(Page 45) Tag: Studio Ghibli | SoraNews24 -Japan News-

Featured

Studio Ghibli (Page 45)

Tomonoura: Where Ponyo and Wolverine crossed paths

Casey Baseel
Jun 8, 2014
Tweet

With her unique mix of weird and cute, you’d be hard-pressed to find an animation fan who doesn’t recognize Ponyo, the fish-girl from legendary director Hayao Miyazaki’s 2008 film of the same name. On the other side of the Pacific, justabout anyone with even a passing interest in comics at any point in the last 40 years knows who Marvel’s Wolverine is.

While one character is a symbol of innocence and whimsy, and the other of machismo and toughness, Ponyo and Wolverine’s paths have actually crossed, in a small fishing port called Tomonoura, where the mutant superhero made such an impression on the locals they named a rose after him.

And no, this isn’t fanfiction we’re talking about.

American singer to perform theme song for newest Studio Ghibli film 【Video】

Casey Baseel
May 29, 2014

A recent scandal in the Japanese entertainment world may have delayed the release of the announced box set of the works of retired anime director Hayao Miyazaki, the latest offering from the production house he helped found, Studio Ghibli, is still on track for its planned July premiere. With the big day coming up fast, producers have released a short teaser of the anime film’s theme song, which is being performed by American folk singer Priscilla Ahn.

Disney’s Frozen joins the ranks of highest-grossing films of all time in Japan

Krista Rogers
May 28, 2014

Not that we didn’t see it coming, but it was announced on Monday that Disney’s Frozen has officially surpassed 19.8 billion yen (US$194.6 million) in total box office revenue in Japan. Released on March 14 in Japan as アナと雪の女王 (“Ana and the Snow Queen”), months behind its original stateside premiere, the film has held onto its number one position for 11 consecutive weeks.

So how does that stack up with other successful films in Japanese box office history? Keep reading to find out its current ranking plus a list of the highest-grossing films of all time in Japan!

Japanese pop singer’s arrest on drug charges delays Hayao Miyazaki Blu-ray collection

Casey Baseel
May 21, 2014

Having grown up in Los Angeles, where celebrity drunk driving arrests are only slightly less common than rainy days, I’m generally not shocked when I hear about an entertainer being in trouble with the law. Things are very different in Japan, though, and whether it’s because those in the public eye are better behaved, more skilful at covering their tracks, or have a cozier relationship with the mass media, stories about major transgressions by performing artists are few and far between.

So when pop musician Aska was recently arrested, it sent shock waves through the country. Of course, if you’re not a fan of Japanese pop music from two decades ago, you probably think the 56-year-old singers legal problems are none of your own.

That’s not the case, though, if you’re a fan of Studio Ghibli anime.

In the kitchen with Kiki – We whip up some Ghibli-inspired rice porridge

Casey Baseel
May 17, 2014

Recently, our Japanese-language reporter Hotaru has been a little down in the dumps. She’s not sure if she’s come down with a cold or is just feeling the doldrums of the dreaded Gogatsu-byou, but either way, she needed a boost.

Realizing that good health and a good mood starts with good food, she headed into the kitchen to whip up a batch of porridge. But not just any old porridge would do for helping Hotaru shake off her funk, she needed to recreate the porridge that picks up the heroine of classic anime Kiki’s Delivery Service.

New Laputa amulet actually responds when you incant the anime’s magic spells

Casey Baseel
May 1, 2014

Castle of Cagliostro was the first film anime legend Hayao Miyazaki ever directed, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind the first he wrote on his own, but Castle in the Sky Laputa was the first motion picture produced by Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli. As the title suggests, Laputa features a floating civilization, as well as airships, incantations, and magical pendants.

While the flying castle and airships are still as fictional as a catbus or bread-delivering witch, this summer, fans will be able to get their hands on a replica of Laputa’s pendant that reacts when they recite one of the anime’s spells.

Poster for Ghibli’s new movie under fire … from the big guru himself!

Kay
Apr 21, 2014

Apparently, someone is unhappy at Studio Ghibli these days with one of the posters that are lining the studio’s walls. And who might that be? It’s none other than the studio’s co-founder, Hayao Miyazaki, and the poster he’s upset about happens to be the one for Ghibli’s upcoming release, When Marnie Was There. But what doesn’t Miyazaki like about this seemingly beautifully illustrated poster?

00

Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki retires as producer

Anime News Network
Mar 10, 2014

Suzuki takes less hands-on role at studio he co-founded with Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata.

Kiki’s Delivery Service side story being written by original author – online now and free!

Casey Baseel
Mar 7, 2014

Recently, my wife and I went out to see the live-action Kiki’s Delivery Service. As we waited for the film to start, we swapped impressions of the 1989 anime version of the story, which like the live-action version is an adaptation of author Eiko Kadono’s 1985 children’s novel of the same name.

My wife mentioned that one of her favorite characters was Osono, the owner of the bakery where witch-in-training Kiki boards. Osono’s actually got quite a few fans, due to her tough yet kind personality and mature outlook on life.

How exactly Osono managed to acquire those admirable traits is the subject of a new serial by Kadono, a coming of age story focused on the baker who would eventually serve as Kiki’s mentor.

Fan sews amazing felt versions of Totoro, Sailor Moon, Final Fantasy Black Mage and more

Casey Baseel
Mar 6, 2014

As someone who learned to drive a car before he could ride a bike, there are a couple of things that slipped through the cracks on my path of acquiring basic life skills. Sewing, for example, is still an arcane art to me. After all, why go to the hassle of making my own clothes, when there are plenty of stores perfectly willing to take my money in exchange for a new shirt or pair of jeans?

