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From: BITNET list server at BROWNVM (1.8a) <[e-mail]>
Subject:      File: "TAKAHATA ARTICLES"
To: "Michael S. Johnson" <[e-mail]>
Status: O

TAKAHATA ARTICLES

Subject:  1.) LITTLE NORSE PRINCE synopsis/review  (THE ROSE, 11/90)
L#00164   2.) GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES review (Steven Feldman, May 1992)
L#00320   3.) GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES review (Rafael Brown, June 24, 1992)
L#00424   4.) OMOIDE POROPORO review (ANIMAGE, 1/91; THE ROSE, 1/91)
L#00489   5.) OMOIDE POROPORO review (THE JAPAN TIMES, August 7, 1991)
L#00672   6.) OMOIDE POROPORO review (Bryan Wilkinson, August 18, 1992)
L#00890   7.) OMOIDE POROPORO review (John W. Yung, April 14, 1992)
L#00973   8.) GOSHU THE CELLIST mini-synopsis (Walter M. Amos, 8/3/93)
L#01013   9.) UMI GA KIKOERU mini-synopsis (Alan Takahashi, 7/18/93)
L#01085  10.) COLLISION! AKIRA KUROSAWA VS. HAYAO MIYAZAKI (9/13/93)
L#01280  11.) Jo Hisaishi Discographies (Atsushi Fukumoto, 6/2/94)
L#01487  12.) Isao Takahata Interview (AnimeLand #6, July/August 1992)
L#01812  13.) HEISEI TANUKI GASSEN PONPOKO synopsis (B. Lucido, 7/17/94)


=========================================================================
Subject:  1.) LITTLE NORSE PRINCE synopsis/review (THE ROSE, 11/90)


     The following review is a re-printing of an article which appeared
in the November 1990 issue (Vol. 4, #24) of Anime Hasshin's newsletter,
THE ROSE (on pages 6 & 7, to be exact).  Please retain this header.


REVIEW
LITTLE NORSE PRINCE
by Lester Swint

     The Japanese version of this film was released in Japan in July of
1968 as PRINCE OF THE SUN: THE GREAT ADVENTURES OF HORUS.  The English
language version, LITTLE NORSE PRINCE, should be of interest to anime
fans since Hayao Miyazaki, the creator of Nausicaa, worked on it as a key
animator.  The film is also a very good fantasy film.

     The story of Little Norse Prince has its basis in the folklore of
old northern Europe.  Its hero is Hols, a brave young son of a fisherman.
How brave is he?  At the very beginning of the movie, Hols is in the
midst of a battle with a large pack of wolves, armed with only an axe!
The odds seem impossible and they are; but Hols wields his weapon
expertly to fend off the hungry wolves.  Finally, he is saved in the nick
of time by Rockoor, a giant made of stone and earth, awakened from a
seemingly centuries-old sleep by the sound of battle.  Hols befriends the
giant by removing a large sword wedged deep in his "shoulder boulder."
Rockoor calls it the "sword of the sun" and predicts that when Hols needs
it, the sword will aid him when he faces the evil of Grunwald the Frost
King.

     The action and violence in this opening sequence will immediately
let any viewer know this cartoon is not your average everyday G-rated
animated kiddie film.

     Hols' father dies unexpectedly, but before he leaves his son, he
tells him of the northern land of their birth and how their village was
destroyed by the sinister sorcery of the Frost King when Hols was just an
infant.  He and Hols were the only known survivors of the tragedy, and
now he implores him to return to the village where he was born, to learn
the fate of the other villages.  So, armed with his trusty axe, his newly
found sword and accompanied by his pet bear (?), Coro, Hols begins his
trek to the north to find truth and his destiny.

     In his travels, Hols has his first and almost last confrontation
with Grunwald.  But despite the Frost King's overconfidence, our hero is
a hard man to kill, even after falling off a cliff!  He is found alive
and cared for in a fishing village not unlike the one his father told him
of on his deathbed.  And like the village where he was born, this one is
also plagued by the dark presence of the Frost King.

     A giant pike, a monstrous sea beast of Grunwald's, is consuming all
the fish in the area, threatening the livelihood of the entire
settlement.  The fishermen are frightened of the creature, but Hols is
not one to give in to fear.  Alone, he goes in search of the monster.
After a fierce, frantic combat in the water and out, Hols defeats the
beast.

     Hols is cheered as the hero he is and accepted by everyone in the
village.  Everyone except the village chief and his manipulative deputy,
Drego.  They don't appreciate the newcomer Hols' sudden popularity with
the people they lead and grow concerned that their authority might be in
jeopardy.

     But their power is not being threatened by Hols.  Grunwald's desire
is nothing less than to exterminate all the people in the village.  That
Hols is still alive and living in the village is an added incentive for
the Frost King to destroy it.

     And with the unknowing help of Hols himself, the evil Grunwald
brings in another player into the story with the introduction of Hilda, a
young girl Hols finds alone in a misty, abandoned village.  Gentle and
mysterious, Hilda, with her beautiful (and very mature!) singing voice,
is at first a welcome addition to this troubled town, but as time passes,
her presence adds to the dark forces that threaten its existence.  Still,
the people of this fishing village have the same bravery that Hols has
and together with the young fisherman's son stand strong against the
mystic power of the Frost King to defend their home.

     Hols, the hero of this tale, is portrayed as a brave, strong-willed
young boy.  He is not a posing, self-righteous figure, but he has courage
and an obvious belief in himself.  When Hols first meets the Frost King,
he is at a very precarious disadvantage: Grunwald has Hols' life in his
hands, but the boy does not back down for an instant.  It nearly costs
him his life, but Hols would not give up his principles for the murderous
Frost King.  And he survives, his morals intact, to eventually defeat the
mighty Grunwald.  Hols doesn't really see himself as a hero, but he is
one nonetheless.

     LITTLE NORSE PRINCE is a lost animated treasure that sucks you into
its story from its opening scene.  As has usually been the case with
Japanese animation, the film's story deals honestly with the reality of
life and death.  It is not ignored for the sake of children watching.
When a beloved character dies, there is sadness, grief and the
continuance of life.  The English language production staff of this
movie, including director Fred Ladd, and editor Eli Haviv, should be
commended for not editing this necessary element out of the story of
young Hols.

     The animation is very good, especially in the action sequences.  The
film's opening, with Hols overwhelmed by a pack of wolves, draws you in
with its fierce, desperate pace.  And, Hols' battle with the giant pike
is excitingly reminiscent of the finale of the Walt Disney classic
PINOCCHIO--which featured the little puppet's brave attempt to save his
father, Geppeto, from the colossal whale, Monstro--though done on a
smaller scale.

     The character designs are notable in that only Hols, of all the
movie's cast, has the distinctive look of a Japanese anime creation.
Hilda, in earlier character designs I've been fortunate enough to see,
looked more like a traditional anime girl than she was finally realized
in the film.

     For those wondering if the contribution of the well-known Hayao
Miyazaki are perceptible in this edited version of PRINCE OF THE SUN, I
must state that this is not a Miyazaki film.  But, even edited into
English as she is, I felt the character of Hilda retained the touch of
Miyazaki's magic.

     To those interested in something a little different in your anime
enjoyment, I recommend the LITTLE NORSE PRINCE.

     [I wish to thank David Rains for his generosity.  Please note also
that the names of the movie's characters are spelled based on my own
impression of how they sounded in the film.]

                                   END
^^^^^^^^^^

     I saw the same version of this anime which Mr. Swint saw, which was
a copy Mr. Rains made available to Anime Hasshin members.  Said copy was
made from a broadcast from the (Ted Turner-owned) cable station TBS in
Atlanta, Georgia somewhere back in the early to mid 1980s.  It was rather
interesting in parts, and a great example of Miyazaki's early work, but
it not on the level of anything I've seen of his work from CAGLIOSTRO
CASTLE and onwards.  Made in 1968, with a running time of 1 hr. 22min.,
this film sports Hayao Miyazaki as *scene designer and key animator*, but
the man did not write the screenplay nor direct.  As such, it is not a
"Miyazaki film" per se, but it *does* provide very interesting glimpses
into the animator's early style.

             -- Steven Feldman, Hiyao Miyazaki Discussion Group listowner
                <[e-mail]>, 7/22/91

========================================================================
Subject:  2.) GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES review (Steven Feldman, May 1992)


WRITTEN BY: Steven Feldman
FIRST POSTED TO <NAUSICAA@BROWNVM> BY: Steven Feldman, Dec. 9, 1991
SUGGESTIONS ADDED FROM THE ADVICE OF: Atsushi Fukumoto, December 1991
FIRST PUBLISHED (IN SLIGHTLY-EDITED FORM) IN: THE ROSE, Vol.6, No.32
     (April 1992), pp. 10 & 11  [Bernie/Alfred mistake cited in No.33]
BERNIE/ALFRED MISTAKE CORRECTED BY: Steven Feldman, May 1992
PUBLISHED UNEDITED IN: JAPANESE ANIMATION NEWS & REVIEW Vol.2, No.3
     (May 1993), pp. 5-7.  [GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES SPECIAL ISSUE]

