#but the japanese have so many unwritten rules and some of them absolutely make no sense and make work a lot more difficult than it should be

[ncityzen]

Hi. My Instagram might look really pretty but there's a very high chance I will get murdered tomorrow by a rude Japanese lady and I'm absolutely terrified

[lovedrunkheadcanons]

GTAW: Chapter 18 Notes

1. If you’re a baseball lover like myself, and want to learn more about Japan’s passion for the sport, and the differences between the American and Japanese philosophies, I’d recommend “You Gotta Have Wa: When Two Cultures Collide on the Baseball Diamond” by Robert Whiting. The two quotes above I got from this book.

But if you don’t want to do that, you can watch this 10 minute video instead.😜

A ⚾️ — Also, there’s no easy way to say this, but the only way to understand baseball is to watch a game. Multiple games, at that. You can watch complete games on YouTube or the MLB website. You can also watch instructional YouTube videos, but I can almost guarantee you’ll be left confused. There are a lot of unwritten rules in baseball and it can be difficult for a beginner to fully grasp them right off the bat (see what I did there?😉). However, I found some videos that might help as you learn.

Brief history of baseball in America (funny/dark humor)

I would also be remissed if I didn’t mention anything about The Negro League. Very important stuff, especially when explaining how baseball first came to Japan.

⭐️The different kinds of pitches.

The history of the baseball cap.

⭐️The official rules of baseball.

B ⚾️ — Major League Baseball (MLB) is the #1 pro baseball organization in the United States (and Canada). It comprises 30 teams and is divided into two leagues: the Nation League (NL), and the American League (AL).

The regular MLB season consists of 162 games a year.

The annual championship of the MLB is known as the World Series. Why it is called the World Series when it’s only held in the United States (and Canada)? Good question. I have absolutely no clue. Chalk it up to American arrogance, I guess.

The MLB is responsible for maintaining and interpreting the official rules of baseball. All international leagues, including those in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Venezuela, you name it, more or less adhere to the official rules of baseball as codified by the MLB. Think of baseball as a regulated good, like champagne or Swiss chocolate.

And to put money in perspective, The New York Yankees are the most valuable MLB team, worth an estimated $7.1 billion alone, which doesn’t even count the other 29 teams, many of whom also range in the billions and multi-millions.

C ⚾️ — The Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) is the #1 professional baseball organization in Japan. Locally it is called the Puro Yakyū. It comprises 12 teams and like the MLB is also divided into two leagues: The Central League (CL), and the Pacific League (PL).

The regular NPB season consists of 130 games a year.

The annual championship of the NPB is called the Japan Series, which makes sense, unlike the MLB.

The two most successful teams in NPB history are the Yomiuri Giants and the Hanshin Tigers.

D ⚾️ — The World Baseball Classic is the FIFA World Cup of baseball, though not as many countries participate. It’s only been around since 2006 and sometimes crazy drama happens and it’s awesome. Most baseball lovers (and I’m thinking specifically of snobbish Americans) consider the World Series to be the ultimate championship, not the WBC, but try telling that to the Japanese.😂

Fun fact. Team Japan were the first WBC champions in 2006 and they are this year's 2023 champions as well. Pretty neat. I watched the game. It was electric. Congratulations Japan!!!🥳🎉🎊👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

E ⚾️ — In the past it was heavily frowned upon for a Japanese player to sign with an MLB team, mainly for two reasons: One, Japanese natives didn’t like their top athletes playing away overseas. And two, it was seen as a selfish money grab. (MLB players get paid A LOT more than their international counterparts.) Although, nowadays when a Japanese player makes it to “the Bigs” it’s seen as an act of national pride, which is why Satoru has a Seattle Mariners “away” jersey (Ichiro Suzuki) and a St. Louis Cardinals “home” jersey (So Taguchi). 🇯🇵

F ⚾️ Satoru says he doesn’t have a favorite player, but when Shohei Ohtani steps onto the scene that all changes. He develops a HUGE man-crush on the guy and won’t shut up about him:

SATORU: The man is a beast, Hannah. A Beast!!!😤

HANNAH: Yes, dear, we know. You’ve said it a million times already.😒

2. Here, Satoru quotes from the Inquiry of Urga. While not a major religious text, I’d like to think Satoru is well versed in many texts. It’s also worth noting that most Japanese are not religious, but I think religion makes the plot more interesting.

3. Okashi Gaku’s “Cake in a Can.”

Overview of some Japanese vending machines. I would love having a security goat. 🐐 I pass on the bugs though.🐜🐜🐜

4. Koishikawa Kōraku-en (Garden for Taking Pleasure Later) really is located right next to the Tokyo Dome as is an amusement park.

The “Big O” Ferris wheel.

Going up inside Tokyo Tower.

The Skytree is actually twice as tall as Tokyo Tower, but I think Tokyo Tower is prettier and more romantic since it’s modeled after the Eiffel Tower, so that was my rationale.

I have no idea whether Hannah would be able to see all of Tokyo from that height, but let’s pretend. Tokyo is massive.

5. This is also a good thing to point out, but my beta reader asked me why I didn’t mention anything about sumo wrestling, since it is technically Japan’s official national sport. Long story short, sumo has been embroiled in a lot of scandals recently and is not as popular with younger audiences. That being said, sumo will never disappear from Japan and holds great cultural significance, but viewership wise, baseball is more popular than sumo. However, you can watch this short video and decide for yourself.

Here is also a brief history of sumo.

[kleineshexenkraut]

Character analysis and some headcanons

Let me ramble about Kenpachi Zaraki, his squad 11's top members and their unwritten rules with all their seriously bad or even icky connotations a bit. And also about why I think all of it is part of an actually beautiful plot about acceptance and defying the expectations of toxic masculinity.

