#miyazaki heroines

[miki-13]

Pokémon MCs= Miyazaki-styled Protagonists?

Spoilers for Legends Arceus and Scarvio's DLC below!

So I just finished this wonderful long-ass video from Schnee

about how Miyazaki writes women: Unafraid, driven by duty rather than ego, isolated from their societies, and have inner harmony in a disharmonious world, spirituality in a society either devoid of or with corruption.

In essence, Miyazaki Heroines are Spiritual Heroes.

And I thought

That's sounds like Pokemon MCs!

Driven to go on a journey, either starting in a new place or with only a few friends or even that eventually grow and never feeling conflicted on what they have to do whether it be defeating evil or becoming closer to Pokémon.

Together, you and your Pokémon overcame all the challenges you faced, however difficult. It means that you've triumphed over any personal weaknesses, too. The power you learned... I can feel it emanating from you. - Cynthia, Pokemon DPP

Pretty much all the characters, no matter the game, note how kind and brave the protagonists are even compared to others. (Sometimes to their detriment, like in SV's DLC)

To me, Hisui's Akari+Rei and Paldea's Florian+ Juliana both feel very much like Ghibli-styled protagonists.

They show fear and sorrow, but still keep moving either because they do not fear what everyone else does or because their duty is so much more important than fear. They are initially isolated but their openness and lack of fear soon brings them companions.

Rei and Akari mend the rifts between human and Pokémon through loving all Pokémon, which is noted by many characters as strange due to lack of fear.

Juliana and Florian come to Paldea isolated but their willingness to embrace their new environment and help their friends helps them grow in unique ways.

And both sets of character's lack of ego is especially contrasted against Volo and Kieran's all-consuming egos, which drive the plot of their game and DLC respectively... and while Volo refuses to change and wallows, Kieran is able to grow past this flaw.

Of course, people insert themselves and what they know into the characters as they serve as blank slates, whether in fanfiction, manga, nuzlocke runs or other mediums for Pokemon stories.

But just thinking about this made me really happy, and it's opened up new ways for me to play Pokemon.

After all, you can't go wrong emulating Miyazaki's protagonists ^__^

[runawaycarouselhorse]

O

op finally put into words my gripe with this genre

[whimseysthrone]

Fog & Fireflies, by T.H. Lehnen

I want to see this animated. In so many ways this made me think of something from Hayao Miyazaki. There’s a certain blend of wonder and fright within a gradually accelerating story that feels so distinctively Miyazaki-esque to me. This story captures that. It has the meditative pacing. It has the gentleness over slowly growing undertones of threat that I associate with Studio Ghibli’s work. And…

[aikoiya]

Honestly, I'm here for a lot of this. And I absolutely understand the idea of Miyazaki rejecting the sensationalization of romance (especially the love at first sight trope) in favor of partnership & helping people & healing & connection.

At the same time, I don't see anything wrong with finding someone you want to live the rest of your life with romantically if that romance spawns from a partnership built on a deep connection that ends up healing the pair involved.

[ecoterrorist-katara]

Hey bestie any zutara fic recs. I feel like I’ve read all the classics.

Hello anon! Oh boy have you come to the right place because I have read several million words of these two dorks falling in love and though I plan to read several million more, I am always down to screech about talented fanfic writers!!! Here are most of my faves, some of which you’ve probably read but my enthusiasm simply needs an outlet. No WIPs to minimize heartbreak.

In the spirit of not recommending too many classics, I’m not including anything from the first page of the Katara/Zuko tag on AO3 sorted by kudos, with one exception. Same rule does not apply to FF.net because nobody visits that site anymore, yet we mustn’t forget our roots!!! 

TL;DR of my Zutara Fic Recs: 

Half Asleep for a Miyazaki-esque adventure romance 

Southern Lights for a sweeping epic where A Song of Ice and Fire meets Middlemarch

Refraction for a swoon-worthy post-war political romance ft. Katara learning how to politick in a patriarchal world 

Stormbenders for a fun undercover romance that is a ZK classic for a very good reason 

Another Word for Alchemy and The Slow Path for hilarious yet emotionally compelling adventures with found family themes 

The Undying Fire for world-building, more Gaang shenanigans, and super satisfying slow canon divergence 

