Q20: Battle Royale

If you liked Hunger Games, you'll love the ORIGINAL Japanese version.

Battle Royale was originally a manga series.  The film debuted in 2000 and has an enormous cult following.  (Hunger Games was published 8 years later and allegedly is an original work.)

It was a good year for borrowing ideas and apparently not getting busted.  (see next post)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-T7yPJVvXw

Watch and respond.

Q19: Gung Ho

This film is older, but it's still funny.  Michael Keaton is forced to understand Japanese culture while struggling with a failing company.  It's a comedy abut cultural misunderstandings.

Sadly, I can't find a clip that matches video and audio any better than this.  (It makes it funnier in some spots, though.)

Watch and respond.  Connect to events, traditions, and outlooks that we have discussed in class.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8aQf6zdsG4

Q18: Princess Tutu

My all-time favorite anime series!!!!!!!!

It mixes fairy tales (Ugly Duckling, Little Mermaid, Hansel/Gretel, etc.) throughout the series.  The music choices are perfect.  The characterizations were great.  It had humor and romance.  And the best part is the ending, although a lot of people didn't like it.

Normally anime series break your heart and you're best to stop a few episodes before the end of the series.  Most of the time, the ending comes from out of left field or doesn't resolve anything.  This one didn't do that.

If you have a sister or lady friend, this may get you happy points with them.  I don't know if it has enough "boy appeal" to keep your interest through the many eps, but it is really good if you try it!

Watch and respond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4_OOcdWQSo

Q17: Sergeant Frog

Here is one of the silliest and most fun anime series.  It's unfortunately dubbed, but you get the idea.

:)

Watch and respond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCU5QdM5ZgM

Q16: Mishishi

Strangeness.  Supernatural creatures who cause illness are battled by a wandering doctor/herbalist.

It's not quite horror, but you get the idea.

Watch and respond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvTWwIO1BQE

Q15: Kikujiro

While not fast-paced, this film is amazing.  A boy, raised by his grandmother, decides to look for his borth mother.  An older man befriends him and takes him on a journey.  Along the way, they encounter various people including a bike gang, theatre troupe, etc while they tackle their own issues about family.

Watch and respond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlkDjuHyEa4

Q14: Hidden Blade

This film has a nice blend of romance, action, and drama.

Watch and respond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V33a3yQIc-8

Q13: Departures

This was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film a few years ago.

A man's dreams fall though and he has to find another means of following his passion for music.

Watch and respond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOar08f-OnI

Q12: Grave of the Fireflies

This is another great film.  It's not the happy Totoro, though.

Watch and respond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSPwdBIbx_U

Q11: The Last Samurai

Great film.  :)

Watch and respond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5BeJ7j1Fj4

If you choose this one for the paper, see me about the ending.  Whoever translated this should suffer many slaps.  They fouled up the ending BADLY.

For those who have seen it, I'm referencing Ken Watanabe's speech at the end.  Properly translated, it makes the ENTIRE film connect.  It explains his character, his decisions, etc.  But no.  They translated incorrectly and it doesn't really work.  :(

Q10: Audition

Miike is one of the scariest horror film directors out there.  The trailer isn't too bad, but massive warning about the film itself.  It's MESSED up!!  It's not gory - he pulls the camera back in time always, but that is sometimes even scarier.

Two men have held an audition.  The young girl they have selected is not exactly who they thought.  (litotes!)

Watch and respond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhsrsWcEspc

Q9: Tiger Mask

I can't find the anime translated into English anywhere.  I'm still looking ...  It's apparently big in Italy - who knew?

This is the trailer from the show.  Be kind.  It's over 40 years old.

Tiger Mask does have an association with an orphanage.  He was trained in the States and was known for being vicious.  When he overheard a child state he wanted to be like the evil Tiger Mask, he changed his ways and became a force for good.  His past still haunts him.  When he himself was in an orphanage, he was told to fight dirty and to give half of his earnings to the place.

I'll link the Italian clip as well.  Some of that storyline is more apparent in their version.

Watch and respond.

Here's the Japan one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq3kZ1t0eWQ

This is Italy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YZd-Devcg0&feature=related

The lyrics kill me.  I love the Italian twist but don't understand a word of it except for "tigre" and only because it's the same in Spanish, I think.

What is Il Uomo?  Italian scholars?

Q8: My Neighbor Totoro

The BEST Miyazaki film.  It's very very very very cute.  Watch the trailer and respond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuLX50_5UAI

Q7: Kiki's Delivery Service

I hate the English dubbing, seriously.  The dvd was recalled originally because it was released only in English and the Japanese were annoyed.  The company re-released with both versions.  The Japanese version is SO much better.  This is an older Miyzaki and very cute.  Are you starting to see similar themes, etc?

Watch and respond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vj4y2Mmq7g

Q6: Princess Mononoke

This is Miyazaki's film that gained him recognition in the United States.  Sadly, this trailer has English dubbing rather than subtitles.  Grrr.

Watch and respond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkWWWKKA8jY

Q5: Spirited Away

This is the Academy winning film of Miyazaki.

Watch and respond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6az9wGfeSgM

Q4: Howl's Moving Castle

Here is another recent film trailer by Miyazaki.

Watch and respond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfcfUxt4F0s

Q3: Ponyo

This is the most recent Miyazaki film.  The story is very cute!

Watch and respond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bskgNOXbdiE

Q2: Interesting Spin on Death Note

It's DIFFICULT finding what I'm looking for.  Augh!!!!!!!  Someone has linked a great song with English lyrics to scenes from the anime series.  It'll give you an idea of the anime series.

The "god of death" (not properly translated, but that's how he was referenced in an earlier thread) loves apples.  (One of the other reasons the film doesn't work.  They kept the apple imagery and if you weren't familiar with the series, that would have made no sense.  Only one character, later more, can see the god.)

The numbers that flash in one sequence refers to a curse.  The "god of death" can see how long someone has left to live.  You can make a deal with him and he can gift you those powers.  It's not a good deal, though.  (They also try to keep this in the movie, but it's hard to get that imagery across without looking stupid.)

The best part is the "god of death" is the best character because he's very complex.  He's nowhere near as bad as you'd assume.  And the other characters are nowhere near as good as they seem, so it's all a balance.  Welcome to the dao in film.

Watch and respond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_eil-TileI&feature=fvw

Q1: Death Note

I'm still looking for the anime, which is loads better.  This is a trailer for the film Japan produced.  Note they don't give you the most interesting character until the very end (I think this is why the film isn't as good.  There was no way to really put him in as a main character without ruining the film.  It works in mange and the tv anime series.)

Watch and respond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp6_6eNoQD4