This new subscription box is full of extremely cute items from Japan that will make your heart go *boom boom*.
Totoro (Page 23)
Donguri Kyowakoku, the chainstore that sells nothing but Studio Ghibli items, has delighted fans with the best offering of the year: a bag filled with amazing Ghibli merchandise.
If you’re not much of a morning person breakfast can be tricky. Sure, it’s the most important meal of the day and heading out on an empty stomach is never a good idea, but at the same time the temptation of an extra 10, 15, 20 minutes in bed is often too much to resist.
If that’s the dilemma you face every morning, these plates of edible cuteness might just be motivation enough for you to haul your ass out of bed and sit down to a proper breakfast. Generous servings of cute after the break!
As popular as Japanese animation is, some critics argue that it can have negative psychological effects on audiences. After watching anime martial artists solve their problems with their fists, will fans try to resolve their own conflicts in similarly violent ways? Isn’t is possible that witnessing lewd acts in animated form will cause impressionable viewers to become more sexually aggressive in real life?
We don’t know about those scenarios, but one recently arrested man was led down the path of crime by his love of anime, and the unlikely corrupter was Studio Ghibli’s Totoro.
It’s been 30 years since Studio Ghibli began producing the adorable characters, inspiring storylines and amazing animated scenes that we all know and love. The warmth of the animation house’s distinctive style has created worlds so captivating it’s almost as if our favourite characters might continue on their journey after the credits finish rolling to live in an alternate animated Ghibli universe alongside our own.
So what if there were a way to catch up with all our Ghibli friends to see how they’ve been getting along? Which stories would fans like to explore further, decades after they were originally created? If semi-retired director Hayao Miyazaki ever needed a reason to come back to making movies full-time, he might like to consider the following list of five Ghibli sequels Japanese moviegoers would most like to see.
We here at RocketNews love Studio Ghibli and its cast of adorable animated characters. We save all our yennies to splurge on licensed merchandise and never miss a chance to visit tourist sites where we might bump into acclaimed semi-retired director Hayao Miyazaki.
One thing we’re yet to do is adorn our bodies with permanent ink tributes to the Ghibli stars. Thankfully, there are fans out there much braver than us who have made the leap, giving us a huge collection of beautiful tattoos for us to sift through. Take a look at 12 of our favourites, from the films My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle.
Studio Ghibli, as an entity, is more or less in a coma, but that doesn’t mean that all of the talented artists that made up the storied anime production house have retired.
Veteran animator Yoshiharu Sato has worked on a number of Ghibli films, most notably as the character designer for My Neighbor Totoro and its sequel Mei and the Kitten Bus. Now, Sato is serving as animation director for an upcoming theatrical anime release that may not bear the Ghibli name, but captures much of the famed studio’s style and atmosphere.
September in Japan is the bridge between summer and autumn, with warm humid days mixed in with cool nights and passing typhoons dumping some of the year’s highest amounts of rainfall around the country.
With the rain set to continue, umbrella sales are in full swing at the moment, and some of the best ones here are simply magic. They won’t send you flying through the air like Mary Poppins, but they will reveal hidden secrets when the rain begins to fall!
When you find something you really like, it’s sometimes hard to express how much it’s influencing your life. To show off how much they love something, some fans try cosplay or rampant consumerism. Others write songs or fan fiction to tell the world the extent of their affection.
But for others, it’s as simple as drawing a picture that perfectly captures all their feelings on the paper. One such artist has put her heart and soul into some fan art that shows the kind of devotion Studio Ghibli inspires in its fans.
While the well-known Ghibli Museum in Tokyo might be at the top of the bucket list for any fan of legendary animated film director Hayao Miyazaki, there’s actually an even better place to get in touch with the semi-retired maestro himself.
It’s a beautiful stretch of nature just north-west of Tokyo. called Sayama Hills. Situated in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, and nicknamed “Totoro’s Forest”, this area was the actual inspiration for the animated feature My Neighbour Totoro. Miyazaki has been known to take daily walks through the area, and is so enamoured by the place that he actively participates in regular volunteer events and has made generous donations towards its conservation.
Now, the foundation that protects the forest is inviting the general public in for a special guided walking tour to take place on 5 December. The full-day event takes visitors around some very special areas and includes lots of background information for fans.