Katara Alone for our fave girl’s post-war Bildungsroman/travelogue/heroic tour

Simple Misunderstanding for a hilarious rendition of Ponytail Zuko capturing Katara and trying to not be a creep

Clothe Me in Seasons, Dress Me in Snow for a mostly canon-compliant (so, v angsty) story about the different ways that love can evolve 

And some one-shots and modern AUs I feel like deserve some more love 

Summaries, reviews, and general fangirling under the cut because holy shit this post is long lmao 

Long fics / series: 

Half Asleep, by crushinator | Rating: T | Word Count: 82,335

Summary: Five years after the Hundred-Year War, Fire Lord Zuko is hit with an assassin's dart, and falls into a coma from which he cannot wake. A week passes, and his prognosis is grim. But Katara could swear she hears him in her dreams.

My thoughts: this fic, in many ways, is novel quality. The pacing? Immaculate. The action scenes? Exciting and interesting yet super easy to visualize. The characterization? On point. Katara is peak Miyazaki heroine in this, setting out on a quest to the Spirit World to save her boy (who’s not really her boy) from whichever Eldritch horror has him in its clutches. I love the little glimpses we have of the mutual pining between Katara and Zuko, and there are no words to describe how much I love the resolution of Katara and Aang’s relationship in this story. And oh boy, is the climax of the fic super romantic. This is just a really well written, emotionally compelling, tight fic. Deserves to be a fandom classic. 

Southern Lights, by colourwhirled | Rating: M | Word Count: 769,274

Summary: A world where the Avatar has disappeared from memory. Where Sozin’s Conquest was successful. Where the unsteady order of the empire is threatened as members of the royal family are picked off one by one and lines are slowly drawn in the sand One last chance for peace forces an unlikely alliance between a homesick waterbender, a carefree Air Nomad, a runaway Earth Kingdom heiress, and the fire lord's inscrutable son. Together they must learn to shed old enmities and become the balance they seek to restore to the world.

OR:

The avatar has four heads.

My thoughts: Is it a Bildungsroman? Is it a war story? Is it a politics story? Is it a love story? Is it a friendship story? Is it a story about colonial violence and well-meaning complicity and finding justice in a world where it simply doesn’t seem to exist? Yes to all of the above, because at 700k+ words YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL. You know how Virginia Woolf once said that Middlemarch is one of the few novels written for grownups? Well, Southern Lights feels adult, not because of violence or sex or general grimness (looking at you, HBO), but because it’s fundamentally about having the courage to make choices, live with the consequences, and make more choices, and repeat that over and over again. If Katara is a Miyazaki heroine in Half Asleep, she is full on Daenarys (pre-character assassination) in Southern Lights, a heroine who gets put through her paces yet retains her unwavering resilience to find her place in the world. Katara can be pretty frustrating in this and I know a lot of the commenters on this fic wanted to smack her up the head halfway through, but I support women’s rights and women’s wrongs and her decisions make sense to me even when I also want to smack her for them, and isn’t that a symptom of good writing? I count my lucky stars that I joined the ATLA fandom after this fic is finished (which was only last year!) because I got to binge it in a few days and I have not been the same person since. Deserves classic status. 

Refraction, by caroe3725 | Rating: E | Word Count: 215,249

Summary: Making choices after the war was supposed to be the easy part. Her future decided and neatly packaged based on what everyone else wanted for her, what she should want, too. But Katara’s destiny had a funny way of being exactly what she wanted to run from. (As if anyone needed another Zutara post-finale slow burn after 15 years.)

My thoughts: YES WE DEFINITELY NEEDED ANOTHER POST-WAR ZK SLOWBURN OF SUCH IMMACULATE QUALITY. Both Katara and Zuko’s internal monologues are excellent in this, but I particularly love Zuko’s. The writer is so good at capturing his resolve, his earnestness, and his awkwardness. This is a very restrained fic — no great histrionics — but also incredibly romantic. The first kiss scene made me want to both sigh and screech. I’m also just a huge sucker for “Katara learns politics” which this fic has in spades, with a bonus of very thoughtful gender dynamics. Anyway, if you liked AJ Lenoire’s The Summit or andromeda13’s such selfish prayers, you’d probably like Refraction. Zuko and Katara are very much dumb teens in the beginning portions of this fic, which I personally like because it makes me nostalgic. Oh, and Katara is low key chaotic good in this, which is super in-character and hilarious.

