Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便)

Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便) is also Miyazaki's Work in 1989.
The world of this work is also, I feel so, overflowing with fantasy.

Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便, Majo no Takkyubin, trans. "Witch's Delivery Service") is the fifth Studio Ghibli anime film, produced, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki in 1989. It was the fourth theatrical released film from the studio, and was also the second feature film that Miyazaki did not originally write himself.
Please enjoy Videos provided by YouTube. You might be immpressed in happiness.



Kiki is a 13 year-old witch-in-training, living in a small rural village where her mother is the resident herbalist. The film opens at the time traditional for Kiki to leave her home to spend a year alone in a new town to establish herself as a full witch. Kiki therefore flies on her mother's broom with her closest companion, Jiji, a loquacious black cat. At her departure from home, she has trouble controlling her newly-inherited broom, and ricochets from the trees in her front yard. Wind bells in the trees chime; one of the neighbors wistfully comments that he will miss the sound of the bells, implying that such incidents have been common.



Soon after leaving, Kiki asks Jiji to turn on the radio. When he does, he flips to a lively pop song and the beginning credits roll. After the credits and song finish, Kiki and Jiji meet another witch on her way back to home from training. After giving some advice about inner skills, this newcomer flies down yelling, "Ciao!". Seconds after she leaves, Kiki and Jiji are caught in a thunderstorm, from which they take overnight refuge in a train. On the next morning, Kiki and Jiji wake up to discover that they have fallen asleep in a cow herd's feed-bag. They leave the train and continue their search for a place to live.

By A.S. in 2009

My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ)

"My Neoghbor Totoro (となりのトトロ)" is one of my most favourable Miyazaki's Work. On TV or so, I have watched many times. Particularly Totoro's Character is interesting.



My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ, Tonari no Totoro), is a 1988 animated film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The movie won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize in 1988. This movie was originally released in the U.S. in VHS format with the title, My Friend Totoro.

Please enjoy the Video provided by YouTube regarding "My Neoghbor Totoro (となりのトトロ)" below.


In 1958, a university professor and his two daughters, Satsuki and Mei, move into an old house in rural Japan, so as to be closer to the hospital where his wife is recovering from an illness. The daughters find that the house is inhabited by tiny animated dust creatures called soot sprites, which their father explains are makkurokurosuke — small house spirits seen when moving from light to dark places. These creatures are referred to as "dust bunnies" and "soot spirits" in the 1993 English dub; in the Disney version, they are variously called "soot gremlins" or "soot sprites". In the English subtitles of the first Japanese-language version to find its way to America, they were "Black Soots". The original name, "makkurokurosuke", literally means "pitch-black blackie". When the girls become comfortable in their new house and laugh with their father, the soot spirits leave the house.

Also enjoy the Video below provided by YouTube below, the annoucement Video for a theater.


When Mei, the younger daughter, plays outside the house while her father works inside after Satsuki has left for school, she sees two white, rabbit-like ears in the grass (reminiscent of The White Rabbit from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland). Upon following this creature under the house, she eventually discovers two small magical creatures, which lead her through a briar patch (once again alluding to Lewis Carroll's rabbit hole), and into the hollow of a large Camphor Laurel tree. There she meets and befriends a larger version of the same kind of spirit, which identifies itself by a series of roars she interprets as "Totoro". Her father later tells her that this is the "keeper of the forest".

By A.S. in 2009

Laputa: Castle in the Sky (天空の城ラピュタ）

In Miyazaki's Works, envery one feels "Dream", I suppose.
I myself also feel the same. Regarding Laputa: Castle in the sky,
Laputa: Castle in the Sky (天空の城ラピュタ, Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta) (re-titled Castle in the Sky for release in the United States) (in English, literally translated as The Sky's Castle: Laputa) is a film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, released in 1986.
                    
It is the first film created and released by Studio Ghibli, although is considered the second by some since Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was created by the founding members two years before. Laputa: Castle in the Sky won the Animage Anime Grand Prix in 1986. The name Laputa comes from the name of the floating island in Johnathan Swift's novel Gulliver's Travels.
Please enjoy the Video provided by YouTube regarding theme music of Laputa: Castle in the Sky.

According to legend, humans were fascinated with the sky; therefore they created increasingly sophisticated ways of lifting aircraft from the ground. This eventually led to flying cities and fortresses. Over time, the cities came crashing back to the ground, forcing the survivors to live on the ground as before. One city, Laputa, is said to remain in the sky, concealed within the swirling clouds of a violent thunderstorm. While most people consider it to be fictional, some believe the legend is true and have sought to find the ancient city. Airships still remain in common use.
Also please enjoy the Video provided by YouTube below, a part of Laputa: Castle in the Sky.

Aboard an airship, a young girl, Sheeta, is escorted to an unknown destination by sinister-looking agents under Colonel Muska. The ship is attacked by a group of sky pirates; in the resulting disorder, Sheeta takes a small pendant from Muska and escapes. The sky pirates, led by an old but vivacious woman Dola, attempt to seize her and the pendant, but accidentally, Sheeta falls from the ship. As she falls, the pendant radiates a blue light and she gently floats to the ground. A young boy, Pazu, witnesses this in amazement and catches Sheeta. He takes her back to his home, where she finds a photograph of Laputa.

By A.S. 2009

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Regarding Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ, Kaze no tani no Naushika), I have wttched it on TV for a few times.
I suppose it's also one of Mr. Miyazaki's masterpiece. And picked up two YouTube Videos. Please enjoy Videos below.


Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ, Kaze no tani no Naushika) is a 1984 film by Japanese writer, illustraiter, and filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, based on his manga (漫画; マンガ) of the same name. The movie has environmentalist undertones and was presented by the World Wide Fund for Nature when it was released in 1984. Nausicaä is ranked as one of the 50 greatest science fiction films by the Internet Movie Database.  

