This is an article I wrote for the fan-magazine Kaze-Tsukai Tsushin (Wind Riders News) volume 12, which was published in Japan at Comic Market 57 in December of 1999.

It's an interesting time to be a Miyazaki fan in the U.S. right now...

      For a long time it's been very difficult to talk to others about the films that we love so much, since Miyazaki has been pretty much unheard of except for a small but devoted group of fans. When trying to talk to a non-fan the reaction usually is "Well, if he's so great why haven't I heard about him?" Or if the person does become interested they'll ask "Where can I find some of his films on video?" we can only say, "Well... you can't."

     However, things are now starting to change. Anime (which in the U.S. refers to particularly animation from Japan) has been ever-increasing in popularity over the past few years. Almost every video store in every mall has growing anime section featuring popular titles like Sailor Moon, Ranma 1/2 and Dragon Ball Z. But only as of the last year and a half has Miyazaki started to get the recognition that he deserves.

Pokemon:

      Pokemon is extremely popular now in the U.S. securing it's position as the most popular cartoon just as has done in Japan over the past few years. It's mentioned in the news all the time and has been featured on almost every magazine cover on the shelves. People of all ages know who Pikachu is and can see the immense popularity of his products. However, now that it's popular with the masses it seems fashionable for long time anime fans not to like it... this I cannot understand. I'm glad that it's a big hit since it is a good show, a lot better than most of the cartoons on TV right now. It stresses the importance of caring for your pets and doing things that are in their best interest, not for the trainer's own selfish purposes. I think that it has a very postive message for young children which most TV don't have. But perhaps most important of all is that it raises the awareness of the general public about the presense of Japanese animation and the potential it has for success in this country.

Kiki's Delivery Service:

      Last year Kiki was released on video in two formats, one with English voices dubbed over the original voicetrack and also a special version in Japanese with subtitles. It was very successful despite the lack of advertising that Buena Vista put into it's release. An advertisment on TV was shown for a short time but most of the sales came from word of mouth advertising, where people simply realized that it was an excellent film that was good for young people and grown ups alike to enjoy.

      Now young children and their parents are easy to talk to since they are now Kiki's fans, but still they don't know about Miyazaki. Although now I can talk to them about Nausicaa simply by refering to her as Kiki's friend... and they understand!

The only thing that wasn't good is that for the American version they decided to add some music to the parts that seemed "too quiet." What was added was bland piano music that didn't seem to fit in with the wonderful original score by Mr. Hisaishi.

Princess Mononoke:

      Princess Mononoke was released in theatres this past October. This meant that we would finally get the chance to see it on big screen like it so richly deserves, and of course those who weren't able to view the Japanese version on video would now be able to.  Also we would get to find out whether film critcs liked or disliked it.

      Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times newspaper, the most widely read and respected film critic in the country said "Princess Mononoke is one of the most wonderous movies I would ever hope to see," expressed his wishes for it to be nominated as one of the year's five best films. Mr. Ebert has been a big fan of Miyazaki ever since he saw Totoro and has been promoting Mononoke for nearly a year prior to it's release. He has done more good for this movie with his positive comments than most of the advertising has done and we thank him for it.

      Many other reviews have been positive as well, stating that it is a welcome change of pace for animation to an audience to is used to only productions of the Disney studios. Unfortunately some comments haven't been very good saying that the movie is far too childish for adults to like it and too long and boring for kids to like it. It's sad because most of the reviewers that say this seem to have a bias against anime altogether as if they are not accustomed to anything but Disney. They should broaden their horizons.

The New York Film Festival:

     Princess Mononoke premiered at the New York Film Festival this past september and I was fortunate to attend along with my mother, sister, and some friends who are also avid Miyazaki fans. Mr. Miyazaki along with Mr. Suzuki mae a special guest appearance accompanied by the staff at Miramax, the film company that produced Mononoke. Miyazaki made a short speach saying that his trip throughout the U.S. and Canada have become "travels of joy" since he first doubted that people would understand and appreciate his films but was soon delighted to find found adoration and respect for them among the audiences.

