Comic 591 – “Finally!”
Errol: HUZZAH! MY MIYAZAKI PANEL! I want to do a Miyazaki panel at every panel I go to!! Btw, I played “To the Moon” yesterday. There was a Miyazaki reference. I was happy. 😀
Manda: I was definitely confused when I saw the Miyazaki panel circled. I love him, but I’ve only seen half his movies!
I have to admit to being in the same camp as Manda on this- I’ve seen nowhere close to all Miyazaki movies (or indeed all Studio Ghibli movies- to be honest half the time I lose track of which ones are MIyazaki movies and which are just done through Studio Ghibli)…
On the other hand, I’d say that there’s a lot of other awe inspiring Japanese animation out there, and by focusing on Miyazaki you’re missing a lot of the other good stuff.
*laugh* Who says I haven’t seen other Japanese animation? 😀
Having said that, I’ve really only seen a few – Ranma 1/2, Full Metal Alchemist, Death Note. There were a few others I’ve seen as well, but they were only shorter runs or films, like Appleseed, Akira, Steamboy, etc.
There was one I liked and forgot the name of. Four high school kids and a coach(?) get transported to a new world and gain powers. One guy can talk to the bugs, the coach has super human strength (but only if he engages in his vices)… I forget what the girl can do… and the main character…. wait… don’t want to spoil it. Anyway, what was that called?
And another one, where humanity is split into two factions: male and female. And they have mechs. And then, this one guy finds out that his mech can join with female mechs… and make huge awesome mechs.
Oh, and I’ve read a few manga as well, like Battle Angel, Ranma 1/2 again, and that vampire one I’ve forgotten the name of.
Actually, I was a huge fan of Ranma. 😀 I want to knit a P-chan. 😀
I enjoy a lot of anime and manga I’ve seen/read. It’s sadly a matter of time and money.
I never said that you’ve seen nothing else- only that you focused on Miyazaki stuff. Of the other stuff you’ve mentioned, I’ve watched FMA, Death Note, Appleseed, Akira and Steamboy, but in my case those form a small minority of the stuff I have watched… I actually keep a list of series that I’ve watched/ am watching just to keep track of where I am, and as things currently stand I’ve watched over 5,800 episodes of anime that I know of plus movies and OVAs…
Ranma 1/2 I’m not too keen on the premise of, because genderbending makes me uncomfortable…
True, but you did say I was missing out on a lot of good stuff. 😀 I was just trying to say that I try to watch a lot of the good stuff.
When I am focused on Miyazaki, I actually don’t rewatch his films over and over. The only time I may is if my children are watching the films.
However, yes, I do realize there is a lot of stuff out there I’m missing out of! But not restricted to just anime.
And that’s my problem. There are too many good things, and not enough time to do them. I also have too many ideas I want to do. So consumption vs production. BOTH take up a lot of time, and both I want to do.
And in the end, production usually wins. *sigh*
However, name an anime series you would suggest we could all watch if there is only ONE that you could suggest!
I’d probably pick Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex- others might suggest Neon Genesis Evangelion, but whilst that marked a turning point in mecha series, there have been other less noticed series that have done Evangelion’s job better since (also I found Evangelion to be a little too whiny and angsty for my liking).
A second choice would probably be Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann which is well received by most in my experience.
Will I like Ghost in the Shell: SAC better than the movie? The movie was well animated and all, but I have to admit, all the pontificating kinda turns me off.
(Angsty and whiny also turn me off)
Maybe I’ll try Tengen Toppa!
Well, based on that you’d probably get on better with Gurren Lagann- which is heavier on hot-blooded action than much of anything else.
Actually, I’m not even into action that much.
I’m more into weird, or mystery or adventure or cool story. You can tell from my miyazaki love that I’m not into action for animation.
