A Japanese mystery adventure anime directed by Hayao Miyazaki, starring Yasuo Yamada, Kiyoshi Kobayashi and Sumi Shimamoto.
A thief and his friend are looking for adventure when they happen to rescue a princess who drops a special ring. The thief already knows the princess and follows clues that he learns from the ring to find her. She is engaged to a count who runs a money counterfeiting operation. The count calls in the thief's nemesis, Inspector Zenigata to prevent the thief from disrupting the wedding.
This was alright. It seemed to be a mixture of the team who made Lupin III and Miyazaki style. I could almost see the boundaries where they met on-screen. The most obvious instance is of Lupin and Jigen sitting on a Miyazaki set. The plot held my attention, but you really have to have seen some Lupin III to appreciate the characters. The funniest joke was Lupin swimming up a waterfall. Overall, pretty much as expected. I rate this adequate.
A Japanese war comedy anime directed by Hayao Miyazaki, starring Akemi Okamura and Akio Otsuka.
A WWI fighter pilot has been turned into a pig. After rescuing a child swimming team from pirates, his plane is shot down by an American. He enlists the help of his mechanic's granddaughter, who accompanies him as he seeks revenge on the American pilot.
This was actually pretty good. I had been reluctant to watch it because it sounded boring to me, but am glad I saw it. The plot held my attention and the main characters were unique and memorable. Animation style was Miyazaki. There was one scene with a "shot" from a plane circling part of a castle that really impressed me. Animating a changing perspective like that is no easy task. I watched a dubbed version in English and the audio was clear. The soundtrack was pushed far into the background so that dialogue could take over. Hayao Miyazaki is on my list of those who can do no wrong. Overall, it was very well-made and I ended up liking it. I rate this good. If you've been putting off watching it like I was, maybe it's time for a viewing.
A Japanese fantasy anime directed by Hayao Miyazaki, starring Chika Sakamoto and Noriko Hidaka.
Two sisters move into an old rural house with their father. The mother is in a nearby hospital for undisclosed reasons. After hearing rumors of the house being haunted, the girls stumble upon strange creatures that they may be imagining and may be real.
This is one of the classics of the genre. Although it is geared toward a very young audience, the animation is great and the fantasy element is interesting. The plot was a little vague in some areas and this may have been intentional. The characters were all very good and fit their roles correctly. I watched the Disney English dub version. My favorite part was the cat bus. Overall, a regular anime that's fun to watch, but not very thought-provoking. I rate this good.
A Japanese animated drama romance directed by Hayao Miyazaki, starring Hideaki Anno and Mirai Shida,
A boy grows up to be an aeronautical engineer and falls in love with a dying woman. He has dreams of conversations with an Italian engineer in which they discuss airplanes.
This was not too shabby. The plot was a little on the dull side for Miyazaki. The characters were good though. As with all of his works, it had that trademark Miyazaki style of animation that I like. What was missing here was the strong fantasy element that is so present in the other films. Overall, it was well-made with beautiful animation, but nowhere near as wild and interesting as other works by this director. I rate it adequate.
A Japanese anime directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
A girl who is being chased by pirates and the military falls from an airship into a small mining town. The necklace that she wears has magic powers, making her float down slowly where a boy catches her. The pirates turn out to be their friends and together they compete with the military on a quest to find a floating castle.
This is a classic anime. If you like this style of animation, you need to see this. The plot and characters are good and everything is animated very well, with a great level of detail. There are some characters from other Miyazaki films in this. Kamajii the boiler man from Spirited Away is the mechanic on the pirate ship whose female leader is Yubaba and the pet fox-squirrel-cat thing from Nausicaa lives with the robot in the flying city. As with most anime, the boisterous lead pirate is female with male subordinates and they are implied to be pedophiles by their seemingly romantic interests in the young girl. Overall, one of the best anime ever made. I rate this best.
A Japanese anime directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
A princess rides a jet-propelled hang glider through a fantasy world of poisonous forests and giant insects.
This is brilliant. I saw it a long time ago before starting this blog, but it was cool to see again. The plot held my interest and the main character was well developed. The animation style is very Miyazaki and exemplary of traditional anime. One thing to note is the princess' lack of underwear. Overall, great. I rate this awesome. Watch it!
A Japanese animated fantasy directed by Hiroyuki Morita.
A girl saves the life of the prince of cats and the king of cats arranges for her to marry the prince. She is directed by another cat that she helped earlier to seek help from a certain agency. She finds the agency, but is kidnapped by the cats and taken to their world where she finds that she is turning into a cat herself. She must escape before the transformation is complete.
This is a Studio Ghibli film and is very much in the Hayao Miyazaki style. The backgrounds are very detailed and a rich fantasy world is created. The plot was in line with the infamous UPO, but held my interest. The characters were decent and pacing was quick. The use of flashbacks helped in telling the story and everything made sense. I don't feel the need to do lots of praise typing right now, but I really enjoyed this. Overall, a good Studio Ghibli anime. I rate it awesome.
A fantasy anime by Hayao Miyazaki.A girl is turned into an old woman by a witch. She finds a wizard's famous moving castle and barges in. She makes friends with a boy there who is pretending to be a wizard and the fire demon who lives in the hearth. She ends up taking care of the castle and the wizard who owns it.Miyazaki can do no wrong. All of his films have great animation style and good plots. The chaacters are always good, but there is always a "mushy" or sentimental ending. Anyway, it's good anime. I'm rating this best.
A fantasy Anime by Hayao Miyazaki.A girl and her parents are moving to a new house. On the way there, they take a wrong turn and find an abandoned amusement park. The parents begin to eat some unguarded food and cant stop, while the girl finds a bath house and a boy named Haku. Haku tells her to get out before dark, but darkness comes quickly and she finds that her parents have been turned into pigs. Haku then directs the girl to get a job at the bath house.Miyazaki's work is always so awesome and this may be his best. There are monsters and magic everywhere and even a dragon. The animation style is the best part, so if you like good anime, this would be one to watch. I'm rating it best.
a fantasy written and directed by hayao miyazakia boy finds a magical fish that decides it wants to be human.the video was excellent (like all studio ghibli movies) and the audio was in english.check out: the animation style. it's just that good.this was good. not as good as kiki's delivery service, but better than my neighbor totoro. if you like animated movies or "anime" then you might get a kick out of this one.