                   GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES REVIEW

     I saw Isao Takahata's GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES in its entirety for the
first time the other night and was surprised at both its similarities and
dissimilarities with the works of Hayao Miyazaki.  Unlike the anime of
the latter, this film is realistic in a downbeat sense, with no overt
comedic leavening, only bitter-sweet perks.  The narrative, which lends
itself well to character study, revolves almost exclusively around two
characters, but strangely, there is no character development per se.  MY
NEIGHBOR TOTORO has few characters and little character development, as
well, so its pairing with FIREFLIES at Japanese theatrical screenings is
not as surprising as many have thought.  Both these films evoke key if
not memorable times in the recent Japanese past.  Distilled to the
basics, it could be said that TOTORO embodies the Japan many Japanese
wish still was, whereas FIREFLIES embodies Japan at its nadir.  And yet,
FIREFLIES uses its pivotal series of events as a backdrop rather than a
soapbox for platitudinous didacticism, and paradoxically, gathers greater
power through this inherently evasive technique.  It has often been
remarked how the tragedy of a handful is more heartfelt than that of a
multitude, and it is no less true, here.
     The copy of GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES I saw was in the original
language and I don't know Japanese, so since there is little action and a
great deal of dialogue, my judgment of this film on a narrative level is
largely irrelevant.  As far as I have been able to gather, the film's
events take place during the end of Japan's involvement in World War II.
[After writing this, I learned that the setting was Kobe in April, 1945,
and that the A bombs which hit Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August were
hundreds of kilometers away.]  During the course of the film, the
principle characters run for shelter from air raids some seven or eight
times.  At later points, it is revealed that both characters (a 16-year-
old reserve soldier and his 6-year-old sister?) contracted radiation
poisoning, which is represented by red blotches on the torso, but I
didn't see where they got it from.  There was no nuclear blast, no
immediate reaction from eating or drinking contaminated food, nor the
onslaught of sudden hair loss.  [Again, after writing this, I learned
that they died of malnutrition--not radiation--and that the red blotches
were prickly heat.]  Instead, we see how two people cope with major
changes in their lives, both adverse and bitter-sweetly propitious.  This
brings us back to the TOTORO comparison.
     TOTORO's tacit subtext is that of two children dealing with the
possible terminal illness of a parent, yet this is obfuscated by the
fantastic and nostalgic elements.  In retrospect, one is tempted to ask
why the various forest spirits revealed themselves to the two little
girls.  Did the series of fanciful events spark from the children's
openess and naivete, or from a deep-seated need?  The answer is both.
What separates TOTORO from FIREFLIES is its deus ex machina ending.  If
the Cat-bus hadn't helped Satsuki find Mei, Mei might very well have
wound up like the characters in FIREFLIES: hungry and lost.
     If one were not very familiar with Japanese animation, it would be
easy to mistake GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES for a Miyazaki film.  The
characters have similarly-constructed faces and nearly all the imagery
has the same smooth-edged look that is so rare in anime.  That Miyazaki
and Takahata have worked together on and off for over 25 years is no
doubt a contributing factor, but both their styles are so dissimilar to
the generic anime style (if there is such a thing), that one tends to
think more so of 1940's animation in their context (KIKI'S DELIVERY
SERVICE being the most obvious example).  Unlike Miyazaki, Takahata's key
animation is, upon closer examination, not as smooth as it looks and
certainly not as dynamically arranged as that of the former.  Nearly
every scene in FIREFLIES is symmetrical, which gives the film a flat,
even tone.  I have seen only one other Takahata film, PRINCE OF THE SUN--
which was designed and key animated by Miyazaki--so I really have no idea
whether this stiffness of scene organization is on purpose, or else an
inherent limitation of the director's style, but I think it is a little
of both.  Watching GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES, I got the feeling that
Takahata might be trying to evoke the same sort of domestic mundanity for
which the live-action director Yasujiro Ozu was reknowned: the scenery
arrangements were static, the dialogue plain, and the characters'
reactions thoroughly unremarkable--almost as if the director was secretly
filming a real-life situation from a hidden vantage point.  Indeed, the
frequent temporal shifts in this anime add to this sense of impromptu,
almost ethnographic filmmaking.  That said, I must add that it is a
remarkable achievement to have imbued an animated film with a
verisimilitude so close to reality.  By this, I do not mean to give
hyperbolic lip service as some have done with THE SIMPSONS--for FIREFLIES
is no mere allegory and there is nothing humorous about it--but to say
that, with FIREFLIES, one often becomes unaware that one is not watching
a live-action movie, but a "cartoon."  The same cannot be said for a
Miyazaki film, and this is an important point.
     Miyazaki is a great storyteller, but the enjoyability of a story is
in no way affected by its inherent believability or realism.  Contextual
believability is often more important in tale-spinning, so a modest anime
like LOCKE THE SUPERMAN is in many ways more successful and enjoyable
than an opulent bonanza like AKIRA.  More than a few fledgling anime fans
have wondered why anyone could possibly like something like TONARI NO
TOTORO (MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO) or KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD more than ST. SEIYA,
MEGAZONE 23 PART TWO, or BUBBLEGUM CRISIS, but this has more to do with
youthful hormones than careful examination.  On the other hand, THE WINGS
OF HONNEAMISE is internally consistent and largely true-to-life yet lacks
not only the verve of a Miyazaki film, but the weight of GRAVE OF THE
FIRELFLIES.  Why is is this so?  I'm not certain, and yet, perhaps ARION
and TIME STRANGER offer clues.  ARION takes many of the gods of the Greek
pantheon and puts them through changes Homer never intended, and yet, in
of itself, this tale is breathtaking and exceptionally well balanced.
TIME STRANGER is a time travel story that takes extreme liberties with
historical motivations and yet, given the belief suspension required of
the paradox of time travel, it acquits itself unusually well.  Both these
anime have verve, but neither are as weighty as GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES.
This brings us back to the idea of empathy with a few being more palpable
than identification with a large statistic.  ARION deals with an entire
religion, virtually half its gods, and all its followers; TIME STRANGER
concerns the eradication of an entire future civilization; HONNEAMISE
deals with two warring nations and a race to the moon; and FIREFLIES,
with ground-level subsistence during wartime.  In ascending order, then,
these anime deal with struggle on first a universal, then a personal
order.  Allegorical subtexts notwithstanding, personal travails make for
better drama.
     Another curious comparison to GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES and MY NEIGHBOR
TOTORO would be to GUNDAM 0080: WAR IN THE POCKET.  In this series-
within-a-series, the viewer comes to identify with a small child named
Alfred who unwittingly becomes a spy in service of the enemy.  To him,
soldiers are glamorous icons like rock stars or movie stars, and so
acceptance--however superficial--by one of these provides a rapture and
sense of belonging which is frightening in its ignorance.  Eventually,
this star-struck boy learns the truth and turns on his erstwhile hero,
even as the latter redeems himself poignantly with a selfless act.  On
the one hand, this series is similar to THE WINGS OF HONNEAMISE in that
one is always aware that the key character is only a cog in a larger
design, yet on the other hand, Alfred is as emotionally starved as Mei is
for her mother or the little girl in FIREFLIES is for her father and
fading fatherland, because his father and school friends pay no attention
to him.
     Is GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES, then, ultimately about the tribulations
of isolated children?  I think not.  No, despite its pervading sense of
reality, this film functions as a proverb, a concrete illustration of
hope and faith in the face of adversity.  That its key characters die
does not diminish the object lesson, nor make martyrs of them.  They
were--or symbolize--two of many who died in a war that destroyed their
bodies but not their spirits.  And these spirits are not fighting
spirits, but the spirits that make men, women and children human.

                                 END

Steven Feldman ^ ^ Member of Anime Hasshin (POB  ^ ^ ^ ^ ^  ________ ^ ^
80 Forest St.  ^ ^ 391036; Cambridge, MA 02139-  ^ ^ ^ __---        ---_
Providence, RI ^ ^ 1036), Hokubei Anime-kai (POB ^ ^  -             _   \
02906-2630 USA ^ ^ 279; Botsford, CT 06404), and ^ ^ |           /_/ \  |
[phone] ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ College Hill Anime. ^ ^_-      __/_// __ |/
BITNET: ar402004@brownvm ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ -     (|/ '()` <()/ ^
INTERNET: [e-mail] ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^  \_   O        .> | ^
HAYAO MIYAZAKI DISCUSSION GROUP: nausicaa@brownvm  ^  /--_/  -__ -- /  ^
<*> Address for subscribing: listserv@brownvm <*>  ^ ^ ^ ^ ^   ---   ^ ^

========================================================================
Subject:  3.) GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES review (Rafael Brown, June 24, 1992)


WRITTEN BY: Rafael Brown
POSTED TO: Brownvm's local-only "Bruno rec.movies" on June 24, 1992
EDITED & RE-FORMATTED BY: Steven Feldman, June 22, 1993

From: "Bruno"
Subject: movie review: Grave of the Fireflies (ST101900)
X-Topic: Entry #662 of REC.MOVIES

Posted on 24 Jun 1992 at 15:12:14 by Rafael Brown (107018)

     This list has been relatively quiet lately so I thought I'd spice
things up with a rather offbeat review.  I recently saw a movie at a
friend's house that I was blown away by.  The movie was Grave of the
Fireflies by Isao Takahata.  The movie is a subtitled, letterboxed,
Japanese animation film.
     Before anyone throws up their hands in disgust thinking "oh no,
another one of those Japanese sci-fi robot movies, what a waste", let me
say that this is one of the most serious, realistic, inspired movies I
have seen in a while.  Then there is the reasoning, if it is so realistic
why not use live actors?  The reason is because animation is a collection
of drawings and drawings are art.  They can convey a wide range of
concepts in a breathtakingly beautiful style.  Animation can convey mood
and imagery in a way that actors can't come close to.  I'm not saying
that movies with actors are bad; they are just a very different style.
Both types of movies stand very well on their own.  Grave of the
Fireflies portrays as much depth and sincerity as, say, Thelma and
Louise or Boyz 'n The Hood.
     But enough justification, movies as good as Grave of the Fireflies
don't need to be defended, they're beyond that.  The following review
gives a general synopsis of Grave of the Fireflies as well as some of my
thoughts on it.

Grave of the Firelies (directed by Isao Takahata):

     I approached this movie with some trepidation.  I had been warned
that the movie was extremely depressing.  The friend who it belonged to
told me how the subtitling job had slowed down because the subtitlers had
a hard time watching it over and over again.  Be warned this movie is no
Akira.  There is NO action whatsoever.  Despite this I would rate it as
one of my all time favorite movies.
     The action revolves around a brother and his little sister (I'd
estimate their ages at around 11 and 4).  The date is late 1945 just
before Japan surrendered.  These two children are brutally cut loose from
the family and home environment that they are familiar with and thrust
out into a chaotic world to survive on their own.  I guess you could call
it a war movie in that it looks at how civilians and particularly
children live during times of war.
     While it is hard to classify Fireflies it is more a tragedy than
anything else.  We follow the lives of the two children as they try to
live and find a home in the war torn Japanese countryside.  They are
slowly dying of starvation and the brother's efforts to provide for his
sister are pathetic in their futility and realistic portrayal.
     The plot is complex and realistic in a way a Disney movie could
never aspire to given their usual saccharine-like quality.  Make no
mistake, though this movie is animated, it is NOT for kids.  I don't
think it's really appropriate for anyone under twelve.  Beyond this, the
animation is first rate with scenes that old Walt himself would shake his
head in wonderment at.  Not only is the film visually smooth, it also
takes the animation to new levels of artistic creativity (a trait
Takahata is rapidly becoming known for).
     The character designs are some of the most realistic I have yet seen
in any animation on either side of the Pacific.  The scenery while not as
strikingly beautiful as that of a contemporary of Takahata's, Hayao
Miyazaki, is still detailed and very realistic.  A good example is a
scene early on in the movie.  The city that the two main characters live
in is being firebombed and fire is slowly spreading throughout various
building.  As the children wend their way through the street they see a
fire burning in front of them.  Instead of portraying fire with the
opaque red and yellow usually seen in a cartoon or Disney movie, the fire
is a shockingly TRANSLUCENT yellow.  The smoke that rises from it is also
slightly translucent allowing us to see part of the background behind the
flames and smoke.  This is how Takahata brings his movies closer to
reality.
     This is not to say that the whole movie mimics reality and does
nothing else.  There is another scene that exemplifies Takahata's
originality in mixing the styles of animation used to set different
moods.  After learning that they will have to leave the city and seek
help from far away relatives, the brother tells his sister that they must
leave.  The little girl is practically in shock from all of the changes
that have happened to her and starts crying.  In an attempt to cheer her
up, the brother pulls himself up onto a acrobatic bar of some sort in the
playground and calls to her to watch him.  As he turn repeatedly turns
head over heels on the bar she cries with her back to him oblivious to
anything  but her confusion and pain.  The background meanwhile is all in
pastel tans and off-whites.  Slowly, the scene shifts as it changes angle
and moves upward and back until we are looking at the two as if from a 3-
story building.  Watching them from a distance, the emptiness and
loneliness of the scene strikes the viewer and it is hard not to feel for
the two children.
     I would write more but I don't want to give away too much of the
movie.  The College Hill Anime Club will be showing this movie next
semester and if any movie is seen this is the one.  (An interesting note
is that because of the singularity of this movie the officers haven't yet
figured out how to place it; it'll probably be at the end of the semester
just to give it some distance from everything else.)  Anyone with further
questions can write to:

                                             Rafael Brown
                                             [e-mail]

========================================================================
Subject:  4.) OMOIDE POROPORO review (ANIMAGE, 1/91; THE ROSE, 1/91)


     The following is reprinted from page 8 of the January 1991 (Vol. 5,
#25) issue of THE ROSE, the bi-monthly fanzine of the Anime Hasshin anime
club:

