#this is a scene inspired by howls moving castle btw

[wald-prinz]

star catcher

[aevyk-ing]

Rambling about the Ghibli movies I’ve seen

1. Howl’s Moving Castle

This was my first ever Ghibli movie! And I loved it and I still love it. It was like this amazing discovery and I was hooked on the animation, the character design and the story. There were funny moments, thoughtful moments and even scary ones. I remember thinking Calcifer was hilarious and I watched it dubbed in Spanish and Howl’s voice is the same as Castle/Nathan Fillion, but the VA does a great job. It’s one of my favorites, probably the most.

2. From up on Poppy Hill

Watched it in English and I’ll probably rewatch it that way just for Anton Yelchin. It was yet another surprise. Has a good tone and music and the story is okay until the weird SPOILER “are they siblings?” part END SPOILER. Yep, I get it was because of the war and all that. Anyway, it’s on my top list. Also, I ended up expecting a kiss or hug or something but then I read Ghibli doesn’t portray relationships that way... and I’m okay with that. 

3. The Secret World of Arriety

This movie was so pretty! Well, all of them are pretty, but I really liked the production design in this one. And my first time watching a Ghibli movie in Japanese (Your Name was my first movie in Japanese and I had rewatched Howl’s... with subs before, but you know). It feels like a fairytale and it has great music. 

4. Spirited Away

I guess this is some sort of Alice in Wonderland Ghibli version. And, oh, my, is it bonkers. Lots of creativity here with the character designs, the story is great but it had a lot of WTH moments and I really wanted them to reunite after all that.

5. Kiki’s Delivery Service

This one was a little boring. It looked promising, I love witches and the premise is interesting, but it dragged a little, the boy is so annoying and my favorite character is the cat, so... 

6. Ponyo

The Little Mermaid, Ghibli version (btw, I got nothing against retelling fairytales, because they do it in such a creative way). This was the opposite: weird start, got me hooked. Ponyo is a delightful character. Between my favorites.

7. Princess Mononoke

Loved the idea and the beginning, got weirder and weirder. I get it could be a product of its time, but the story would benefit from a little more work. Although I liked the spirits design and it obviously inspired the creators of ATLA, especially in the creature design for Korra.

8. Castle in the Sky

Another product of its time in terms of pacing and the strange obsession of grown men towards a little girl. It was... nice. Reminded me a lot of Atlantis, so I guess Disney took some notes. The design of the city was good and the lore interesting. And the boy got me chuckling in the action scenes, doing all that barefoot. 

9. My Neighbor Totoro

Talking about cute. This movie is so simple and yet so good. The tiny Totoro has to be my favorite Ghibli creature and it has a lot of charm. 

10. Whisper of the Heart

While I usually hate those kind of endings (love has had me waiting enough), it made me feel hopeful instead of sad. Another movie with a slow pace but a really long scene is just following a cat, so of course it was going to get on the top of my list. Is quite relatable as a writer and I sure hoped I’ve had (or had now) that support from my parents. The scenes of the book look great and even though I already knew what was going to happen from 5 minutes in, I didn’t even care. 

[alphonseelriic]

Hi Sofia! ❤️ How is it going? Sorry I'm a little late! So much to do and so tired recently 🥲

Hope you enjoyed a bit of your free time!! When are you done done with finals? 👀

Gonna confess, Im a glutton for food so always happy to hear people talk about their fav food too 😆. I know pannettone!! But I've only tried the Italian version, not sure how different they are (but I'm also sure the homemade ones are always the best!). Do you cook/bake too? :O I love empanadas too but I think I only know the fried ones! I had to Google the other two, BUT Locro looks so hearty to have omg and the alfajores looks so soft and good?! I wanna try them! 🤤 Just talking about it makes me so hungry right now... I do hope you'll get to eat all your favs this holiday season!!

Hmm I like a lot of different food too! And trying different countries food is always exciting to me so I like a little of everything. My favs is usually Japanese dishes or asian ones but specifically—I LOVE duck (the chinese ones in particular but also the seared foie gras), grilled meat 😅, sushi, udon (noodles are usually always a win), korean fried chicken or karaage. Randomly, I also like al pastor tacos, a good sandwich (roast beef is my go to ^^ ), samosas, hot pot, most potato things, cheese in general esp. gouda or goat!... I'll stop now hahaha. Btw do you have any favorite drinks?

