Studio Ghibli
I love Japanese animation. It hurts me that for many people it's just "funny Chinese cartoons", as my friend says. If you think about anime, you only have the image of the Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball, you don’t even know what you're missing.
Animation is often unfairly discriminated against. Because "childish". Childish? When I hear such a comment from someone who laughed at the Hangover (I was also laughing, but it's not the point), he never saw the “Waltz with Bashir”, but he boldly assumes that if production is animated, then it is addressed automatically to the younger audience. I know dozens of drawing and fully computerized productions, which show a far better level of the great majority of American cinematography - but to some people you just don’t speak to the sense.
This doesn’t mean that everyone must love this style. Simply - it's worth trying instead of raving about the fact that you don’t like something that you don’t really have a clue about it. And if the form is more important to you than the content ... well, I will not convince you in this situation. But if you are prejudiced against the anime and you don’t know why, if by some miracle you have never seen any of Ghibli's production (is it possible?). Then watching them is probably the best way to turn any opponent into a die-hard fan. I still haven’t looked at all of the studio's films myself, but I'm going to catch up quickly. Really worth!
PS - Remember: watch only in the original language version, with subtitles. You can see the version with dubbing latter, but I’m pretty sure that you will probably hate it.
“Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind” ( Hayao Miyazaki, 1984)
Formally, it isn’t the production of Studio Ghibli, which was founded only in 1985, but is usually mentioned together with other films. This is a foretaste of what will be developed later in “Princess Mononoke”- these two images are always in my mind together.
“Nausicaa” is a position that will probably delight fans of" Princess Mononoke ". It contains a similar pro-ecological reflection and expressive figure of a strong princess who wants to save what is precious to her. She is more sympathetic than San.
The Valley of the Wind is an enclave in which people try to live in harmony with the toxic, dominant nature. They don’t fight her, but they try to function next door without trying to take control. This peaceful attitude is opposed to the expansive approach of invaders who behave like a typical white man and destroy everything that can be destroyed. The forest is just as amazing as in "Mononoke" - just like there, it is the arena of the action of enormous forces (although for other reasons) and it is a sacred space, covered by taboos. "Nausicaa” is an attempt to say more clearly what "Laputa" only suggests - that all expansion is always associated with destruction, that the best is living in harmony with the surrounding ecosystem. It is impossible not to agree - the picture can be recommended to older children but also to every adult. It is never too late to learn and learn.
“Castle in the Sky” or “ Laputa” (Hayao Miyazaki, 1986)
This unpretentious and charming story is intended for the younger viewer, but I personally didn’t get bored during the watching. Although there is some lack of depth here, the adventures of Sheeta and Pazu are very in Ghibli style - in the world of hard rules imposed by imageless adults, two children discover that dreams and determination can work wonders.
Laputa itself is an amazing place - seemingly only based on magic, in fact using a mysterious, desirable source of energy.
I once wondered what attracts me most to Miyazaki and I came to the conclusion that this is a very pacifist dimension of his history. War - every war - is evil, stemming from the desire for domination and possession, liberating the lowest instincts. I can’t agree more.
“My Neighbor Totoro” (Hayao Mizayaki, 1988)
Classic. The story of two girls who become friends with magical creatures after arriving in the countryside, have been entertaining and moving for years. Miyazaki, unrivaled in terms of modern fairy tales, leaves no doubt who is the king of Japanese animation. Although it is a film intended for children, it belongs to the genre of those that can be seen by the whole family with undisguised pleasure. While Disney went to sugar ... more sugar ... beautiful princesses and brave princes, Studio Ghibli seemed to have stood guard over another thought: amazing things can happen to anyone with an imagination. I like many classic Disney animations, but there is a huge gap between them and Japanese productions. And I don’t have to add on which side of this precipice I stand. And yes, I know that the co-producer and distributor of Totoro in the USA was Disney.
