Aspies For Freedom

Anyone a Ghibli fan here? Like any of the things made by Miyazaki, Takahara, etc.? Then this is the place to discus your favorite films & so on.

Yes, a REALLY big fan.  My favorite to film makers, right there ^^.  Oooh, speaking of discussing favorite Ghibli films, has anyone seen The Cat Returns?

I am a fan of Studio Ghibli movies. Its hard to pick a favourite but I really like Nausicaa. I really need to by them all on DVD.

I have never seen The Cat Returns unfortunately.

I have. Have you seen Whispers of the Heart? Thats the movie the Baron 1st appeared in.

I've seen both.
Whispers is cute, but The Cat Returns is by far and away my favorite of the two.
I've actually seen every Miyazaki movie you can get in english (and I saw Nausicaa in japanese with subtitles), and I think some other Stusdio Ghibli movies, though I lose track of which ones are Ghibli and NOT Miayzaki.
I think the only one that you can get in English that I haven't seen is Grave of the Fireflies, which I don't WANT to see, because it's so sad.

Incidently, does anyone know when Earthsea will be out in English?

I don't usually watch animated films but I've seen Grave of the Fireflies (mainly because of its political significance) about two children and how they were affected by the war. It's a brilliant film and I found it very moving and very sad and watching it was one of the few times I've cried in front of the TV.

Yay. Ghibli is the best!!! I've seen almost all the Ghibli films made since 1984, when Ghibli first started as a studio. (Incidentally Nausicaa was the first film. Castle Cagliostro, although now part of the Ghibli collection was made in 1979 and not produced as a Ghibli film even though it was directed by Miyazaki. Nausicaa and Clarice were voiced by the same actress.)

First one I saw was Laputa in 1998. And I've been a huge fan ever since. Started collecting Ghibli DVDs in 2001 when I moved to Japan. (The year the Sen to Chihiro / Spirited away was released.) I saw Cat Returns in the cinema the following year and loved especially the night time parade scene. (In a documentary the woman who wrote the original manga says that she envisioned the Cat Returns as "the story that Shizuku would have written") I still like Whisper of the Heart better even though the dialogue is often very quiet.

The Japanese title to Whisper of the Heart is "Mimi o Sumaseba" (Vaguely translated: If you listen closely...) which I reckon is a better title, actually.

I have lots of Ghibli DVDs and try my best to avoid English dubs (Because the acting in English-dubbed anime is usually crap.) or subtitles (because I try to practise Japanese.) I love watching them.

Sorry. Very long. I just love Ghibli movies so much.

Grave of the Fireflies is one of those bits of cinema that I have to have around, but can hardly ever watch. You really have to be in a mood for it.  The live action of GotF was even creepier and harder to watch, but in many ways better for it.  I think you're supposed to have trouble sitting through it, makes a more lasting impression that way.

Any other fans of Porco Rosso out there?  I thought it was just brilliant between the beauty of the Adriatic, the courageous tales of daring-do, the socio-political implications (What does a pig care about politics?)... Too much to even put names to. Sure it's light and fluffy compared to much of the Ghibli library, but that easy watchability is part of what makes it my favorite. Sort of like The Princess Bride, on top of everything else good it's just plain fun.

Subtitled is my preferred method of watching, but Lassiter showed his stuff with the recent Disney dubs. So I suppose what I really mean is that I require competent voice acting, something 80% of non-subtitled anime in the US severely lacks. Even Mononoke was atrociously dubbed with Spirited Away being the first (in my opinion) truely successful translation of a Ghibli film into english dialogue.

Donal
Aspergers, Dyslexia and more issues than a newsstand

Absee-bloody-lootely. I'm exactly the same. Bought some Ghibli picture books in Japan, (children's chapter books) and I read GOTF all the way through. It was hard to get through the end, even reading in Japanese.