The story takes place 1,000 years after the "Seven Days of Fire", an event which destroyed human civilization and most of the Earth's original ecosystem. Scattered human settlements survive, isolated from one another by the Sea of Decay (腐海, fukai). Literally translating as the Rotting Sea, Sea of Fungus, Sea of Corruption or Toxic jungle in the English version, the Sea of Decay is a jungle of giant plants and fungi swarming with giant insects, which seem to come together only to wage war. Everything in the Sea of Decay, including the air, is lethally toxic.



The primary protagonist, Nausicaä, is a charismatic young princess of the peaceful Valley of the Wind. Her name comes from the princess Nausicaa  in the Odyssey  who assisted Odysseus, and is transcribed into Japanese as ナウシカ, pronounced [naushika].

By A.S. in 2009

The Castle of Cagliostro(ルパン三世 カリオストロの城）

Regarding Lupin III (Rupan Sansei; ルパン三世), I have wttched it often on TV.
I suppose it's one of Mr. Miyazaki's masterpiece. And picked up two YouTube Videos. Please enjoy Videos below.



The Castle of Cagliostro (ルパン三世 カリオストロの城, Rupan Sansei: Kariosutoro no Shiro, Lupin the Third: Castle of Cagliostro) is a 1979 anime film co-written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is one of the master thief Lipon III films.



The second animated Lupin III movie and arguably the most famous, Castle of Cagliostro was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki (who also co-directed the first Lupin III TV series and directed two episodes of the second) before he formed Studio Ghibli. Cagliostro features gentleman thief Lupin III, grandson to Maurice Leblanc's French literary master thief Arsène Lupin.



Originally dubbed and released in 1991 by Streamline Pictures, a new dub was recorded by Manga Entertainment in 2000 and changed the tone of many characters.

The title alludes to La Comtesse de Cagliostro (The Countess of Cagliostro, the title of an original Arsène Lupin adventure by Maurice Leblanc).
By A.S. in 2009

Biography of Hayao Miyazaki

Again taking up herewith Mr. Hayao Miyazaki in connection with his biography,


















Miyazaki, the second of four brothers, was born in the town of Akebono-cho, part of Tokyo's Bunkyō-ku. During World War II, Miyazaki's father Katsuji was director of Miyazaki Airplane, owned by his brother (Hayao Miyazaki's uncle), which made rudders for A6M Zero fighter planes. During this time, Miyazaki drew airplanes and developed a lifelong fascination with aviation, a penchant that later manifested as a recurring theme in his films.

Miyazaki's mother was a voracious reader who often questioned socially accepted norms. Miyazaki later said that he inherited his questioning and skeptical mind from her.[citation needed] His mother underwent treatment for spinal tuberculosis from 1947 until 1955, and so the family moved frequently.[2] Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro is set in that time period and features a family whose mother is similarly afflicted.

Miyazaki attended Toyotama High School. In his third year there, he saw the film Hakujaden, which has been described as "the first-ever Japanese feature length color anime." His interest in animation began in this period; however, in order to become an animator, he had to learn to draw the human figure, since his prior work had been limited to airplanes and battleships.

After high school, Miyazaki attended Gakushuin University, from which he would graduate in 1963 with degrees in political science and economics. He was a member of the "Children's Literature research club," the "closest thing to a comics club in those days."

In April 1963, Miyazaki got a job at Toei Animation, working as an in-between artist on the anime Watchdog Bow Wow (Wanwan Chushingura). He was a leader in a labor dispute soon after his arrival, becoming chief secretary of Toei's labor union in 1964.

In October 1965, he married fellow animator Akemi Ota, who later left work to raise their two sons, Gorō and Keisuke. Gorō is now an animator and filmmaker, and has directed Tales from Earthsea at Studio Ghibli. Keisuke is a wood artist who has created pieces for the Ghibli Museum and who made the wood engraving shown in the Studio Ghibli film Whisper of the Heart.

Hayao Miyazaki's dedication to his work has often been reported to have impacted negatively his relationship with his son Goro.

By A.S. in 2009

Hayao Miyazaki

This time taking up herewith Mr. Hayao Miyazaki, well known recognized international authority on Anime.



Hayao Miyazaki (宮崎 駿, Miyazaki Hayao, born January 5, 1941 in Tokyo, Japan) is a prominent director of many popular animated feature films. He is also the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, an animation studio and production company.

He remained largely unknown to the West, outside of animation communities, until Miramax released his 1997 Princess Mononoke. By that time, his films had already enjoyed both commercial and critical success in Japan and Central Asia. For instance, Princess Mononoke was the highest-grossing film of all time in Japan, and the first animated film to win Picture of the Year at the Japanese Academy Awards. His later film, Spirited Away, had that distinction as well, and was the first anime film to win an Academy Award. Howl's Moving Castle was also nominated but did not receive the award.

Miyazaki's films often incorporate recurrent themes, such as humanity's relationship to nature and technology, and the difficulty of maintaining a pacifist ethic. Reflecting Miyazaki's feminism, the protagonists of his films are often strong, independent girls or young women; the villains, when present, are often morally ambiguous characters with redeeming qualities.

Miyazaki's films have generally been financially successful, and this success has invited comparisons with American animator Walt Disney. In 2006, Time Magazine voted Miyazaki one of the most influential Asians of the past 60 years.

Anime directed by Miyazaki that have won the Animage Anime Grand Prix award have been Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in 1984, Castle in the Sky in 1986, My Neighbor Totoro in 1988, and Kiki's Delivery Service in 1989.

By A.S. in 2009