Environment World

Made a few changes on how the Amazon DVD links are displayed. Since I live in my little bubble, I can’t decide what to display. All the titles on the left I own except for Minority Report (which I hope to see soon) and Lilo and Stitch (love animated films). Do any of you have a favorite you think is missing?

I just realized what a shameless plug this post is, eh whatareyougonnado?

I ordered the DVD “Totoro” from Amazon and received it in the mail very quickly (about 5 days to Tokyo with standard shipping). This is not to be a review of the film but a review of the DVD. Hayao Miyazaki directed this film and is one of my favorite directors. His other films include “Spirited Away” and “Princess Mononoke”, he creates magic on the screen for all ages (did I just say that?). This DVD is being reviewed because of the poor job they did in packaging the film.

Watching it you might think it was produced some American TV studio. It was done well enough for young children which I suppose was the goal, do it good enough for kids. Good enough should never be good enough for any age, in my honest opinion. Japanese anime is not generally produced for kids, although some are produced for kids and Miyazaki-san generally delivers to that audience but there still is something for adults in his movies. This DVD strips out everything for adults with the poor translation. Another thing this DVD did which made me angry was that they removed Japanese language content. Yes most Western kids (and adults) lack the Japanese language skills to take advantage of a Japanese soundtrack but dammit not all of them and it would have cost $ 0 to leave the original soundtrack in. I have removed this DVD from my Amazon sidebar and replaced it with the “Princess Mononoke” DVD which is very well done. I had ordered Totoro because I’m lazy and Amazon is so easy to go online and click a few mouse buttons to have it delivered. I’ve learned my lesson and I’ll take a trip downtown and buy the Japanese version.

Guess I pack this and send it back to the states for my young niece, I don’t want it.

Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Video

Have you seen the movie “Spirited Away” (or Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi) from the director Hayao Miyazaki? No, not surprising considering the poor job Disney has done in making it available to the American audience. Some writers have seen it and are wondering about Disney’s intensions with this movie. I live in Japan and have my own copy of the DVD for the movie. The DVD was released with an auxiliary English subtitle, unusual for a Japanese film. This movie has peaked the attention of an international audience. Going as far as picking up a Golden Bear in the Berlin film festival. My two cents, this movie is great, maybe the best I’ve seen this year. Go to Amazon.com and get on the list to be notified of the DVD release and maybe word will get out that people want to see this movie. If you have kids or you are a kid (like me) find a movie theater and go see this movie.

I need a happy thought. I’m getting very tired of the commute to work by Tokyo’s subway and the audiobooks I listen to are only keeping from committing a heinous crime. Not enough to fly above the heads of other commuters. Let’s see … I got it. A movie I saw this year that I highly recommend to all. The movie is in the American theaters now, it’s called “Spirited Away” by Hayao Miyazaki.

Spirited Away



Hayao Miyazaki


The movie starts with a lonely child traveling with her parents. The parents are a bit obtuse, but aren’t all parents? They come across a place that isn’t like other places. After a few events (the first half moves quickly) the girl is forced to sink or swim and she swims with such a force that is magical to watch. The title of this movie in the Japanese theaters is “Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi”, which is the main character’s name. While most Japanese anime is not made for kids but this is an exception. This movie was made for older kids and if you have a kid in you you’ll love it also. The business history of this movie was that this was the highest grossing movie in Japanese history (and Japanese theater has a great history). Never mind the business this is easily the best movie I’ve seen this year and it’s made it to my personal top ten list. I have only seen the Japanese version not the American version so your mileage may vary, I doubt you’ll be disappointed. There may be a few things in this movie that might go over the head of an American audience, I had to ask my Japanese girlfriend a few things but then again I’m a bit obtuse also. For the most part it is a great story that the main part of the story would be comfortable with any age (over 10 yrs). The movie is rated PG for a few intense scenes (not intense for an adult). I would tell everyone that needs a short escape to run out to the theater and see this movie.