Kaguya-Hime is the first feature film from Isao Takahata in 14 years, and it is his fifth film for Studio Ghibli.  Takahata, who was never the machine that Miyazaki was in terms of production, is the [...]
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A Kickstarter campaign to fund an English release of Mai Mai Shinko to Sennen no Mahou (Mai Mai Miracle) has just gone live.  This is a film that has gone somewhat unnoticed outside of Japan due to [...]
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My Neighbor Totoro  was Hisaishi's third score for Miyazaki and a bit of a divergence for the composer.  Compared to his previous two scores for Studio Ghibli, which accompanied large-scale adventure [...]
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Hosoda Mamoru appears to have secured a comfortable position in the hierarchy of current anime directors, being given the opportunity to helm film after film for the past several years, beginning [...]
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Reviewing the film that has been called Miyazaki's swan song was never going to be an easy task.  Trying to approach it in an objective manner is difficult, as the experience will invariably be influenced by the impulse to compare them the greatest films of Studio Ghibli and of Miyazaki himself.  One must accept, of course, that times have changed, people have changed, and it is unreasonable to expect similarity when the circumstances have become so different.  And yet, the comparison can't be avoided.  So I will begin this article by attempting to answer the obvious question: how does Wind Rises compare to Miyazaki's beloved works of earlier years?.....
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I decided to give Mizu Iro Jidai a look based primarily on a hope that it may resemble a certain kind of series which has produced a lot of my sentimental favourites – that is, shows from the 80s and [...]
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    Here I will be providing better subtitles for episodes 40-51 of Kodocha as .srt files.  As the licensed Kodocha DVDs are out of production, online fansubs will soon be the only way to get the series, and the current subtitles for episodes 40-51 are simply too horrible for me to accept, particularly for a series I have a rather strong sentimental affection for.  Sadly, fansubs can’t be passed on to friends, siblings, children, or nephews/nieces quite as easily as …
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Sample: Ashitaka Sekki (Legend of Ashitaka) A film like Princess Mononoke must surely be every composer's dream - a story with a truly grand scope, powerful conflicts of ideology, several overarching themes and several interesting, recurring characters. Such content would certainly provide an endless stream of inspiration for bolder musical themes, motifs, and avenues for development within a score as opposed to the more intimate, personal works Hisaishi had scored for Ghibli leading up to the mid-90s. The work most.....
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Hotarubi no Mori e is based on one of the earlier works of Midorikawa Yuki, a mangaka primarily known for her more recent Natsume Yuujinchou – a series that I often hold as an example of commercial success falling upon a work that truly deserves it.  Natsume Yuujinchou is part of a relatively rare breed in the world of televised anime – a series that can be enjoyed by any viewer of any age, does not fall back on cliches …
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In the past months, I have been gradually combing through lists of standalone anime films in the hope of stumbling upon hidden gems, a process which becomes tedious rather quickly.  It is only the occasional discoveries of films like Junkers Come Here that continue to push me back on track when the effort becomes tiresome.  While anime series often build cult followings, it seems more common for anime films to fade into history unless associated with…
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