More Miyazaki/Ghibli out in the US

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 5:17 am

Don't know if everyone noticed:

Nausicaa
Porco Rosso
The Cat Returns

All out on double DVD today (er, I guess yesterday...I'm up a bit late!) Best Buy has them for $17.99. The Cat Returns is definitely a strange choice since its the sequel to Wispers of the Heart which hasn't been released in the US yet.

Anyway, I figure everyone here has either seen or needs to see nausicaa, and owning a nice print of it with a band new shiny dub can't be a bad thing either.

mannerbot · Post by **mannerbot** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 7:18 am

How are the other films? I'll probably wind up buying all of them when I get some extra cash just to have a complete collection, but then I'd rather not waste money in doing so.

Post by **Ghegs** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 8:19 am

Meh, Nausicaa. I always thought that was horribly boring.

I liked The Cat Returns. 'Twas a cute story.

greg · Post by **greg** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 7:30 pm

Whoah! Neko no Ongaishi... The Cat Returns. I didn't expect this to come out on DVD so soon. But it's strange that they didn't also release it's pseudo-prequel, Mimi Wo Sumaseba. I think the English Title is Whispers of the Heart. That's one of my favorites.

Porco Rosso (Kurenai no Buta) is a really great movie. It's about a man who is cursed into becoming a pig, and he's a mercenary pilot in 1920's Italy, during the rise of fascism.

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 6:19 am

Ghegs wrote:Meh, Nausicaa. I always thought that was horribly boring.

I liked The Cat Returns. 'Twas a cute story.

Good lord! There's at least half a dozen shooters with imagery inspired from Nausicaa, never mind so much modern anime.

I can't see writing off nausicaa (though the manga is better), but if nothing else it was a terribly influential film.

Honestly, I love about ever film from Ghibli, so I am not going to have anything negative to say--but Porco Rosso and Nausicaa are Miyazaki at the top of his form, and Nausicaa is essential for anyone who considers themselves a fan of anime (IE, it is historically important).

Really, I'm surprised, about the only significant film by Miyazaki that doesn't have a GOOD DVD presentation is Totoro--there is a fullscreen version with no original language options, but it seems they will eventually fix this problem. Over all I'm impressed that Disney (mostly due to the insistance of John Lasseter) has really come through on bringing the bulk of Miyazaki's work to DVD in perfect form. Would be nice to have a reissue of Mononke with a better print though...

mannerbot · Post by **mannerbot** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 6:29 am

Nausicaa is definitely at the top of my to-buy list now. I think I will collect them all now, actually.

I couldn't have seen it getting any better than Laputa, but man... I sure did like Nausicaa.

Post by **Ghegs** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 9:58 am

CMoon wrote:Nausicaa is essential for anyone who considers themselves a fan of anime (IE, it is historically important).

A movie/game/song/whatever can be important to the development of that particular sub-culture but that doesn't mean everyone has to like it. Just like with Nausicaa, I recognize Ikaruga and Radiant Silvergun are of great importance to the shmup genre and are games of the highest quality, but I don't really like them myself.

It's a very slippery slope to say "you HAVE to enjoy this or you're not a true fan of _____".

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 10:41 am

Ehh, the term "essential" was used there in reference to having watched the movie rather having enjoyed the movie, the key point being the appended "i.e. historically significant." Id est means "that is" and "historically significant" can substitute the original description to form the phrase "Nausicaa is significantly important."

And as for whether the Nausicaa movie is of actual anime importance, well...many would probably agree that a Miyazaki film is a must for the diehard anime enthusiast to watch just as a Gundam and Dragon Ball series are also musts.

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 1:30 pm

Yeah Ghegs, this is exactly what I mean--historically important. I mean, I am SURPRISED that fans of the genre don't like it, especially with the shmuppy bits in it, but I was surprised when Mononoke came out and anime fans were dismissing it too. I DO hate the idea of 'if you don't like X you can't be a fan'...how many of us would get kicked off this forum for not liking R-Type???

I don't know about a lot of other Miyazaki's work being influential because he's really painted himself into his own distinct corner and although he (and Ghibli) still makes great films, they do not feel influential the way Nausicaa and Laputa clearly were when they came out in the mid 80's.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 1:59 pm

I love Miyazaki movies and I can't wait to see Nausicaa. However, if you enjoy the movie, I highly recommend checking out the Nausicaa manga. I read some of the manga. The art is amazingly detailed and the story is epic.

benstylus · Post by **benstylus** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 2:48 pm

Ganelon wrote:And as for whether the Nausicaa movie is of actual anime importance, well...many would probably agree that a Miyazaki film is a must for the diehard anime enthusiast to watch just as a Gundam and Dragon Ball series are also musts.

Sorry, but I just can't think of any serious anime enthusiast who considers Dragon Ball (in any of its various incarnations) must see anime. I find that most enthusiasts recognize how popular it is, and they may like it themselves, but it's on the same "basic anime" level as Sailor Moon and Pokémon.

greg · Post by **greg** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 8:06 pm

I agree. Dragonball is a "must avoid" in my book. It falls under the "terribly popular, yet inane drivel" category for me.