Characters who defy expectations the narrative set for them earlier is one of my absolute favorite things! Even if the story or character in question isn't otherwise interesting to me, something like this I will always enjoy! Tite Kubo has my deep respect for all the times he did it (for every character with such moments, really). And while what I think about this particular topic here could obviously be mostly personal interpretation rather than actual intended fact, in my mind this will always stay a very touching and interesting subplot. So apologies in advance for the truly long text, buckle up!

And just in case, major spoiler alert throughout.

TW: bullying; abuse; violence; mention of homophobia

Lets first list the unwritten rules and the other bad assumptions first:

no kido-type swords allowed

no kido learning/use in general

people keep their abilities a secret

only men in the Squad

Squad 4 can be bullied

And now take a look at the people who (seemingly) enforce them, or rather what we are shown at first:

Kenpachi Zaraki – Taller and stronger than most others, described as brutal, murderous, crazy warrior who enjoys fighting more than anything else, who frequently challenges even allies to serious battles. A lot of his design would usually be chosen for villain-type characters, such as the small irises that give him a rather unfriendly glare; a too wide, mad grin that exposes pronounced canines; the large scars; an eye patch and a spiky hairdo that further underline the dangerous appearance. Combined with his general ignorance and lack of intelligence he paints the perfect stereotypical picture of a brutish, toxic alpha-male who doesn't tolerate weakness and oppresses others.

Yachiru Kusajishi - a small, cute girl with light pink hair and a generally sunny disposition who possesses a lot of power and a pretty violent streak. Lives as Kenpachi's adopted daughter until she's revealed to be part of his Zanpakuto's spirit.

Ikkaku Madarame – His design and fighting style most resemble a Shaolin monk, with a bald head and red eye-make-up (because people can argue Ikkaku having markings instead of eye-shadow all they want, it is still very clearly in the style of traditional Japanese, female eye-make-up.) A man who enjoys fighting almost as much as his leader, but with a much more pronounced intent to kill his opponents. He's easily angered and actually enjoys frightening people on occasion by deliberately making a scary face.

Yumichika Ayasegawa – A vain, narcissistic man who's obsessed with looks as much as he enjoys fighting. The long feathers he wears on his eyelashes and brow is one of the most prominent decorative accessory (at least on the side of the good guys). And while Yumichika could be a flamboyant heterosexual guy, I'd say him being homosexual makes much more sense.

And already in these short descriptions we get some breaking up of general stereotypes and it goes on. At a cursory glance Kenpachi is just a one-dimensional, all-brawn-no-brains madman and that's pretty much the impression many of the other characters have. Once you look more closely, though, there's a lot of surprising nuance. Because the brutal, bloodthirsty leader of the fight- and strength-obsessed 11th Squad we were told about, while being all of this, also:

is immediately seen getting lost several times like an idiot for comedic relief

is so lonely that he unwittingly manifested part of his soul into a child, then adopted it to carry it around for decades (The duo resembles the main characters from Lone Wolf and Cub, and I'm pretty sure that was one of the inspirations. Although the similarity ends there, not least because the protagonist in Lone Wolf and Cub follows the Samurai codex and his son is a thousand times more annoying.)

Lets Yachiru pretty much walk all over him, slapping and hair-pulling included, without any retaliation or violence directed at her ever

admires a woman as his idol and describes her as the strongest person he ever met

Has a female sword-spirit (who's in part the small, very girly girl)

Bathes everyday and styles his hair for hours

Has a gay dude and in general the guys with some of the most obvious make-up and fashion accessories as his highest ranking Squad members without giving them flak for it. (Kenpachi looked like he wore eyeliner in the anime sometimes too. He didn't in the manga, but if you look at certain anime-scenes – that's a clear design choice they made there!)

Has no interest in fighting anyone who's clearly weaker than him and does so only if he has to as part of the job or if attacked first. And will complain about it the whole time.

Lets most opponents alone once they can't fight anymore and is even annoyed whenever an opponent doesn't stay down and has to be killed for real. (This is the case with most of the serious fights. Opponents who survived are: Ichigo, Tosen, Ikkaku, Ichinose, Yammy. Nnoitra died, but only after getting the chance to stay down.)

Befriends or admires people who defeated him (Unohana, Ichigo)

Is the only one who didn't subjugate his Zanpakuto-spirit for it's abilities, but got them by being kind and loving for decades instead

is not fighting out of permanent anger, but because he enjoys a real battle like nothing else

With all of what we see from the source materials, be it manga, anime or both (yes, including filler arcs), it makes me wonder how much of the unwritten rules are conjectures done by others made on behalf of Kenpachi. Now don't get me wrong, as stated, the guy lacks self-awareness to a baffling degree and his views do limit his subordinates greatly! Discovering and getting in touch with his own strength and soul is his main character-plotline after all.

However, the question stands. How much of this is people going: “You said A, B and C – so we assumed XYZ.” (?)

People do this all the time. I'm sure we all did at some point, and hopefully were corrected and learned for the future. But that's not what automatically always happens. And the hero-worship that the 11th has for their leader is very expressive and enthusiastic. At times it even resembles the annoying level of obsession Kiyone and Sentarō show towards Ukitake. This seems to get worse after the 1000 year blood war arc. It's not hard to picture them taking Kenpachi's every word as gospel and running with it.

Everything points to captains being able to run their squads however the hell they want, with very little limitations or regard for members. Look at the 12th, Mayuri exploded unsuspecting members of his division without a second thought or repercussions. The way he treats Nemu is highly abusive, yet no one cares. At least not enough to step in or forbid this behavior. So what's not wanting to recruit certain people in comparison? No big deal, that's what it would be. Especially since there are 12 other Divisions people can pick. If these are things the captain truly wants, why are these unwritten rules?

