Obsession: Studio Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki Films

Okay, I'm not just jumping the bandwagon here, I actually have loved and do love anime. It comes from a lifetime of brothers who love anime and all things of that particular Asian genre. Yes, I have watched 'Akira' and 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' and all the old-school 'Gundam'. I'm trying to get into 'Bleach' and some of the other newer stuff that's out. But, what I know I love are the films of Hayao Miyazaki.

Okay, I'm jus going to say it right now: Hayao Miyazaki is a freakin' artistic genius. Yes, his amount of work isn't staggaring like some but it's the quality that is amazing, but his talent and his loyalty to realism and form is what makes every one of his films an absolute treasure.

I recently decided to add full length films on to iRving (my iPhone). Sitting in front of Percival (my computer) I contemplated just which movies I would deem worthy enough of, well, in all true reality, taking to bed with me. See, I like being comfortable and I'm an insomniac so putting movies on iRving makes total sense (which makes me kind of wonder why I hadn't done it sooner, but that's besides the point): I can watch movies in the comfort and warmth of my bed and it would put me to sleep! I thought of what I wanted and what I really and truly liked as Limewire loaded and my mind raced to my three ultimate favorite films: 'Spirited Away', 'Kiki's Delivery Service', and 'Princess Mononoke'.

So I searched, downloaded, converted, and finally downloaded 'Spirited Away' on to iRving. Happily skipping off to bed, I snuggled in and watched, so captured into the movie that I didn't fall asleep until about twenty minutes before the ending, right after Chihiro and Haku leave Zaniba's and Chihiro reveals to Haku his real name. I fell asleep dreaming of the movie and when I woke up I rolled over, unplugged iRving, and picked up the movie where I left off. And I was so excited when I finished the movie to go and download the other Studio Ghibli movies that I almost forgot about the other errands had to do.

Tonight's Miyazaki film du jour was supposed to be 'Princess Mononoke'. But no, the idiot who ripped the DVD didn't rip it properly so the sound and picture weren't in sync and then about twenty minutes in the movie starts to skip and fuzz. Dammit. So here I am, discussing Miyazaki films instead of actually watching one.

There are so many things that I love about Miyazaki films, and I know myself and I am extremely picky about what I like. The animation is superb and very specific: Miyazaki picks up on acutal human idiosyncracies and animates these movements, never cutting corners when most animations do. Also, his (what I call) miniature characters are simply adorable: Boh's mouse form, Yubbaba's raven in fly form, Kamaji's sootballs, Kiki's cat, the kodoma in 'Mononoke-hime'. The storytelling is also terrific, something akin to a modern day Aesop. Really, it's true when you go to dissect his films: the fallacies of pollution in the instance of the old river spirit in 'Spirited Away' or the fallacies of over-industrialization in 'Mononoke-hime'. The soundtracking is breathtaking and, overall, the films turn out better than most live-action crapfests that plague our theatres today.

Okay, enough of me. I'm gonna go watch 'Spirited Away' again.