If you’re a passionate fan of a particular of anime, movie, or video game, we’re guessing you’ve got at least one T-shirt in your wardrobe celebrating the franchise. But fandom isn’t a monotheistic religion, so if you don’t want your ability to wear your enthusiasm for the many series you love on your chest to be limited by your single torso, why not slip on one of these double-duty shirts that simultaneously broadcast your affection for Sailor Moon, Totoro, Baymax, and other heroes of animation?
Last week, we took a look at an ad for West Japan Railways that was produced by animators affiliated with Studio Ghibli. If its images of a happy family enjoying the great outdoors had you ready to pack your bags, why not make said bags anime-style too, with these My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service suitcases?
Unless you’ve got a bitter aversion to the cold, odds are you’ll find early summer to be the least pleasant time of year in Japan, weather-wise. Not only is it hot and muggy, it’s also the country’s rainiest period, and just about any time you’re stepping outside you’ll want to carry an umbrella with you.
Thankfully, there’s a way to make the rainy season a little more enjoyable, as a new line of Studio Ghibli-themed umbrellas means a summer squall is just the beginning of a Totoro hunt as the beloved forest spirit magically appears on the umbrella’s fabric when it gets wet.
When Studio Ghibli’s classic anime My Neighbor Totoro first screened in the U.S., more than a few people assumed the titular forest spirit must be a traditional figure from Japanese myth or folklore. Considering how well-realized the character is, and the reverence the film treats him with, it’s not surprising that some people would arrive at that conclusion, but the fact of the matter is Totoro sprang directly from the active and ample imagination of Hayao Miyazaki.
The acclaimed director did have a little real-world help creating the film’s setting though, which is said to have been inspired by a patch of Japanese forestland called Fuchi no Mori. The forest helped light a creative spark in Miyazaki, and now he’s returned the favor by volunteering in an annual conservation event that helps keep the Fuchi no Mori green and healthy.
When you sit down to watch a Studio Ghibli movie, there are generally three things you can expect to see depicted with unbridled passion and heart-stirring attention to detail: the thrill of flight, the glory of nature, and the mouthwatering deliciousness of expertly prepared food. As a matter of fact, scrumptious fare, ranging from extravagant delicacies to good honest grub, shows up with such frequency in Ghibli’s works that one fan counted 47 anime dishes that looked good enough to eat, then set out to make them all himself, as shown in this amazing video.
While every Studio Ghibli anime film has memorable music, the one piece that just about anyone in Japan can sing along to is “Sanpo” from My Neighbor Totoro. Meaning “A Stroll,” it opens with the lyrics, “Let’s walk! Let’s walk! I’m full of energy. Let’s keep going!”
Not exactly the most profound message, admittedly, but there’s no denying the infectious tune will get you in the mood to strap on your kicks and head out the door. And if you’re going on a walk to look for your very own local forest spirit, we can’t imagine a more appropriate set of footwear than a pair of shoes decked out with Ghibli characters.
As fictional (sorry, I mean completely real and definitely not made up) creatures come, furry forest spirits like Studio Ghibli’s Totoro are pretty rare to begin with. Heck, even the theme song to My Neighbor Totoro tells us that we can only see them when we’re “very young”, so it’s not like we’re tripping over the things in the street.
But if you’re the kind of person who simply must have every piece of high quality Ghibli merch, the rarer the better, then this limited edition plush is definitely one you’ll want to look out for.
While in Los Angeles to accept an honorary award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, famed director Hayao Miyazaki mentioned that he has a new anime in the works, giving his fans around the globe huge smiles and racing pulses.
With no production timetable yet in place, though, we’re in for a bit of a wait until we can see the new anime. No one’s sure exactly how long that wait is going to be, but it’s probably going to be long enough that maintaining the level of excitement caused by Miyazaki’s comment isn’t going to be good for your heart. So if a few deep breaths aren’t enough to calm you down, we recommend taking a few moments to relax with this adorable Totoro stuffed animal that naps and murmurs in its sleep, just like the anime film original.
From Totoro to Ponyo, Studio Ghibli’s characters are adored by millions of people the world over. But if those cute and cuddly creations were given a more realistic makeover would be still be quite so fond of them? If Totoro went from “Aaaaw” to “Arrrgh!” would quite so many kids insist on being tucked into a Ghibli bed-spread each night?
US artist and owner of one of the best names ever Andrew Michael Golden may be familiar to some readers for his “Videogame Characters in Real Life” series which went viral back in September this year. Well, since then he’s been hard at work bringing all of your Studio Ghibli favourites into our world.
And, goodness me, they’re eye-catching…
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