Stormbenders, by Fandomme | Rating: T | Word Count: 171,000+ 

Summary: S3 AU from FBM. Deep in the Fire Nation jungle, the Gaang meets a group of rogue water ninja who send Zuko and Katara on a mission to retrieve Ozai's secret battle plans.

My thoughts: I’m aware that if you asked the average ZK shipper ten years ago what the ship classics are, the answers are probably Stormbenders, His Majesty Prefers Blue, and the Sparrowkeet series. The other classics are good (classics for a reason!), but Stormbenders remains my favourite. It’s funny. It’s exciting. It’s WELL PACED. The ZK relationship grows so organically, which is a huge feat considering this fic was started before we even got The Southern Raiders. The events are a little more adult than the show, but the tone remains very ATLA. There’s a lovely little animatic of the beginning of the scene on YouTube to show you exactly what I mean about the tone and the humour. I am always weak for a well-structured adventure romance, and Stormbenders stands the test of time because it’s just such a well-written fic. 

The Undying Fire, by Boogum | Rating: T | Word Count: 534,665

Summary: "He has the eyes, Princess Ursa." They were half-forgotten words, a whisper of fears never explained. Zuko had dismissed it all as nothing to worry about—until he somehow healed the Avatar. Fire healers weren't meant to exist, except he did. He'd saved the kid's life. Naturally, he wanted answers. Too bad finding them wasn't so simple...

My thoughts: This fic is mostly Gen, and Zutara shows up in the latter half of the series. Despite being a ZK shipper I like plenty of Gen fics too, and The Undying Fire gives me the best of both worlds. I love the world building, the humour, and the slow ramp up of the Gaang friendships. I absolutely love how the canon divergence is so subtle at first and gradually unfurls into something super different, yet retains much of its ATLA charm. Boogum’s written some other bangers too, and I have to give honorable mention to Zuko’s Tiny Dilemma (where a spirit transforms ponytail Zuko into his six-year-old self, and Uncle into a teapot, and somehow it becomes an emotionally compelling 100k word saga) and Following Blue (season 2 canon divergent Bluetara with a bigger focus on romance). 

Katara Alone & associated fics by cablesscutie | Rating: T | Word Count: 86,890

Summary: The war is over, and with it goes the only life she has ever known. In this era of love and peace, the world is becoming new, and Katara is unsure of her place in it. That's okay though. Katara has rebuilt her life from scratch before, and she will do it again.

My thoughts: I love post-war “Katara sets out to find herself and also finds Zuko” fics. Katara Alone is a fabulous coming-of-age story with some good old fashioned letter flirting during Katara’s solo travels. The sequel, Lady of the Tides, has some very thoughtful depictions of Katara’s place within the post-war Fire Nation, and the accompanying story from Zuko’s POV, The Fire Lord at Home, hits all my buttons. Like…Zuko is Fire Lord Good Boy! He passes legislation! There is political optimism! Swoon. 

Another Word for Alchemy, by FanPanda 13 | Rating: T | Word Count: 108,000+ 

Summary: Five years have passed since the Avatar defeated Fire Lord Ozai, and the members of the Gaang have all gone in their own direction. But when Aang invites them all to a Peace Summit at the North Pole and tells them of his new project, for which he will need their support, the group comes together again for adventure, fun and romance. AU. Zutara. COMPLETE.

My thoughts: Now this is a fic that thoroughly crept up on me. The first 3/4 is good old fashioned fluffy, funny, fourth wall-breaking Gaang shenanigans with plenty of Zutara. But the last quarter? Oh boy does it come right at you and slam you in the solar plexus with the platonic love and found family feels and the complexities of those feelings when you’re a teenager. The impact of Aang’s loss of the Air Nomads is treated very thoughtfully here, way more so than in the show. 

The Slow Path, by TazmainianDevil | Rating: T | Word Count: 125,723 

Summary: Eight years after the fall of Ozai, Aang returns to the friends he left behind.

My thoughts: This is actually a Taang story with a great ZK subplot. But what I love about it is that the whole Gaang (including Suki ALWAYS INCLUDING SUKI) is superbly characterized. The ZK banter is top notch. I could actually hear their voices in my head in some of the scenes. Their relationship is playful but has plenty of emotional heft. And the plot is exciting and well-developed. My favourite thing, though, is how the author treats Toph’s POV: it’s very thoughtfully written, with consideration towards how she perceives the world.