But maybe I’m missing the point. After all, knowing how to sew doesn’t just mean you can design your own wardrobe, it also means you can create awesome anime and video game figures made entirely of felt.

Donguri Kyowakoku, the store with nothing but Studio Ghibli anime items

Casey Baseel
Mar 4, 2014

Shopping for anime merchandise isn’t always as easy as you’d think in Japan. While any toy store will be stocked with goodies from currently airing, elementary schooler-targeted TV series such as Pokémon or Precure, what if your tastes run towards more sophisticated fare, like the animated classics of Studio Ghibli?

If you’re looking for stuffed animals or accessories inspired by the films of legendary anime director Hayao Miyazaki and his cohorts, you can’t go wrong with a trip to Donguri Kyowakoku, a whole chain of stores that sells nothing but Ghibli items.

List of anime directors fans expect the most from topped by….Goro Miyazaki?!

Casey Baseel
Feb 18, 2014

It’s been almost half a year since Studio Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki announced his retirement from animation direction, leaving a empty seat at the top of Japan’s pile of anime talent. Miyazaki himself has even voiced his concerns about whether or not his juniors in the industry will be able to replicate the results that Studio Ghibli achieved when he was at the helm.

With the medium in a state of uncertainty, Japanese telecom provider NTT Docomo asked fans which director they expected to pick up the banner of the Japanese animation industry. Their surprising answer? Hayao Miyazaki’s son, Goro.

Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki comments that the concept of kids maturing through adventures is “a lie”

Philip Kendall
Feb 3, 2014

At an event held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Japanese author Rieko Nakagawa’s worldwide best seller Guri to Gura (or Guri and Gura in English), friend and fellow artist Hayao Miyazaki has gone on record to say that – unlike in many of the animated features he has created to date – children do not simply head out on adventures and come back smarter and more mature, calling the idea “a lie”.

Goro Miyazaki to direct Ronia the Robber’s Daughter TV anime

Anime News Network
Jan 31, 2014

Goro Miyazaki (Tales from Earthsea, From Up On Poppy Hill) will direct a television anime adaptation of Swedish author Astrid Lindgren’s Ronia the Robber’s Daughter children’s fantasy book. The series, titled Sanzoku no Musume Ronia in Japan, will air on NHK and BS Premium this fall. POLYGON PICTURES (Knights of Sidonia, The Sky Crawlers) is animating the 3D CG series in collaboration with Studio Ghibli. The show will mark the first time that Miyazaki is directing a television anime series.

Gunma man who sought “popularity” arrested after uploading Studio Ghibli’s “Kaze Tachinu”

Philip Kendall
Jan 29, 2014

A man from Japan’s Gunma Prefecture is facing legal action on the grounds of copyright infringement after uploading Studio Ghibli’s 2013 animated film Kaze Tachinu (The Wind Rises in the West) to a public website in July and November last year, the Yomiuri Online reports. When questioned, the accused individual remarked that he uploaded the film “to be popular”, proving once again that crime, especially the dumb kind, does not pay.

Limited Hayao Miyazaki figurines created for Tsunami Relief

Anime News Network
Jan 22, 2014

Martin Hsu and Bigshot Toyworks have teamed up to create a limited run of “Miya-san” figures modeled after acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki.

Fan makes detailed clay figure of Hayao Miyazaki, even his cigarettes look life-like

Master Blaster
Jan 17, 2014

Hayao Miyazaki has created some of anime’s more memorable characters, winning legions of fans all around the world. As such you would imagine that along with the thousands of pieces of fan art, an aspiring sculptor somewhere would pick up the gauntlet and recreate some of them in three dimensions.

One sculptor answered that call, and set out to make the ultimate Ghibli character from clay: Mr. Miyazaki himself… We hear his friends say he’s “a real character.”

We can’t get enough of The Simpsons’ tribute to Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Jan 11, 2014

I’ve been watching The Simpsons ever since I was a kid and I’ve enjoyed Hayao Miyazaki’s movies for just as long. So you can imagine my delight at discovering this Simpsons tribute to the newly retired director of Studio Ghibli. The minute and a half long clip, uploaded to YouTube by the Fox Network, is merely a sneak peak at this Sunday’s upcoming episode, but the animators manage to flawlessly incorporate aspects of the two imaginary worlds of Matt Groening and Hayao Miyazaki in such a short amount of time.

How to properly pronounce “Ghibli” and other fun trivia about the legendary animation studio

Master Blaster
Dec 31, 2013

Two Thousand Thirteen was a year of ups and downs for Studio Ghibli with the release two feature-length films (Kaze Tachinu and Kaguya Hime no Monogatari) and the retirement of their greatest director, Hayao Miyazaki.

Now as the year comes to a close, it might be a fitting time to take a look back at some Ghibli films and learn some things we might not have noticed the first time around in a collection of facts compiled by Japanese website, Naver Matome.

00

New Studio Ghibli movie revealed for 2014: When Marnie Was There【Newsflash】

Philip Kendall
Dec 12, 2013

Seemingly not content with having two brand new movies out this year in the form of Kaze Tachinu and The Tale of Princess Kaguya, Japan’s Studio Ghibli has just announced that a new animated feature, Omoide no Maanii (When Marnie Was There), based on the novel of the same name by English writer Joan G. Robinson, will be hitting screens in Japan in summer 2014.