Back Flip - The Miyazaki Blueprint

THE MIYAZAKI BLUEPRINT
It was published by Animage 28 years ago in Japan.  Many fans of Studio Ghibli director, Hayao Miyazaki, liken it to the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant or that can opener Sylvester the cat was going nuts for in the Looney Tunes “Canned Feud” episode.  It’s a picture storybook and manga all rolled into one—a sweeping fairytale eloquently narrated with the delicate strokes of a watercolor brush. 

Scanned copies of this book have been on the net for years. But even with its availability online, thousands or even millions of Miyazaki’s followers have been wishing for original copies of the book to be on their shelves.

We are, of course, talking about Hayao Miyazaki’s Shuna No Tabi which was published in 1983 by Animage. Illustrated and written by the director himself, many visual elements and themes from the book have been consequently reflected in several of Studio Ghibli’s biggest hits. (Like Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky and Princess Mononoke) But to say that the book was the sole springboard for his later films would be inaccurate. We have to remember that the Nausicaa manga made it to print much earlier than the storybook.  More than anything else, Shuna No Tabi, very much like the Nausicaa manga, serves as a small window into Miyazaki’s creative mind at that period of his life. 

Shuna No Tabi’s story revolves around Shuna, a prince who lives in a poor distant village at the bottom of an enormous valley. The prince is burdened with worries because the land can barely support the needs of his people. One day, while riding his Yakkul, he stumbles upon an old dying traveler along a path.  He then brings the traveler back to the village to nurse him.  Too weak and riddled with old age, the stranger passes on but not before showing Shuna a mysterious pouch filled with dead seeds. The stranger is able to tell Shuna that the seeds, when alive appear golden.  He is also able to mention, that in legend, the seeds may be found at a point where the earth ends.  Shortly after the death of the old traveler, Shuna goes on a quest to find the seeds in the hopes of saving his people from their plight.

Okay, that’s all we’ll be mentioning with regards to the plot.  For those new fans of Miyazaki who have not read Shuna No Tabi, go find it (better if you buy it), enjoy the art and read the hell out of it. Unfortunately, it's available only in Japanese.

On that note, we hope that the book is turned into a film some time in the near future.  But more than that, we wish that there was an original 1983 copy of it on our shelves.

If you wish to order reprints of Shuna No Tabi online from Japan check out http://stores.ebay.com/edo-iki.

Heat Seeker -This Destined Hit Leaves Us Troubled

THIS DESTINED HIT LEAVES US TROUBLED
No...no...no.  What's in the box!?  What's in the box!? No! Really, please tell us what's in the box!
Fullmetal Alchemist: Milos no Sei-Naru Hoshi which is slated to open in July 2, 2011 in Japan is giving us sleepless nights.  This new film being directed by Kzuya Murata and scripted by Yuichi Shinbo was the last thing we expected when the FMA: Brotherhood series finished airing last year.  The series just tied up all the loose ends perfectly...and more importantly, it was faithful to the manga ending. (The manga was written and drawn by Hiromu Arakawa)

Looking at all the online speculation surrounding this anime feature film, a lot of people seem to have a lot of doubts about the quality of the storyline. And since this anime is no longer dependent on Arakawa's original plot, it gets a 50-50 chance of being well-received by die hard fans.

Like a lot of the other FMA fans, we're also passengers of the "anime-must-stick-to-the-original-manga-plot" train of thought.  What is Studio Bones basing the film's storyline on?  We have no idea. 

So, if you know what's in the box, kindly give us a hint.

Randomimity - Derezzed To Kill

DEREZZED TO KILL
Tron: Legacy may not have lived up to our expectations in terms of thrills and spills but it still rocked the nostalgia boat all the way to the end credits. Seeing Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxlietner reprise their roles after 29 years was enough to do that. (Yes, we were old enough to appreciate the first Tron movie when it came out in 1982.)

But what really caught our attention in this CG-on-'roids sequal, aside from Quorra, was the musical score. It was done by French electronic duo, Daft Punk. Both Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo just blew us away with their music. Since we got hold of the soundtrack two weeks ago, it's been pretty ugly. Imagine us with headphones on, listening to Derezzed wide-eyed with dots for irises--and saliva dripping from our mouths.

Daft Punk just takes you on a total ride with their signature sound--which was beefed up with a couple of surprising orchestral scores.  If you find the chance, get your hands on the original OST  pronto! It makes for great driving music.

What else can we say? The two Interstella 5555 anime vets can still kill the audience with their robot rock.

Heat Seeker - Shinkai Trailer Causes Whiplash

SHINKAI TRAILER CAUSES WHIPLASH

It happened two months ago.  It was past midnight and I was peacefully surfing on my laptop when I came upon a 30 second Youtube video trailer of director Makoto Shinkai’s Children Who Chase Lost Voices Deep Below.  My jaw dropped so hard it broke my keyboard.

You see, I was a bit detached from all the Shinkai buzz for several months.

Besides, after 5 Centimeters Per Second, I wasn’t expecting his next opus to come out so soon.
(Only because I thought he’d have a hard time topping his 5 Centimeters Per Second)

 

Now, enough excuses.  So, Shinkai’s new trailer ended up on my laptop screen. As I played the video, the first thing I saw was his trademark backgrounds—rich with emotion-inducing detail.  In the first few seconds, I was able to pick up that the protagonist was a little girl in search of someone…oh wait, I read all that in the subtitles.  Anyway, with stunning scenes and the dramatic score, it simply felt like Makoto Shinkai all the way.  That was until the video hit 17 seconds on the counter.  And then it happened. 

The scene of a man with glasses talking to a woman surrounded by mystical waves came up.  A second later, I saw a scene of an armored man slashing armored giants with a blade.  After that, it was the heroin in a free-fall inside, what seemed to be, the ruins of a castle or fortress. As the shockwave of these images hit me, my neck muscles gave an involuntary and powerful jerk.  This caused my whiplash.  I was rendered unconscious for days. 

All that really happened.  It really did…in my mind, anyway. 

Fine, so I did do a double take. 

And that was only because Makoto Shinkai has been known for being the master of melancholy.  His stories have always played around the themes of unrequited love and of the pain vast distances bring to relationships.  He has executed all these themes in both slice-of-life and sci-fi settings. So, seeing the fantasy elements in the Shinkai trailer was indeed something new.

I’ve also come across some trailer reviews online where the plot is mentioned.  But even with their sources and speculations, I’m not quite sure what to make of Children Who Chase Lost Voices Deep Below.

Fantasy or not, one thing’s for sure. This film’s gonna hurt so good.

--Mori

MORI & NITO'S FOLDED POSTCARD

Why is it faded and full of folds? We've been planning on doing the Anime Institute blog for the past two years. We always knew we'd officially start in 2011. So, we made this postcard early on--lost it in some pile and found it again.  Shabby as this card may seem, it bears a lot of meaning. Every new crease, fold and stain shows us that we can find new things in the old. That's one way of looking at the world this 2011.

Ah...that sounded cool but the truth is we needed to come up with a quick New Year greeting that matched this blog's theme.

You can do a lot in an hour and a half.

Happy New Year, folks!

Kindly bear with us while we finish setting up this blog. We are still finalizing the podcast schedule and the special features for the year. Thank you.