No kido-type swords

Looking at what this does, namely Yumichika hiding his abilities from everyone even at the risk of being killed, makes this the worst one and a key issue. A Zanpakuto and it's abilities are part of a Shinigami's soul and personality. By hiding and denying his powers it's clear from the start that this man lives in an environment that wouldn't accept him for what he is. That he doesn't want to be anywhere else makes changing this issue extremely difficult to nigh impossible with this setup. And since he is depicted as a rather stereotypical gay man, it absolutely very quickly implies that this is the thinly veiled depiction of the struggle of every queer person who fears having their coming out. (Which makes it all the more sad that this hasn't been clearly resolved and might never be in canon.)

And it wouldn't be only Yumichika. Achieving even Shikai is not common and there are constantly new recruits. There will inevitably be quite a few people who discover a non-melee type Zanpakuto in time and be just as tormented about it.

The fighting style Kenpachi loves the most is direct clashing of steel on steel, up close and personal, that's stated multiple times. He can't, or rather doesn't even try to, use kido (until much later). Furthermore a lot of the opponents with kido-type abilities were relatively boring and/or disappointing to him in the end, like Tōsen and Ichinose. Often kido-abilities are distance attacks or support a fighting style that's more covert.

This, combined with the general notion he had before being defeated by Ichigo that talking with and fighting alongside one's zanpakuto is nonsense, could easily have resulted in him saying he doesn't like people having kido-zanpakuto.

On the other hand, what constitutes as kido-sword? The wiki makes the distinction between element and kido as separate types. But during the battle against Baraggan, Ōmaeda says he wished he'd have a kido-sword with flames or ice.

This makes me question whether the element-abilities are actually nothing else than kido. And if that's the case there are multiple examples for incredibly strong fighters, like head-captain Yamamoto or Hitsugaya. No one would call these two weak. His idol, Unohana, has a sword that might have acid-related abilities, which would make it another example, maybe even the most important one. That in turn makes me wonder whether he actually made this rule or whether he said something negative about several former enemies and their abilities every now and then and his Squad interpreting it as: “Obviously our captain hates kido-Zanpakuto! Therefore no one in our Squad is allowed to have one!”

Kenpachi is notorious for having little interest in anything besides fighting and his ignorance toward himself can not be overstated. The man limited his abilities, most of his talent and power unconsciously as a child to the point where he couldn't hear his own Zanpakuto nor recognize it's manifestation, then further impaired himself by adding bells that give his position away and slapping a seal on his right eye (which means no depth perception along less Reiatsu, mind).

Is this a guy one can expect to realize that people make wrong assumptions on his behalf?

Or did it go more along the lines of:

Statement: Kido-swords are lame

Assumption: No kido-type Zanpakuto allowed

Reaction: No one here has kido-swords? Less hassle for me to find people who can help them train with those.

Conclusion: People hiding their abilities

Now, Komamura did say that Kenpachi couldn't look past appearances and wasn't able to see someone's inner strength. That was after Kenpachi tried goading him into a fight, though. Komamura hid his face for over a century because he feared the rejection and enmity of others and understandably was quite vulnerable in that moment. For all that Kenpachi isn't the sharpest tool in the shed on many occasions, he does know how to get under people's skin if he puts his mind to it. But what was said earlier shows that he doesn't care about appearances at all. That he isn't shocked about Komamura's face, because a guy's appearance isn't important in a fight. He has only two criteria:

Are they strong?

Will they fight me?

That's it. Man, woman, child, shinigami, human, hollow, beast, muscular, thin, heavy, big, small, whatever else – nothing matters except these two questions. As long as the opponent actually can fight there's no discrimination because none of it is indicative of abilities. And Yumichika definitely does fight well, he's third seated officer later on with only fighting prowess sans abilities, much like Kenpachi for most of the story.

Does Yumichika really have to fear not being accepted, then?

The most beautiful resolve to this whole issue would obviously be Yumichika somehow being forced to reveal his abilities and Kenpachi just excitedly going: “Interesting! When did you learn that? Lets try it out in a sparring match!” And maybe calling him an idiot for thinking this would ever be a problem after being clued in on the worries. I can see Ikkaku being angry only because Yumichika didn't tell him the very moment he knew. Not only because I love the characters, but I genuinely think this would be most in character for them. It would unravel the awful situation and further flip the stereotypes upside down. As in having the people that were assumed to be the most biased and negative turn out to be the ones most accepting. It would solidify the found family aspect of the 11th so much more as well. And it would be a great metaphor for someone being cherished just as much for who they are after coming out. And there can't be enough of that in any media.

2. no kido learning/use in general

This ties in with the first and is already kind of negated by Kenpachi using flash step later on. If this one was ever really a thing the 11th can take him using it as example to reconsider.

3. people keep their abilities a secret

While this sounds like point one at first glance, especially after the long-ass meta earlier, it isn't quite. Ikkaku is able to use Bankai for years and has a melee-type Zanpakuto, yet still keeps it a secret. There are only a select few who know and his captain isn't one of them.

The reason he gives is that he wants to fight until he dies under Zaraki and doesn't want others constantly asking him to become a captain. While this does make sense in terms of loyalty and admiration towards Zaraki, it doesn't explain why he keeps it a secret from said captain too.

Even with the shortage of captains after Aizen's betrayal it's not very likely to get promoted into such a position without consent. If nothing else, this is a surefire way of getting bad results. So why then? Is it because he fears surpassing his leader in this regard would anger or somehow disappoint him? From everything else we see of Kenpachi there is no indicator that might be a thing. On the contrary, stronger fighters with more abilities mean better fights, even if it's just sparring.