                            < * - * >

OMOIDE POROPORO

From Animage, January 1991

translated by Kevin Leahy

     Presenting in the summer of 1991 Studio Jiburi's newest production!
Hayao Miyazaki - producer, Isao Takahata - director.  *Omoide Poroporo*
(literally, "Remembering in Drops", unofficially titled in English "Only
Yesterday").
     A 27-year-old office lady sets out on a journey, and her companion
is a remembrance of when she was 10 years old.
     Roughly two years after the release of *Majo no Takyubin* (*Witch's
Delivery Service*), Studio Jiburi's newest production - Omoide Poroporo -
is set to be released to the public.  In 1987 this production was published
serially in "Shukan Myojo" (Monthly Morning Star) as a manga of the same
name.  The original creator, Hotaru Okamoto, wrote of her experiences as a
young lady, and Yuko Tone drew the manga.
     The stage was Showa 41 (1966), the year the Beatles came to Japan,
and when weaved [sic] with the home and school experiences of the heroine -
elementary school 5th grader Taeko Okajima - and described from the view-
point of a 10-year old girl, the sympathy of a lot of readers is gained.
     Isao Takahata is supervisor for the script writing.  Since Hotaru
no Haka (Grave of the Firefly), three years have been spent supervising
production.  In the anime, unlike the original work, Taeko appears grown
to the age of 27 years and the reminiscences that form the original work
are told paralleling Taeko's trip of self-discovery in modern times.
     Showa 41 (1966) - Taeko Okajima, 10 years old, elementary school 5th
grader.
     The things I like: hamburgers, bananas, loose sushi, and the dandy
from *Hyokkori Hyotan Island*.
     The things I hate: horse radish, onions, fish salad, and math.
     I recall... left-over school lunches, couldn't compute fractions,
sour pineapple, scolded by Dad...
     I recall... triumphant composition, the age of enlightenment, the
school literary club, the first time I was depressed about boys...
     The youngest of the three sisters, Taeko badly takes advantage of
her situation and soon she is always being silenced by her older sisters.
Her strong suit is Japanese, and her weak point is math.  In class, it
can't be said that she's overly conspicuous.  Already the idols they like
fill the conversations of the girls of the present class, and their fav-
orite star is *Hyokkori Hyotan Island*'s dandy, they say, but it might be
a little bit of a secret...
     In short, this story's heroine, Taeko Okajima, is an ordinary girl
like those anywhere else.  The background era of Showa 41 (1966) and other
things aside, the episodes of this production are the general experiences
of childhood, crossing generations and the world, and something with which
everyone can sympathize.  If we can set our adult eyes back on them just a
little, when we were children these were urgent matters.  These events,
for anyone who may not recall their time, are their own memories, too.

                            < * - * >

                              Steven Feldman <[e-mail]>

========================================================================
Subject:  5.) OMOIDE POROPORO review (THE JAPAN TIMES, August 7, 1991)


From THE JAPAN TIMES, August 7, 1991:
[This English-language newspaper, published in Japan, is intended mainly
for foreigners living in Japan.]

"Animation for grownups"
By MARK SCHILLING

    Animation is a Japanese passion; kids here can choose from more
than 30 half-hour cartoons a week, and two of those shows, "Sazaesan"
and "Chibi Maruko-chan" dominated the ratings race until recently.
(After enjoying a huge boom last year, the latter program has begun to
fade.)
    To an American, at least, their popularity may seem puzzling.
Compared with Road Runner, Roger Rabbit, or even Bart Simpson, they
look rather bland, tame, prosaic.  Where's the action, the antics, the
over-the-top surrealism?  Where are the kicks for kids?
    One answer is that these shows aren't only for children.  "Chibi
Maruko-chan" is designed as a trip down memory lane for
twenty-something women.  Though ostensibly set in a timeless present,
"Sazaesan" is actually about the Japan of the High Growth era.  Its
intended audience is the whole family, from the grandmothers who are
Sazaesan's real contemporaries to the tots who will watch virtually
anything that moves.
    Producer Hayao Miyazaki and director Isao Takahata were no doubt
encouraged by the popularity of these shows when they decided to make
"Omoide Poro-poro," based on the comic by Yuko Tone and Kei Okamoto.
The story of an OL's solitary journey to the countryside and her past,
it also reaches out to a wider audience than that for typical animated
features.
    Like "Chibi Maruko-chan," it focuses on the misadventures of a
young girl and caters to Yuppie nostalgia for childhood.  "Omoide
Poro-poro," however, looks back farther, to 1966, when hemlines first
rose to fantastic heights, the Beatles played the Budokan, and the
heroine entered the fifth grade.
    It also ventures farther in the direction of psychological and
visual realism, while avoiding the self-consciously cute or cartoony.
Taeko, the heroine, is a bit bored with her job, and uncertain about
her future.  Now 27, she senses that she is at a turning point, but
doesn't know which direction to take.  Marriage?  Perhaps, but she has
no particular candidate in mind.
    Without knowing why, she begins to remember her tenth year---and
find a self she had forgotten.  She strikes us, in other words, as a
complex, three-dimensional woman, not a manga character.
    Also, though the countryside she visits is that of a city-bred
imagination, all lush green loveliness and friendly salt-of-the-earth
farmers, its trees, rocks and people are drawn with painstaking,
occasionally striking, attention to detail.  This meticulousness
extends even to the narrative.  When Taeko arrives in Yamagata
Prefecture after a all-night train journey and begins to help her
in-laws with their work of making lipstick coloring from safflowers,
the film describes the process with the exhaustiveness of an NHK
documentary.
    Given the filmmakers' obsession with the actual, it may seem
strange that they use animation at all.  Why not film real rocks,
trees and people, and save the labor of drawing them?  The answer, I
think, is that Miyazaki and Takahata, a veteran team who also
collaborated in "Majo no Takkyubin (The Witch's Delivery Service),"
the top-grossing Japanese film of 1989, see animation as a valid
medium for subjects once reserved for film.  They want their art to
take its rightful place at the grownup's table.
    They state their case vividly, charmingly, poignantly.  The
flashbacks, especially, work well; they not only have the right period
look, down to Taeko's ballerina in her round plastic case, but the
right feel as well.  Taeko's first encounters with romance, stage
fright, and the mysteries of menstruation are told with comic punch
and a sharply observant eye.
    Her adventures as an adult, however, are less amusing, more
predictable.  From the moment she meets a bright-eyed young farmer,
the cousin of her brother-in-law, we know how her anomie is going to
end.  This section of the film, set in an all-too recent 1982, is
basic *torendi dorama*.  The farmer even delivers speeches on the
decline of the countryside and the future potential of mechanized
farming.  He's good and earnest and sincere---and he made me long for
1966.
    Like "Roger Rabbit," "Omoide Poro-poro" pushes the envelope of
animated art.  But it does so in a very Japanese way.  It's true
inspirations are not Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny, but the
introspective, reflective characters who populate the classic "I"
novel.  Not Walt Disney and Warner Brothers, in other words, but Naoya
Shiga.

------------------------------cut here----------------------------------

Subject:  Re: Omoide Poroporo review in The Japan Times
X-Topic:  Entry #273 of LISTS.NAUSICAA
Date:     Wed, 21 Aug 1991 14:21:31 EDT
From:     Steven Feldman <[e-mail]>

>REVIEW: Omoide Poroporo  (from The Japan Times)
>Date:         Thu, 22 Aug 1991 02:05:07 +0900
>----
>from THE JAPAN TIMES,  August 7, 1991
>"Animation for grownups"
>By MARK SCHILLING
>"Sazaesan" is actually about the Japan of the High Growth era.

     What is this "High Growth era"?

>She strikes us, in other words, as a
>complex, three-dimensional woman, not a manga character.

     Ouch.  Am I to believe, then, that the consensus opinion is
that manga characters tend to be rather two-dimensional (like
mainstream American comics characters)?

>    Given the filmmakers' obsession with the actual, it may seem
>strange that they use animation at all.  Why not film real rocks,
>trees and people, and save the labor of drawing them?  The answer, I
>think, is that Miyazaki and Takahata, a veteran team who also
>collaborated in "Majo no Takkyubin (The Witch's Delivery Service),"
>the top-grossing Japanese film of 1989, see animation as a valid
>medium for subjects once reserved for film.  They want their art to
>take its rightful place at the grownup's table.

     BINGO!
     And on another note:
     I didn't realize that Takahata had worked with Miyazaki on KIKI'S
DELIVERY SERVICE ("Majo no Takkyubin").  This goes far in explaining why
the KIKI film had such a downbeat ending!

>basic *torendi dorama*.
>introspective, reflective characters who populate the classic "I"
>novel.  Not Walt Disney and Warner Brothers, in other words, but Naoya
>Shiga.

     Can anyone out there explain "torendi dorama," "'I' novel," and
"Naoya Shiga"?

                           -- Steven Feldman <[e-mail]>

 =======================================================================
Subject: Re: Omoide Poroporo review in The Japan Times
X-Topic: Entry #279 of LISTS.NAUSICAA
Date:         Sat, 24 Aug 1991 00:50:11 +0900
From:         [e-mail]

>>      What is this "High Growth era"?

    Beginning 1955, Japanese economics grew rapidly.  It was stopped
in 1973 (Oil Shock).  This period is called KOUDO SEICHOUKI, or High
Growth era.

>> >She strikes us, in other words, as a
>> >complex, three-dimensional woman, not a manga character.
>>
>>      Ouch.  Am I to believe, then, that the consensus opinion is
>> that manga characters tend to be rather two-dimensional (like
>> mainstream American comics characters)?

    They are two-dimensional, aren't they?

>>      I didn't realize that Takahata had worked with Miyazaki on KIKI'S
>> DELIVERY SERVICE ("Majo no Takkyubin").  This goes far in explaing why
>> KIKI film had such a downbeat ending!

    Takahata did music direction.  Usually in Miyazaki films it was
done by Hisaishi, but when the recording of Kiki's soundtrack was
done, Hisaishi was a little busy to do it.  So Takahata did it with
discussing with Miyazaki, and directed Hisaishi to compose music.
    I think he had no concern with the story.

>>      Can anyone out there explain "torendi dorama," "'I' novel," and
>> "Naoya Shiga"?

    Um, I should have described it but it's a little hard for my
limited English vocabulary.  (And I don't watch TV these days.)
TORENDII DORAMA, or "Trendy Drama", is a trend of TV drama in Japan of
these days.  It features some young guys and girls living in Tokyo or
some large city.  Well... Imagine a photo of night view of skyscrapers
like New York.  It's brilliant, but it never tells about city problems
like crimes and homelesses.  TORENDII DORAMA is just like it (in my
humble opinion).
    SHIGA Naoya (1883-1971) is a novelist and short story writer.  His
stories are concerning with "self", or "ego".  I'm not expert in this
area, so you should consult some encyclopedia or handbook on Japanese
literature.

                                                [e-mail]

========================================================================
Subject:  6.) OMOIDE POROPORO review (Bryan Wilkinson, August 18, 1992)


      Omoide Poro Poro--Remembering the Sounds of Falling Teardrops

                      A Review by Bryan C. Wilkinson


WRITTEN by Bryan C. Wilkinson on May 30, 1992.
EDITED AND RE-FORMATTED by Steven Feldman (with the cooperation of Bryan
   C. Wilkinson) through to July 22, 1992.
POSTED to the Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group on August 18, 1992 by
   Steven Feldman.


     "...there would be no point in writing an animated film that places
the burden of subtle acting on the animator.  This goal may never be
reached; in spite of the best efforts of the staff at the Disney studio
(and they have included some of the best draftsmen in the profession),
very subtle acting may never be possible to attain in this medium."
                     --Shamus Culhane, in ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

    "The existing order is complete before the new work arrives; for
order to persist after the supervention of novelty, the WHOLE existing
order must be, if ever so slightly, altered; and so the relations,
proportions, values of each work of art are readjusted; and this is
conformity between the old and new."
                    --T.S. Eliot in "Tradition and the Individual Talent"


    While many animators and animation critics are moping about how
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST should have won the Oscar for Best Picture this
year, an animated film named MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO changed Japanese history
three years ago by winning the Japanese equivalent to the Oscar--the
Kinemajumpo award--for Best Picture of 1988, while yet another took fifth
place.

    MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, which was directed by Hayao Miyazaki, was a film
that captured the nation's soul and imagination by reminding it of its
lost roots through the story of two children's moving to an old house in
the country and their encounters with residing spirits.  The film has
since taken the place of THE SEVEN SAMURAI as the nation's most popular
film, according to recent polls.  Interestingly, the film that took fifth
place was made by the same studio--in fact by Miyazaki's mentor and
partner, Isao Takahata.  Its name was GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES.  An anti-
war film based on a real-life story about two dying children orphaned
during the bombing of Tokyo, GRAVE OF THE FIRELFIES has since gained much
international acclaim, including at the 1991 Annecy festival.  One critic
noted that it used animation to portray the child characters in a depth
that just wouldn't be possible in live action.

    The two partners, who have had several acclaimed works between them
over the past 25 years, afterward teamed up for KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE
(with Miyazaki directing and Takahata producing, as had been the case
with NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND, LAPUTA, and--of course--TOTORO).
Based on a story by Eiko Kadono, this film is a coming-of-age story about
a 13-year-old witch, and is meant to be a direct allegory for the
increasing number of Japanese teenaged girls ousted from their homes at
an early age.  The 1989 film quickly became the highest-ever grossing
movie in Japan, and Miyazaki himself has taken the place of Akira
Kurosawa as Japan's most popular director.  On a humorous note, both
TOTORO and KIKI have also since become two of the films the Disney
studios employ in educating new animators.

    Miyazaki's strong directing style and philosophy is definitely an
extension of his early work under Takahata in the Sixties and most of the
Seventies (although he is also influenced by western work including that
of the Fleischer Brothers and the comparitively recent works of Jean
"Moebius" Giraud).  Takahata's early directing career involved making
fantasy films with a strong verisimilitude, and research for his works
required him and Miyazaki to span the globe in order to capture the feel
of the stories' locations.  This field-research is still practiced by
Studio Ghibli (their production company) today.  As the years progressed,
the inner coherence of each work heightened, and eventually, Miyazaki
separated to direct his own realist fantasy films.  Takahata's very
strong humanist values (which helped gain him his early popularity as a
director of children's stories) were shared by Miyazaki, so in this way,
too, Miyazaki continued Takahata's progress (his second film, NAUSICAA OF
THE VALLEY OF THE WIND, gained the endorsement of the World Wildlife Fund
in1984).  Takahata, meanwhile, seemed to realize Miyazaki's potential in
the genre, and decided to go all-out after work in full realism, which he
had begun by the time Miyazaki left for his own work.  The two have
created from scratch a whole new animation movement that has nothing in
common with the overblown commercial Japanese animation that has gained
some popularity in America.  One might even be tempted to call their
movement "Shun'nami Anime" (New Wave animation).

    Thus, it is particularly interesting to see what their latest
collaboration is; with Miyazaki producing Takahata's 1991 film, OMOIDE
PORO PORO (Remembering the Sounds of Falling Teardrops), their usual
corresponding roles have been reversed.

    The result is stunning--certainly, "Teardrops" is the most beautiful
cel-animated feature film I have ever seen.

    The film succeeds on several levels: it is aesthetically beautiful
and it has a tremendous depth of realism, yet at the same time it never
fails to make use of the potential of the animation medium to actually
heighten the experience of the film in ways not achievable in a live-
action one.  Partly based on a semi-autobiographical comic written by
Hotaru Okamoto and drawn by Yuuko Tonai, the movie's characters have an
honesty to them I've only encountered in the neo-realist and new wave
cinema of Europe and China.  Like GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES, it is a mature
and psychologically resonant work.

    "Teardrops" makes use of acclaimed professional actors--not just
voice actors--and Takahata has taken this cue to the animators to bring
forth some of the most subtle and sensitive character animation ever done
in a feature film (thus humorously taking a cue from the film itself at
a point where the main character is approached as a ten-year-old to act
professionally after her subtly-acted reinterpretation of a part in a
school play).  Yet, Takahata never resorts to the pseudo-rotoscoping that
is the hallmark of Disney character animation.  Miyazaki had enough
influence in the film's production to bring his stylish humorous wit into
it, as well.  Even the music--comprised of original work, Slavic tunes
(enjoyed by Toshio, one of the characters in the film), and pop hits
indigenous to the film's two time frames--creates a rich feeling of
depth.  "Hungarian Rhapsody", a classical piece reknowned for its use in
some classic Warner Brothers cartoons, shows up in service of a comical
scene.

     The film delivers many of the values of their best prior works, and
yet much more effectively than ever before.  Time itself is masterfully
manipulated, creating startling temporal (and occasionally spatial)
juxtapositions which would appear affected in a live-action film.
Crucial yet lengthy "real time" scenes (not unlike the work of more
experimental cel-animation film directors of Japan, such as the "dark"
animation of Rintaro or Oshii Mamoru)--that would normally be all but
unthinkable in an animated film--also stand out.

    "Teardrops" is a story that stretches back and forth between the life
of Taeko Okajima as a 10-year-old girl in 1966 and her life in 1982 at
27.  Her 1982 world is portrayed in the neo-realist character style of
GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES, combined with the rich photo-like oil-painted
backgrounds of TOTORO; the 1966 characters are rendered in a more
Miyazaki-like caricature style, with bright watercolor backgrounds that
fade out on the edges of the field to create an effective "limited focus"
look that has no precedent in either director's films.  The mlilieux
depicted in the two time periods literally overlap and intermix at
points, particularly when the actions of the younger Taeko have their
strong repercussions on the life of the older one.  It is difficult to
single out any particular parts of the film for examples due to the
"folkiness" of the narrative style (i.e. detailing continuous day-to-day
ordinary life as opposed to overt dramaticism), not to mention that
describing the visual and temporal qualities is hard to begin with.

     Regardless, the story details 1982 Taeko's sabbatical to the country
town of Yamagata from her work as a businesswoman in Tokyo, and crosses
her current experiences with that of the trials and few rewards of her
fifth-grade schooldays.  A condensation of most of this story would be as
follows:

         Younger 10-year-old Taeko (1966) finds that her friends are
     spending their vacations visiting relatives outside Tokyo.  Her own
     family has no kin outside the area so she ends up taking a trip to a
     public bath instead.  Older 27-year-old (1982) Taeko is making plans
     on a sabbatical to her older sister's in-law's farm.  Older Taeko
     passes through fruit stands--and younger Taeko's family encounters
     their first pineapple at a time when foreign fruits are scarce and
     expensive, including their favorite, the banana.  They are baffled
     as to how it is prepared for eating.

          Older Taeko boards her train, and younger Taeko has her first
     crush.  Older Taeko wonders about why her 1966 life seems so
     significant, and younger Taeko has an unusual first encounter with
     menstruation.

          Older Taeko is picked up by a distant cousin (her sister's
     husband's cousin's cousin), Toshio.  They drive to the farm, she
     learns of his own change from a business life to the farm life--a
     job he enjoys very much.  Having never met someone who enjoys their
     work so much before, this leaves a strong impression on Taeko.

          She meets her sister's in-laws and helps in the traditional
     harvesting of benibana flowers.  Her sister's husband's niece Naoko
     stubbornly tries to convince her mother to buy her fashionable
     sports shoes, and 1966 Taeko gets into a dispute with her family
     over a handbag.  1982 Taeko has a lunch date with Toshio, where she
     relates her trouble doing math in school with her social life.  1966
     Taeko has math trouble and is forced into being tutored by her
     sister.

          1982 Taeko takes a break with Toshio and Naoko to watch a
     sunset, and sees crows flying by.  It reminds her of a scene in a
     school play.  Younger Taeko performs in the play and gains a chance
     to act professionally, only to be denied it by her father.

          1982 Taeko is approached with the prospect of an arranged
     marriage to Toshio, and confronts her fear of being trapped into an
     unwanted life.  She transforms into 1966 Taeko and relives one of
     her deepest regrets.  1982 Taeko confronts Toshio with her 1966
     dilemma...

    This hints at the complex temporal balancing act that continues
through the film, though it is impossible to sum up most of the movie's
two hours easily in such a generalized fashion.  The amount of detail,
beauty, animation style and imagery in this film simply defies words: the
silent, unvoiced emotions of the characters; the real-feeling traveling
scenes; the subtle expressions of interacting characters; the beauty of a
sunrise, a single flower or a whole field of them, or the entire
atmosphere of the country.

     The uniquely cinematographic feel of a Studio Ghibli film has
reached a new peak with this movie, while not losing any of the magic
that their animation has always had from the start.  Interestingly, it
was just shown this year along with Miyazaki's MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO at the
Cannes Film Festival, so maybe Western critics of Japanese films
will finally take notice.  It should also be interesting to see what
Studio Ghibli's latest film, THE RED PIG (in the works), will turn out
like.  Directed by Miyazaki and produced by Takahata, press releases have
indicated further overlapping of the two men's work.  In the meantime,
REMEMBERING THE SOUNDS OF FALLING TEARDROPS is a new (and already
classic) masterwork that effectively fuses the genius of two of the
world's greatest animators into one.  But more importantly, it is a film
that shows that the greatest story of all is the one within each and
every one of us.

========================================================================
Subject:  7.) OMOIDE POROPORO review (John W. Yung, April 14, 1992)


[this is how this article appeared on the Miyazaki list]

Subject: Omoide Poroporo review from r.a.a. (LONG!!)
X-Topic: Entry #1331 of LISTS.NAUSICAA

Date:         Thu, 16 Apr 1992 17:21:00 CDT
Reply-To:     Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <[e-mail]>
From:         [e-mail]

Saw this on r.a.a.  Enjoy!!

Correction #1:  the director's name is Isao Takahata.  :-)

---------- cut here ----------

>From att-mt!madoka.its.rpi.edu!pomru Mon Apr 13 21:54:35 1992
Path:
 cbnewsl!att!att!linac!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!
 pomru
From: [e-mail] (John W. Yung)
Newsgroups: rpi.arts.animation,rec.arts.anime
Subject: A Review of "Omoide Poro Poro"
Summary: destined to become a classic
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 14 Apr 92 01:54:35 GMT
Organization: Scanner Cinema Animation Narration Non-sequitur Entertainment
 Research
Lines: 44
Nntp-Posting-Host: madoka.its.rpi.edu

To get an idea of how good "Omoide Poro Poro" is, one could start by looking
at the fact that it was the number one animated movie in Japan for 1991.  The
next fact to consider is the presence of Hayao Miyazaki as the film's
producer.  The director, Tsutomu Takahata, is a former student of Miyazaki,
but as this movie (and his previous project, "The Grave of the Fireflies")
shows, Takahata is well on his way to becoming a master, if he isn't
considered one by now.

There are signs of Miyazaki's artistic influence in the character designs and
backgrounds Takahata uses in "Omoide Poro Poro."  The clean, simple faces of
the characters are reminiscent of Miyazaki's style, and the colors used
in the production are subdued.  However, the difference is that Takahata's
work appears even more detailed than Miyazaki's because Takahata's direction
tends toward realism.  The attention to details is reflected in various places
throughout the film from subtle human motion like the slight shake of the head
to nostalgic displays like Beatles posters and old TV shows to ordinary
physics like the reflection of buildings in a swinging car door window.  The
sum of the effects is astounding and enhances the world presented to us in
"Omoide Poro Poro."