As for other Ghibli movies, I never really cared for Heisei Tanuki Gassen Pom Poko. I'm trying to think of the English title for this... probably Tanuki Wars or something. This movie just makes me fall asleep. My wife is Japanese, and even she can't appreciate the movie. However, we really enjoy other Ghibli movies like I Can Hear the Sea and Only Yesterday, whereas I'm sure many people on this board wouldnt care for them. I think I've mentioned the correct English titles... I'm used to the Japanese titles by nowthat I have to remember the English titles like Spirited Away.

Jon · Post by **Jon** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 9:18 pm

greg wrote:I agree. Dragonball is a "must avoid" in my book. It falls under the "terribly popular, yet inane drivel" category for me.

I couldn't agree more, I think the key word you used that really hit home for me was "inane." Granted, this show and others like it seemed to be aimed at children but dear god man! Stupidity abound! Oh well, I seriously doubt I got anything beneficial out all the hours I put in watching Voltron and He-Man. Unfortunately, chances are fairly large that the casual TV viewers main exposure to anime has been due to the enormous popularity of these shows. Maybe I shouldn't be to suprised when some of my friends seem reluctant to even give anime a chance.

To get back on topic. For once the release of the newest Miyazaki flick fell in sync pretty well with my payday. As a result I got to pick up all three DVDs. Hooray!

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 10:06 pm

I really don't see much of Nausicaa's influence being spread besides its cinematic style and interaction. And its singlesided nature theme doesn't even beat Mononoke in that regard, which focused on at least on conflict and ended in uncertainty the more senseless in that the manga version supposedly spanned over a decade and did have those conflicts in place.

I respect those who enjoy this much-abridged movie since it is motivating and epic but it's hard for me to think of the movie as that great when I know some of what it could have been.

DBZ is definitely must-see since without it, you wouldn't understand the inspiration to so many other movies. It's like needing to watch Getter Robo to understand how super robots originated or Hokuto no Ken to see where "blur fighting" came from. It seems you all have misinterpreted my point as well: that DBZ was incredibly influential. Just because you can't stand it doesn't mean it's any less so; on the contrary, it means that you've WATCHED it so that you could form an opinion on it. Any diehard anime fan who hasn't seen DBZ would be a joke since he/she would be missing one of the shapers of modern action/fighting anime.

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 10:17 pm

Nausicaa is definitely a little difficult when you've read the manga first. I will say however it stands as a better adaptation than most, even given that it doesn't even cover all of the first 2 (of 4) books of nausicaa--and realistically it is very dumbed down from the manga. That said, it is still amazingly epic and deep. Given a chance to divorce the two, the film does stand up very well on its own.

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 2:34 am

greg wrote:Dragonball is a "must avoid" in my book. It falls under the "terribly popular, yet inane drivel" category for me.

Huh, even the original Dragon Ball series? I can understand hate for Z and GT, but the original was so lighthearted and fun.

Anyways, I still think Miyazaki's best is Castle in the Sky. Yup, better than Princess Mononoke.

Never seen Nausicaa, can't wait for it!

greg · Post by **greg** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 7:20 am

Yeah, I guess the original Dragonball was okay...

Anyhow, what's the dub like for Nausicaa? Decent? My first introduction to the movie was the terrible hack-job "Warriors of the Wind" with the voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel (literally) for Nausicaa (aka "Princess Zandra" in that version).

I can't wait to see Howl's Moving Castle. My mother-in-law in Japan sent us a picture pamphlet for the movie, and it looks real cool. It's going back to the steampunk industrial-revolution era flying machines like Laputa... classic Miyazaki stuff. I love that sort of Miyazaki so much, with the brilliant flying machine designs. The Ghibli museum had plenty of cool steampunk flying machines and military weapons on display.

I imagine Howl's Moving Castle will likely be released in the theaters domestically. I'd rather Disney just skip to the chase and release it directly to DVD, since they always set the Ghibli movies up to fail in the box office anyway since they're evil bastards.

Minzoku · Post by **Minzoku** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 9:41 am

Hmm, I liked Dragonball initially because they never resurrected Dragon Quest ["Dragon Warrior"] after its cancellation...

and that was a sort of satiation for a while...

[on second thought, soapbox portion removed... nothing good can come of that]

I have The Cat Returns now, and I'm looking forward to seeing it. Haven't yet, because we saw Constantine tonight, and I'm a bit movied out at the moment. Gotta get some game time in, after all

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 9:45 am

Minzoku, you saw that one? I thought I was the only one who ever had the chance to see it outside of Japan, since in Mexico we got it as a filler while the station found something else to put in that time slot.

It's the one about a boy who lived in a monster island with a winged golden slime, right? And he could project a dragon-like mark on his forehead and he had great powers. And.. they cut it abruptly after he dives in a lake to consult with someone in some sort of temple. And then no one knew what the &^%$#@! happened.

Minzoku · Post by **Minzoku** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 1:07 pm

Starring these folks, right?

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 8:51 pm

HHmm. Oddly enough, not. The series I saw was definitely Dragon Quest-related, as it had the words "Dragon Quests ' " (Apostrophe and all) above some Kanji. Spain also got it as "The Adventures of Fly" and it was Akira Toriyama's design all right. And it sadly got cut in the middle of the storyline, with a stupid *&%^$-ass ending.

Edit:

http://marina.fortunecity.com/westsound/320/fly.htm

http://www.animedia.com.mx/animecomics/ ... y/fly.html

This is it. Dragon Quest Dai No Daboiken.