Simple Misunderstanding, by ShamelessLiar | Rating: T | Word Count: 80,965 

Summary: Katara was captured by Zuko, but there was a lapse in communication. Takes place after The Fortuneteller. Fierce Katara, honorable Zuko, and meddlesome Iroh. Also, music night

My thoughts: Generally I don’t love fics where Katara gets captured, especially by Zuko (just a personal preference, not here to judge). But! I love this one, because…well, the circumstances of Katara’s capture by Ponytail Zuko are simply hilarious. Katara is suspicious and stubborn; Zuko has a one-track mind and doesn’t understand why Iroh is treating his prisoner so nicely; oh, and Aang gets into an amazing side quest with some spiritual animals. The only thing about this story is that it ends a little abruptly since the author was considering a sequel, but it still reads as a standalone fic. The author also wrote His Majesty Prefers Blue and Call Me Katto, two ZK classics, but Simple Misunderstanding is far and away my favourite work. 

Clothe Me in Seasons, Dress Me in Snow, by sadladybug | Rating: T | Word Count: 62,026

Summary: It is not the memorial she deserves, nor the one she would want. But it can't be helped. He owns no property in the other nations, and he needed to keep her close. Closer than she was in life, anyway. Zuko's reflections on a life lived and a life that could have been.

Review: sadladybug lives up to the username by creating a sadness so contagious that I have yet to recover from it, and I cope by recommending this fic to other Zutara shippers so that more may suffer like I did. (Stop the cycle? No.) Look — I think there’s something extremely beautiful and poetic about a love that changes in nature and form and expression, but not in intensity and devotion, and that’s what this fic is about. Loved it. Never reading it again. 

One shots: 

There’s a category of canon-compliant Zutara one-shots that are all extremely painful, and I cannot get enough of them: in the next life by we-were-angels, taking place right before Katara’s wedding to Aang; water can heal, water can break by crazyache, about why Katara didn’t attend Yakone’s trial. 

To combat the above, here’s a few funny, fluffy ones that make me cackle: i am older now by ama (who wrote the banger that is The Blackfish and the Dragon), an old!ZK fic that I read to counteract the emotional damage inflicted by psychedelic_aya’s we hold our hearts in silence; all good things start with tea by yodalorian, where Zuko’s hapless Disney sidekick-esque advisors try to get him a wife; And Half at One Another’s Throats by songofhopeandhonor (whose account is deleted), about Zuko’s harebrained proposals to Katara; The Dragon of the West’s Guide to Flirting by bluesunflower44, which is exactly what it says on the tin and the awkward disaster you’d expect. Waiting on a Steady Sun, by nire, is a long version of my favourite tropes: fake marriage + idiots to lovers ft. pining for your spouse. 

I generally don’t love modern AUs, but akaiiko’s talk is cheap (and i’ve got expensive taste), where Katara meets Zuko at a frat party, is a whole damn delight; my old aches become new again by jamesstruttingpotter is a wonderfully indulgent modern AU based on Our Beloved Summer. 

And finally, some season 3 character studies: don’t tell me how to feel by paintingcranes, ft Katara at the Western Air Temple being increasingly incensed at both Zuko trying to be helpful and how other people react to his helpfulness; the other side of mercy by crazyache, where Sokka calls Katara “high-strung and crazy” and that really makes Zuko think; The Silent Garden by romilley (whose WIP The Horizon is also fabulous), where Katara and Zuko avoid their feelings through a reluctant-allies-with-benefits arrangement (ft a way of depicting intimacy and sex that makes me think of Normal People); a deep delight of the blood by eruthros, where Zuko asks Katara to practice bloodbending on him out of pragmatism but also a little bit of guilt (it’s unrated, but that “Kink Without Sex” tag is there for a reason). 

Thank you for asking me for my recs, anon, because I needed an outlet to rave about fanfiction and my irl friends have heard enough. Feel free to ask me questions about specific fics that aren’t on this list: I always love talking to people about fic and I’m always looking for new ones to read!

[kyuohki]

Does...Does Castle of Cagliostro count??

