Forum - View topicINTEREST: Japanese Journalist Proposes International Edit for Ghibli's Latest Film
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yotsubafanfan
 Posts: 653 |
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They didn't have trouble with the baths scenes in Totoro or "Grave of the Fireflies", and they didn't even mention the nursing and bath scenes in "Summer Wars". So what's there to fret about? It's all part of nature.
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GATSU
Posts: 15311 |
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My comment about the Chris Reeve Superman, Pom Poko, and The Simpsons probably didn't get noticed. Oh, and now that I think about it Crayon Shin Chan. [Though CMX did edit out a gag that was available in the Comics One edition of Volume 10, where it looks like Shin is blowing a dude on the subway. But they keep all the other implied molestation jokes in the manga, because that's totally appropriate.
 ]
Captn:
Well, you did gave the world that disturbing dry-humping dwarf played by a 12 year old in the Tin Drum, so of course you wouldn't care.
Zac:
Unfortunately, that's what's screwed us out of Only Yesterday and Ocean Waves.  As for Kaguya Hime's chances of getting a U.S. release, I think it could happen, because it's rendered in a style which is friendly with family audiences.
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Neko-sensei
Posts: 283 |
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Having seen this film last week (and come out of the theater so blinded by tears that I immediately walked into a wall; Kaguya-hime is by far the best movie Ghibli's ever made, and perhaps the best movie I've ever seen), I'm quite concerned about its chances for American distribution by Disney. The nudity is of exactly the same stripe as that in Only Yesterday, except that there's a little more of it (and infinitely more breastfeeding). If Disney is firm in its resolve not to release Only Yesterday stateside, it would require an arbitrary flip-flop of almost miraculous magnitude to make them bring Kaguya-hime to an American audience.
On a side note, I'm also appalled by the poor box-office reception this film's been getting, particularly compared to The Wind Rises (which literally everyone I know went to see). Miyazaki's summer movie was quite interesting, and well worth watching, but Takahata's created a supreme masterpiece of cinema here and it always makes me sad when a great film doesn't achieve the recognition it deserves. (When I ask people why they went to see The Wind Rises but are not planning to see Kaguya-hime, they always give me a two-word answer: "not Miyazaki." That's worth a  .)
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Sariachan
 Posts: 1494 Location: Italy |
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The style of some of Takahata's movies is more artistic than the "usual" style used by most of the other Studio Ghibli movies. It's sad that some people don't like it, but that happens in other media too, unfortunately (if you know The Legend of Zelda, you would surely remember the uproar over The Wind Waker style, which is objectively the best one ever used in the series, yet many people criticized it ). Or, to remain more manga/anime-related, it's like when people say the One Piece art style/character design is worse than Naruto or Bleach, while on an artistic point of view is obviously the other way around (and by a wide margin, too). More stylization=less realistic=you have to have a certain education to understand it, and not all people are educated enough, as simple as that.
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omiya
 Posts: 1827 Location: Adelaide, South Australia |
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I saw this at the Shinjuku Picadilly at the 11:40am session on Saturday 23 November - second release session and as far as I could tell not sold out.
One has to realise that the animation looks like the still pictures - it's animated watercolour paintings for want of a better term. There isn't a great level of detail in the nudity and it is appropriate for the story, which doesn't have sexual connotations anyway. It will be fine as it is. (My impression was that it has a very strong Buddhist theme towards the end which may make it different from other Studio Ghibli titles). |
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Shiratori1
 Posts: 300 Location: Los Angeles |
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You say that as if it isn't true.
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Neko-sensei
Posts: 283 |
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Yes, the "appropriateness" of the nudity is the exact problem: the nudity in Only Yesterday was just as lacking in detail and just as appropriate, but the mere thought of people getting naked together was enough to earn Disney's censure. Kaguya-hime suffers from the same silly issue.
I saw this in my town (Matsumoto) on the Sunday after its release, and I was one of an astonishing nine people in the theater. Nine. (By contrast, I went to The Wind Rises in its second week of release and was part of a sold-out crowd.) Based on my conversations with people I know here in Japan, it's not a question of "style" but simply a matter of not knowing they were "supposed" to go to the movie. Miyazaki movies get public attention; Takahata movies do not. Stylistically, the film is heavily influenced by Heian-era art (in keeping with its setting and theme), but it's certainly not abstract enough to alienate any audience I know of (and I strongly object to the notion that appreciating a "stylized" anime requires more "education," or even that some styles are more "artistic" than others; there's absolutely no barrier to appreciating a moving, well-made story like Kaguya-hime's, whether you're a literary theorist or a teenager). Finally, the Buddhist theme is most interesting: Takahata's tiny change to the original narrative recasts it into a much more subversive light. Where Buddhism is about the rejection of desire, Takahata's created a story in which desire becomes freedom: practically blasphemy, if that term can be used in a Buddhist context. I could go on about this for literally thousands of words, but I'd best wait until more than a handful of people have seen the film. Just for goodness' sake come armed with tissues when you watch it. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15311 |
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Neko: The main issue Disney has with Only Yesterday is that it's geared to older audiences, so they can't make money off the tween demo like with Takahata's other stuff. Kaguya Hime, OTOH, should be more general audience friendly.
