New Ghibl Blu-Ray Discs in Australia

Studio Ghibli fans in Australia have a couple more reasons to feel happy these days.  Castle in the Sky and My Neighbors the Yamadas are now available on Blu-Ray in stores across the country.  We should see these discs released in the UK later this year, and in the US somewhere between now and the apocalypse.

If you've seen the Nausicaa BD, then you'll know what to expect in presentation, packaging and picture quality.  These releases should be excellent all around, and you'll be putting these movies into heavy rotation at your house.  Whenever I can actually get my Sony HDTV to work, I'm always watching Castle in the Sky and taking in all the rich, luminous colors.  Great fun!

Still Recovering From the Flu

Just a quick note for our readers.  I'm still recovering from a flu/throat infection, and I'm almost back to 100%.  Unfortunately, I've had to stay out of commission for most of the past week, and I was pretty much unconscious for the entire weekend.  I can't tell you how frustrating it's been, but I'm trying to get back to full strength and back to a regular publishing schedule here on the blog.

Thanks, as always, to everyone for their support.

Future Boy Conan #08 - The Underwater Scene

I enjoyed this photo montage (from reader hjg) of the underwater sequence in Future Boy Conan #08 so much, I just had to post it here on the blog.  This is one of my favorite Miyazaki scenes, ever.  I'm also discovering that I want to spend more time reflecting after each episode.  I want the scenes to marinate in my head for a little while longer, instead of rushing along as fast as possible.  The first time I watched Conan, I blazed through the entire series in less than a week.  Slower is much better, I think.

Also, this gives me more time to write endless Grampa Simpson essays about why today's video games are nowhere near as fun as they used to be.  Also, at some point I should probably think about doing my taxes.  Hah, hah.

I really wish Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli would just pony up the cash and buy the rights to Conan from Nippon Animation.  Then we would be guaranteed a fantastic Blu-Ray release, and probably a little extra attention from Westerners.  This anime series is ridiculously overlooked.

Madadayo - I'm Not Dead Yet!

Today is my birthday.  Joy.  Whenever I think of birthdays, I think of Kurosawa's final movie, Madadayo from 1993.  In this movie, the main character, a beloved teacher, celebrates his birthday with a grand party among his many former students.  He takes a tall mug of beer, slams the whole thing down in one pass, then shouts out, "Madadayo!"  "I'm Not Dead Yet!"

I always thought that was a clever way to celebrate one's birthday.  And it's impressive to see grampa down a pint of beer like he's 19.  Which just happens to be my age.  Yeah, that's the ticket...Nineteen!

(times two, cough)

Shut up!  I can't hear you!  La la la la la!!

Ceramic Howl's Moving Castle Sculpture

Now this is supremely cool.  Portland, Oregon artist Liz Marek won first place at the Oregon State Fair Art Competition for her ceramic sculpture of Howl's Moving Castle, Miyazaki's 2004 Ghibli film.  This was always a terrific design, just perfect for artists of all stripes to sink their teeth into, and kudos to Liz for her dedication and painstaking skill in putting this together.

You can read about the entire creation process from Liz here, including photos.  She even uploaded this terrific Youtube video of the kilning process (utilizing the Japanese Roku Ware technique):



(Kudos to The Studio Ghibli Weblog in Spain for spotting this article.)

"26 Days" of Future Boy Conan - Episode 08

Episode 08 - Escape

Episode Summary: Lana hears Conan and uses a lifeboat to save Conan. The GunBoat boards the Barracuda and captures Dyce and his crew. Lana and Conan escape on the lifeboat. While trying to make it to the shore, the GunBoat blows up the lifeboat. Conan & Lana survive and make it to the nearby island. There they discover an old battlefield littered with tanks. Lana hears her grandfather by telepathy, and Conan and Lana set out to cross the desert. 

About a quarter of the way through tonight's episode, I thought to myself, "This is the best episode of Future Boy Conan, by far."  I know that's a phrase I might end up using a dozen times over, but this one is really special.  I think this is the best episode so far, and it may end of being the most poignant and emotionally resonant episode of the entire series.  At this point, I'm nudging the thought in my head that Conan really is Hayao Miyazaki's anime masterpiece.