Inspired by the fact that I am rewatching my first ghibli movie spirited away

Please reblog for bigger sample size

[ghibli-collector]

Sounds like Miyazaki’s next Ghibli film may be a Nausicaa sequel 😎

[baggebythesea]

Favorite cartoons of the She-Ra cast

Adora and Swift Wind: The 1985 She-Ra cartoon. "Adora uses the Sword of Protection to shield her butt from the friction of atmospheric reentry" is peak TV for both of them.

Bow: Steven Universe.

Catra: Thunder Cats!

Glimmer: One of those action filled, heavily sexualized old anime with neon coloured heroines kicking ass (just let Glimmer handle it!)

Mermista: Daria. It's OK, she guess.

Perfuma: She really wants to like something like Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, slow, inteligent and spiritual. But after a long day she puts on the bitchiest soap opera she can find instead.

Frosta: Sailor Moon! She has a carefully currated set of Moon-soonas.

Scorpia: Miraculous Ladybug. She's crying rivers each and every episode.

Sea Hawk: NARUTO!

Spinerella and Netossa: They have a broad taste and binge shows together. If one watches ahead the other gets genuinly hurt.

Micah: DUNGEON MESHI!

Angella: Oh, please, she has much too refined taste for children's cartoo… oh, that man Miyazaki is a genius!

Entrapta: The horniest mecha anime you ever saw.

Hordak: Same, but less horny and more about military logistics

Double Trouble: All the classical Disney. They love them a good villain song

Castaspella: Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Micah only dares to catch the smallest peaks over her shoulder before he runs to hide.

Shadow Weaver: Little witch academia. She finds it cheerful

[katyspersonal]

Oh boy, more asks..

These are some... strong words, but you are not exactly wrong about it! It is hard to grapple with. Where exactly "We should respect many things being open to interpretation in Elden Ring" stops and "You people did not play the same game tho" starts? You are not wrong about it at least being 'boring'. What use would be the story through this reading? Obviously, the tragedy of cycle of revenge and becoming the very thing you promised to destroy is a story with more importance and depth than..... than..... uuuuugghHHHH

.....ok sorry I might have overreacted. BUT, I have my limits. What if I told you that trying to uplift the weight of the genocide by either dehumanising the species or finding an 'unavoidable reason' to do it is extremely poor taste. What then.

I suppose that a deeper reasoning here is how normal it became to see fandomry as moral act. The girls go into new interests and see stuff like 'war criminal', 'murderer', 'sex offender', 'committed/complicit in a genocide', 'abuser', 'fascist' etc etc as an obligation to hate the character! From which follows both desperately trying to prove that something is inherently wrong with fans of this character AND feeling in danger if THEY like this character! So what follows? Right, character should be "protected" from "slander"! A kind of behavior that does NOT belong in Fromsoft fandoms, but literally every other fandom IS like this so I am not surprised if people carry this disease here from their previous interests! I can't even judge it because in many cases people did have a reason to be worried about harassment because fandom inquisition would treat their morally grey or black fictional favs as testimony of their beliefs!

Again, maybe I am reading too deep into it? I am just really old, therefore I saw the fandoms as we know them these day at their birth. How that behaviour happened and how it developed. Yes, personal preferences and simply not wishing your fav to be hated are big factors when such things happen!

But I think we NEED to try and think what the writer tried to tell us! What IS the purpose of telling the story where the survivor of something unspeakable returns a long time later to wage a "war with no grace or honor" that gets countless innocent people killed? Would Miyazaki write a story that excuses fascism and genocide?

Nonetheless, so many people just not really think through this lense: why would author write this? A genius writer with multiple masterpieces under his belt before Elden Ring, consistently criticising all the ways society and humanity can go corrupted or monstrous? Would he focus on how wrong the Crusade was just to make Marika and Messmer good guys here, or focus on how cruelly Marika treated the last Fire Giant, after a war with 'Fire of Ruin that could burn the Erdtree' for you all to say she had good intentions in it? 'Death of the author' should have always stayed just a narrative method, as opposed to fandoms deciding to miss the point for the whole past decade!

...And the most frustrating part is that they'll treat those who simply demand more lore accurate reading of the story and characters, without even any moral weight to it, as "omnipresent problem", when going anywhere near Youtube, Reddit and Twitter attempting to avoid Marika defence is like that scene from animated Snowwhite and Seven Dwarves where heroine ran through the dark woods and something horrid would show up no matter where she pokes her nose!