      Miyazaki seems very happy with the English voice acting in the U.S. version of Mononoke and rightly so since for the most part it was a very good job. Neil Gaiman, a  very popular comic book author who wrote the acclaimed series, The Sandman, wrote the english script for Mononoke. Many famous movie starts did the voices for the characters and also did a fine job, epecially the actor for Ashitaka who oftentimes sounded like the original Japanese voice. However, I'm sure that there are a few lines that didn't translate well and makes him want to sink deep into his seat... the sketch above depicts one of those moments. Gomen nasai Mr. Miyazaki...

Nausicaa:

      Over ten years ago, Nausicaa, the film was commercially dubbed into English and released on video and shown on such cable TV channels such as HBO frequently. However, the version, called "Warriors of the Wind" was heavily edited, cutting out nearly 30 minutes of the movie. Many important scenes were taken out in order to make the film more "fast-paced" including the scene when Yupa sama discovers Nausicaa in her secret garden in the castle basement. Also most of the character's names were changed so perhaps worst of all Nausicaa wasn't really even Nausicaa anymore. The movie was changed so much it became almost unrecognizable to anyone who had seen the original, including Miyazaki and his team. Miyazaki was very upset by the changes that they had made to his movie and as a result, futher attempts to internationally distribute Ghibli films were hindered for many years until just recently.

      As bad as this sounds, we must still take into consideration that many people, including many of my friends, who would otherwise know nothing about Nausicaa or anime in general have seen "Warriors of the Wind." As much as the movie had been changed, a little bit of it's true power still shines through, enough to make this film stay in the hearts and minds of people who see it for years. Once they find out that there is more to the film that they have not seen not to mention the manga series as well, they are compelle to find out more and very soon have a lifelong love for anime, especially Miyazaki's films instilled within them.

      Miyazaki has also learned to become involved with the international production of his films as well, to prevent something like this from happening again. This has brought wonderful results as shown in both the release of "Kiki" and "Princess Mononoke".

      The Nausicaa manga is available in English in it's entirety, first published as single issue comics each about 32 pages long, then published in seven volumes as the Animage Wide-Ban collection was, and then reprinted into four larger books. Now it's availaible as a beautiful boxed set!

      Unfortunately, the movie is not easily availaible on video or DVD yet. It can only be found in special bookstores like Kinokuniya in New York City and other major cities, or it can be traded among fan-subber services. This country needs to see Nausicaa in it's original form.We need a hero like Nausicaa who can serve as a positive role model for all young people to look up to!

What happens next??

      The next Ghibli film slated for release here is "Laputa" which is simply to be retitled "Castle in the Sky." Joe Hisaishi has redone the music for the American version of the film since the people at Disney, as they did with Kiki, feel that there are too many scene that don't have any music and they won't hold people's interest (sigh)... I suppose that Mr. Hisaishi felt compelled to compose the music himself so they wouldn't stick other music alongside the original. Normally I'd be against this sort of thing since the original music is wonderful, but since Mr. Hisaishi himself is heading the project, I'm excited to hear what the new music will sound like... I only hope that he didn't work himself too hard in composing it... just for us..

      Many of the voice actors have been chose for the English dubbing. A popular TV star will be the voice of Pazu. However, the actor is nearly 20 years old, can you imagine Pazu with the voice of a 20 year old?

      Whether "Castle in the Sky" will be released in theatres or only on video is yet to be seen. This decision will be based on how well Princess Mononoke does in theatres... which as far as I know is doing fairly well!! I hope that all the films will eventually become readily availaible to all, they deserve nothing less!!

All text and artwork, unless otherwise specified, by Griffin Waldau. Updated December 20, 2000.

e-mail: griffin@waldau.com

--