Now, martial arts? I love the action in that. 😀
For weirdness you might try FLCL… (possibly also Durarara and/or Baccano)
With mystery I’m not sure how much I can help you, since most of the stuff I’ve watched in that category has a fair amount of the pontification you mentioned not being so keen on- GITS: SAC being a case in point.
Cool story is a very subjective criterion, so what I’d consider a cool story you might not…
If I were to pick something with more of a martial arts feel to its action, I’d probably go with Samurai 7, which also happens to be inspired by the Japanese classic film Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa- albeit in something of an unusual interpretation (I’d want to call it steampunk except its rather lacking in steam).
I tend to overthink these things quite a bit- you might have noticed… [/sigh]
I also think I’ve decided what your alter ego as a pokemon would be.
I’d suggest Air, but Jez would kill me. Actually, I’d suggest Fushigi Yuugi but it is both expensive and long. Still remains my favorite anime series of all times, however. I’m trying to think of a good one to recommend, besides FY. Most of what I read/watch are Gender bender (which MP does not like), or action. If it weren’t for the action restriction, I’d recommend Library Wars, both the anime and the manga.
For fluff, I’d suggest Kalaido Star or Angelic Layer. Or Kyo Kara Mao (not sure on the spelling for those) KKM has cross-dressing, but not really gender bending. Unfortunately it can get a bit… base… at times.
Hunter X Hunter (the original) is Amazing as far as I have gotten, but it’s longer than FY by a fair amount. Utena was good… if you only watch the first season, but that one is action too, a lot of fencing.
Probably ultimately if I had to narrow it to one recommendation and FY was excluded for length, it would probably be Hikaru No Go. It’s not a SHORT series, but it isn’t as long as some of the others, it isn’t condescending, and the action is on a Go board… and Go is a martial art… Mind, I haven’t finished the series myself. I only have the first DVD, and I am 2 away from done with the manga.
Not a fan of Ranma either, just because the concept is inane and the execution tedious. At least, to me. The opening theme is catchy, though. Could say the same about Steel Angel Karumi. Hated the show, the opening theme is on my playlist.
Though I will admit to loving gender benders, so ask me about anything I recommend before watching or reading. Oh, and don’t read half of what I write either. X.X
Um, I recommended FY, for example which has a small amount of gender bender (depending how you define small, admittedly.) And Utena…. I don’t consider it gender bender, but it’s borderline. There is no question who is what gender everyone is, but a number of the characters treat one of the others as if the genders are reversed.
Anything I talk about or recommend that you are interested in, feel free to ask me if there is a GB and I’ll let you know as honest as I do.
Are you thinking of El Hazard?
El Hazard! Huzzah! That’s it. 😀
I haven’t seen all of Miyazaki either but I do like the ones I have seen. 🙂
And I thought Studio Ghibli was Miyazaki… oops XD
Studio Ghibli is run by Miyazaki and Takahata and… oh.. what’s the producers name? Suzuki? I forget..
I ride a Suzuki Vstrom and had a Suzuki Sidekick. Both great vehicles. I don’t know if Studio Ghibli was involved at all in their production though… 🙁
It should have been! 😀
I love Miyazaki’s works, but I have not seen all of them myself. It’s a little like watching (not reading) Clamp School Detectives. Wonderful, but there is just so much of it! I’m also the type who re-watches and rereads everything over and over again. I’ve seen Totoro, Kiki, Howl’s Moving Castle (my least favorite admittedly because I am such a fan of Diana Wynne Jones and had VERY high hopes for that one…), Valley of the wind, Ponyo, and… I think at least one other, but I forget. I have Castle in the Sky on DVD but I don’t think I ever watched it, and I got through half of Was it…song of the heart… before someone came in and interrupted. Oh, and of course Mononoke. That was epic, and Spirited Away. Okay… I’ve seen more than I realized….
Castle in the Sky is epic. The second miyazaki film I ever saw and I had no idea who miyazaki was. Loved it. 😀
“Whisper of the Heart” is what you are referring to, probably. 😀 Miyazaki was the writer for that.