But, look, anon, you are doing That Thing. You are upset at the way some DLC reveals had changed the things in the fandom, when it is not the fault of the DLC. Even before SOTE, there was the whole infight about 'wow Marika is like Gwyn but somehow more evil' vs 'she is just a puppet of Greater Will that wants to rebel'. Such complex characters just tend to attract falling into one extreme or another! One side, likewise, was saying that she was unfairly vilified even when criticism was valid, another was snapping at them saying they woobified her-

Again: just because we as a fandom are not ready for the concept of 'tragic backstory makes a character more realistic than someone bad just because they're bad' does not mean that writers should not make stories like this! I know I am one hell of a misanthrope that can't care less about the "community", but I think somewhere deep down, even I believe we could be better and help each other to improve! People who decided that character is just bad without sympathetic traits and will side-eye anyone who says otherwise are a HUUUUUGE pain, but so can be people who take any criticism as a personal attack!

_________________________

(The post in question: ( x ))

Eh, I am glad that you liked my analysis, anon; It is strangely a second instance ever since SOTE came out where I get anon approvals over "actually analysing lore for what it is instead of using popular headcanon or theory" (first was about Nanaya)! I do not check fandom beyond what ends up on my feed, just never had that habit, but are things actually this drastic?

Regarding your confusion, I think it became widespread because a very popular artist started to draw/write a lot of this fanon? Personally, I absolutely dread when it happens in the fandoms; when it is not a singular popular person on Twitter OR Youtube, it is a group of "cool kids" on some community Discord or whatever, but the resulting hegemony of the same takes/designs/ships/preferences/etc is always there! Don't get me wrong, I am a boring unimaginative autist whose only talent is over-analysing a videogame, HOWEVER. In the places where canon goes vague and one should apply their own creativity, I'd rather see variety of interpretations! Not something that can be helped: most fans, especially the new ones, will adopt popular takes without scrutiny in order to socialise faster and be noticed. It is a self-feeding cycle that you can only escape when you block out all fandom influence and try to look by yourself!

And, well, I guess this is what I do? I try to make sure I don't have any biases besides 'what makes more sense', 'what works better', 'what has more evidence' and 'what author most likely implied'! I guess this is how I ended with "acknowledging the actual relationship" as you've put it! 'Knowing' is a very loud word for Fromsoft lore, yet these games give you limited amount of ingredients and despite there not being a recipe, you would still not try to cook a cake seeing ingredients clearly meant for a soup! Or is it for salad? Or lasagna...? Well, it is not for something sweet, right?

[jupiterlandings]

Howl would THINK Sophie wrote the book because “it portrays her in a better light” while Sophie, stubbornness & pride radiating off her at atomic levels, INSISTS she would never go to the trouble of sharing such a ridiculous man with her OWN world, let alone his. Neither of them knows that, after years of being Howl’s Emotional Safe Deposit Box, Calcifer really has come to favor Sophie (though not enough to stretch the truth about *her* flaws). Howl and Sophie are also both too preoccupied to note that the only inaccuracy of the book is Calcifer himself who, while described as a fierce and impressive demon, really does more resemble the bug eyed little gremlin from the movie who makes up for the occasional lack of spark with more than a healthy dose of sarcasm.

Was gonna make a post about Sophie wrote under the pen name DJW since people say the book is her perspective events and the movie was Howl whispering in Miyazaki’s ear after years of mourning the accuracy of his portrayal & semi-jokingly threatening sue his beloved wife for defamation but the only one who would be 100% honest about what happened in that castle is, in fact, Calcifer. In this essay I will-

[l3st1b0urn3s-707]

I'm watching all of the Studio Ghibli movies starting with Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, so let's talk about it!

This film was released a year before the studio was created, but it's often considered part of its catalogue. It's based on a manga of the same name by Hayao Miyazaki, who's also its director.

It's a post-apocalyptic film about a world that's mostly covered by the toxic jungle, a poisonous forest, result of a huge war that happened on Earth arroud a thousand years before the story takes place, and it's filled with mutant insects. Nausicaä is a princess from one of the few human enclosures that still exist at the time, and she likes invesigating about the toxic jungle and its creatures. One day, an army from a neighbouring kingdom invades the Valley of the Wind, the place where she lives. They are determined to destroy the toxic jungle, and they want to use a Giant Warrior, one of the old gods that destroyed the world in the previously mentioned war, to complete this task. Nausicaä will try to free her people and stop this army from potentially ending the world.