Kenpachi tells Ichinose that fighting people without own goals is no fun and that loyalty is different to relying on people. Then there's the speech he gives to new recruits, more specifically, that he won't restrict any viewpoints nor sanction them. And this isn't just blah, the way members of Squad 11 are shown to act in his vicinity reflects this. People sit or stand when he's around and bow when the situation calls for it, like an enthusiastic deferential greeting, but there's no kneeling going on as far as we can see. And Aramaki is quite relaxed when he speaks with him. (And in the recruitment fair brochure the answer about the atmosphere in the division is: “We get along and have fun.”)

As conclusion, someone who's loyal while having their own goals and opinions should be someone he would value. Ikkaku is almost the definition of that. He's strong, skilled, independent and probably couldn't stand to be anywhere where he had to go against what he believes in. That makes me think, while admiring Zaraki as much as he does, he misunderstands a lot about the man's views.

Another example of this is what happens after Ikkaku fought Ichigo. He apologized to Kenpachi for surviving after losing. Even though the same guy explicitly told him years earlier, after he beat him in a fight, not to ask to be killed. To consider himself lucky, live, get stronger and fight again. In a way that had enough lasting impact on Ikkaku to keep on going, but apparently didn't fully register all the way.

And for all the talking on eye-level people could probably do in the 11th, people will most likely uphold the gap to higher-ups out of habit, respect, and in this particular case sometimes fear as well. Under these circumstances it makes a bit more sense where this unwillingness to show his abilities comes from. But if that's the case it very much is a misconception.

4. only men in the Squad

This is maybe the weirdest one. We don't actually know for certain if there aren't any women in the 11th, but none is ever shown.

Again, the person Kenpachi strived to be like and still admires is a woman. Yachiru (never mind what else she is) is obviously a girl and extremely strong, so her position is warranted and unquestioned outside and inside the division. Then the already mentioned things about how Kenpachi completely doesn't give a shit about appearances, only whether or not someone stands their ground. All of this could point to be the most clear indication of conjecture or a combination of unfortunate circumstances.

We got very little information about the former leader of the 11th, Kenpachi Kiganjō. Shinji describes him as a piggish slacker who never did what he was told, while Ichinose believed he had a deep sense of justice. We have even less about the rules this guy had, but the background characters that can be seen during the flashbacks are also all male. Then we can take a look at the recruitment brochure again where Zaraki's statement is that only strong guys should join. Yachiru however says no weak people should join. As far as I'm aware 'guys' can be used as a universal address for groups of people, women and men. But lets consider what a new female recruit might see/hear, especially given that the inner motivations and believes of characters aren't known to anyone but us as audience, unless explicitly shown or stated.

The Squad is full of brutish thugs who love fighting.

There are no women besides a little girl, who might be related to the leader in some way

The brochure says guys in the address

Everything people have to say about Zaraki Kenpachi - which excludes aaall the nice things we know and leaves them with the picture of the toxic masculine lunatic

Yeah, I wouldn't want to join either... As conclusion, I put this one under unfortunate, completely wrong conjecture, though.

5. Squad 4 can be bullied

We see this happened and it's obviously bad. Given, Unohana stepped in and scared the shit out of the guys who did it on her own turf, but it shouldn't be a thing in the first place. That said, does Kenpachi know about this?

Unohana was the first Kenpachi, she has an iron grip on things, and someone who was on the receiving end of her 'kind' reminder that their lives are in her Squad's hands while they're there will most likely never forget to be polite again. So there's no real reason for her to complain. Apart from that, seeing how Hanatarō said that the 4th is weak and therefore always ends up doing all the chores, like cleaning the sewers, makes me think this isn't just the 11th treating them badly. (Which again, worse still.)

Anyone beside Unohana that we see of the 4th are usually rather timid. Isane has trouble talking to other captains even after she became one herself. So...

Did anyone from the 4th ever dare to walk up to Zaraki Kenpachi to complain about his Squad being mean to them? If that mental image made you laugh even a tiny bit we are in agreement. That probably never happened. He might not know then. The question is how he would react if he found out?

One interesting thing to remember is that Kenpachi has actually little problems with regular people who are weak. Not that he meets many after joining the Gotai 13, but whenever he's around those there's no such thing as killing sprees or bouts of violent outbursts.

The issue is with anything and anyone who should be able to fight, like fellow Shinigami or Hollows, but isn't cutting it – or rather him. He is incredibly bored most of the time. As such his Squad will definitely pick up on his dissatisfaction with 'the weaklings' all around them, which could have turned into everyone is fair game. But frankly, being the power house he is, being weak applies to almost anyone including other captains and the whole 11th. Based on that there's actually little basis for them to look down on other divisions. Conjecture again, then?

We can only speculate what would happen if he found out about his Squad's behavior. He'd probably tell whoever has grievances to grow a spine and just show the ones treating them badly this isn't going to fly. At the worst this would change nothing and stay a problem. But at times he can come up with unexpected insights, especially when it comes to things he knows. More brutal, constant sparring matches with the persons in question that leave them in need of healing from the 4th may work wonders on people's attitudes. But alas, unless we get more material all is just more musings and head-canons.

[queen-of-my-goofball-army]

An Ode To Miyazaki:

Hi everyone! So for my final paper for film, we had to pick our own director of our choosing and talk about them extensively between the attributes that make them special. Our course focused on the narrative and technical styles of directors. For my final project, I have chosen my biggest hero in the world of animation and somebody that drastically changed my life as a young child, Hayao Miyazaki. Learning about him for this project gave me so much insight into not just his films but who he is as a person. I hope that my paper is as interesting for you to read as it was for me to do research for!

