To joint the festivities of Foo’s reviews, I’ll pitch in along. Andrea recently bought a Studio Ghibli collection, a myriad of their anime productions. We sat down and watched three of them for starters. I’ll do them in chronological order.
Laputa: Castle in the Sky (Tenku no shiro Rapyuta) 1986
Air pirates, military, secret agents, young heroes and kooky sidekicks are the norm for this flick. Set in a era where WWI - WWII infrastructures are the general building blocks, it tells of the hidden origins of a little girl with a very powerful gem in a necklace. She’s pursued by pirates, military and agents alike and is helped by a young boy from a mining town. Pretty soon they find that their destiny lies in the legendary floating castle; Laputa, which happens to be more that it is.
One thing though that I’ve discovered watching anime, is that you can’t think of it as anime but rather a full length film. Then you’ll pay attention and understand the twists and turns and plots fully. I blame the cartoon network on pavloving us into 15 mins short toons with a bunch of ads in the middle.
Laputa starts off moderately slow, setting the scene for the little girl and boy. Pretty soon their paths intertwine and then the adventure kicks off. Air travel is shown here as the major focus of warfare and is very mechanized. There is comedy here as well as some weird pedophile moments that Japanese animes have. (Search for Kiki’s Delivery Service). However the flow of the plot is solid and normal. I would recommend this if you’ve got time to burn.
Princess Mononoke (Mon0noke Hime) 1997
Ever watched Naruto? How one fight scene stretches across two full episodes? I reckon Naruto took the evolution of the slow rate of pace from Princess Monon0ke. But, it’s valid for this particular film. Parts of slow, scene setting sequences are broken up by furious, violent, gory action. Well, gory for 1997 that is. Princess Mononoke actually centers around the attempts of a young prince in understanding his destiny in a world where gods and human live on equal grounds. Gods take the physical forms of animals and humans are featured in a setting of feudal Japan. Magic and technology are at contrasting odds.
The subtle implementation of human ambition and destruction of the environment is thrust upon us. Technology, survival, evolution and ambition as the core human traits is depicted in Princess Mononoke. The young prince however struggles to bring only peace to both sides. To me, this show depicts the seriousness of actions and decisions. Unlike some 1/2 hour comedy on HBO, there is no do over. Repeat after me… there is NO do over. Unlike a sitcom where everything gets fixed and hunky dory as well as a lesson of morality learned at the end of the 1/2 hour, Princess Mononoke depicts the profound repercussions of decisions made. Nothing is taken lightly here. This is a breath of fresh air, knowing that once you’ve decided you’re committed. These are the day that you mean what you say and you say what you mean.
The animation is superb for a ‘97. The flow and fluidity of the background and foreground is excellent. The peripheral animation does not look imprinted but rather drawn with love and focus. I shan’t say much of the plot, for ever subtle aspect of the film affects the plot in the end. So, if you’ve got some time to burn, watch this.. if you don’t have time to burn, make time and watch this.
THE KODAMA IS WATCHING YOU!
I think I’m done for now. Next up… Porco Rosso!
and you aren’t even on MSN..
