Mimi's Delivery Dash: The Unofficial Studio Ghibli Videogame

Now this is just too cool for words. Ghibli Freaks of all ages have been screaming, pleading, begging for years to have videogames based on their beloved movies. Now a small team of indie developers have delivered the goods.* And it's awesome.

Mimi's Delivery Rush is a loving tribute to Hayao Miyazaki's classic 1989 movie Kiki's Delivery Service, with names changed to protect the penniless. In this game, you play "Mimi" (wink, wink) as she flies around town on delivery runs. I am partially reminded of all the great Castlevania games over the years, but I'm also reminded of Sega's Crazy Taxi, one of the all-time great quarter munchers.

The graphics are presented in a classic 16-bit side-scrolling platforming style, and everything looks terrific. There's a lot of color and detail, and the software team wisely avoided the popular trend of making "retro" graphics that are massively over-pixelated. This is much closer to how videogames looked a quarter century ago, and it looks as charming and inviting today.

This videogame was created for Movie Game Jam 2018. If you click the Mimi link above you will visit the team's website where you can cast your vote for this little gem. A number of prizes will go to the winners, but these sort of things are created purely for love. It's a thrill to be celebrated as part of a community of artists and fans.

Mimi's Delivery Dash is available on Windows (PC). The developers are Nathan Scott (programming, sound and music), Sako (pixel art and additional programming) and Martin Wright (key art and additional pixels). Kudos for all their great work. I would definitely love to see this project expanded into a full-length game, and would gladly pay for the privilege. And while we're at it...can we please have a Sega Dreamcast version? Pretty please with cherry on top?

(*Ugh, did I really sneak a lame-o pun into this article? Oy froynlavin. I blame the GamePro Writers' Guidelines, which instructed me to always employ "heavy alliteration and witty word play.")

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Ghibli Recipes: Fish Casserole (Kiki's Delivery Service)

Here is a novel addition to every Studio Ghibli collection: a fish casserole as seen in Kiki's Delivery Service. You'll have to click the image to view in full size so that you can read the recipe.

In Minnesota, dishes like this are extremely common. You can mix up any combination of pasta with meats, fish, vegetables and cheese. Macaroni & Cheese is always a popular choice, as is Meat & Potatoes. Feel free to experiment to your heart's content. Personally, I would just get rid of those olives on the top. Happy cooking!

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Bocanada: A Journal of Pop Culture and the Arts - The New E-Zine From Ghibli Blog

Have you downloaded your free e-zine yet?

Many years ago (longer than I care to admit), I created zines to nourish my love of writing and popular culture. I wrote about Star Trek and science-fiction, video games, music, art, and the ups and downs of daily life. They were created on simple desktop publishing software, word processors, and an assortment of clip art and marker pens. It was very low-tech, but highly enjoyable. I even managed to score some freelance writing work at GamePro, which was tremendous fun

Ever since then, I wanted to return to zines. I even had recurring dreams about finding an old computer with long-forgotten websites that were still active, and communicating with old friends. 21 years later, while working on my multiple book projects, I thought it would be fun to finally take the plunge again and create a zine that I could share with my readers and fans. And so Bocanada Issue 1 was born.

Bocanada: A Journal of Pop Culture and the Arts. That long-winded title means, simply, that I get to write about whatever the heck I want, but mostly aimed in the same direction as my writings on Ghibli Blog and the new books: Zen Arcade, Pop Life and Greatest Hits.

For Ghibli Freaks, this issue includes essays on Kiki's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke and My Neighbors the Yamada. For classic and retro video game fans, there are reviews of Altered Beast (Genesis), Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis), Bonk's Adventure (TG-16), Mega Man (NES), and Street Fighter 2 Turbo (Super NES). For music lovers, we have articles on Miles Davis' 1974 jazz-fusion album Get Up With It and Sony's PS-X75 Biotracer Turntable. Finally, we have an art gallery of zine-worthy graffiti works created by me back in 2002.

The cover image is another one of my artworks, a 2005 digital painting created entirely on computer. The title is an homage to Gustavo Cerati's 1999 album, a glorious mashup of trip-hop (remember that?), Radiohead's Kid-A and The Beatles. The pages are "half-size," meaning that they are standard 8.5" x 11" pages folded in half. The zine is 48 pages in total, which matches the output of my old zines perfectly (they were 245 pages at standard size).

