2. Promote! Facebook! Twitter! Email! PM! Spread the word out about this project in any and all ways you can think of
3. Wall! We’d like to expand the collection of wallpapers that we’re offering to donors. Make a wall for the collection, or make a promotional wallpaper for the project and kill two birds with one stone!
We only just started officially promoting the project yesterday, but the show of generosity from walling community members has been astounding. Help us keep the momentum going – together we can make this fundraiser a success!
I stumbled across HearJapan a little while back because I heard that they were donating 50% of all sales to Japanese earthquake/tsunami relief efforts. It’s a terrific site which features great (less mainstream) Japanese music – I just shelled out for a bunch of Dirty Old Men songs myself – and I highly recommend checking it out, especially while the relief donation promo is going on. It’s also a great way to legally support your favorite Japanese artists!
The first time I browsed through HearJapan, I searched for “Studio Ghibli” on a whim – and I was really surprised by the number of cover albums that came up, for just about any instrument and genre you could think of! From jazz to rock, “speed” piano to marimba – there’s even an album titled Ghibli Computer which consists of “a collection of Studio Ghibli covers completely rewritten with old school computer sounds accompanied with a bouncing beat.” Amazing!
I’m kind of a traditionalist myself, so my favorite album from the bunch was Azumi Inoue’s Ghibli Meikyoku Selection~Dear Ghibli. I liked how the arrangements featured a full orchestra and piano ensemble, not to mention the fact that Azumi Inoue was the original singer of Ghibli classics like “Kimi o Nosete“, “Sanpo“, and “Tonari no Totoro“; her voice is wonderfully soothing and also quintessentially Ghibli at the same time. So I was happy to shell out a bit to expand my music collection AND contribute to relief efforts in Japan at the same time! Win-win if there ever was one.
Last Friday I went to Palace Centro to watch Howl’s Moving Castle and Kiki’s Delivery Service on the big screen. It’s been years since I’ve seen either of the movies – Kiki’s I last saw when I was in elementary/middle school, so needless to say I was really looking forward to this screening. The fact that the screenings were subbed and done in celebration of Hayao Miyazaki’s 70th birthday were extra perks.
The theater itself was really nice, with super comfy plushy seats. It was also incredibly packed – in fact, I almost didn’t get a ticket to Howl’s! When I got to the ticket counter, I was told that tickets to Howl’s had all been sold out. Luckily there was a random guy standing next to the counter who offered to sell me his ticket for the same asking price as the theater, so I gratefully took him up on his offer and forked over an addition $6 to Palace Centro for the Kiki ticket.
Now, Howl’s I had watched a little more recently (in college), and while I had enjoyed it, I didn’t think it was Miyazaki’s best. The friends who I watched it with also remarked that the movie wasn’t particularly true to the intricacies of the book. But I had forgotten how magic and imagination shines through in any/all of Miyazaki’s films. I also realized very quickly that the intricate details of Miyazaki’s animation can really only be fully appreciated on the big screen. The “Stroll through the Sky” scene near the beginning of Howl’s was particularly stunning to watch in the theater – the sense of uplifting flight was just incredible.
It also helped that the packed audience was VERY appreciative of the films – the chuckling and laughter helped punctuate all the comedic scenes, and I had a big silly grin plastered across my face throughout the film. I’d forgotten how much of a drama queen Howl was! How charming Sophie was in her old age. And I hadn’t realized that Takuya Kimura did the voice for Howl!
My original reservations against Howl’s Moving Castle remained – namely, that the war that had raged on throughout the movie was somehow wrapped up lickety-split in the final few minutes of the movie, so the happy ending, while inevitable, felt a bit forced. Nonetheless, it’s safe to say that Howl’s Moving Castle was a lot better than I remembered, and it was quite a visual treat on the big screen.
Kiki’s Delivery Service, on the hand, amazed me in how current it felt, despite the fact that it was released in 1989. Miyazaki is beloved around the world for the universal themes in his work, but watching Kiki’s this time around felt extra personal to me. Because I’ve been moving around so much in this past year, watching Kiki struggle to settle in after moving to a new town, trying to find new friends in a sea of impersonal strangers, re-discovering her confidence and figuring out what’s important to her really struck a chord with me, at this particular point in my life.
