As it sits proudly at the top of the Japanese box office, the first English language reviews of the latest Studio Ghibli offering Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea have started to appear on the net. I’ve had a quick read of a bunch of them, and they’re all pretty positive. Which is kind of a relief, after the disappointment of Miyazaki junior’s Tales from Earthsea last year. But while the Ghibli family soap opera plays out in the most subtle and Japanese of ways in the background, Dad is back at the controls once again, and did any of us really doubt he still had it in him?
I’m hoping to catch it, along with Sky Crawlers, when I hit Tokyo sometime in the autumn. And of course I’ll let you know what I think. In the meantime, these lucky bastards have seen it already:
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I haven’t been able to see “tales from earthsea” yet, and the mixed reviews left me not terribly excited about it, I admit.
so, I’m glad to hear that ponyo is looking good.
Sadly you’ve not missed much - Earthsea is pretty dull. The animation seemed sloppy; the attention to detail and even the pallet wasn’t up to the usual Ghibli standard. And even more unsettlingly for one of their movies the plot was unengaging and the characters quite flat…
In fact, the most interesting thing about it was how badly Goro and his dad fell out over it…drama! apparently they’re talking again now…
Though to be fair, I’ve only seen it once, at the theatre. Probably time I gave it a second chance on DVD.
oh and: :O! rawr.
that sounds even worse than I imagined! and I had no idea about that family drama… I need to stay in the loop more. sounds exciting.
and I just watched the clip of ponyo you have… awww.
OH, and being able to talk (in phrases other than ‘rawr’, ‘groar’, and ‘:D’) is so freeing, so let me tell you now while I have the chance that me and my roommate made those totoro cubes and put them around our apartment. thanks kindly for the link; it improved the ambiance of our place or something.
okay. enough spam.
Excellent!
So pleased you made and liked them! I just told Bobi you made them, and she was psyched - she’s got a bit obsessed with them recently…
Oh and there’s more on the Miyazaki family drama here….
I just watched earthsea. on youtube. which was probably not the best venue, but whatever. that’s just how I roll. it was pretty amazingly dull. but not… terrible. not engaging, I suppose.
I’m also really jet lag ish right now, so I’m not making terribly much sense. Bobi and I see eye to eye on this totoro cube thing, I think. They are so cool. THE TAIL. yeah. it rocks.
After reading that drama, I just have to say this: oh no. and yet, oh yes. hahaha. that’s awful.
okay. totoro needs to take a vow of silence now. GOODBYE.
Awww..I think I’m a little disappointed; I never imagined an expert flyer like Totoro would get jet-lag.
Maybe you should stick to more ground-based, multi-legged, feline style methods of transport?
GROAR
Can’t wait for this to be out on dvd so I can watch it again !
I’m somewhat embarrassed to say that I haven’t watched Sky Crawlers although my colleagues in PPI worked on it and they said its best enjoyed in the cinema. Guess I’ll just wait for the rental dvd.
Blauereiter - yet another question…:
How long do major anime releases like these run at the theatre over there? Will both Ponyo and Sky Crawlers still be showing in November, or will I have missed them…?
Hi! My name is Ayumi,David7s friend, from Japan.
You seem to like Japanese animation!!!!!!
I am big fan of Jiburi and Disney!!!
How about you?
Hmm…I’m afraid by November it might be fairly difficult to find them in cinemas, as both of them started screening around late July/August. Some bigger cinemas might still have the occasional screening, but the chances are quite small.
Blaureiter - thanks…ah well, fingers crossed..;)
Hi Ayumi!!
Yes, i do love anime…especially Jiburi and Production IG. I like some Disney stuff - my favourite Disney film is probably Tron.
I am coming to Japan in November - and am just about to buy tickets for the Ghibli museum! have you been?
Have you seen Ponyo yet?
Hi, I found your blog on this new directory of WordPress Blogs at blackhatbootcamp.com/listofwordpressblogs. I dont know how your blog came up, must have been a typo, i duno. Anyways, I just clicked it and here I am. Your blog looks good. Have a nice day. James.
Thanks james, glad you liked it. Plus that list looks really helpful, I’ll book mark it. Hope you come back soon….