM, Eugene said:
In random order, some responses...
Pronunciation of Ghibli: I was at the MOMA screening of "My Neighbors the Yamadas" (thanks, N!) and one of the Disney guys who was there mentioned that it is pronounced jee-bur-ree. I think it's italian, and it means "wind"? A lot of info about Miyazaki and his work can be found at www.nausicaa.net.
Unfortunately I don't have much of Miyazaki and Takahata's pre-Ghibli work, just Panda Go Panda!, Castle of Cagliostro, Sherlock Hound, and Conan. All except Conan are available here on DVD, and I have fansubs of Conan on VHS. Other Ghibli films I have are "Whisper of the Heart," which was written by Miyazaki and is very much in his visual style, and "Ocean Waves" (aka, "I Can Hear the Sea") I have all the Takahata and Miyazaki films on DVD or VHS fansub.
BTW, if you haven't seen the Miyazaki music video "On Your Mark," you should! I do have it on tape, and there is a copy (without subtitles) on the bootleg DVD set, I believe.
And I think you are correct about the DVD releases needing to wait for the Japanese version to come out first. At least, that's what initially held up Mononoke. They had planned to release it dub-only but the fans were upset, so they delayed it six months until the Japanese DVD came out so they could release it here with the Japanese language track. Strangely enough, not only are the DVDs much cheaper here, I have heard that our releases are actually better. The Spirited Away DVD had an awful red tint in Japan, which we thankfully won't get on our discs.
Also, I agree that the Cowboy Bebop Movie was a little underwhelming. It seemed to lack something from the series - maybe the humor, or the style, or just the mystery of the TV show. I liked it, but it was not as great as I expected it to be, or as amazing as the hype indicated.
April 8, 2003 09:56 PM, Erin said:
John - I really, really like the voice cast of Cowboy Bebop. It's the Best Dub Ever, officially.
The movie had some lulls, but I really like it a lot.
April 9, 2003 12:01 AM, Agnieszka said:
> And Porco Rosso is better than Kiki--more melancholy, and no Hollywood ending.
How can you say that! Kiki's Delivery Service is one of the best movies of all time, and anyway, defintely better than Porco Rosso. Every time I see it I love it more. I like it because the plot is very sweet and there is nothing really upsetting. It's like Pipi Longstocking books in that way. Kiki's Delivery Service is also unspeakably cute. When I watch it I have to control myself not to make girly squeeky noises and hug everyone in sight. Few things have that effect on me.
Also, is Castle in the Sky the same thing as Laputa?
April 9, 2003 12:55 AM, Kerry said:
You guys are nuts. Porco Rosso is really great, better than Mononoke and Laputa. Nauscicaa is number 2, or 1 if I have seen it more recently.
April 9, 2003 02:20 AM, Eugene said:
Porco Rosso is good, but not great... I think Kiki is definitely better. BUT, Porco Rosso has a lot of cool stuff in it, so of course I like it anyway.
Laputa=Castle in the Sky (Disney is too afraid to just call it Laputa).
BTW, there is also an excellent book on Miyazaki called "Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animaton" by Helen McCarthy which reviews and analyzes all of his work, up to Princess Mononoke. I wonder if a revised edition will be forthcoming that includes Spirited Away and/or Howl's Moving Castle (I am really interested in seeing how he adapts that!)
Agnieszka, word on the street is that the novel "Kiki's Delivery Service" will be released soonish. I think there are probably many differences from the film, but if you really like it that much... :)
April 9, 2003 09:58 AM, ET said:
The English translation of Kiki's Delivery Service is already out. This is the book that the Ghibli movie was based on. The cover is incredibly ugly, but I understand that the original illustrations (not Miyazaki) are intact inside the book.
Also, it turns out that the Fox dub of My Neighbor Tortoro is the Best Dub Ever. They captured the movie perfectly and get bonus points for getting a kiddie flick right. It's relatively easy to do action-adventure. Getting the far more delicate nuances and emotional complexities of Tortoro right without going into American saccharine overdrive is much harder. Tortoro wins.
According to Nausicaa.net, Ghibli means "hot wind blowing through the Sahara Desert" and ties into Miyazaki's airplane obsession. It is a really excellent fansite.
April 9, 2003 11:57 AM, Erin said:
Alright alright, Top Five Miyazaki movies:
1. Totoro
2. Nausicaa
3. Kiki's
4. (spot reserved for Laputa)
5. Monoke
April 9, 2003 05:05 PM, Sam said:
It's funny that even before this post actually gets posted, it already has 20 comments.
Oops, 21 now.
April 9, 2003 06:30 PM, Rick said:
1.My Neighbor Totoro
2.Laputa
3.Nausicaa
4.Kiki's Delivery Service
5.The Whale HuntI only picked movies directed by him, otherwise Takahata projects he worked on and series he's worked on would have made the list. I also choose The Whale Hunt to be an elitist prick.
April 9, 2003 11:10 PM, thecomicman said:
Laputa means "the bitch" or "the whore" in Spanish. perhaps this is why Disney opted to go with an English title.
also, 'Cowboy Bebop: The Movie' is great! in fact, it's the sixth best movie of 2001. and i agree with Erin that it has the Best Dub Ever TM.
April 10, 2003 12:13 AM, Halifax said:
Although I'm sure everyone already knows this, for the record: Laputa is the flying city from Gulliver's Travels, which Swift named The Whore to be a foul-mouthed jerk.
1. Laputa
2. Nausicaa
3. Totoro
4. The dream sequence from Whisper of the Heart
5. Castle of Cagliostro
April 10, 2003 03:23 PM, Eugene said:
1. Princess Mononoke / Laputa (tie)
2. My Neighbor Totoro
3. Kiki's Delivery Service
4. Nausicaa
5. Castle of CagliostroOK, so I cheated. It's so hard to rank these...
April 14, 2003 01:40 PM, anonymous dude said:
bah thought this needed correcting, better late than never. horus: the little norse prince was directed by takahata, not miyazaki. i'm not sure what exactly that meant in 1968 but it's a difference that's worth a hell of a lot when talking about anything post-ghibli.
top miyazaki films:
laputa
kiki
mononoke
the whale hunt
chihiro
[havent seen porco rosso yet]as for the "short" which someone mentioned that is in the illegal ghibli set, i believe it's in fact the "on your mark" music video for j-band, chage and aska.
top five works by miyazaki, hands down:
nausicaa [manga]
future boy conan [still have yet to see the ending though]
laputa
the return of hans [manga]
shuna no tabi [manga]top five takahata films:
horus
gorsh the cellist
panda kopanda
pon poko [ha]
only yesterday
[havent seen yanagawa's canals, chie the brat, or the yamadas]top five takahata works:
horus
heidi, girl of the alps
3,000 leagues in search of mother
gorsch
panda kopanda
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