Episode eight is the romantic's favorite, Conan and Lana forging a bond as lovers.  I'm not sure if this could work in anyone's hands but Miyazaki, but he's an old-fashioned romantic at his core.  His cliffhanger serials could probably be described as "romance adventures" - Castle in the Sky was actually advertised as such in 1986.  He's also what you'd call a "personal filmmaker," which means he pours his own emotions and life experiences into his characters.  The Hero and Heroine are really stand-ins for Miyazaki and Akemi Ota, and the greater themes the inner dialog of Miyazaki's complex worldview.  In this way, he reminds me of Fellini and his beloved Heroine, Juliette Messina, and this pairing is seen again and again and again.

This is also an immensely funny episode, and I found myself laughing out loud more often than ever before.  Maybe I'm just in the right mood tonight, maybe Jimsy and Dyce make a good comic pair.  They both get to really ham it up, and they manage to turn a tense showdown at sea into something out of The Three Stooges.  It's interesting that we get all the laughs in the first few minutes, right up front; you can see the emotional tone shift from thrills to comedy to suspense and finally romance, where most of the episode resides.  This is Conan and Lana's time, and from here on out, they exist in a space all to themselves, slightly separated from everyone else.  From here on out, they're an old married couple.

There are three scenes that I think are among the most touching moments Miyazaki has ever filmed.  The first is Lana's desperate escape and rescue of Conan (a terrific role reversal as Miyazaki's Heroine takes command), the second the climactic scene when Conan is trapped underwater, and the third is at the very end as Conan carries Lana through the desert.  I don't think these moments have ever been matched until the climactic flashback scene at the end of Howl's Moving Castle (a deeply personal confessional between Miya-san and his wife that's just about the greatest sequence of his career).  And, yes, we get the melodramatic music and violins playing.

I wonder where Miyazaki found the inspiration behind Lana's kiss?  It's a tender, intimate moment, as she gives Conan her very breath to keep him alive, as he lies trapped at the bottom of the sea.  When I first watched Future Boy Conan, it was this scene that resonated with me the most.  It towers in my mind above everything else.  I can't really explain why.  This scene is charged with a desperate, passionate intensity.  I think this is why I feel such an extra tension as the two are caught underwater, on the edge of drowning.  A thousand cliffhangers, and this one moment has me at the edge of my seat.

How wise of Miyazaki to devote the entire second half of episode eight to Conan and Lana, alone to care after one another.  They're already laughing about how they met like old grandparents.  This quiet pause allows for a new key change in the story, as a vast desert of abandoned tanks point to the sombre themes of humanity's destruction and nature's revenge.  These serious Miyazaki themes are going to become more prominent and we're going to understand these characters in the context of a post-apocalyptic world.  Until now, the war and destruction has only served as a backdrop for a lot of comedy action scenes.  Now, an emotional maturity and awakening.

The episode closes as Lana discovers the echo of her grandfather's voice in the distance, and Conan carries her joyously across the rolling sands.  She wants to assert her equality and run alongside, but Lana embraces Conan, squeezing him tight.  They love each other like two old souls, and it's a wonderful discovery.

Studio Ghibli's Next Blu-Ray - It's Whisper of the Heart July 20

Studio Ghibli has announced their next feature film to arrive on Blu-Ray disc - Yoshifumi Kondo's 1995 Mimi wo Sumaseba, aka Whisper of the Heart.  This film will be released on July 20, along with The Borrower Arrietty.  All the usual features we've come to expect will be present, including storyboards, trailers, English subtitles (of course!), and multiple language soundtracks, including Japanese, English, Cantonese and Mandarin.

Mimi is one of my favorite Ghibli movies.  I'm really looking forward to seeing this in high definition, and I'm also thrilled that we're getting two new Blu-Rays this summer.  You can see Ghibli's planning in that their upcoming feature, Kokuriko-Zaka Kara, is also a teen romance by a young director with a promising future.  Mimi was a big success in Japan, and let's hope that success continues once again.

The Whisper BD will retail for 7,140 Yen in Japan.  Expect it to arrive around the world either this Christmas or early next year.