When somebody ask me about my favorite Miyazaki movie I will remain forever “Spirited Away” but I have to say that Totoro has made me very tender and has created a very childish admiration. Totoro, despite being charming, is grinning in a smile like the Cheshire Cat and looks like he was on the verge of madness. Somewhere out of the thick fur lurks the crazy euphoria, the untamed forces of nature, which force life to pierce the surface of the seeds and explode in the form of green stems above the ground. Looking at this friendly King of the Forest, it's easy to forget how powerful element of the world he represents and what he could do to defend what he protects.
Like many other pictures by master Hayao, Totoro also hides a pro-ecological message: the perfect world is the one in which people can live in harmony with nature, treat it not as an opponent, but as a natural element of the world, indispensable for their survival. Miyazaki cries out for respect for what is not created by the hand of a man, for the ability to co-exist.
“Princess Mononoke” (Hayao Miyazaki, 1997)
Probably the most popular Studio animation. Perhaps one of the most popular Japanese animations in general.
What is dazzling the most in “Princess Mononoke” is the forest - full of mythical creatures, magic, clashing powerful forces of Nature. A holy place that for someone listening to its sounds and feeling its rhythm is like a temple of nature. The epicenter of the world from which comes the power holding everything in balance.
A barbarian man breaks into this space of the sacred, destroying everything that will stand in his way in the name of satisfying his needs. Interestingly - and characteristic of Miyazaki's creations - the destructor's motivation isn’t devoid of logic. It is close to what we do. There is no black and white here - Mrs. Eboshi doesn’t want to destroy the forest, to enjoy his defeat (well, maybe a little), but for the sake of his people. Man tears the ground piece by piece, destroys it and cuts it with machines, but he does it all to survive. To be able to live peacefully and safely. Damnation is carried out only by the method, the way that the villagers choose: they don’t negotiate, they don’t seek peaceful solutions, they can only steal and kill.
Attacking the forest isn’t just a fight for new territory and the possibility of survival: it is also a war with the mythical order of things. For the victory to be full, the gods of the old world must die: too ancient and too foreign to let modern man worship them. How will it end? Check it out yourself. Studio Ghibli doesn’t promise a happy ending.
These are just a few titles for the beginning. Studio Ghibli have so many animations that I decided to share this post on several parts. About my favourite movies I will write in next post.
Have a good weekend all Steemers!
Hey @ anaerwu, I also a japanese animation fan. I love Japanese Animation.
They were wrong, they have so much difference between japanese and chinese cartoon. People who said that must be never watched japanese animation before.
You was right, japanese animation must watch in original language with subtitle. If not, the whole meaning would gone. I experience it before, because of no japanese version, i watched the translated version and it didn't turn out well. After that, I told myself if didn't have the original version, just forget about it.
Thank you for the short summary of some of the animation. I only watched "My Neighbor Totoro" from your above list. I need to find the others introduced by you. Hope I still able to find it.
I also have several movie to watch but sometimes they hard to find. I’m glad that you find my post about anime interesting.
@anaerwu, It really interesting and luckily you share with us. I love Japanese anime and comic also. hehehe
Soon I will write part two 😊
You are quite right in what you describe, in fact, in many occasions we can find deeper and better ideas elaborated in an anime than in some Hollywood blockbuster. Personally, I see anime, but only represents 5% of all the audiovisual material I consume, but not because I think it is bad or childish, but because the performances are some of the things I like the most, I feel that sometimes the actors are the ones who they introduce me to the plot. On the other hand, it is also true that a bad performance could ruin a movie, and that unlike many movies in conventional format, the anime sometimes has a previous manga, and with characters that have hidden stories that justify their personality, their fears and motivations.
I had already heard about the Princess Mononoke before, although I have not had the pleasure of seeing it. However, I will add it to my list with the others, to see them on occasion.
@vimukthi also sees anime, and sometimes makes very good recommendations about it, I recommend you take a look at his blog.
Thank you for your opinion and recommendation. I'm really happy that my post has been worth reading.
Thanks for sharing!
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Hi anaerwu,
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I don't watch any movies at all, and the only one I have heard of on your list is My Neighbor Totoro. My son used to watch this on repeat when he was young and loved it. He watched it before he could read the subtitles and I can still hear the Japanese!