I think Ghibli and Buena Vista Japan are just happy this wasn't a Yamadas-style bomb. Takahata's got a smaller legacy in Japan than Miyazaki, but he still has a bigger audience there than a lot of directors with his sensibilities. For example, I'm sure I.G. would love Momo to do as well as Kaguya Hime. Saria: Wind Waker sucks for different reasons than its look. And One Piece does have horrible art. But people in Japan like gag manga, so it fits right in with their tastes. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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It isn't true, at least among anime fans. How can you be a fan of this medium and honestly have a serious issues with sex? But I'm fully aware of the hivemind "everyone who has a problem with any kind of fanservice whatsoever is a STUPID AMERICAN PRUDE" talking points you usually deal in. Please tell me more about how enlightened, sex-positive and accepting of all forms and expressions of sexuality you are, guy who flies into an irrational rage every time anyone says anything that can even be interpreted as somewhat negative about his cute-girls-doing-cute-things shows. |
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Cptn_Taylor
Posts: 925 |
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Miyazaki, not Studio Ghibli is as mainstream as anime gets in Japan on the silver screen. So it's no surprise that Takahata's film is not getting the box office results it should be getting. His films should be on the festival circuit. Mainstream japanese joe sixpack doesn't care for Takahata's more authorial artistic films, let alone joe sixpack in the rest of the world.
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koinosuke
 Posts: 271 Location: Fukushima, Japan |
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The one detail that may be worth mentioning here is that while Kaguya-Hime is taking in way less than The Wind Rises did its opening weekend, and indeed will probably not see anywhere near the same overall box office intake, it still was top at the box office last week. It's fallen to second this weekend, but it's still far from being obscure. And Ghibli directors other than Miyazaki have seen a good deal of success; Arrietty and From Up On Poppy Hill recently both did great at the box office (albeit with Miyazaki scripts and his more familiar art style attached). |
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GATSU
Posts: 15311 |
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koinosuke: Movies like Arrietty do well because they still follow the Ghibli mold. But even as successful as it was, The Wind Rises was still reported as being behind in breaking even, due to its budget. So I hope it finally got there.
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Cptn_Taylor
Posts: 925 |
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You cannot ignore the art style of Kaguya-hime as some in this thread are saying. Its art is so fringe that the story doesn't matter. You have to have an interest in seeing it, so yes some cultural sophistication is required from the part of the viewer. Familiarity breeds complacency even in anime circles. And breaking with the typical Ghibli art in such a radical fashion is going to upset Ghibli fans. I mean each time an anime film coming out of Japan uses "strange art style" there is bound to be a problem. Think Redline. That was anime, but its style was so freaking different from anything else that Japanese otaku audiences simply ignored it. Takahata is not Miyazaki, not in art style, not in the themes they like to deal with etc..., you can appreciate one and not the other. And it simply doesn't matter that both work in the same studio. |
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Adamb15
Posts: 115 |
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Oh he's right you know.
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"It isn't true, at least among anime fans" Acceptance of sexuality is a cultural attitude, and anime-watchers are automatically being influenced by Japan's cultural attitudes which, you know, just happen to be different from American attitudes. I don't know these 'talking points' that you seem to have memorized, But I'm feeling pretty sure that no one was even considering anime-watchers when talking about 'American prudes.' Now, "How can you be a fan of this medium and have a serious issue with sex?" Easily. I'm not sure why you would even ask this. It almost sounds like you're trying to qualify what makes a person an anime fan. If that wasn't your aim, and your point was instead that there is so much sex in the medium that it is unavoidable, then you're wrong. You should know as well as I do that there are plenty of shows not built around sex, sexy women, or sexy men, or that have very insignificant or no instances of fanservice or even attractive characters. I don't know what your beef is with that guy, but attacking him like that was pretty low and I'm embarrassed for you. Even if he was a hypocrite on the issue, it doesn't make his opinion less valid. I'm going to leave the discussion about American attitudes towards sex alone because we obviously disagree on them, and I don't want to get banned from this site just because I piss you off. |
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Shiratori1
Posts: 300 Location: Los Angeles |
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Exactly. I was referring to non-Anime watchers in that comment.
THIS |
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