Bocanada was created for both physical and digital formats. I find the half-size format works perfectly for tablets and even smartphones. The pages are very readable and neatly designed without becoming too cluttered or dense. I created everything on Scribus, a freeware tool, which I suppose would disqualify me in the eyes of many zine publishers -- it's not a "real zine" unless everything is created on a typewriter, scissors and markers. Whatever.

Bocanada is available as a "perma-free" download, meaning the digital version will always be free. All you have to do is join my mailing list. In addition to receiving the zine, you will also receive regular email newsletters that feature the latest news and developments from DT Media (my indie publishing label) and Ghibli Blog, including the new books!

When is Bocanada Issue 2 coming? Soon. I'm still very busy with releasing the books, assembling the new DT Media website, and doing the usual promotional work (translation: hassling everyone with review copies and appearance requests). If we can assemble and publish the second issue in time for Thanksgiving, I'd be thrilled.

As always, thank you very much for your continued support of Ghibli Blog.

P.S. I keep mentioning the new books: Zen Arcade, Pop Life and Greatest Hits. Well, the books are finished and ready to roll out! As for release date, availability and price...join my mailing list and I'll share all the answers in my next newsletter.

Update (10/4 8:23pm): Bocanada now has a new cover design! I like it a lot, and hope you will, too.

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Studio Ghibli Halloween Costumes For 2017

Halloween is only one week away, which means it's time for everybody to hurry up and finish their costumes. Ghibli Freaks of all ages will be eager to show off their love of their favorite animated movies and help spread the word to their families and neighbors.

These costumes were first shown at DramaFever, and if you follow the link, you will find a dozen more, all equally impressive. It's very clear that everybody invested an enormous amount of work for their costumes. "Cosplay" is a popular staple of anime and sci-fi conventions, and it seems as if that community has exploded in recent years, thanks to the soaring success of ComicCon and similar events. I remember kids dressing up in costumes at Star Trek conventions back in the late 1980s, but today's fans have taken the game to a whole new level.

Each of these makes for a terrific Halloween costume idea for parents and children alike. I especially like the My Neighbor Totoro photo at top, with the two girls pulling a Cat Bus wagon. The pet Ohmu is also pretty inspired...I wonder if it moves? That would be cool.

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Artist Spotlight: Kiki and Jiji by Ian Lee

Here is a charming illustration of Kiki and her pet cat, Jiji. I like this cartoon style a lot, and like many Ghibli art pieces, I'd like to see more. You can find Ian's Instagram page here. Send him your thanks.

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Kiki's Delivery Service 1998 VHS Promo

When Disney secured the US distribution rights to Studio Ghibli's films, they clearly had their eyes on Kiki's Delivery Service. Here was a family-friendly movie that was charming, upbeat and very similar in tone to their own movies. For parents who probably associated "Japanimation" with sex, violence and cheap production values, this would be a very welcome relief. Add in a new dubbed soundtrack created by Disney themselves, and you have a guaranteed hit on home video.

This video is the original 1998 promo for the videocassette, and according to the YouTube page, appeared on the VHS for The Black Cauldron. Notice the colorful logo which would be replaced in the DVD that appeared five years later. I always preferred this to the later design, when Disney appeared to be far less invested in Studio Ghibli. I don't care much for the corny narration or the dub, but I'm not the target audience, which would be parents and small children.

It's fascinating how this trailer focuses on the climactic action sequence. There's quite a bit more action that one would expect from a "children's cartoon," albeit with all the hokey narration and preachy moral values. In a Puritanical society, such concessions are necessary in order to sneak past the guards. Mom and Dad will nod with approval at the important messages, and the kids will be thrilled by the exciting flying scenes and the sights of a foreign city (modeled greatly on Sweden, as we all know).

It's really too bad that the relationship between Disney and Studio Ghibli was such a troubled one. They rarely seemed to be on the same page, often viewing one another as rivals rather than partners. The cultural differences were just too great at the time. Also, Hayao Miyazaki probably shouldn't have made a grim and gory Kurosawa epic right when he signed the distribution papers. I can't help but feel that Princess Mononoke burned more bridges than it built, and is really the point where that marriage turned sour. Maybe it's just me.

In any case, here's Kiki to cheer everybody up.

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