1. Hayao Miyazaki, often referred to as the Japanese Walt Disney is the front runner of his animation studio Studio Ghibli. I picked him because I already have sufficient knowledge and love of his films. One of the first memories that my parents love to remind me of is my first time watching Totoro and laughing at the introduction characters. Miyazaki himself stands out for a number of reasons. Over the years, Miyazaki has made a humongous name out of himself, one of his most famous movies Spirited Away became the most popular film to ever be released in Japan and also won the academy award for the best-animated film that year. His most “popular” films (I say popular in air quotes because it is nearly impossible for people to agree on a favorite) remain the aforementioned Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Princess Mononoke. Beginning his career as a simple animator for Toei animation, he worked as an in-between artist. It was here that he met his future collaborator at Ghibli, Isao Takahata. His first big directorial debut in film before founding Ghibli was a team effort without Takahata was Lupin The Third, The Castle Of Cagliostro. His first successful movie was one that was based upon his own manga Nausicaa of the Valley Of The Wind. The first official Miyazaki movie that was made with Ghibli was one of my personal all-time favorites that had ever been created, Castle In The Sky. For many children, especially ones with parents who are lovers of a film like mine, Miyazaki was one of the first animators that I was introduced to. His films have become classics for every fan of animation, being referenced in culture, specifically back when Disney owned Studio in Toy Story 3, Bonnie has a Totoro.

2. So, this brings up the question, how does one recognize a film by Miyazaki? You can always expect for him to be critically acclaimed, for there to be some element of magic and whimsy in the way that he animates, for there to be something to do with flight (whether it be dealing with airplanes like in Porco Rosso, the idea of flight in Howl’s Moving Castle, or a floating castle up in the sky in Castle In The Sky.), his heroines are always strong-minded and live by their own rules never bowing down to anybody, his love stories are dynamic and fulfilled, a sweeping score by Joe Hizashi, and they have a meaning about nature somewhere, mostly about why it needs to be protected.

Let’s start by breaking him down narratively. The thing that is always in every Miyazaki film no matter which one you decide upon watching, is that his female characters are always strong-willed no matter what. In many ways, I think that he writes women better than Disney does. He has gone on record saying “Many of my movies have strong female leads—brave, self-sufficient girls that don't think twice about fighting for what they believe with all their heart. They'll need a friend, or a supporter, but never a savior. Any woman is just as capable of being a hero as any man.” Sometimes, this will cause them to come across as reckless, or stupid, but in my opinion, I have always looked up to his female characters and the way that they are portrayed. My personal favorite female character that he has ever brought to life through the screen is Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle. She is strong-minded, not willing to put up with any of Howl’s dramatics, kind, an incredible adult figure for Markal, endlessly sympathetic to her friend’s plights (namely Howl and Calcifer), and somebody that I can always look up to. I spent most of my childhood looking up to characters like Kiki in Kiki’s Delivery Service, Chihiro in Spirited Away, or one of my personal favorite underrated girls, Fio in Porco Rosso. All of these female characters are independent and never let themselves be taken advantage of by anybody.

Another trait that can always be found narratively in his films is that Miyazaki is an airplane/ air travel fanatic. He absolutely loves airplanes, even to the point where his latest film, The Wind Rises was based upon the life of one of the first airplane manufacturers in WWII. Almost all of his films will involve something about flying in the air. Even with the ones that he didn’t direct and he just simply wrote. His obsession with flight is something that stemmed from his childhood and he never saw them as a thing to be used for war “airplanes are not tools for war. They are not for making money. Airplanes are beautiful dreams. Engineers turn dreams into reality.” My personal favorite of all of his flight animation is used in Howl’s Moving Castle when Howl and Sophie “fly” over the heads of all the people below them.

Narratively also one of the biggest things that set apart his films from any others is his focus on nature. The idea of protecting the beauty of nature is something that he has always stood by. A lot of the time, America tries to prove that it can make films about nature as well to usually varying results. I think that nobody can sell an environmental message quite like my biggest hero for Japanese animation. One of the main movies that focus on his will to protect nature above all else is Princess Mononoke. He always manages to animate nature in such a beautiful and majestic way no matter where the film is set.

I also think that a narrative trait of his that often gets overlooked is how beautiful the romance in his films can be. He never has a romance between two characters that feels stale or boring. I love the fact that you can pick any number of his films and the chance of there being a romance that you’ll get sucked into is a very large one. Everybody has their personal favorites, I love Howl and Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle but my best friend loves Sousuke and Ponyo from Ponyo. He has on record saying that “I’ve become skeptical of the unwritten rule that just because a boy and girl appear in the same feature, a romance must ensue. Rather, I want to portray a slightly different relationship, one where the two mutually inspire each other to live - if I’m able to, then perhaps I’ll be closer to portraying a true expression of love.” Writing romance between two characters can be a very tricky thing which is why it’s always amazing when he can continually pull it off despite everything and how many films that he has made over the years. The beauty of having both a strong and independent male and the female character is that they can both lean on one another for love and support. Probably the biggest supporter of this is Whisper Of The Heart, a film that he wrote instead of directing. The romance is what makes up the entire film. It’s a beautiful love story about how two young teenagers fall in love with each other. The romance is something that continually keeps me coming back for more every time.