(Thanks to AV Watch for the news)

"26 Days" of Future Boy Conan - Episode 07

Episode 07 - Chase

Episode Summary: Dyce escapes in the fog. Lepka gets permission to use the GunBoat and Falco to pursue Dyce. Conan escapes from jail and sneaks onto the Falco. Jimsy informs Lana that he is a companion of Conan. Dyce meets with Lana and when she gets angry that he left Conan he opens the window and threatens to throw her out. The Falco sees the light and follows the Barracuda. Conan escapes and attempts to board the Barracuda.

Alright, let's see if we can get back to our regular schedule on the Conan blogathon.  I think I'll have to put "26 Days" in quotes now, heh heh.  At this current rate, we'll have the entire series finished in time for Christmas.  Joy!  And if history is any guide, this blogathon will finally receive its deserved attention sometime around the year 2014...So all is well.  Cough.

Anyway....One question that's always on my mind when watching this episode, and a lot of Future Boy Conan episodes: How does Miyazaki get himself outta this jam?  How many times over the course of this series did he and his team find themselves completely, hopelessly stuck?  Conan begins and ends this episode stuck in a series of cliffhangers, each one tighter than the last, and all I can think is...How does he get outta this?!  Surely, being trapped in an ocean with magnetic braces tying his arms and legs together, as the Barracuda sails off in the distance, is an impossible fix.  This show must have been murder on ones nerves back in '78.  Imagine waiting a week to find out.

This is another thrilling episode, with the tempo staying high.  This is a high crescendo of the first act, and Miyazaki never wastes any time.  I never get a sense that the pacing is lagging or being rushed; plot details are dribbled out piece by piece as needed, quiet moments are allowed room to breathe, and bursts of action have purpose, meaning.  We could say this is a story that has been thought out and meticulously planned in advance...but this is Miyazaki.  We know from his Studio Ghibli films that this isn't the case.  He works extensively on the background of the characters, and the major plot points, and the overall themes he wants to address.  But this is more of a general strategy than a specific plan.  Once the first couple episodes are scripted, it's off to war and damn the torpedoes.

This is why I ask myself just how many times Miyazaki or Otsuka were honestly, genuinely stuck.  They had to have been caught at least once, given all the exciting chases and narrow escapes.  The lucky thing is that they manage to find a suitable solution without resorting to cheap gimmicks or deus ex machina.  Conan's escape from the prison cell, the Barracuda's stealth escape in the fog and ruins of Industria, Jimsy's attempts to break Lana out of her cell (again), and Conan's escape from the seaplane (again)...these are all so brilliantly timed and paced.  This series has the feel of a great jazz ensemble, and it's a joy to see them create almost moment-to-moment.

There are a lot of great bits in this episode.  That part where Jimsy finally meets Lana and is dumbstruck, almost shy, it's endearing.  He hands her a frog because, well, what else can he do?  That's his only trick to dealing with girls.  That was pretty much my entire repertoire with girls in college.  It's a miracle I ever got anywhere...and it's a miracle I never got myself stuck in a porthole.  Oh, and bonus points who spotted that gag of Jimsy in the porthole and remembered it's also in Castle in the Sky.

Also, Dyce has a really creepy side that we need to address at some point.  He still reminds me of Homer Simpson.  And did Monsely really talk about Conan as a pet to be tamed?  Lots of people in this show have issues, don't they?  We'll get to that later.  I need sleep.

I Dare Ya to Play this Snow White and the Seven Dwarves Song Before Going to Bed

I stumbled across this terrific Youtube video of Disney's Seven Dwarves "Hi Ho" played backwards, and it's just too trippy and too creepy to pass up.  I double-dare ya to play this video with all the lights out...and then go to bed!  Bwah hah hah hah hah hah.....Seriously, if you do this and then get nightmares, you have to spill the beans here on the blog.

Totoro and Friends T-Shirt Design

Here is a terrific t-shirt design by Minnesota native Ashley Hay, titled, "Totoro and Friends."  You can buy one of these shirts at Ript Apparel.  Ashley's website can be found here.  She should enquire about selling her designs as licenced products.  Goodness knows there is a drought of Totoro merchandise here in the States.

Miyazaki's First Manga - People of the Desert (Sabaku no Tami)

Okay, everyone, I'm feeling much better and am close to 100%.  I'll be back to something resembling a regular schedule, as work permits.  Right now, I'd like to continue with our series on Hayao Miyazaki's comics (manga) with this landmark series fromn 1969-70, People of the Desert (Sabaku no Tami).  This is, in fact, Miyazaki's first manga to appear in print.