Takahata focuses on personal and inter-personal relationships in this tale of
a woman's reunion with her family.  The movie's blurb, translated as "I am
going on a journey with myself," hints at the poignant scenes in "Omoide Poro
Poro," most of which are flashbacks to the childhood of the main character,
Taiko.  Taiko's memories have strong emotional contents which is
communicated to the viewer through common experiences from joy and love to
sorrow and disappointment.  The characters break the language barrier with
crafted responses filled with hints from subtle, natural gestures and from
voice intonations that is often taken for granted.  Knowledge of the
Japanese language is certainly helpful, as usual, but ignorance does not
completely interfere with the enjoyment of the film.

"Omoide Poro Poro" may have been aimed toward Japanese adults, but it certainly
carries appeal for people of any age and language.  There are no giant robots
nor monsters wrecking destruction upon Tokyo in this story, just a woman
discovering herself and her place in the world.  At the end of this
entertaining movie, one may wonder if there's a child in all of us, ever
hopeful of the decisions we make based upon our experiences in the journey of
life.

(Please email corrections.  My information can't be that perfect!  (=B  )

 ____________________________________\8O8/____________________________________
 Pomru (John Yung)                                           [e-mail]
---------- cut here ----------

                            E n r i q u e  C o n t y
                              [e-mail]

========================================================================
Subject:  8.) GOSHU THE CELLIST mini-synopsis (Walter M. Amos, 8/3/93)


Subject: Goshu the Cellist
X-Topic: Entry #4489 of LISTS.NAUSICAA

WRITTEN BY: Walter M. Amos
POSTED TO <NAUSICAA@BROWNVM> BY: Walter M. Amos, August 3, 1993
RE-FORMATTED BY: Steven Feldman, August 3, 1993

Date:         Tue, 3 Aug 1993 15:51:32 -0500
Reply-To:     Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <[e-mail]>
From:         "Walter M. Amos" <[e-mail]>

     I don't know exactly why I started thinking of this film today but I
thought it might be an appropriate subject for this list. Excuse me if
this has been discussed already, or if it's inappropriate to the list.
The art style looks very similar to that in Omoide Poroporo, so I think
Miyazaki et al. have something to do with it.
     Anyway, for those who haven't seen this film, briefly it is about a
cellist (Goshu) in the local orchestra and he is trying to learn to
properly play their Beethoven repertoire.  At night when he practices at
home a menagerie of various animals pop in and try to give him various
advice on how the music should sound.  (The cat which first appears had
me rolling on the floor with his Japanese-interpreted-through-cat-vocal-
chords-trying-to-pronounce-Beethoven...he looks at a picture of Ludwig
and says (in my best phoenetic type interpretation) "ahhh! Loo-hu-week
fan Bay-hay toe-fehhnn!")
     Anyway, although some people in our club and elsewhere who have seen
this find it boring and tedious, I found it to be a lovely and lyrical
little piece.  And of course the background music, all lovely-lovely-
Ludwig-van helped a lot.  I was just wondering, since I've seen almost no
discussion of this on the net, if other people had seen this and what
they thought of it.

 =============================================================================
"Zu jeder Zeit, an jeder (sic) Ort, bleibt das Tun  |          Walter Amos
  der Menschen das gleiche..." - Galactic Heroes II |   [e-mail]

========================================================================
Subject:  9.) UMI GA KIKOERU mini-synopsis (Alan Takahashi, 7/18/93)


Date:         Sun, 18 Jul 1993 21:50:16 PDT
Source:       Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <[e-mail]>
Really-From:  Alan Takahashi <[e-mail]>
Subject:      "Umi Ga Kikoeru" entry

Well, since the List activity has dropped so much, here's something to
talk about.  The following is the current new entry for "Umi Ga Kikoeru",
largely based on the showing over at Anime America.  Of course, I had
to chop a lot out for the entry, but I hope I didn't get *too*
misleading.  :-)

Have fun with it...

Title: I can hear the Sea                                 (TV) gDR tUGK
  aka: Umi Ga Kikoeru                                              tUGK
Cast:                                                              tUGK
Description:                                                       tUGK
  Taku Morisaki is a college student on his way back to a high     tUGK
  school reunion.  On the plane flight back, he remembers events   tUGK
  from his high school days.  He remembers getting a glimpse of a  tUGK
  new girl with his friend Matsuno.  Later, Matsuno introduces his tUGK
  new girlfriend to Morisaki.  Her name is Rikako Muto.  She is    tUGK
  very good in sports and academically, but is a social outsider   tUGK
  since she is a transfer student.  In their last year in school,  tUGK
  the class takes a trip to Hawaii.  When Rikako's money is stolen,tUGK
  it is to Morisaki that she asks to help her.  This doesn't go    tUGK
  unnoticed by Matsuno, and cracks begin to appear in their        tUGK
  friendship.  This is a very real look at relationships, and how  tUGK
  a single act may change them forever.  Did a romantic triangle   tUGK
  form?  It's hard to tell.  This TV movie compares well with      tUGK
  better live-action dramas and outshines most anime.              tUGK
  NOTE: This is Studio Ghibli's first solo attempt by the "younger tUGK
    generation" of the company.  Miyazaki-sensei was not involved. tUGK
Rating: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED                                         tUGK

BTW, anyone have any cast info for this one?

-----
Alan Takahashi           UUCP    : ......!{portal,ames}!ntmtv!takahash
Northern Telecom Inc.              ...!uunet/
Mountain View, CA        INTERNET: [e-mail]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"When you need to knock on wood is when you realize the world's
  composed of aluminum and vinyl." -- Flugg's Law

+          +          +          +          +          +          +

Date:         Sun, 2 May 1993 01:06:08 EDT
Source:       Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <[e-mail]>
Really-From:  Steven Feldman <[e-mail]>
Subject:      UMI GA KIKOERU & HEISEI TANUKI KASSEN PONPOKO

>Subject:      Re: Mistaken Identity and Ponpoko
>Date:         Sat, 1 May 1993 17:03:37 -0700
>From:         Trish Ledoux <[e-mail]>
>
>I'm dialing in from home, so I don't have my mags here, but I think
>PONPOKO is a TV series...I recall seeing it in some sort of "New TV
>Show Listing" in ANIME-V or ANIMEDIA recently.

     I think you are confusing Isao Takahata's new film project, HEISEI
TANUKI KASSEN PONPOKO, with Studio Ghibli's recent TV project, UMI GA
KIKOERU (a/k/a I CAN HEAR THE SEA), directed by Tomomi Mochizuki (of
KOKO WA GREENWOOD, the ORANGE ROAD movie & the MAISON IKKOKU movie fame)
-- which is scheduled to air May 5th.

                          -- Steven Feldman <[e-mail]>

========================================================================
Subject: 10.) COLLISION! AKIRA KUROSAWA VS. HAYAO MIYAZAKI (9/13/93)


Date:         Fri, 10 Sep 1993 17:49:35 EDT
Source:       Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <[e-mail]>
Really-From:  Steven Feldman <[e-mail]>
Subject:      re "Collision!  Akira Kurosawa vs. Hayao Miyazaki"

>Subject: publication news
>Date:         Mon, 6 Sep 1993 21:01:20 +0900
>Source:       Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <[e-mail]>
>From:         FUKUMOTO Atsushi <[e-mail]>
>
>NANIGA EIGA KA
>(What is a Movie)
>1993, Tokuma shoten, ISBN4-19-555272-9
>2136yen
>Miyazaki interviews with Kurosawa Akira.  Transcription of a TV program.

     First of all, should I add this to the MIYAZAKI BOOKLIST file stored
on the fileserver?
     Now then, my *real* question is, is this transcription of the entire
interview, or only of what was shown on TV?  To clarify both for yourself
and list subscribers, here are three old list posts stating that while
what got on TV was eighty-five minutes long, what was actually recorded
in the studio was at least one hundred-fifty minutes long.  (Yessiree,
Bitnet's database function sure can come in handy!)

                          -- Steven Feldman <[e-mail]>
+          +          +          +          +          +          +

Date:         Thu, 6 May 1993 20:08:19 +0900
xxply-To:     Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <[e-mail]>
xxnder:       Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <[e-mail]>
From:         FUKUMOTO Atsushi <[e-mail]>
Subject:      To all Studio Ghibli fans, and Miyazaki otakus

Hi everybody,

For those Studio Ghibli fans, I have recorded the broadcast of UMI GA
KIKOERU on videotape.  Write me if you want to see it and have no
other source.  (I guess many will want to, so, can someone in USA
(Enrique, perhaps?) volunteer as a coordinator to circulate?  People
in other countries, write me anyway.)  By the way, I was wrong on the
time of the program.  It was 85 minutes program including commercials.
Since it will be released on tape on June 25, you can wait for it if
you want (my recording is not so good condition since my equipments
are not good at all).

The animation itself was, well, should I say "photo-realistic"?  Same
line with OMOHIDE POROPORO, I think.  Regarding the story, it did not
match my taste at all.  Your mileage may vary.

Also, for Miyazaki otakus, I recorded the talk program "Miyazaki meets
Kurosawa".  Unfortunately Miyazaki acted as an interviewer for most of
time, so there was not much new info from himself.  Anyway, write me
if you want to watch it and if you can't obtain it from other sources.


                                        FUKUMOTO Atsushi
                                        [e-mail]

+          +          +          +          +          +          +

Date:         Fri, 7 May 1993 21:30:51 +0900
xxply-To:     Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <[e-mail]>
xxnder:       Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <[e-mail]>
From:         FUKUMOTO Atsushi <[e-mail]>
Subject:      umi ga kikoeru

Currently, four people in USA and one in Singapore are on the list.
Thinking of it, it will be enough to circulate a single copy inside
USA, so that no need to make many copies?  Anyway, I'll send a copy to
Enrique (please inform me your physical address).  Please choose
whatever method you like.

I'll send another copy to Singapore, Mr.Tan.  (Please inform me the
address)

Since both programs are 85 minutes long, I'll combine them in a 180
minutes tape (is it ok?).

Steven Feldman writes:
>>     Care to say what the story was about, more or less?

Boy meets girl.  (Sorry, further explanation is beyond my English
vocabulary.  I'll consult to my dictionary when I have a leisure
time.)

Regarding Kurosawa and Miyazaki:
>>      I assume this will *not* be on the commercially available videotape
>> (nor the laserdisk version, should there be one), so I am curious what
>> the general content of this interview was.

Most of the time was about the behind-the-scene of Kurosawa's movies.

>> Did the two directors talk
>> as equals, or was one deferential to the other on a professional level?

Generally, Miyazaki was quite respectful to Kurosawa.  Why not?
Kurosawa must be Miyazaki's hero, eventhough (I guess) Miyazaki does
not like recent works of Kurosawa very much.

>> How *long* was the interview?

According to (sort-of) TV guide, the interview itself was around 2hour
30minutes, but the program was 85 minutes long including commercials.

>> Did anything controversial get voiced?

Not much, I think.

>> Did Kurosawa say anything about--or even *aknowledge*--anime?  Etc.

"I liked Neko-bus" or something like it.  Not much further.

                                        FUKUMOTO Atsushi
                                        [e-mail]

P.S.  Hats off to those translators and annotators of Omohide Poroporo
translation!  Good work.  (BTW, "Oh" of Oh Sadaharu is pronounced
"Wang", which sounds like "one".  It does not mean "one".)