Needless to say, I really enjoyed myself last Friday and it was easily the best $12 I’ve ever spent for an anime viewing experience. I only wished I had found out about the Palace Centro screenings sooner; I would’ve liked to see My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and any number of the other Studio Ghibli films that I had last watched as a child. It’s really hard to convey just how wonderful Miyazaki’s works are on the big screen; if you ever get the chance to watch Ghibli films in a cinema, just GO – you definitely won’t regret it, and it will give you a whole new appreciation for Miyazaki as well
It’s really hard to put down into words all the things that went through my head when I first read the news. Disbelief, numb shock, then tears. Probably like many other Satoshi Kon’s fans from around the world when they first heard the news.
Reading Satoshi Kon’s 2008 ANN interview was bittersweet; reading his final message was heartbreaking. My Japanese is very limited, but the basic gist came through – the pain that the cancer wrecked on his body and family; regret about unfinished work; gratitude to his family and friends.
Millennium Actress is and always will be one of my favorite anime films of all time – the story was profound, and exquisitely told. It moved me in a way that few other films have. Watching Perfect Blue and Tokyo Godfathers cemented my status as a Satoshi Kon fan; watching Paprika renewed my love for this director’s incredible creativity and ability to tell stories that grab the imagination and take on lives of their own.
Satoshi Kon’s works will stand as lasting testimony to his unique vision. The world has lost a masterful storyteller – he will be sorely missed. My thoughts go out to his family and friends in the days to come.
I was incredibly jealous when I saw these on Tim Maughan’s blog. Not only because these Ponyo cupcakes look fantastic, but also because his girlfriend made these scrumptious delights for him.
I’ve tried hooking my long-time boyfriend onto anime by starting him with a couple of my favorites – the Cowboy Bebop movie, Millennium Actress, and I may have also tried a Ghibli movie with him too. None of these worked, so I’m resigned to being the open-closet otaku in this relationship. We’ll camp out on the couch to watch Bones or Australia’s Greatest Athlete, but any anime will have to be watched on my spare time (and usually when he’s not around). Certainly I won’t be getting any cool Ponyo cupcakes from HIM anytime soon, sigh…
Last week I made omurice for the first time. The first two were a bit misshapen, but by the third try I managed to make a properly-formed omurice! I was so proud of it that I grabbed a camera to commemorate the success – but not before I took a bite out of it to make sure it tasted ok
I’ve been so hungry these last couple of days, and I couldn’t figure out why. I had regular meals, but at random hours of the night/day I’d start gnawing on my boyfriend because of the mysterious hunger pangs. I think it’s because I’ve been vectoring/staring at my new wall, which has takoyaki in it.
I’m a bit of an Idol junkie, for the drama and Simon and what-not. Who knew it (actually) could be a place to discover good songs too! Kris Allen for his top seven performance performed such a delicious song that I had to research up the original. I ended up falling insanely in love with the original song. Which judging from all the YouTube comments, got majorly re-thrust into the public limelight because of Kris’ performance. Most YouTube comments are such trash, but they’re so much fun to read sometimes xD
And don’t get me wrong. I like Kris Allen – although I like Adam Lambert more xD – but I just find the original dude’s voice more soulful. Sorry Kris. Thanks for bringing such a great song to my attention though I’ll have to check out the movie where this song came from too – “Once.”
I’ve been gunning through Bleach the manga. I can kind of see how this one might be more enjoyable as anime instead of manga, but my mom’s come to stay with me for a couple of months and it’s kind of weird to be like “Mom, please leave me alone. I need to watch some anime now.” Maybe it shouldn’t be weird but I don’t have that level of otaku-comfort around my parents yet. They know I’m a raging manga fan though, after finally discovering the entirety of my rather substantial manga collection for which I pinched away years of middle/high-school lunch money. This happened a couple years ago, so they’ve more or less given up nagging me about reading manga.
This has been the most exciting, nerve-wracking, amazing night that I will remember for a long long time to come. I am so proud to have participated in this historic election.