Technical style Miyazaki can always be assured to deliver breathtakingly stunning animation. There is a reason why so many people leave his films starving because the food that he draws always looks so good. For me though, it’s the backgrounds that stand out above all else. It’s nearly impossible to have one favorite shot in one of his films but I as a matter of fact do have one. The most breathtaking animation in any Miyazaki film is the scene where Howl takes Sophie to see his secret garden. Everything about this scene never fails to make my breath catch. It’s such a profoundly beautiful moment and how it is animated is something that I haven’t forgotten since my first initial viewing of the film when I was seven.

Another iconic technical trait is that Disney did a fantastic job dubbing the films from their original Japanese language into English. Back when Ghibli films first started to become popular, they needed a way for an American audience to see them. So Pixar’s CFO at the time, John Lassater made a deal with Ghibli that they would dub all the films from their original language for a brand new audience. Growing up, this was how I watched all of Miyazaki’s films. I fell in love with the way that they sounded in English. To this very day, I have yet to see one of his films in any other language. I don’t think that anybody could have dubbed them better. Ever since Ghibli and Disney went their separate ways and they went to GKids the dubs haven’t been the same.

Finally, the last technical trait is that a Miyazaki film will always have a score done by his longtime collaborator Joe Hizashi. The score is such a big part of what makes Miyazaki’s films his own. They are what get you sucked in through their whimsical and magical tones; they always fit the vibes that he’s going through at that moment. There is also the element of sound. Every Miyazaki film has a distinct sound effect that will set it apart from the one before it.

3. The first film that I want to look at is my personal favorite of all his films that he has made so far if you were to force me to pick just one Howl’s Moving Castle. Released in 2004, it was the 9th film that the director came out with. It has an 8.2 out of 10 on IMDB and an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. The storyline for the movie follows a young woman named Sophie. She gets a curse set upon her by the Witch of the Waste and when she leaves home she finds the infamous Howl’s Moving Castle. This is the second Ghibli movie voiced by a Batman live action actor. Christian Bale voiced Howl Pendragon after Michael Keaton played the titular Porco Rosso.

Narratively this is definitely a Miyazaki film. From how strong of a female character Sophie is I spent most of my childhood looking up to her as a character. Strong female characters are everywhere in his films and in my opinion, Sophie is one of the strongest. Another strong factor is that flight plays a major part in this film. One of Howl’s main powers is that he has the ability to fly around. This leads to my favorite scene of flight in any Miyazaki film when Howl takes Sophie’s hand and they “fly” over the tops of the city down below them. All of his early films up until the last few were set in someplace other than Japan. This one is set in Europe, and he takes a lot of time while in the cities to show off all the different types of buildings while Sophie tours around the city.

Technically speaking this is also a Miyazaki film and holds all the titular traits of being so. The animation is utterly for lack of a better word, magical and spellbinding. It takes my breath away every time that I rewatch it. The food looks incredible, one scene that most of Miyazaki’s fans always think of when this movie is brought up is Calcifer making the food for Howl, Sophie, and Markal to eat. The dub for this film is also one of Disney’s best dubs for Miyazaki films. It even brings actors to the table that I usually would not like to see in other films like Christian Bale. I haven’t loved him in any other films than this one. Billy Crystal is a stand-out as well as my favorite fire demon Calcifer. The score is done by Joe Hizashi as well. My favorite part of the score is the main theme which has Howl and Sophie floating above the people below. The sound effect that follows throughout this film is the steady creaking of the castle itself.

Princess Mononoke was the first time that Miyazaki ever “retired”. Most of the time, whenever he tries to retire, he always comes back. A lot of his colleague's joke that it’s because he physically can’t stop working. He animated most of this movie by himself. Before Spirited Away it was Japan’s most famous film to date. The story about a young man who is just trying to erase the curse that was set upon him by an angry boar and it leads him to a place called Iron Town is something that never fails to amaze me. While in Iron Town, Ashitaka meets a young woman named San who was taken in by wolves and he finds himself caught between a war involving humans and the gods of the forest.

Narratively this is definitely a Miyazaki film. It has a strong female lead, focusing most of its screen time on how important it is to protect and preserve nature as a whole. The idea of protecting nature is such a moving part of the film, as we see what it does when man takes over the forest. We see how distraught it makes the Gods of this world and how they wish that the humans would just go away. However, you also see it from the point of view of the villain of the film Lady Eboshi, who also regularly helps lepers and people who would often never get work outside of her offering them a home and a family. I have regularly gotten into a debate with my mom over which side is “right” and which side “wrong” over the course of the last few years of me being a massive fan of this movie. She takes the side of the forest while I see Ashitaka’s side that everybody should just get along and interact in peace and harmony. Miyazaki never shoves the idea of nature down your throat. That is not what this film is. It’s instead about the beauty of what we have and learning to appreciate it.

On a technical level, this film is fantastic as well. It blows my mind that Miyazaki-san animated most of it all by himself. The backgrounds are sweeping and utterly gorgeous showing off the time period of the film. The fight sequences which make up the bulk of the film’s running time are engaging, thrilling, and fabulously animated. Mononoke’s score was done by Joe Hizashi as well. Its score is beautiful and I always find myself getting sucked into it, especially for the more dynamic scenes with Ashitaka and San. The sound effect for this film uses nature as a backdrop for brutality. Ashitaka’s arrows don’t just come out of his bow, they screech through the air.

Finally, my last film that we will be focusing on, Kiki’s Delivery Service was made in 1989 a year after his cult phenomena My Neighbor Totoro and was his fifth animated feature. Kiki is a young girl that is hoping to become a young witch in training. However, to do so she has to train a year away from home. She and her cat Jiji find a town by the sea where she learns her true strength and what she can really do to help others. Hayao Miyazaki didn't want to bore the audience during the film's end credits by using just the names. He set it up to be like a mini-sequel so that the audience would leave the theatre feeling happy.