Aww Im glad you enjoyed getting to where you are now! Asjdkkdd I'm not sure if my field fits me, there's definitely times I question it but it's what I do for now 😂😭.

The books—I'm familiar with the first few (jane austen books we had to read those in school!) but not the rest so I'll have to look it up sometime!! I had no ides howls moving castle was also a book! I'm sad to hear reading for uni took away reading for fun 😭. I honestly haven't picked up a book in ages so I feel this tho. These days I just read fanfics, I wonder if you were ever into those? 👀

Ahhh please!! I too love a lot of the scenes you picked as a fav! OMG AL 😭 you make me want to do a rewatch again of fmab...and the train scene with ed/winry and that line he says totally has my heart. AND THE MOB PARTS!! When the OST came on for both of those scenes? It was the most perfect beautiful ones and that song is one of my favs! That's when I knew I /loved Mp100 haha. HQ ahh so many good moments right...hinata growing is always so heartwarming, but so are the rest of them 😭. Honestly I want to rewatch hq like at least every year LOL... the sxf ones too, I love bond and I didn't expect to love Damien but it's growing. You picked such great favs ahh, let's see what Santa can do with those. 😉

Btw I haven't mentioned this yet, but went through your edits and you have such pleasant sets. So I want to ask! Do you have a favorite kind of style either that others make or that you lean towards? What inspires you to create?

Thank you for indulging me again and talk soon!!

- Animanga 🎅

So nice to see you again, secret santa ❤️ please don't apologize!! I hope you're doing well despite everything you need to do :')

My last final was the 6th, so I'm already on vacations for a while! I'm actually with my family at the beach rn hahahaha

Heh I totally get you! I honestly have no idea if there's a difference between italian panettone and the one we eat here 🤔 Empanadas can be either fried or oven baked!! They have a lot of variations between each southamerican country, in places like Colombia for example they always eat them fried, but here it's more common to have them baked as far as I know! Yeah locro is really comforting, carefully crafted to eat during winter >:) the tradition is eating it on may 25th, one of our two patriotic dates. Alfajores are heavenly!! I'm pretty sure they aren't very easy to find in other countries but if you ever stumble upon them and you're craving something sweet, I couldn't recommend them enough!

My mom is a baker that works from home (studied it professionally and all) but I admit I'm not much of a baker/cook myself 😅 I do enjoy cooking and if I'm given a detailed recipe there's a good chance I'll do mostly good, but for some reason I'm not very drawn to the kitchen. I do want to start cooking more tho, I just don't have much initiative. What about you?

Ooohh I think I've never tried duck now that I think about it 🤔 I want to try it now!! I haven't had the chance to try a big amount of asian dishes but I loved the ones I did try <3 i also love sushi and noodles!! Ohh korean fried chicken sounds delicious! I went to a korean food fair a few weeks ago with some friends and my favorite were the tteokbokki and the bulgogi 🤤

Oh I also adore tacos and anything with potato and cheese in it LMAOOO honestly idk if i have favorite drinks, I mostly like cappuccino and hot cocoa. When it comes to cold drinks, I'm fine with water or diet coke. I also like freshly squeezed orange juice 🧡

Oh you read Jane Austen for school?? Lucky you! We didn't read anything remotely similar in my high school, and then in uni my english literature teacher didn't like her books so we didn't read them 😭 I ended up reading pride and prejudice for another completely different class later on, and now I'm reading sense and sensibility by myself!

Oh I do read some fanfics from time to time, but definitely not with the consistency most people on fandoms do. Once in a blue moon I get obsessed with a character or a ship during like one evening and then spend the rest of the night searching for fanfics. I have bad luck at finding ones that actually catch my attention so I don't do it often.

