Japan, I thank you for Ghibli.

Anime




If you are akin to the majority of people I know, you probably snarl and show disgust at the mention of the word "anime". You probably associate it with over-sized haircuts, enlarged eyes and unrealistic facial expressions. Anime, to the majority, is something to do with Asia and the old Pokemon series we all watched. This time two years ago, I was of the very same mindset. Anime, to me, was an obscure, foreign concept which I didn't really bother with. Now I recognise anime as an art form; an individual medium of expression. I'm going to explain how one Japanese animation company, Studio Ghibli, forged this opinion.

It was the end of the Summer holidays before third year. I was in Wexford, at my grandparents' house. I was bored. I spent most of the day trying to improve at chess using Chessmaster, to no avail. I spent an unhealthy amount of time online. My uncle, seeing my desperate situation, suggested that I watch a film. He recommended "Spirited Away". I had seen the cover of Spirited Away in Xtra-vision a few times when it was in its commercial heyday, but I hadn't paid much attention to it. It was just another one of those films I vaguely knew of but had never seen. I, with nothing better to do, watched it. 125 minutes later, I sat in absolute awe. Thus began my love affair.

"Spirited Away" follows a young, obnoxious girl, Chihiro, who, in the process of moving to a new town, inadvertantly reaches a land of spirits and monsters. There, her parents are turned into pigs by the owner of the spirit world's popular bathhouse, the witch Yubaba. In order to escape the world with her parents de-piggified, Chihiro must encounter and overcome many challenges. She learns some valuable life lessons along the way. That's all I'll tell you.





I found that Spirited Away connected with me. It provided escape from the rush of school and everyday life. I watched it and re-watched it. It became more to me than a means of escape; it became something I wanted to be a part of. I then watched the savagely epic "Princess Mononoke", which caused many a free class of day-dreaming at school. Studio Ghibli amazed me more with each film I watched. The compelling, fantastical plot lines, the exuberant characters and the lavish animation made me a complete convert. With each film, I came to appreciate the genius of Ghibli to a greater and greater extent. Ghibli opened the door to a new realm of fantasy and excellent storytelling. The mastery of Studio Ghibli comes in the ability of each of its films to make an entirely fictional world real to its audience. It introduces us to worlds unknown, and chuckles to itself as we fall deeper and deeper under its spell.


I hope that Studio Ghibli will have the same effect on you.


If you're interested, here are some films I'd recommend from SG:

• Spirited Away
• Princess Mononoke
• My Neighbour Totoro
• Howl's Moving Castle
• Grave of the Fireflies