Narratively this has all the traits that one should be familiar with and associate with a Miyazaki film. It has a strong-minded female character at the source of it that young girls can look up to and admire. As a kid, Kiki was my favorite female character of his because I loved her strength and her dedication to what she was good at. She knew that she was still young and had a lot to learn but even though she gets depressed she doesn’t let that stop her in the long run and will still save her love interest Tombo. The romance in this film is by far one of the sweetest. I love the interactions between the characters and the way that they both inspire one another to be better than they are. The idea of flight is basically the focal point of everything. Kiki finds that her best trait is that she flies incredibly well and decides to create her own flying delivery service.

Technically this also has a lot of traits that Miyazaki made a name for himself in doing. The animation is spectacular, especially for Kiki’s flying. I could watch her fly around all day and that was the idea that he was going for while making the film. The sweeping score by Joe Hizashi, especially in my favorite song A Town With An Ocean View, is something that I’ll often listen to outside of the film itself. The sound effects for the film are meant to be calming. From the first sound that you hear of the wind rolling through the reeds while Kiki lies against the grass to the waves when she finally finds a home.

4. Miyazaki as a director has inspired me since I was way too young to even remember. When I was a kid I would pretend to run around my apartment building's front yard imagining that I lived in a big house in front of a camper tree like the one in Totoro. His movies are perfect for children that “suffer” from having an overactive imagination. His movies are everything that is bright and beautiful in the world. The animation never fails to take my breath away, the characters and stories are unforgettable, the soundtracks sweep me away and tell stories themselves. His movies are something that even my parents, who are not anime fans, can watch over and over again. I think that speaks for itself. Miyazaki makes films that are art, not just animated films.

[putschki1969]

Hi, thanks for all your dedication and hard work in thiis blog, just a question, do you know if keiko had sang once under another name -Azuki Hino-? Thanks

Hi there!

*sighs* For the longest time I was thinking about whether or not I should reply to this ask...But I guess there is no point in being secretive anymore...

I have some explaining to do. Please hear me out and read everything CAREFULLY!

This is a tiny piece of information that was discovered by yours truly and a fellow Japanese Kala-fan last autumn. Personally I thought it was a great discovery (even though it’s not that much of a big deal) and I immediately wanted to share it with the entire fandom. However, my Japanese friend was very much against sharing these news publicly. He made a private group consisting of a bunch of selected hardcore Keiko fans and we told them about it. For some reason they all collectively agreed that this info should stay between us. Needless to say, I didn’t really understand their reasoning. In my opinion this information is not in the least bit harmful to Keiko’s reputation, there is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of so I don’t see why anyone should have to be all secretive about it. I understand why Space Craft would sweep everything under the carpet, they wanted to launch Kalafina with a clean image but now that that’s all in the past there is really no point in pretending it didn’t happen.

Either way, I decided to lay low because I didn’t want to outright disrespect the wish of my fellow fans. Plus, I didn’t wanna ruin the reputation of foreign fans even more. Many Japanese fans think very badly of us because most of us don’t stick to the unwritten fandom rules.

Nevertheless I felt like people deserved to know about this. I am not a fan of keeping things exclusive and I am very much against this elitist sort of mindset where some fans are apparently more worthy than others. But I still wanted to keep the spreading of this information under control. That’s why I decided to make THIS post here. A compromise if you will.

I got an overwhelming amount of reactions and I sent my document with all the info to a ton of fans telling everyone to stick to the rules and keep this under wraps. Of course it was bound to happen that someone wouldn’t stick to the rules. As expected, it was a member of the CPM forum who couldn’t keep their mouth shut. ¬_¬ From what I have been told they first shared the info in their holy discord chat and then after some time the news made it to one of the forum threads which means it’s now out in the open for everyone to see. I am assuming that’s where you got the information from, anon? Or maybe by now the news have spread to other sites as well, I don’t know...

To answer your question: YES, Keiko has released two songs under the stage name Azuki Hino back in 2008/2009 when Kalafina were in the midst of debuting. I will leave it at that since this is a public post. 

HERE is my document with all the details. Please refer to it for further information.

Even though the info is out in the open now, I urge everyone to follow these rules: 〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→

❗ENJOY the info IN PRIVATE❗

(no need to make a big deal out of it)

❗If you must share the info, SHARE IT IN PRIVATE❗

(PM, DM, tell them in person; that’s how Japanese fans do it)

❗Do NOT SHARE THE CONTENT of my document (pictures, YT links, etc) on public social media sites❗

(especially not on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook)

[orbemnews]