+          +          +          +          +          +          +

Date:         Mon, 19 Jul 1993 16:40:01 EDT
xxply-To:     Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <[e-mail]>
xxnder:       Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <[e-mail]>
From:         Steven Feldman <[e-mail]>
Subject:      "Collision!  Akira Kurosawa vs. Hayao Miyazaki"

From Anime Hasshin's THE ROSE, Vol.7, No.37, July 1993, page 14:

NEWS SHORTS
by Kevin Leahy
[entry two only; entries one, three and four are irrelevant]

NIHON TEREBI, JUST TERRIBLE - After going to all the trouble to arrange
the first meeting ever between Akira Kurosawa and Hayao Miyazaki and
taping the 3-hour-plus conversation that ensued, Nihon TV really dropped
the ball.  Their meeting was edited down into an 85-minute special
entitled "Collision!  Akira Kurosawa vs. Hayao Miyazaki" that was set to
air on Wednesday April 5th at the ungodly hour of 1:10 A.M.  That I
could deal with.  But local affiliates didn't carry the show, so it
seems to only have been broadcast in Tokyo.  Few people actually got to
see the directors commenting on each other's films and Miyazaki's
impressions of the continuity sketches Kurosawa did for MADA DA YO.  Is
this any way to treat the two greatest minds of Japanese cinema?

[NOTE: Kevin Leahy, who has been a member of Anime Hasshin for at least
 three years, currently lives in Japan as an English teacher.  He is
 the same Kevin Leahy who did the original translation for the JOURNEY
 OF SHUNA translations stored on the fileserver.  Kevin welcomes
 correspondence with Miyazaki fans living in his area.  His address is

                     Kevin Leahy
                     1-5-1 Asama Onsen
                     Matsumoto-shi, Nagano-ken 390-03
                     JAPAN

 I have not heard from Kevin for almost a year, however, so it is
 possible that the above address is not current.  If it is not, and you
 find out what his current address is, please let me know in private
 e-mail.  Thanks.]

                          -- Steven Feldman <[e-mail]>

+    -     +     -    +     -    +     -    +     -    +    -     +    -

Date:         Mon, 13 Sep 1993 21:35:19 +0900
Source:       Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <[e-mail]>
Really-From:  FUKUMOTO Atsushi <[e-mail]>
Subject:      Re: re "Collision! Akira Kurosawa vs. Hayao Miyazaki"
In-Reply-To:  [e-mail]'s message of
              "Fri, 10 Sep 93 17:49:35 EDT."
              <[e-mail]>

>      First of all, should I add this to the MIYAZAKI BOOKLIST file stored
> on the fileserver?

Yes, please.

>      Now then, my *real* question is, is this transcription of the entire
> interview, or only of what was shown on TV?

Though I have not bought it yet...  I got a impression that it
contains more than the TV program.

(By the way, Steven, you don't need to send mails to both of my
address.  Both are forwarded to same place.)

                                        FUKUMOTO Atsushi
                                        [e-mail]

========================================================================
Subject: 11.) Jo Hisaishi Discographies (Atsushi Fukumoto, 6/2/94)


Date:         Mon, 6 Sep 1993 21:13:40 +0900
Source:       Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <[e-mail]>
Really-From:  FUKUMOTO Atsushi <[e-mail]>
Subject:      Hisaishi discography

[For those who don't know, Jo Hisaishi did the soundtracks to GENESIS
 CLIMBER MOSPEADA, NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF WIND, ARION, LAPUTA, ROBOT
 CARNIVAL, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, and VENUS WARS.  What follows is a list of
 his non-soundtrack work.  -- Steven Feldman, September 29, 1993]

For your info, here's Hisaishi Jo's solo albums and singles
discography.  Information is taken from a book titled "I am --
HARUKANARU ONGAKUNO MICHI", (written by Hisaishi Jo, 1992, Media
Factory, ISBN4-88991-264-9, 1262yen).  This list does not include
movie soundtracks.

By the way, I don't have any of these yet, so I can't comment.  Your
opinions on them are welcome.

                                        FUKUMOTO Atsushi
                                        [e-mail]

INFORMATION
1982, Japan Record, JAL-1005
2000yen

alpha-BET-CITY
1985, Tokuma Japan Communications, 32JC-130
3200yen

CURVED MUSIC
1986, Polydor, H33P20107
3100yen

Piano Stories
1988, NEC Avenue, N32C-701
3008yen

Night City (single)
1988, NEC Avenue, N10C-701
1000yen

illusion
1988, NEC Avenue, N32C-702
3008yen

PRETENDER
1989, NEC Avenue, N29C-703
3008yen

"Fuyu no tabibito" (single)
1989, NEC Avenue, N10C-702
1000yen

I am
1991, Toshiba EMI, TOCP-6610
3000yen

My Lost City
1992, Toshiba EMI, TOCT-6414
3000yen

"Kimi dake wo miteita" (single)
1992, Toshiba EMI, TODT-2810
930yen

Joe Hisaishi Symphonic Best Selection
1992, Toshiba EMI, TOCT-6675
3000yen

+          +          +          +          +          +          +

Date:         Thu, 2 Jun 1994 19:15:27 +0900
Source:       Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <[e-mail]>
Really-From:  FUKUMOTO Atsushi <[e-mail]>
Subject:      Re: Hisaishi Jo

Hi everybody,


Hayden Brown wrote:
>> Or did Hisaishi do the soundtrack for Venus Wars?

You are lucky...  I was re-reading a Hisaishi's book.  And the answer
is yes.  Here's a list of his soundtrack works for theatrical films.
Source of information is "I am---harukanaru ongakuno michihe", written
by Hisaishi Jo, published by Media Factory, ISBN4-88991-264-9.  Since
it was published in 1992, the list might lack some recent works,
although I added one.  It does not include the works for TV programs.
Most English translations of titles are mine.


                                        FUKUMOTO Atsushi
                                        [e-mail]


1984 Kazeno tanino naushika
     (Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, directed by Miyazaki Hayao)

     W no higeki
     (Tragedy of W, directed by Sawai Shin'ichiro,
      starring Yakushimaru Hiroko)

1985 Soushun monogatari
     (Early Spring Story, directed by Sawai Shin'ichiro,
      starring Harada Tomoyo)

     Haru no kane
     (Spring Bell, directed by Fujiwara Yoriyoshi[?],
      starring Kotegawa Yuuko)

     Guriin rekuiemu
     (Green Requiem, directed by Imaseki Akiyoshi,
      starring Torii Kahori)

1986 Arion
     (Arion, directed by Yasuhiko Yoshikazu)

     Tenkuu no shiro rapyuta
     (Castle in the Sky: Laputa, directed by Miyazaki Hayao)

     Atami satsujin jiken
     (Atami Murder Case, directed by Takahashi Kazuo,
      starring Nakadai Tatsuya)

     Mezon ikkoku
     (Maison Ikkoku, directed by Sawai Shin'ichiro,
      starring Ishihara Mariko)

1987 Koibito tachi no toki
     (Lover's Time, directed by Sawai Shin'ichiro,
      starring Nomura Hironobu)

     Hyouryuu kyoushitsu
     (Drifting Classroom, directed by Oobayashi Nobuhiko,
      starring Hayashi Yasufumi)

     Kono ai no monogatari
     (Story of the Love, directed by Masuda Toshio,
      starring Nakamura Masatoshi)

1988 Don matsugorou no daibouken
     (The Adventure of Don Matsugorou, directed by Goto Hideshi,
      starring Tachibana Risa)

     Tonari no totoro
     (My Neighbour Totoro, directed by Miyazaki Hayao)

     Gokudou tosei no sutekina menmen
     (Nice Guys of the Rogue World, directed by Izumi Seiji,
      starring Jinnai Takanori)

1989 Vinasu senki
     (Venus Wars, directed by Yasuhiko Yoshikazu)

     Majo no takkyuubin
     (Kiki's Delivery Service, directed by Miyazaki Hayao)

     Tsuri baka nisshi 2
     (Fishing Mania Diary part 2, directed by Kuriyama Tomio,
      starring Nishida Toshiyuki)

1990 Kanbakku
     (Come Back, directed by/starring Guts Ishimatsu)

     Peesuke/gatapishi monogatari
     (Peesuke/Gatapishi Story, directed by Goto Hideshi,
      starring Tokoro Joji)

     Tasumania monogatari
     (Tasmania Story, directed by Furuhata Yasuo,
      starring Tanaka Kunie and Yakushimaru Hiroko)

1991 Kojika monogatari
     (A Young Deer Story, directed by Sawada Yukihiro,
      starring Miura Tomokazu)

     Futari
     (Two Sisters, directed by Oobayashi Nobuhiko,
      starring Ishida Hikari)

     Fukuzawa Yukichi
     (Fukuzawa Yukichi, directed by Sawai Shin'ichiro,
      starring Shibata Kyouhei)

     Anonatsu, ichiban shizukana umi
     (A Scene at the Sea, directed by Kitano Takeshi,
      starring Maki Kuroudo)

1992 Kurenai no buta
     (Porco Rosso---Crimson Pig, directed by Miyazaki Hayao)

     Haruka, nosutarujii
     (directed by Oobayashi Nobuhiko,
      starring Ishida Hikari)

     Seishun dendekedekedeke
     (directed by Oobayashi Nobuhiko,
      starring Hayashi Yasufumi)

1993 Sonachine
     (Sonatine, directed by/starring Kitano Takeshi)

========================================================================
Subject: 12.) Isao Takahata Interview (AnimeLand #6, July/August 1992)


ORIGINAL ARTICLE WRITTEN BY: Cedric Littardi
ORIGINALLY PRINTED IN: the French anime fanzine, AnimeLand, issue #6;
     July/August 1992; pages 27-29.
TRANSLATED FROM FRENCH TO ENGLISH AND POSTED TO NAUSICAA@BROWNVM BY:
     Ken Elescor on Thursday; October 14, 1993; 13:47:18 +0000
ROUGH-EDITED & RE-FORMATTED BY: Steven Feldman on October 24, 1993.
OKAYED & AUGMENTED BY: Ken Elescor on November 3, 1993.
TWEAKED BY: Steven Feldman on November 12, 1993.


     Nausicaa was first shown in France at the 13th cinema festival, at
Corbeil-Essonnes (in 1992), along with Totoro, Grave of the Fireflies,
Kiki, OPP, Laputa and Goshu the Cellist (Serohiki no Gooshu).  Takahata-
san was even there!
     So, this is a translation of Takahata-san's interview.  There may be
some grammatical errors, so please e-mail any comments or corrections to
me (Ken Elescor) at <[e-mail]>.  Perhaps there should even be a
whole re-writing (in correct English) of this....  In any way, thanks.
     This is done without the explicit authorization of the article's
author; however I think there is no problem since my friend Cao Olivier
(the real owner of this account) is a member of the staff of the magazine
AnimeLand.

------------------------------ cut here --------------------------------

                          Mr. ISAO TAKAHATA

     Mr. Isao Takahata was without a doubt the main personality at the
Corbeil-Essonnes festival.  Our meeting was quite surprising (in fact, I
think I was the one who was really surprised).  I met him in the second
evening during the official days of the festival, at the dinner.  He
showed such an interest for everything which surrounds him, such a
sensibility and such a curiosity that I don't know if I could call these
pages an interview.  As far as I'm concerned, I rather felt it as a
situation of confrontation between two cultures, each one giving proof of
a very deep curiosity towards the other.  I don't know if, writing it
down, I could give you this feeling which expresses itself in his whole
behaviour and not only in his speech.  For instance, he recorded some of
our talks with a beautiful miniaturized Sony radio set, perhaps to study
French language when he'd be back in Japan (come to that, this gave me
the occasion to be quoted in ANIMAGE).  Doing that, he showed the extreme
relativity of our respective parts.  In a way, he was inverting the parts
of the interviewer and the interviewee.
     Perhaps the first thing to do is to describe him to you.
Physically, he looks like a standard 50-year-old -- maybe younger --
Japanese man, a little smaller than the average.  He spends a lot of time
smoking.  (Philippe LHOSTE said: "I saw Mr. Takahata stand up to take an
ashtray.  I'll be able to tell it to my grandchildren!") [*1]   Moreover,
he has a deep voice, talks little, and thinks silently for a long time
when asked a question before answering, which doesn't prevent him from
asking for  the question to be repeated as soon as his curiosity is
awakened.  Isao Takahata is the main lead of Studio Ghibli, along with
his friend and colleague Hayao Miyazaki.  He is the great author of
_Serohiki no Goshu_ [Goshu the Cellist], _Hotaru no Haka_ [Grave of the
Fireflies] and _Omohide Poro Poro_ [Falling Tears of Remembrance].
     I met this exceptional man at table while he was coming back from
the location from whence comes the famous rose of Versailles.  After a
few brief presentations during which I talked with him about European
paronama, we began the present discussion.