I first watched this film in the cinema earlier this year on its 40th anniversary and I remember feeling furious throughout the whole film. Don't get me wrong, it's amazing, but seeing how this pacific people had war forced onto themselves made me feel a kind of rage that I can't really describe. It's sad because they didn't want anything to do with it. And it's also sad because it reminds me of current situations happening right now in the world, which sadly don't differ much from fiction.

The film has a clear pacifistic and ecologist message, both very common on Miyazaki's works. One thing I really like about this film is how it explains that every piece of an ecosystem is as important as the rest, even if you think it isn't helping. Humans die after breathing in the toxic jungle, but the trees that form it purify the water that people drink. If you mess it up, you'll die. Nausicaä is also a very strong heroin, guided by her ideas and her love for the people arroud her. Miyazaki's films also tend to have feminist topics.

Even if this film isn't my favourite from the studio catalogue, I think it's very, very good. It really sets the themes for future Ghibli works, specially Miyazaki's. The soundtrack is also absolutely amazing. Joe Hisaishi is one of my favourite music artists, and the songs he composed for this film are definitely some of my favourites from his works.

I usually love stories that make me feel strong feelings and make me think a lot, and this one definitely did. I think this film is super cool and beutiful and really worth watching. And it's also the kind of film that I like to rewatch over and over again. So maybe, this post will encourage someone to discover it and have fun watching it :)

[centrally-unplanned]

I always find the 'semiotics' or symbolic language of media interesting from an evolutionary perspective. Recently online there was a bit of a discussion about run cycles in animation; a guide to running written by Hayao Miyazaki from back in 1980 for which we had the text due to its inclusion in collected-writings book Starting Point has been missing its original accompanying visuals for all this time. Someone (Rebekah Machemer) found and scanned those drawings so now we have the complete work:

Very cool stuff, and really great to recover any lost production media like this. In the essay itself Miyazaki gets a bit philosophical - why care about running animation at all?

Above all what is most important is what one wants to express through the act of running…Men of strong resolve, who are wearing heavy armor and carrying swords, should run in a way that weak extras cannot. The running of surging masses on fire with anger, the running of a child doing his best to hold back tears until he reaches his house, the running of a heroine who has forsaken everything but the desire to flee—being able to show wonderful ways of running, running that expresses the very act of living, the pulse of life, across the screen would give me enormous delight. I dream of someday coming across a work that requires that kind of running.

On the one hand this all resonates; make the character visual, express their identity through motion, etc. On the other hand...girl who runs like this? I don't run, like, at all! It's not a common occurence in my everyday life to see a single person running, and if I do it is 99% of the time someone working out. I am pretty sure when I do run its way less an expression of my Forsaken Herione vibes and instead an expression of my 12-hours-a-day-on-a-computer workout routine.

-How you think you look running

-How you actually look running

What I am not saying here is that Miyazaki is wrong or anything to care about running. Instead I am saying that when he discusses how beautiful the act-of-running is, that is only partially coming from observing reality; it primarily comes from animation as a medium. Animation's value-add is the art-in-motion, you want the screen to be expressing itself to the audience through movement. You as an audience member want to see the animator themselves express their own aesthetic to you through that movement. There are a million ways to make that happen but running is one of the strongest; its character focused, universally applicable, common *enough* that you know what it looks like, you can make it diegetic to a climax if the plot demands it, etc. It makes sense for animation to utilize it, and it does - more than just animation, film all over does! It's a universally common symbol in the language of film with decades of meaning built into it.

But that meaning does not first come from real life, it comes from those demands of film-as-a-medium. In all likelihood no one has ever emoted a climactic meaning to you while running, or after running, you don't have a frame of reference for that. When you, as a viewer, are emotionally moved by the act of running, you feel that because film as a medium taught you to feel that. Compare it to how animation/film often focuses on the eyes and mouth for expressing emotion - that is not an invention of film, that is how real human beings communicate, when talking to a person you focus primarily on their eyes and mouth. The semiotics of film's language around eyes is built primarily from real life, which is much less true for running.

