The round of sixteen in our tournament to determine the best Studio Ghibli film is done and we’re on to the elite eight! Spirited Away (v. Arrietty), Princess Mononoke (v. When Marnie Was There), Howl’s Moving Castle (v. Ponyo), and My Neighbor Totoro (v. Porco Rosso) crushed their opponents, and Grave of the Fireflies one… Read More Studio Ghibli Tournament: Round of 8
As a child, I dreamed of becoming a director. I would write out my career, detailing the movies I would make, the awards they would win, and even how much money they would earn. But most of all, I loved casting the roles in the films. I would get just the perfect actors and actresses… Read More Casting Nausicaa
Studio Ghibli’s contribution to anime (and animation in general) cannot be understated. Founded by directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, and producer Toshio Suzuki, the studio has produced many of Japan’s most hallowed films, movies that are both critically acclaimed and monsters at the box office. In 1996, Disney partnered with Studio Ghibli to bring… Read More Ranked: Every Studio Ghibli Movie
This summer, I watched Laputa: Castle in the Sky, a Ghibli movie that came out in 1986, making it one of the oldest anime I’ve ever seen (Nausicaa beats it by two years.) It felt a little old, too, not just in the animation style, but in some of the tropes that were used and… Read More Lynna’s Journey (Entry #7) The Old and The New
I’ve made no bones about it – one of my biggest struggles is with self-control. Confirmed by an emotional intelligence test I took (I strongly recommend that if you can take such an exam and work through the results with an expert, do so), self-control is an area with which I mightily struggle. It extends… Read More Nausicaa of the Valley of Anger and Rage
Ask any of my close friends what my favorite genre of music is. Seriously, ask anyone. If they don’t say jazz, please tell me. I will promptly cut all ties with that person and move on with my life as a happier individual, having removed one more false friendship. When I say this, I am… Read More Nausicaä + Jazz = …Jesus?!
Happy holidays, everyone! Again, there are a slew of wonderful articles to share this week. I’m also didn’t have time to do this week’s column (thank goodness I made some time), so please link any other related articles I may have missed in the comments below!e ar The shinto diety of Inari (animated in Inari,… Read More Something More: Thanksgiving Kami, Psycho Pass Through the Fire, and Jesus of the Valley of the Wind
While news of the demise of Studio Ghibli has been much exaggerated, rumors of the company shutting down, or even ending its original animation production, certainly unnerved the many of us who adore the studio’s films. Though Studio Ghibli perhaps hasn’t in a long time released a film that will one day be considered a… Read More Grading Studio Ghibli
Lady Saika discusses Haiyore! Nyarko-san in her examination of the elder God, Cthulu. [Lady Geek Girl and Friends] Tsunderin and MadameAce point out the Jesus allusion in a very critical review of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. [Lady Geek Girl and Friends] Guardian Enzo mentions a number of religious connects in episode four… Read More Something More: AnoHana and the Holy Spirit, God Using Bakuman, and Nausicaa as Jesus
My writing on anime and Christianity is largely reflective and personal. However, there are a number of individuals in academia who have written extensively on anime and religion. One such scholar is Jolyon Baraka Thomas, who graciously agreed to an interview with me. I discovered his writings through an excellent article he wrote about Hayao… Read More Spirituality in Miyazaki’s Films: An Interview with Jolyon Thomas