HAHAHA I'm glad you liked the scenes I chose! Resisting the temptation to rewatch fmab is a constant struggle really 😖 same for Haikyuu! Oh yeah mob's soundtrack also takes the cake, wouldn't be the same without it 💕 Damien also grew a lot in me! His crush on Anya is so adorable. Can't wait to see what Santa does ;)

Awww thank you! My edits mean a lot to me so I'm very happy you like them 🥹 ohh that's such a hard question!! I find all editing styles or technics to be great on their own right, but I personally lend more towards gifs and graphics with soft colors, with subtle patterns and textures, carefully put together quotes and well placed panels! Maybe my explanation is a bit abstract so these are some examples:

https://at.tumblr.com/alphonseelriic/romancegifs-romancegifs-10k-followers-celebration/u4wogp3dgfbe

https://at.tumblr.com/alphonseelriic/meqistus-look-at-me-i-will-never-pass-for-a/gbfxrdxw73fz

https://at.tumblr.com/alphonseelriic/mazusu-assassination-its-the-family-trade-we/6o0wy6grzd58

https://at.tumblr.com/alphonseelriic/suzouyas-grand-king-oikawa-tooru-%E5%8F%8A%E5%B7%9D-%E5%BE%B9-for/891elmqmjv49

Obviously this doesn't mean I don't like sets with stronger or vibrant colors!! As long as there's harmony between them, any color combos will be great :') I also love gifsets with big, clear and crispy gifs! You see a lot of them now that tumblr has updated their size limit lol

What inspires me to create is mostly the process, which I usually enjoy a lot (unless I'm creatively stuck, then not so much hahaha). I also love looking at other's creations and seeing if I can make something as beautiful! The challenges from animangacreators are also very helpful when I wanna make something and I don't know what ;)

That was a very nice talk!! See you again soon, my santa ❤️

[gayregis]

right away sorry if this gets too ranty I've just been Thinking lately and i feel like twn is such a good example of like. this idea that Real and Good film and television can only be made by Hollywood i guess? like there's even this polish saying that roughly translates to "you praise the foreign and don't know your own" which gets made fun of a lot but also. it's very true imo. like i still wonder what could've been if actual good polish filmmakers were entrusted with making a new witcher (1/?

and it would've been such a good opportunity for like. one showcasing that there Can be good art and entertainment made locally and two some genuine cultural exchange. like i know its too big of an idea for Capitalism™ but if there was a well made polish-language show on international Netflix like. idk i feel like maybe that could spark some interest in like broadening peoples horizons and changing their views on what fantasy looks like etc and its just frustrating that there wasnt even a chance

i really agree. i have been dreaming recently about what my ideal "visual adaptation" of the witcher would look like, and what i've come up with essentially is something like the polish audiodramas set to 2D animation by fans of the witcher. subs, not dubs, i guess?

audiodramas

gilthoniel1173 on youtube has uploaded many select clips of the audiodramas, translated them and set them to pictures. amazing work and i highly recommend this.

i really value the majority of sapkowski's prose, though there are faults with the witcher, his prose really has a marvelous quality to it and i am trying to think of a way to keep this intact. something like the audiodramas in which there are narration may be the best way to go, with subtitles so that

animation

it's the sort of thing i think about like, hey, if i had netflix's budget (approx. $70 to $80 million, [dies]), how would i make the witcher adaptation?

disclaimer: i hesitated to @ artists because i feel like it sends the message that i am saying, "hey you, specifically, should do this idea for free, also btw, i only see you as a witcher fanartist and nothing more :)" this is not my intention, what i want to do here is just want to bring light to these artists in the community and the work they have done, both witcher-related and original work (and i hope that i am in no way defining them as 'only-witcher' artists). additionally, this is in no way suggesting that i don't want to involve any artists i did not mention or that i do not adore the work of other artists in the witcher fandom, these are just the immediate two i think of when i think of animating the witcher.

i imagine it in the style of @paticmak , @astrolunos , @johix because they have done just such gorgeous art of the witcher... <3 (i hope everyone reading knows of these artists already, but if you do not, please check out their work and support!)

paticmak's cherry vodka, an original animation which you should watch: [x]

paticmak's witcher fanart: [x]

astrolunos' animations, including geralt and ciri from sword of destiny and yennefer and ciri from blood of elves: [x]

astrolunos' witcher fanart: [x]

johix's jadýrko, an original interactive story which you should check out: [x] [x]

johix's art (some ship and ns/fw): [x]

specific witcher pieces from these artists that i think about:

[paticmak / "The witcher drawings redraws and sketches"]

[astrolunos / slavic-inspired outfits]

[astrolunos / "yen and ciri’s room, ellander"]