What is cool is how much of a semiotics of running animation has been built up given its origin within the demands of the medium. Miyazaki had a hot take and a desire to see artists push the craft as early as 1980; since then I can think of hundreds of running cycles artists have put their own touch on. I think of these as real Artist moments - it is something that the craft leads you to that you become obsessed with perfecting, existing for its own sake, something that interplays between observation and pure creativity. I can see these scenes now outside their own story, as the use and evolution of language. Which is neat!

[yumekuro-en]

Meister & Black Fairy Profiles - Nanashi & Blatt

Nanashi the mysterious thief & Blatt, the fairy who has a close connection with Nanashi, are the playable characters you can get from clearing Chapter 7 of the Main Story.

Nanashi does belong to a guild, but since he is not listed in any guild in his official profile (most likely due to spoilers), that’s why, we are also making this separate post for him & Blatt.

ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーー

ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーー

MEISTER

ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーー

ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーー

ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーー

The Elusive, Smiling Phantom Thief

- Transformation, Ever-Changing -

ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーー

―― “I’m Nanashi, a thief. I’ll be seeing you around.”

Name: Nanashi - (CV: Akabane Kenji) Job: Thief Age: Unknown Height: 176cm Birthday: The 2nd of the Month of Completion (January 2) Dream: To travel around the world leisurely Hobbies: Stargazing, Fishing Weaknesses: Having a pessimistic nature, Having a suspicious-looking smile Likes: Cookies that aren’t too sweet, Dogs Dislikes: Meetings, Moths Favorite Food: Cookies that aren’t too sweet, Onion gratin soup Least Favorite Food: Food with strong smell Special Skills: Stealing from others, Disappearing without leaving any trace

A mysterious “thief” who stands in the Heroine’s ways. He uses black fairies to cause disturbances, but his purpose behind it is a mystery. The two men from “The Dark Night Duo” seem to work under him, and both him and Mirror also seem to know each other.

※There is no change in Nanashi’s character description even after he became playable, the only addition is his full profile such as height and birthday.

ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーー

ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーー

BLACK FAIRY

ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーー

ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーー

ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーー

The Fairy Hidden From the World History

- Seclusion, Retirement (from the world) -

ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーー

―― “...It’s not that I like sleeping. Rather, I don’t want to wake up.”

Name: Blatt - (CV: Miyazaki Yu) Has a close connection with: Nanashi

A fairy from ancient times. He doesn’t talk much and is always sleeping. But the truth is, he’s someone who can be rather shy around others. He thinks to dream is to walk down the path of tragedy. For some reason, He also seems to detest his own large hands...

ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーー

ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーーーーーーーー ーーーーーー

[animefeminist]

Kiki’s Delivery Service: An empowering coming-of-age tale of self-discovery

Spoilers for Kiki’s Delivery Service

It can be dreadful to revisit some of our beloved classics—old or modern ones—since they can easily fail the tests of time. But every time I rewatch it, Kiki’s Delivery Service exposes more and more layers of meaning and beauty in a skillfully crafted tale about a journey toward independence and self-discovery that continues to resonate today. 

By looking back at this movie, it is easy to see how it became such a beloved classic and a timeless feminist masterpiece. More than three decades after its release, this sweet coming-of-age tale has not lost any of its charms, using its magical elements and the symbolism of the witch to weave a gentle but powerful story of female community and independence.  

With Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, released in 1984, Studio Ghibli set a high bar for female protagonists in its movies. Since then, director Hayao Miyazaki’s works have become renowned for challenging harmful gender stereotypes by portraying strong, multifaceted women, from the fierce warriors of Princess Mononoke to the brave kids of Spirited Away. Compared to many of Miyazaki’s other more fantastical flicks, Kiki’s journey is more grounded in reality: not epic in scope or action-packed, just a story about a young witch working her first job. But Kiki is no less of a notable heroine, and Kiki’s Delivery Service is no less of an exceptional film when viewed through a feminist lens.

Read it at Anime Feminist!

[superamatista]

one big example of anime-related culture shock: Hayao Miyazaki's female characters are NOT considered "empowering for girls" or even "realistic" in Japan, and never have been. In the 80's he was often criticized of being obsessed with flawless and "pure" heroines and that his young female characters were too idealized and unrealistic.

[ersatzpenguin]

Help me out, Tumblr.

Just in case Biden’s neo-liberal era isn’t the first halting step of a leftward turn, and is instead the last gasping breath of American democracy before succumbing to fascism…