Once Upon a September: Chapitre Trois - Studio Ghibli is ♥ (a break from the heartache)

What I'm feeling now: How surprising, I haven't thought about you that much today. I still love you (I promised, didn't I?), but I don't think I'm in love with you anymore.

Things have never been the same. Nowadays, when I'm not feeling depressed, I feel lethargic, and because of the erratic weather, migraines sprout up now and then. But then again.. I have more time for myself and for the things I love to do!

For example..

Hayao Miyazaki films!

If you've paid attention / are paying attention to my status messages, you know that I've recently been appreciating Studio Ghibli films.Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation film studio (here's a link to the Wikipedia article for it), founded by acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki.

Now back to the movies! (haha)

So far, I have watched (in order of viewing :D) Princess Mononoke, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and Kiki's Delivery Service. They are all amazing movies in their own special ways.

Princess Mononoke - I like how it depicts the struggles of supernatural beings (spirits, demons) with the humans who live and consume their environment. How they showed the boar spirits actuall creeped me out, and when the boar god Okkoto got consumed by the demon, that really FREAKED me out. You have to watch it to believe it, haha!

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea - This hasn't shown in theatres yet, even though the original one was released last year. I love this because it shows the innocence of childhood, as a little goldfish girl named Ponyo who meets and befriends a human boy, Sosuke. (Fun fact: Ponyo likes HAM. :D) If the plot won't get to you, the mere cuteness of it all will! I don't know about you, but I like cuteness. :>

Spirited Away - Chihiro's adventures in the spirit world to save her parents (who unfortunately transformed into pigs) kept me on my toes. I did not dare pause the movie because I was so engrossed with it. I like the bathhouse parts because you could see all the different spirits and supernatural beings who came in to relax and soak in warm bath water. I loved the English dub because it sounded, well, right. Not like..

Howl's Moving Castle - I think they could have done a better job in the voice casting of Howl. I mean, CHRISTIAN BALE as Howl? That's crazy. I think that Howl is actually a very good (and quite jolly) person, even taking in Markl off the streets after Markl's parents died. Putting that aside, it's a heartwarming film, with the power of love as one of its main themes, as Sophie learns to love Howl despite his reputation as a mysterious wizard who eats the hearts of beautiful girls.


Kiki's Delivery Service A wonderful coming-of-age tale of a young witch-in-training and her journey from reliance to independence as she sets off to find a town where she can stay and hone her skills, because when young witches turn 13 they must leave home for a year, as tradition says. I liked that her black cat Jiji wasn't just a plain cat, it was a talking, witty, cat!




The next film on my list? MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, possibly Miyazaki's most famous work!

Fun fact: In the TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aang's pet sky bison, Appa, is actually based on the Catbus in My Neighbor Totoro for its design. And yes, I am also a big fan of Avatar. :D



It's nice to have a diversion from the stresses of life. ♥

And I am now officially moving on :)