actually is probably not an appropriate title)
Hayao Miyazaki. A name I've heard so many times, and have heard people say nothing but good things about. This guy is considered a god of animation, as a matter of fact it's probably a crime to say bad things about him. So, being the animation buff I am, naturally I wanted to check out some of his work, particularly Spirited Away (which many seem to consider his flawless masterpiece). The only problem was, I'm no fan of anime. There's just something about it that really rubs me the wrong way. So I was in no hurry to check out his work. But, then I came upon this still from Spirited Away.
That is one awesome Dragon design!
"Alright Mr. Zaki, you won me over! Let's see what the Japanese God of Animation has to offer!" I cried to the clouds. He had more to offer than I could possibly imagine. As of this post, I have watched eight of Miyazki's films. The only ones I haven't seen are Ponyo, The Castle of Cagliostro, and his newest film, The Wind Rises. Not that I have any particular interest in seeing those ones, as I'm perfectly satisfied with the eight I've seen. Which now brings us to the point of this article: I'm going to count my Top 5 Favourite Hayao Miyazki Movie's. So let's get the ball rolling, shall we?
#5. Kiki's Delivery Service
This one was a tossup between Porco Rosso, Howl's Moving Castle, and Kiki's Delivery Service. As much as I liked Porco Rosso and Howl's Moving Castle, I had to go with Kiki. I just love the story in Kiki, a 13 year old witch who has go out on her own and make a name for herself. She moves to a new town, makes some friend's and starts her own little business. Pretty much how people in the real world operate. As much as I like movie's with villains and evil plots and shit like that, it's a nice change of pace to just see somebody in a movie trying to get their life on track, especially in an animated movie. And while that's all well and good, the main reason I chose this one over the other two is because of one scene. Kiki has to deliver a cake an old woman cooked for her granddaughter. As it's not ready yet, Kiki helps the old woman around the house, and then she helps her cook the cake. This scene was very touching. But then, in the next scene, Kiki delivers the cake to the granddaughter. Only to find out she's an ungrateful little cunt and is unappreciative of her grandmother's work. If I hadn't had seen the hard work Kiki and the old woman did baking that cake, I might have had a different reaction. But seeing all that hard work go unappreciated, made me want to reach into the movie and smack a bitch! Any movie that has that kind of effect on me is worthy of a spot on my list.
#4. Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind
When I first watched Nausicaa, I watched it in English (actually, I've only watched Miyazki's movie's in English) and I had high expectations. The movie sadly did not meet those expectations. As a matter of fact I thought it was quite underwhelming. Maybe it had something to do with the English dub, maybe it had something to do with the protagonist, or maybe it just wasn't as epic as I thought it would be. But sometime's, it just takes a second viewing to fully appreciate something. I watched it in Japanese this time around and, it improved the movie quite a bit. And with my high expectations gone, what I saw this time was a very entertaining, action packed movie with an interesting world and maybe more complex than I thought it was. There was still some problems, mainly having to do with the Protagonists' naivety and her almost inhuman ability to connect with nature, and the ending I thought was a bit sappy and stupid. But overall, I really like the film, and it's the only Miyazki film I may prefer to watch in Japanese.
#3. Laputa: Castle In The Sky
#2. Spirited Away
The movie many consider Miyazaki's Magnum Opus. I.... don't think it quite reaches that level. Don't get me wrong! It's an amazing film! Why else would I put it in the number 2 spot? Was that last sentence even necessary? Point withdrawn.
Anyway, Spirited Away is an amazing film, and the first Miyazki movie I seen. It's creative, it's imaginative, it's dripping in atmosphere, and the story is amazing. It has so many great moments like the River Spirit being cleansed of pollution, Chiriho going to see Zaniba, and my personal favourite moment in the film, the train ride. The animation is beautiful, and Joe Hisashi's score is wonderful. Has there ever been a Miyazki movie Hisashi hasn't composed? Hisashi's Miyazki's John William's! I have nothing to complain about in Spirited Away, and it would have been my favourite if it wasn't for the movie that ultimately ended up being my favourite.
#1. Princess Mononoke
Now THIS is what I consider Miyazki's Magnum Opus, his undisputed masterpiece. Spirited Away was amazing, but in my eyes it just couldn't top Princess Mononoke. Miyazki really outdid himself with this one. This isn't just my favourite Miyazki movie, it's my favourite animated movie and probably one of my favourite films in general. It has everything I love about movie's and more. Action, romance, story, character, tearjerker scenes, a beautiful soundtrack, and it's not a simple good vs. evil tale. It's complex, there are no right or wrong answers, everyone has their reasons for fighting. And those reasons are perfectly understandable. I don't think I've ever seen an animated film as profound, complex and epic in scope as this is. I've watched this movie 5 or 6 times since I've seen it, so there's also the replay value to it. I have no complaints with this movie at all, it's just one of those perfect movie's. This movie alone convinced me that Miyazki is a master in a class of his own.
If you haven't seen any of Miyazki's works, check them out! And take it from me, you don't have to be an anime fan, or you don't even have to like anime, to love Miyazki's work.
A good list, a few personal favourites on there, and it's fairly well written if a bit short. However, here's a bit of advice: When you're posting it on ThatGuyWithTheGlasses add only the first fifth or so then add a link to your blog. If you're trying to get traffic through to here, you're not going to do it by posting the whole thing on there.
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