Their Olympics Are Already Canceled A few years ago, Bud Kling had three rooms added to his house in the Pacific Palisades in California. The builders used extra concrete along with a reinforcing metal beam — and not because Mr. Kling was expecting a crowd. The rooms weren’t for people. They were designed to house and showcase his 30,000-strong collection of Olympic pins, the colorful and endlessly varied souvenirs that have been bought and traded at the Games for decades. Even when the builders were finished, Mr. Kling, a 74-year-old tennis coach, still had far more pins than he could fit in his home. He also owns about 100,000 “trading pins” — multiples of the same pin that can be swapped — and he hauls some of them to the Games. His stash is stacked in his garage and in rented storage space. “I have a very patient wife,” said Mr. Kling, unnecessarily. When organizers of the Tokyo Olympics announced that the 2020 Games would be delayed for a year and, in March, that no overseas spectators would be allowed into the country, few were as despondent as Mr. Kling and other hard-core Olympic pin traders. To them, the Games are only partly about sports. For every minute they spend watching competition, they spend one minute — maybe two — trading pins, either in impromptu scrums outside venues or at designated trading centers. The collapse of the pin trading market will hardly register in the ledger of losses incurred by the Tokyo Games, an enterprise that the country’s organizers say will cost more than $15 billion. About $3 billion of that stems from renegotiating contracts caused by the yearlong delay. But stuffing the national coffers hasn’t been the point of hosting since the price tag for throwing the world’s largest gathering started to soar more than a decade ago. Countries vie for the Games hoping for the ultimate look-at-me moment, a slick, multiweek advertisement aimed at the entire planet. Tokyo will get a healthy portion of self-promotion if the Games go ahead, which organizers vow will happen despite national polls suggesting that an overwhelming number of people in Japan — who are contending with a prolonged fourth virus wave — would prefer another delay or outright cancellation. For Olympics goers around the world, these Games will be remembered as the party they had to skip. That includes about 250 pin traders, people who plan their lives around the two-year interval between the Summer and Winter Olympics. Never heard of Olympic pins? They are a portable, wearable bit of promotion and branding for athletic delegations, national Olympics committees, corporate sponsors, news media outlets and cities bidding for the Games. (The New York Times makes its own pins and gives a couple dozen to reporters covering events.) To the unmoved, the pins are the kind of $7 memento you toss in a drawer, or a wastepaper basket, as soon as you return from the Games. Thousands of people buy pins, and many spontaneously trade them once they see a trading hive outside a venue. Host countries cater to both casual and ardent fans by producing vast quantities of pins, which are sold at souvenir shops. Japan was prepared for pin-crazed crowds. The country’s organizers have made 600 different officially licensed pins, a spokesman at the Games said, and there are 12 souvenir stores set up around Tokyo. Now, demand for this bounty is an open question. It’s not just that Japanese fans will be the only ones admitted to the Games. Trading is such a hands-on, face-to-face activity that there are worries that it might be discouraged — or even banned. The press office at the Games would not comment other than to send along a “playbook,” published in February, outlining safety protocols. Pin trading wasn’t mentioned, but one of the principles stated that attendees should “keep physical interactions with others to a minimum” and “avoid closed spaces and crowds where possible.” That makes pin trading all but impossible. For years, Coca-Cola, a longtime Olympic sponsor, has built pin trading centers on the grounds of the Games. A spokeswoman said there would be pin-related promotions, including a chance to acquire pins representing Japan’s 47 prefectures. Whether the company will open and host a pin trading center in Tokyo, the spokeswoman said, is still under evaluation. For years, Mr. Kling has been recruited by Coca-Cola to help oversee and manage its pin trading centers, a volunteer position that has made him the unofficial pin czar of the Games. Among his many roles is to enforce etiquette and unwritten rules. That means ensuring that tables are shared fairly, counterfeit pins are weeded out and newcomers aren’t overcharged. “Occasionally I’ll hear an older guy tell a kid, ‘My pin is much bigger, so you need to trade me two for it,’” he said. “We don’t want anyone grinding down an 8-year-old.” Some are in it for the money. There are more than 80,000 eBay listings for Olympic pins. These speculators had a golden moment in Nagano, Japan, in 1998, when, for reasons that nobody ever explained, the organizers failed to produce enough pins. A trading frenzy ensued. A few people earned $40,000 in a few days. The pin economy had a tulip mania moment. “Guy I know made a down payment on his house with money he earned in Nagano,” said Sid Marantz, a pin trader who has been to 17 Olympics and is another regular volunteer at Coca-Cola pin trading centers. At 76, Mr. Marantz is retired from a family business that sold food ingredients, like salt and sugar. He got his hands on his first pin when his parents took him to the 1960 Olympics in Rome. He was a huge fan of Rafer Johnson, an all-rounder out of U.C.L.A. who won gold in the decathlon that year. “I was just swept away by the whole thing,” he said. He attended his next Games in Montreal in 1976 on a tour with Track & Field News, to which he subscribed. That was the first time, he said, that spectators got involved in pin trading on a large scale. It’s an affordable hobby, at least in Mr. Marantz’s practiced hands. He estimates his whole collection has cost him about $10,000. That’s in large part because after the 1996 Games in Atlanta, he and three friends learned about a warehouse in Colorado — home to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee — filled with 750,000 unsold pins. They chipped in $35,000 and bought the entire lot. Each kept about 40,000 pins, and they sold the rest to pin collectors around the world. “We called it ‘the motherlode,’” he said of the acquisition. “It means I go to the Games with pins that effectively cost me nothing. That’s why I’ll trade with absolutely anyone.” Beyond making new friends, pin trading is about the quest for obscure, hard-to-find treasures. These include pins from African delegations, because they tend to field small teams. (Burundi’s pins are especially prized; the country brought nine athletes to Rio in 2016.) Any country that has recently changed its name will find itself in the cross hairs of pin traders. That means you, North Macedonia, which will compete at its first Games since Greece compelled it to add “North” to its name. The pins of Japanese media companies have been sought after ever since Nagano, because they are often adorned with cute cartoon mascots. This time around, though, not even this genre will be hot. Pins from Tokyo 2020 — yes, it’s keeping the name, never mind the actual date — are going to be worth next to nothing, Mr. Marantz predicts. Supply is going to swamp demand. Both Mr. Marantz and Mr. Kling had purchased thousands of dollars’ worth of tickets to events in Tokyo, money that has since been refunded. Only recently have they begun to accept that they really won’t be heading to Japan in a few weeks. On Friday, Japan’s government extended a state of emergency in Tokyo and other prefectures until at least June 20. “It’s like a boulder falling,” Mr. Kling said of being forced to skip the Games, “and hitting you in the head.” Source link Orbem News #Canceled #Olympics