[johix / geralt and dandelion at beltane (ship)]

other major inspirations in my dreams of this:

studio ghibli movies (spirited away and howl's moving castle)

independent animators like felix colgrave (double king)

laika studio animations (kubo and the two strings)

gobelins studio (sundown)

embracing the roots, introducing diversity

my main point in this section is that i believe the polish & eastern european culture of the witcher is essential to it, at the same time i also value diversity and uplifting people of color. i do not believe that these two concepts are in conflict with one another! a discussion simply needs to be held, which is something that netflix did not do because it had few eastern european voices on the set, and kept the voices of color it did have down.

something netflix failed to do is acknowledge the witcher's cultural origins... at all. really, at all. in the writing, in the dialogue, in the set design, in the character and fashion design... and they had the opportunity to do this. this is massively disappointing and thoughtless.

my goal would be to bring polish & other eastern european writers who are fans of the witcher to work through the prose to tell the story. i would also like to have female and lgbt voices in this because the witcher has some elements that are...! disconcerting, let's just say. as we saw with lauren, having a woman in charge doesn't immediately make things not misogynist anymore, somehow she added to the misogyny of the witcher. but i think this is still a step in the right direction. additionally, this writing process would NOT look like writing fanfiction. it would really be going through and working with the artists and translating the prose, deciding what should be kept and what should be left out (some things like forest gramps should be left out, wouldn't you agree?).

new scenes could be added, but they would just have to be done for a reason. i believe the 2002 hexer did this somewhat-successfully in scenes such as this one, in which they develop relationships between characters just that little bit more and add to the pathos of the witcher (which is quite direct and does not "loiter" upon many things!)

i would also really value the voices of set designers, fashion historians, food historians, and cultural anthropologists who are from + study poland & eastern europe because i believe the history and culture should be integrated into the witcher and appreciated, demonstrated in a positive and celebratory light to the world, without doing so in a cultural appropriation-like manner (in which elements are just taken without any knowledge of where they are from and what context they hold). also, yes, the witcher is not a historical fantasy - but its setting is inspired by history and it would be rewarding to see a visual fantasy universe that is not based in english culture!

i think the witcher community is really vast and holds many opinions... this is both a good and bad thing, because "the witcher fandom" includes both people of color and like, white supremacists. i will say that i wouldn't want the latter working on the project, just saying. i would like to see designs of color for the cast of the witcher (i have done a few but hesitated to post them, lol) and sensitivity readings, NOT just diversity for views like netflix performed, but diversity that empowers, makes sense, and isn't "people of color are in this, they are either white-passing or just there to support the white characters." ... i also would like to think about how we approach diversity, as in, designs/casting of color should not be relegated to insignificant or evil characters, the good protagonists could be people of color. i would also like to think about and avoid problematic tropes such as when white characters in a media teach and "civilize" a young person of color, or when "monsters" or non-human characters are cast as people of color... i think people of color should be given roles in which they are in control, powerful, desirable, and good. we need to think about the message we send. in the end, my goal would be "genuine cultural exchange" as you said.

additionally: i think involving jewish and indigenous (broad terms, but i mean them to be broad) voices specifically in conversations about writing would be significant because sapkowski made some decisions in the witcher which can come off as offensive to these groups in particular (regarding the parts of the story about elves, dwarves, gnomes, dryads, and specific characters such as yennefer and regis).

music

honestly, not many thoughts here! can we really get any better than the soundtrack of the witcher 3? cdpr has many faults, but their music is not one of them in my opinion.

afterthoughts

i was displeased to learn that alik sakharov left twn because of not being appreciated and instead being fought on his writing, but i feel a project like this would actually value input like his instead of kicking him out and citing "creative differences"

what is really the most significant thing to me is good writing and ciri's relationship with her parents, because i believe these being taken away is one of the things which was most painful about netflix's "adaptation."

[alphonseelriic]

Good week to you Sofia!

I'm so proud of you for doing well on such a hard final and feeling good about it! Congrats! 😄

Omg that sounds like a perfect summer day tbh, being able to hang out outside wayyy late (definitely not enough space for that where I live and neighbors would probably complain 😭 lol!). Please enjoy your pool and family again this year! Do you have any favorite foods, seasonal or otherwise? To fill those long tables I imagine. 😉 Thanks for sharing a bit of your culture!