--

   - Cedric Littardi:  Mr. Takahata, I quite admire Japanese animation in
general.  It's why I'd first like to know what your favourite anime are,
besides the ones you or Mr. Miyazaki produced.
   - Isao Takahata:  To tell the truth, I don't really have time to watch
my contemporaries' anime.  My work keeps me very busy and allows me
little time to do anything else.  On the other hand, I'd like to know
what you'd answer if you were in my place.
   - C.L.:  I admit this is a delicate question.  If I excepted Studio
Ghibli's works, I'd pick the spectacular _Honneamise no Tsubasa_ [The
Wings of Honneamise] produced by Gainax.  Do you know this work?
   - I.T.:  Yes, I know it.  I've already had an occasion to watch it.
   - C.L.:  And, did you enjoy it?
   - I.T.:  (pause) No, not really.
   - C.L.:  Oh?!  And why?
   - I.T.:  I'd like to get a better understanding of why you admire this
work so much.
   - C.L.:  It is not evident to explain.  Perhaps, because it is a
wonderful science-fiction work, produced in a exceptional way, with deep
and expressive characters who experience a spectacular evolution.
Moreover, there is this parallel world, created in a very accurate way,
even in the very details.  It is true that it is very different from
your own works.  Is that why you don't like it?
   - I.T.:  I'd simply say that it is a matter of personal taste.
   - C.L.:  Nonetheless, there should be some anime which had influenced
you.  Which ones induced you to do this job?
   - I.T.:  I have to say that I'm very happy to be in France because it
is a country I really like.  (C.L.'s note: I aknowledge some time after
that he reads French -- even if his conversation was a little limited --
and that he even translated some works on some French artists.)  My
career perhaps began thanks to my admiration for Paul Grimault.  That's
why I'm very glad to be able to show my movies here.
   - C.L.:  How do you place yourself in comparison with the
international reference in matter of anime, i.e. Walt Disney?
   - I.T.:  I really enjoyed the first ones -- namely, _Fantasia_,
_Pinocchio_ and _Snow White_.  But my own sensibility gradually and
naturally took me away from the Disney Studios' full length films.
   - C.L.:  So, which are the works which influenced you the most?
   - I.T.:  Well, I quite admire the Canadian, Frederick Back, and the
Russian, Yuri Norstein.
   - C.L.:  Then, why don't you try to use similar drawing techniques
(i.e. cut pieces of paper or pastel drawings)?
   - I.T.:  It's simply a question of money.  Their techniques are much
more expensive than ours, much more conventional.  That's why they are
not used in Japan; production costs would be too high.
   - C.L.:  You said that you like European cinematography.  Did it
influence you?
   - I.T.:  Yes, that's right, I watched many European films and
especially French ones.  They help me a lot to obtain such a result in my
work.
   - C.L.:  However, some of your full-length films, in particular the
splendid _Omohide Poro Poro_, could have been done as live films.  So you
chose to make them anime films to convey visual expressions, to express
emotions, feelings, that you'd never be able to reach with actors in the
cinematographic reality.
   - I.T.:  That is exactly what I intended to do in _Omohide Poro Poro_,
and I'm very glad you realized that.
   - C.L.:  Congratulations!  You were really successful in doing it.
   - I.T.:  This is possible.  I'd have something else to say to you
about what inspired me, as well as any other anime producer in Japan.
But, for this, I need some documents.  So, I'll tell you about it
tomorrow.
   - C.L.:  I really thank you for this.  About the production, I'd like
to know exactly which are the respective roles you and Mr. Miyazaki play,
since in Europe, there is a tendency to confuse your two works and to
accredit them to your colleague.
   - I.T.:  Yet, there is a noticeable difference.  You don't see it
because you don't speak Japanese.
   - C.L.:  Did you work on some series like _Shojo Alps no Heiji_
[Heidi, Girl of the Alps] or_Lupin III_, for instance?
   - I.T.:  I was the editor for Heidi during the whole series.  As for
Lupin, I managed the production committee in which Miyazaki was working.
   - C.L.:  I see.  I'd also like to know why you suddenly began to
produce full length films.
   - I.T.:  Simply because I couldn't achieve any personal satisfaction
with short length films.  Besides, today, to produce a beautiful anime
for TV is impossible, since the budget for one TV episode hasn't
increased for the last ten years, in spite of the increase in price of
production costs.
   - C.L.:  How much is the budget of an anime in Japan?
   - I.T.:  It depends a lot; between 100 and 800 million Yen.
   - C.L.:  I seize this opportunity to ask you: to whom are your movies
aimed?
   - I.T.:  To everyone, in general.  I wish, nonetheless, to make clear
that _Omohide Poro Poro_ isn't suitable, of course, to the youngest;
let's say you could watch it above 10 years.
   - C.L.:  Are your movies extracted from novels?
   - I.T.:  In general, I choose to produce adaptations of literary
works.  I often used to work on foreign works, already at the time when I
was producing series.  _Hotaru no Haka_ is the adaptation of an
autobiographical Japanese novel written by Nosaka AKUYUKI; but the book
became famous only after the movie was out.  With regard to _Omohide Poro
Poro_, only some parts of the storyline come from a novel -- which was
already more than ten years old.
   - C.L.:  Don't you think that _Hotaru no Haka_ is a little sad for a
child?  I have not met yet someone who was not reduced to tears after
having watching it.
   - I.T.:  I think that today we can hardly watch a natural death.  For
instance, people generally die in a hospital nowadays.  I'd call it a
scientific death.  All I wished to find, beyond sadness, it is a
straighter way to show things.
   - C.L.:  And, what about grown-ups?  For a European person, it seems
impossible to see grown-ups watching anime.  The cultural barrier which
separate each one from the other seems quite incommensurable.  Could it
be because they grew up, watching anime?
   - I.T.:  It is quite likely.  In Japan, grown-ups very much like
anime, especially since _Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa_ [Nausicaa of the
Valley of Wind], and they often take their children to watch them on
week-ends, thus allowing the two generations to bring themselves together
through entertainment.  The average public is between 15 and 20, but, as
I said, there are still more grown-ups since 1984.
   - C.L.:  Yes, I understand well the part that played the first big
Miyazaki('s work) for every public.  Of all Miyazaki's works, which one
do the young Japanese like the most?
   - I.T.:  I think I can state positively that it is _Tonari no Totoro_
[My Neighbor Totoro], a movie every child in Japan really loves.
   - C.L.:  So do I.  But I think I prefer the famous _Tenku no Shiro
Laputa_ [Castle in the Sky Laputa].  What were your expectations in
producing this movie?  And where does its name come from?
   - I.T.:  The name of the island comes from _Gulliver's Travels_, the
famous Swift work.  Laputa was an island which was floating in the air
and wasn't receiving sunshine because it was too evil -- which explains
the negative connotation of its name which is derived from the word
"bitch" ("puta" in Spanish, and "pute" in French).  But the storyline was
modified considerably and now has nothing to do with the original Laputa.
Miyazaki and I worked to make a real adventure movie.  Yet, nowadays,
there is no uneducated country, because they all know the world's
secrets.  We decided not to do like Spielberg, i.e. to locate the world's
secret beyond the earth, in the universe.  We wanted to make a movie
whose action takes place on earth, because it is our earth.
   - C.L.:  I also greatly admire Joe Hisaishi's music.  His works are
aknowledged outside the context of the movies for which he wrote the
soundtracks.
   - I.T.:  Indeed, he wrote magnificent pieces of music.  Come to that,
I was the one who was in charge of putting them in the full length films.
Before Nausicaa, he was composing "minimal music" -- a very different
kind of music.
   - C.L.:  I never heard about it.  What is it?
   - I.T.:  It is modern music, composed with a limited number of sounds
which are repeated continually, from which comes the name.  I'd have
liked to have had such a talented composer for my movies.
   - C.L.:  But, at the beginning, all Studio Ghibli's movies were made
profitable.  It is very difficult to pay off such expensive anime in only
one country.
   - I.T.:  It has only been since _Majo no Takkyubin_ [Kiki's Delivery
Service] that our productions have become profitable.  None of the
previous ones paid off, in spite of their great popularity -- unless we
take into account the selling of derived products and rights, in which
case, we can consider the balance positive.
   - C.L.:  With such a budget, you nonetheless have never used computer
means to make the animation, have you?
   - I.T.:  No, everything was done manually.
   - C.L.:  In France, our national pride circulates the rumor that there
could be a collaboration between Mr. Miyazaki and Jean Giraud (Moebius).
What is the truth?
   - I.T.:  Surely, both men regard the other highly.  However, at the
present time, we have to exclude the hypothesis of any work in common for
a simple reason: both have very strong personalities.
   - C.L.:  I understand; but on the other hand, were your works issued
in foreign countries?  For instance, we watched tapes from the American
version (with 30 minutes cut) of _Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa_.
   - I.T.:  Yes, indeed.  They showed me this version, as well.  It is
absolutely horrible!  They did an enormous and aberrant censorship; they
cut Hisaishi's pieces of music, without forgetting the changed dialogues.
It was a great error of Studio Ghibli and we haven't given broadcast
rights to foreign countries since; and we'll never again give such rights
without an attentive examination of the condition beforehand.  [Note from
Ken: it seems like France has filled these conditions since we have the
rights to broadcast (this will be done next year) both Porco Rosso and
Totoro.]  For that matter, the international rights for Nausicaa given to
the U.S.A. will be over in 2 or 3 years.  All these movies are grounded
strongly in Japanese culture and are not conceived with an eye towards
exportation.  Censoring them is worse than betraying them.  [Note from
Ken: there is an Italian proverb that goes, "Translator, traitor"
("Traduttore, traditore," if my memory serves me).  ;) ]  This festival
constitutes the first public broadcasting in a foreign country and I have
to admit that I am very surprised by the public's reaction.  Anyway,
we're still very afraid of how our products will be used in foreign
countries.
   - C.L.:  Indeed, we know these problems.  We try to obtain a better
respect for Japanese anime, so as to maintain a level the nearest
possible of the original work.  Most certainly, this attempt is often
hopeless, but we remain a dissenting voice.
   - I.T.:  (here, Mr. Takahata begins to speak French) I... er... agree
with what you're doing.

     Then we had to part company: he had to rest to prepare himself for
the hard events of the day after.  But the next day, once again, as he
promised, he talked to all the magazine's staff (that was there this
time) and to myself (we ate breakfast together) to explain some of the
reasons of his inspiration, fundamentally based on Japanese culture.

   - I.T.:  Here.  This book contains the reproduction of a Twelth
Century Japanese parchment.  (He showed us a book containing the
representation of a Japanese parchment which must be very long since each
page represented a part of this parchment; thus, if they were torn out
and placed side by side, we would have the entire linear parchment.)  The
original is made with two tubes around which are affixed the rolled
parchment.  Thus, the two tubes would be rolled by hand simultaneously so
as to unthread the scenes.  Thus, we have the first Japanese animated
scene of history.  On the other hand, the scenario is explained in
ideograms at peculiar passages.

