Hayao Miyazaki

Tue Jun 21, 2005 6:40 pm

I have a question for anyone who has seen at least three of Miyazaki's or Studio Ghibli's movies. The question is this: which is your favorite? I'm trying to decide which one I want to rent tonight (if my parents let me) because I wanted to see Howl's Moving Castle, but my parents are going to be out and about and can't take me. So, if you have suggestions, I'd like to hear them.

Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:17 pm

I've only watched "Spirited Away" and I absolutely loved it. I'm not too fond of anime but this definately a must-see movie. You most likely have seen it, if you have, I'd go for Howl's Moving Castle.

Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:55 pm

Spirited Away, definitely. I've seen every other Miyazaki movie except Nausicaa and My Neighbor Totoro. The others are pretty good, but Spirited Away is my all time favorite. If you can, get it on DVD so you can watch it in Japanese with the English subtitles. It makes more sense than the dubbed version. -hiss- BOO DUBBING!

I want to see Howl's Moving Castle....I think we're going for my friend's birthday, which is in a week...-sigh-

Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:56 pm

Hooray for subtitles! I think I may rent Spirited Away, and definitely watch it in Japanese. All my friends are opposed to this, but they change the words drastically when they dub it.

Tue Jun 21, 2005 10:13 pm

I've seen some, but forgot about some too. XD

Spirited Away is definitely the best. If you make a topic like this, we'd think you'd watch the movie. I watched this too many times (in 3 languages: chinese, japanese, and english).

The only other one I watched and remember very clearly is Nausicaa. There's the manga which a lot of other people read (meh), and it's weird. Weirder than Spirited Away.

Castle of the Sky I watched for 15 minutes.

I also watched Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service, but I forgot how it was like.

I never heard of Howl's Moving Castle. *adds it to the netflix queue* XD

Tue Jun 21, 2005 10:26 pm

I've read the first half of the Nausicaa manga, and I thought it was really good O.o Laputa (Castle in the Sky) was very odd, and I have to watch that in Japanese to see if it makes more sense.

Heck, if you feel like sobbing your eyes out, get Grave of the Fireflies. That was also very good, although it was REALLY sad.

Wed Jun 22, 2005 12:27 am

I've seen Pricess Mononoke, which I'm suprised no one has mentioned, I saw Spirited Away in the theaters. It was fantastic! I started to watch Castle in the Sky, but fell asleep due to staying up all night. I'd have to say I liked Spirited Away the best.

Post 350!!!

Wed Jun 22, 2005 4:28 am

I liked Totoro best, I thought Spirited Away was...meh.

Wed Jun 22, 2005 5:11 am

I loved Spirited Away, and you really should watch it in Japanese. It's so much more natural, and the voices aren't strained. The actress who plays Chihiro in the dub has hardly any emotion because she talked so quickly.

I really need to see the other ones, though. I'm particularly interested in Kiki's Delivery Service and Castle in the Sky.

Tue Jun 28, 2005 4:25 am

rent any of these:

Spirited Away
Princess Mononoke
Castle in the Sky

STAY AWAY FROM:

Kiki's Delivery Service (it was the worse display of miyazaki-san's talent and was waaaay too childish. if your a five year old girl then get it if not don't bother! you have been warned)

Tue Jun 28, 2005 12:15 pm

TheShootingStar wrote:STAY AWAY FROM:

Kiki's Delivery Service (it was the worse display of miyazaki-san's talent and was waaaay too childish. if your a five year old girl then get it if not don't bother! you have been warned)

Well, I have to say Panda Kopanda (of Takahta-san) and Totoro are much more childish than Kiki. Yet I enjoy all of them as much as the titles you recommended.

I really cannot see the point of dismissing a movie completely just because it is aimed at children. To me, the only thing that matters is the quality of the movie itself, be it a children movie or an adult one. If I am in a position to make an assessment, I would focus on the presentation of the story, the development of the characters, the way the plot unfolds, the level of details, etc, rather than the target audience of the movie.

In fact, there are quite a lot of underlying messages in Kiki, esp on self-actualization and interpersonal relationship. And according to Miyazaki-san, he made the movie for "young working adults that are torn between freedom and dependence" (instead of 5-year-old girls, unless they are preparing to live on themselves). Any Ghibli fan site has tonnes of info on these, so I am not gonna go deep into them. But anyway the best way to know more about the movie is to put down your predjudice, open your heart, and spend some time to watch it again seriously.

Okay back to the topic...

Base wrote:I have a question for anyone who has seen at least three of Miyazaki's or Studio Ghibli's movies. The question is this: which is your favorite? I'm trying to decide which one I want to rent tonight (if my parents let me) because I wanted to see Howl's Moving Castle, but my parents are going to be out and about and can't take me. So, if you have suggestions, I'd like to hear them.

I have watched all of the Miyazaki feature movies, and I would recommend Spirited Away to anyone who is new to his movie works. It is a charming and imaginative film that can appeal to audience of any age and any background.

My personal favourite is Kiki. You will love it (as well as Totoro) if you like stories about life experiences. But if actions and excitement are more of your taste, you may consider the epic titles of Nausicaa and Mononoke, or intense movies like Cagliostro and Laputa.

Wed Jun 29, 2005 10:11 pm

I

Kiki's Delivery Service.

It's one of my favorites. I think I like Spirited Away best, though. The last one we watched was Porco Rosso. I really recommend that.

We have plans to watch Nausicaa soon and are trying to catch Howl's Moving Castle.

Thu Jun 30, 2005 2:24 am

Spirited Away is best, but Howl's Moving Castle gives it a run for its money! Howl's is Miyazaki's latest, and MAN is it good! I loved it! The plot, the characters, the humor, the creativity: Fifty billion thumbs up. If you can see this film, please do!!!!

Thu Jun 30, 2005 8:13 pm

Christopher wrote:I liked Totoro best, I thought Spirited Away was...meh.

While I've have to disagree with Chris on Spirited Away, I too liked Totoro the best.

Cat-bus!

Thu Jun 30, 2005 11:03 pm

Totoro I watched when I was 5, and forgot about it until now when Chanel said, "CATBUS!" That soooo reminded me.

Kiki's Delivery Service was pretty ok. She was a bit stcuk up for the middle part of the movie.

Princess Mononoke is reaaaallllyyyy good. A bit bloody, but good...

Spirited Away was the best!!!