Omg same tho, I always kinda envied people who knew exactly what they wanted cus I surely did not either lol and kinda stumbled into my field today too, for better or worst lol. But that's great, you took reading and found something you could see yourself doing! As long as your enjoying what you do and have plans for what's next, I think you picked just fine! And oh! Text correcting, that's different!! Feel like I should ask then, what's your favorite book? Any favorite quotes? 👀

Hey, me too about anime fueling me to the manga!! Thats how I got into the few I have read lol. SxF IS SO GOOD, Im also the one who is entirely in love from the anime haha. I'm glad to hear you were able to find such characters to relate to!!

And you have such lovely fav colors too, they really fit with how warm and kind it feels talking to you!! ❤ (sorry these asks are so long btw, trying to cut down 😭 but I love hearing all your responses and have more to say!)

But to ask the importance, which scenes in FMAB, Haikyuu, SxF or MP100 (feel free to pick a few or just one) are your fav? 👀

- Animanga 🎅

Hi hi secret santa 💕 hope you had a great week too!!

Awww tysm for the congrats :') I took my last exam (for the time being) this tuesday and now I'm finally free for a while 😎 feels really rewarding indeed heheheh

Yeah it's honestly a perfect plan for me too!! I understand :/ here we usually choose the house of whoever family member/friend has the most space lol but I'm sure things get harder for people who live in small neighborhoods or apartments 😔

Oh this is a hard question for me bc I love food HAHAHAH I'm pretty sure my favorite christmas meal (more of a snack tho) is panettone, my mom's homemade one with chocolate chips specifically :') Some dishes and snacks from my country that I really like are empanadas (almost any filling, but fried ones with meat are top notch), locro and alfajores :D Other random food I like a lot are ravioli and salami sandwiches (or salami anything tbh). You're welcome!! I love talking about it ❤️ I would also love to know what your favorite foods are!! If you don't mind telling me ;)

Awww thanks so much for the reassuring words!! I honestly really enjoyed going through this path so despite the doubts and insecurities I still don't regret it :') Congrats on finding a field that fits you!! And don't worry about it taking a little longer for you, we all live and discover ourselves at our own paces❣️

Oohhh boy, this is gonna be a long list hahaha Some of my favorite books are:

Pride and prejudice -Jane Austen (I want to read more books from her, haven't had the time yet)

Wuthering Heights -Emily Brontë

Anne of Green Gables / Emily of New Moon -Lucy Maud Montgomery

Howl's moving castle -Diana Wynne Jones (inspired the ghibli film!!)

Lengua madre -María Teresa Andruetto

La sombra del viento -Carlos Ruiz Zafón

The Metamorphosis -Franz Kafka

Pax -Sara Pennypacker

Fairy Oak (book saga) -Elisabetta Gnone

The Secret Garden -Frances Hodgson Burnett

These are just a few, I don't have much time to read for myself ever since I started uni unfortunately :( I have to read so much for it that it kinda sucks out all of my will to read in my free time lol

It seems our taste keeps aligning when it comes to anime/manga ;) aww you're so sweet 🥹 talking to you is just as lovely!! I'm so glad to have you as my secret santa 💕 please don't apologize for the length, I love these long messages!!

Oohhh another really interesting question 👀 some of my favs are:

[spoilers below]

FmaB: when Ed comforts Winry after she failed to kill Scar, when Al finally gets the chance to get his body back but has to refuse it bc it's not strong enough to keep fighting for the ones he loves 🥺 Ed and Winry's final scene in the train

Mp100: when Mob helps that girl restore her notebook with the story she wrote, when Mob and Reigen made up after their fight and Mob tells him he's a good person :')

Haikyuu: when Tsuki scores a point against Shiratorizawa, most moments where Hinata gets his crow wings, when Yamaguchi makes a successful serve against Aoba Johsai in S2 (there were probably many more but the show is kind of a blur in my memory rn, I should probably rewatch it someday)

SxF: most shenanigans between Anya and Damian, when the family welcomes Bond for the first time and he finally gets a home, whenever Yor saves Anya from trouble (but honestly I enjoy all the little moments in this show..)

Hope that works!! I can think of more if you want ✨ until next time 😘