     So the story took place: of an incendiary who is eventually found
and punished by the Emperor.  Stylistic effects are plentiful: movement
in the reading direction or in the opposite one, the presence of the same
character several times in the same scene to show his movement, the
characterization of faces, all expressing different emotions (for these,
the work was focused solely on manipulations of the effects of light and
shade which was very elaborate),... It would be very difficult to explain
everything, since we'd have to show you these documents to explain their
plastic meaning....  In a methodic way, thus revealing a pedagogical mind
-- so much so that he took care to describe each scene and each detail
which he talked with us about later -- he kept on turning the pages,
helping us discover the document.  His ostensible purpose was to make us
understand that the style used nowadays in the anime industry did not
date back to the discovery of Walt Disney, but longer ago.  In this
document, we recognized the strokes of the outlines which made the
characters, cinematographic plans, and an idea of the (virtual)
movements, thanks to only the reading direction.

   - I.T.:  The basis of such works have to be understood.  They are mere
scenes of everyday life, expressed in the slightest detail.  This is an
integral part of the Japanese culture, this is a very old translation.
Moreover, please note the very expressive features of every face.  You
see, when I wanted to produce these full length films, no one thought
that the subjects chosen could be done as an anime.  They were wrong.
The culture, the one which comes from our culture, explains for the most
part all that we can find in anime nowadays.  And, try to remember one
thing, which counts the most: it is not the real, nor even the
relationship with the real; it is only the line and the way of drawing.

--

FOOTNOTES:
     [*1]  Philippe LHOSTE is "a head person among French otakus. A
'french.otaku.personality,' if you will.  He wrote many articles in many
anime French fanzines, and even one in a Canadian anime fanzine --
namely, Protoculture Addicts; it was an article about anime in France --
and founded an anime APA [Amateur Press Association club] in France."

                                                           -- Olivier Cao

--

     Thanks to Cedric Littardi, Mr. Takahata and Mrs. Ueki, manager of
the Ucore Company (which helped in bringing us the festival).  And to
Olivier Cao for lending me his magazine (and having helped in its
translation).  And to Steven for correcting my errors, and to everyone
on the Nausicaa newsgroup who read my translation.

--
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Ken Elescor    |  "Among all wines, passion is the one which makes you |
| "The Postman"  | the most drunk; but unlike other wines, once you get  |
| [e-mail] | drunk by passion, you can never recover your mind."   |
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Ken Elescor <[e-mail]>, for those in the USA.  -- S.F.]

========================================================================
Subject: 13.) HEISEI TANUKI GASSEN PONPOKO synopsis (B. Lucido, 7/17/94)


FIRST WRITTEN & POSTED TO <NAUSICAA@BROWNVM> BY: Brad J. Lucido, 7/17/94
EDITED, RE-FORMATTED, AND RE-POSTED TO <NAUSICAA@BROWNVM> BY: Steven
     Feldman, October 30, 1994
SCOTT NASH ARTICLE EDITED, RE-FORMATTED & ADDED BY: S.Feldman, 10/30/94

     Following is a brief (and I do mean brief) synopsis of "Ponpoko"
that I saw yesterday.  Apologies for hack writing.


     If you don't want to know about the events in the film, please do
not go on.

--------------------  SPOILER WARNING  SPOILER WARNING -----------------

     The film opens with a group of Tanukis investigating an abandoned
house.  They feel that they have made a real find with a large house to
live in.  Unfortunately, they find out the hard way why the house is
abandoned.  A construction vehicle's shovel arm suddenly rips through the
roof and the tanukis scramble away.

     Now that their living area has been decreased, the tanuki begin to
fight over the diminished resources, like field mice.  Two opposing
forces of tanuki line up and charge towards each other, transforming into
their bipedal form in the middle of the rush.  When they meet, the
tanukis transform into various Japanese samurai armored soldiers.  A
hilarious fight ensues, only to be halted by the female elder tanuki, who
proclaims that fighting will get them nowhere and that their real problem
is the construction that man has begun.  They all climb up a power tower
and see the beginnings of a "New Town," a bed town created as a suburban
area for the ever-expanding Tokyo.

     They hold a meeting with the "town" elder, Tsurukame Oshou.  He
suggests that they use "Tanuki transforming science" to oppose man's
encroachment into their territory and that they try to improve their own
culture to equal man's so they can have their own space.  They also
discuss seeking the help of the great tanuki sages from Shikoku.

     There is a "boot camp" where the tanuki practice their transforming
skill with varying degrees of success.  (Part human, part tanuki
creatures walk around, creating a hilarious scene.)  Some of the tanuki
are successful, and they begin to go on reconnaissance missions into the
world of man.  Unfortunately, their transformation requires a lot of
concentration and engergy, so they drink lots of Japanese "power-
medicine" drinks, especially to keep the "raccoon's mask" from forming
around their eyes.  After awhile, they realize that they are having a
problem of keeping up with the drink expense, so a different course of
action is called for.

     The tanukis begin to "hijack" the supply trucks coming into the
construction area.  They create false bridges, jump on the windshield
etc., and manage to kill a few drivers.  The village elder calls for a
funeral observation period to show respect for the lives that they took.
Even though there have been accidents, the humans press on.

     The tanukis have a meeting to discuss their further strategy.  One
stout tanuki, Gonta, calls for the elimination of mankind.  He suggests
total war to exterminate the foe humans.  However, Shoukichi asks if they
can leave some humans around, because he couldn't stand to live without
Tempura, Hamburgers etc.  Gonta has to agree, because he especially loves
rat Tempura and wouldn't want to do without it.  (Who knows where he gets
it.)

     Their next strategy is to scare the humans away.  The tanuki use
their special power to transform into ghost-like figures (faceless
humans, ghost twins, etc.).  The construction workers take off, of
course, saying that Tokyo is too dangerous etc., and the tanuki
celebrate. But the next day, a new construction crew arrives.


     After awhile, the three sages of Shikoku show up.  They arrive in
the shape of gaudily dressed punk-like old men.  (They make quite a scene
at the train station.)  All of the tanukis gather around for a "pep
talk".  The three sages turn out to be very powerful in the tanuki arts,
and train the whole tanuki crowd for a mass "attack" against the humans.

     The next scene is rather superbly done.  It is a "ghost parade" down
the main street of the New Town.  The imagery matches those of Japanese
paintings of ghosts (very oriental-looking ghosts).  The tanukis are
trying to drive out all of the humans by making the town have a
reputation of being haunted.  (This is the scene that sneaks in quick
shots of Totoro, Kiki, and Porco's plane.)  However, the people turned up
to watch the ghost show.  Their curiosity was greater than their fear.
This event is being orchestrated by the sage from Matsuyama, Inugami
Gyoubu.  He overexerts himself, however (he is, after all, 800 years
old), and has a heart attack.  The Buddha Amida Nyorai (From pure land
Buddhism) comes down from the heavens and retrieves the soul of the
fallen sage.  (Was it part of the hallucination, or was it real?)  The
parade suddenly comes to an end.

     The next day, the TV programs are speculating on the haunting of the
new town.  Eventually, the president of an amusement park company comes
forth to say that the parade was a result of his company's special
effects, and the event was a preview of the effects to be seen from the
new theme park.  The tanukis feel that their hard work has been for
naught.

     Later, Rokudai Mekinchou, the sage from Tokushima, has an interview
with a kitsune--Ryoutarou--and discovers that the amusement park plan was
really his idea.  The kitsune, too, have suffered the loss of their
ancestral homes by men, and so decided to join human society instead of
hang on to their decreasing land.  In order to live among men, they need
money, thus the theme park of which Ryoutarou is a business partner.
Mekinchou sees a problem with this, as not all tanuki are able to
transform into men.

     Not willing to split up, the tanuki hatch a plot to get money.  In
a bizarre surrealistic scene, Ryoutarou invites the president of the
amusement park company to a giant cat doll "fun house."   Once inside,
the tanuki separate the president from his money, and dump him on the
ground as the cat-house floats into the air, sucking all of the money
into itself.  Ryoutarou is left along with his president, and so the
kitsune have been double-crossed, as well.

     Despite all of their efforts, the new town has steadily grown and
diminished their land.  In an emotional scene, the tanuki stage one last
event.  They all join forces and together transform the "damaged" land
to its previous mountainous state.  However, this is only temporary, as
the land soon returns to its city-cultivated state.  The tanukis finally
concede defeat.

     The narrator tells how the tanukis took the kitsune's advice and
attempted to blend in with the society of man.  Shoukichi becomes a
salaryman, and feels sorry for mankind as he experiences the rush-hour
train jam.  He is worried about the tanukis that couldn't transform, and
were thus left fending for themselves in the diminished wild lands.
However, coming home from work, Shoukichi finds some tanuki running
through tunnels in the road.  He follows them, and comes out into a golf
course, where the tanuki are having a party.  Overjoyed to see his
friends alive and well, he tears off his clothes, and charges into the
fray as his old tanuki self.  They may have been set back, but by no
means have they been eliminated.

The End

--------------------------------cut here--------------------------------

Subject: Yet another Ponpoko review
Date:         Mon, 18 Jul 1994 10:28:08 JST
Source:       Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group <[e-mail]>
Really-From:  Scott Nash <[e-mail]>

                           My Review of Ponpoko
                        --------------------------

     Last Saturday night, Itoh Hikaru and I went to see _Ponpoko_, and
the result was . . . OK.

     The technical animation quality was as high as ever, certainly, and
there were some magical moments.  But it just didn't move me in the same
way that Miyazaki's earlier works did [that's because it was directed by
Isao Takahata, not Hayao Miyazaki --S.F.], for the following reasons:

          1)      It was too Japanese (i.e. not universal enough);
          2)      It was too based in the real world; and
          3)      There was no central character.

     Since Brad was kind enough to post a synopsis, I won't bore you by
repeating details.  Suffice to say that those who will understand the
film the most are Japanese people, because many of the scenes involve
Japanese myths and legends.  These are very interesting visually, but
story-wise provide little depth for the foreigner who doesn't know the
meaning of, for example, the "Fox Wedding Ceremony."  A chief feature of
Nausicaa, Totoro, and Laputa was the _universality_ of the films.  It
really didn't matter where you were from, it could strike a chord in you
through the strong story and moving characters.  But in Ponpoko, the
frequent references to Japanese culture only serve to isolate the film,
making it a lesser work.

     Of course, as people would point out, the film is set in Japan, so
it is only correct that there be a good dose of Japanese culture.
However, that brings about my second point -- looking at films like
Nausicaa and Laputa, having them set in other worlds or times enables
everyone to enjoy the film.  Furthermore, by using the alternate world as
an allegory, it forces the viewer to think about and make connections to
our own lives, which has a greater impact.  By setting _Ponpoko_ in the
real world, the viewer does not have to think; he (or she, or it) is
instead hit over the head by the obvious message.  This cheapens the
overall effect.  Also, because the story is set in the real world, there
is no real "enemy" that you can grow to loathe, which might make you like
the protagonist more.  The real world setting is a tough hurdle to
overcome.  Totoro succeeded with a strong story and well-developed
characters.  Unfortunately, _Ponpoko_ is not so well-endowed.

     Finally, the movie centers around the entire tribe of tanuki,
without really focusing on one main character.  This lack of focus means
we never really get to know a character deeply; instead, we have a very
shallow view of the tribe.  Because we never learn much about the
characters, I couldn't really care about what happened to them.  This is
further exacerbated by the structure of the movie, which jumps from scene
to scene through the use of a narrator.  This makes the movie seem more
like a collection of scenes rather than a coherent story.  I just found
myself saying, "What is there to root for?"

     As I said, the movie does have its moments.  Both Itoh and I agreed
on one thing: I should see the movie again before passing final judgment.
Finally, I think this movie would win the previous argument on which
movie would cost most to film in live action.  The whole thing is one
continual morph.  That is cool.

Scott Nash
[e-mail]