Ghibli Fan Posters: Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, Porco Rosso

Here are a pair of excellent fan-designed movie posters for two of my favorite Hayao Miyazaki movies, Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind and Porco Rosso. I really enjoy these designs, which incorporate an indie comic book style. Nausicaa evokes the surreal images of the Ohmu shell, with the title character seated near the eye and the toxic fungus. Porco Rosso evokes the myth and mystery of its central character, a legendary pilot who has renounced his humanity.

Poster designs like these always remind me of the way movie posters were made long, long ago. It was an established art form all its own, as movie collectors and fans will tell you. Once the conglomerates took over the major Hollywood studios, however, everything became subsumed by marketing hacks. Everything just became another crummy commercial. The age of Photoshop has been especially cruel. Movies can still be magical. Most of the time, however, they're nothing more than plastic, a disposable product designed for immediate consumption, discarded three days after opening. Meh.

I want classic movie posters again. Don't you? Of course, you do.

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Photos: Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind

Here are some excellent screenshots from the Blu-Ray release of Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind. As is the case with nearly all animation, the BD format is a dramatic improvement over the older DVD format. Colors are sharp and vivid, picture is free of pixelation and compression artifacts, and audio is perfectly lossless, rich and booming. Years ago, I remember finding an ancient VHS rip that was worn down to the bones. The colors were washed out (leaving many to speculate Nausicaa wasn't wearing pants), and the screen was so dark you could barely make out anything. It was still a mesmerizing and mind-blowing trip.

I've argued for many years that Nausicaa was the movie that saved Hayao Miyazaki's career. Its success, both commercially and creatively, led to the founding of Studio Ghibli and three decades of worldwide acclaim. It's hard for today's younger fans to imagine just how hard the director struggled in the years directly preceding this film. The period of 1978-1983 was especially difficult for Miyazaki, who struggled with mainstream success in Japan, even while creating such masterworks as Future Boy Conan, The Castle of Cagliostro and Sherlock Hound. It's baffling that these titles weren't hits at the time.

Nausicaa was the great vindication, the overwhelming proof of Miyazaki's talents as a director, animator and storyteller. He no longer had to rely on the memories of Toei Dogs or Heidi. He no longer had to be thought of as "Paku-san's Junior Partner." He was a star in his own right.

This is a great movie, dynamic and exciting, filled with complex ideas and complicated characters. Its tone is deadly serious, aside from a few gags scattered here and there. You can see the obvious parallels to Horus, Prince of the Sun and Conan, but there is a new maturity on display. Here is a movie with ideas and questions that wisely avoids easy answers. Indeed, Nausicaa seems determined to leave us with questions. It makes sense, given this was still an ongoing manga comic serial at the time. Even Miyazaki didn't know where he was going. But he was definitely going places, as we know today.

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New Studio Ghibli Blu-Ray Movies: Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, Castle in the Sky

On Tuesday, October 31, GKIDS released their "second wave" of Studio Ghibli Blu-Ray/DVD titles: Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind and Castle in the Sky. Both titles are part of the studio's catalog reissue series and will continue into early next year.

These titles are important for die-hard Ghibli Freaks. Both Nausicaa and Castle in the Sky were released by Disney some years ago, but with annoying issues such as English title burn-in (Nausicaa) and "dubtitles" (Castle). Hopefully, GKIDS has solved these problems, but at the time of publication, I was unable to confirm or deny any changes in the new versions.

Let's cross our fingers and hope that these new reissues have proper subtitles and title credits. That would make these titles a must-have for all fans. Stay tuned.

Update (11/4/17, 9:17pm): It has been confirmed that Nausicaa has clean credits, and Castle in the Sky has proper English subtitles. Thanks to our friends on Reddit for the confirmation. Now buy these movies!

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Riffs: Lupin the 3rd, Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind

This first screenshot comes from the Lupin the 3rd Series Two finale, Farewell, Beloved Lupin. It features a heroine in blue who controls a giant robot and is forced to commit crimes against her will. This is an interior shot of Maki Oyamada, the heroine, operating the controls inside the flying robot.

Hayao Miyazaki was a fan of these kind of interior airplane shots. This specific shot appears to be quoted directly in Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, which features a later incarnation of the director's iconic heroine. Both characters are also voiced by Sumi Shimamoto, further adding to the connection.

The giant robot, of course, is a tribute to the classic Fleischer Superman cartoons, and would later be revised into the giant robots in Castle in the Sky, as well as the God Warriors in Nausicaa, and especially the character of Ohma in the Nausicaa books.

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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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