Posted on 02/17/2012 6:55:56 AM PST by C19fan
As the projectors warm up in U.S. theaters today, 1300 of them are being prepped to pass the latest animated release from Japanese animation powerhouse Studio Ghibli through their lenses. While that's fewer than half the number of screens that will host each of this week's other two wide releases (Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and This Means War), it's a significant number: Disney, the company responsible for distributing Ghibli releases in the United States, has never opened one of the Studio Ghibli's films on nearly as many screens. While past titles like Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke have been blockbusters overseas, they've been modestly successful limited releases here. With The Secret World of Arrietty, Disney appears confident this is the film that will break Studio Ghibli's distinctive style of animation beyond its niche audience.
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
PS - I wouldn’t know ANY of these things, or even be remotely familiar with them if it weren’t for my children. They loved all kinds of Japanimation and related subjects due to Sailor Moon, Card Captors, Digimon, Pokemon, etc... (you get the point, LOL). 3 of my 4 daughters are artists, so I’ve been surrounded by anime and manga for over a decade now!
I definitely appreciate the more unique and artistically beautiful films like Miyazaki and Takahata’s films, but my knowledge is pretty limited to those. :)
One of my favorites was “Only Yesterday”. Very emotional ending...
I’ll pass along the titles to my daughters - I’m sure they’ll greatly appreciate the suggestions! They will also be jealous that you’ve lived in Japan! :)
Yeah, but when beer costs @$2 a can and a head of lettuce is @$4, there’s not much to love about Japan, lol.
Some real other rare and good anime that I like are “Planetes,” “Ashita no Joe,” “Patlabor,” any of the old Rumiko Takahashi like “Urusei Yatsura,” and any of the old anime is really great like “Touch” and “Yawara” and such.
Great stuff.
The manga is one of my favourite comic series of all time. Fantastic story telling and the art looks like he chained himself to a desk for 20 hours a day, just fantastic.
If anyone only knows Nausicaa from the movie they should check out the comic, it expands that world radically in scope, especially plot and characterization. One of my favourite depictions of a truly good person in Nausicaa, as well as all the characters that get some form of redemption.
Freegards
I love Totoro. Somehow I always forget that one. The cat bus is genius.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.