During this time, Miyazaki is working at Toei Doga as one of their top animators and idea men.  Led by Isao Takahata, the animators had finally finished the long and grueling production of Horus, Prince of the Sun, the landmark anime that was very much a statement film by the Toei union.  The serious and adult themes would continue to inspire the young Miyazaki on his first original manga serial in 1969, Sabaku no Tami.

You can see the evolution of the Miyazaki style to comics during this series.  The early episodes are in traditional Japanese comics tradition, with a few pictures illustrating a lot of text.  Over time, the panels would increase, and the pictures would crowd out the words, and eventually, we find ourselves with the frenetic, densely packed pages that uniquely define Miyazaki as a comics artist in Japan.  Most manga, after all, is defined by a very sparse, zen design, with a few wide, open panels on each page.  Miyazaki does the exact opposite; he packs in as much as he possibly can into every page.  No doubt this made him a bit of a pariah for a very long time, and apart from Nausicaa, his comics continue to be seen as "lesser works" compared to his movies at Studio Ghibli.  But I believe these printed works are as vital to the artist's vision as his animated films, and they need to be rediscovered as such.

Thanks to the many dedicated fan-translators out there, we are discovering more and more of Hayao Miyazaki's comics, and this in turn expands our understanding of the man and his work.  This series in particular, People of the Desert, forges a vital link between his early years (Horus), and his later masterpieces (Conan, Nausicaa).  This gives us a chance to look in on the mind of Miyazaki when he was young (he was 28 years old when this comic began), and learn how his style grew and evolved over time.

Without further ado, here's Hayao Miyazkaki's 1969-70 manga, People of the Desert (Sabaku no Tami), in 26 Chapters:

Read On

Stadler and Waldorf Highlights

I'm still laid low with fever and flu, so I've been out of action all day.  But I still wanted to give you something to enjoy on your Saturday, so here's Stadler and Waldorf highlights from The Muppet Show.  I loved this show when I was a kid...probably explains my devotion to Mystery Science Theater 3000, now that I think of it. The Milton Bearle one is especially funny. I hope my mind is that sharp when I'm an old Muppet.

Riffs - Future Boy Conan #06, Castle of Cagliostro

I'm trying to get over a throat illness which is laying me low, so I'll write the episode #07 essay for the Future Boy Conan tomorrow.  Tonight, I'll show you a riff that I spotted from last night's episode.

This is early in the episode, when Conan tries to break Lana out of her prison.  The bad guy has a gun and is trying to shoot Conan, but Lana rushes him and tries to push the gun away.  Bad guy pushes back, then swats Lana to the wall, sending the bullet cartridge scattering in all directions.  This same pair of shots was also used by Miyazaki in Castle of Cagliostro, as we can see from these screenshots.  It's interesting that the villains in Conan and Cagliostro both look and sound so similar.  Maybe it's just me.  But Miyazaki had more of a melodramatic flair back then, so his villains all hail from the Snidley Whiplash school.

Anyway, these two scenes are a good example of Miyazaki's effective use of editing to create a compelling action sequence.  He knows how to time his cuts properly, and use the inherent motion in changing camera angles.  Proper composition of your shots is key.  This is how you are able to portray action with very limited resources, a skill the greatest Japanese animators know by heart.

Okay, kids, time to let the flu medicine knock me out.  Enjoy the Friday and expect the Conan #07 essay tomorrow.

Cars Blu-Ray - Here's a Few Screenshots

This coming Tuesday, Disney/Pixar is reissuing Cars along with The Incredibles.  I'm not too sure what's different from the existing Blu-Ray release, to be honest.  This is timed to coincide with this summer's Cars 2, which is going to become one of the biggest movie hits of the summer.  Ah, well, get used to seeing the same movies released again and again, just like DVD.

These screenshots come from the always-excellent forums at Blu-Ray.com.  Enjoy, kids!

The Incredibles Blu-Ray - Here Are Some Screenshots

Pixar's The Incredibles will be coming home to Blu-Ray on Tuesday.  I'm a big fan of Brad Bird's two Pixar movies, so naturally I'm looking forward to this release.  I like the stylized design of the characters, the costumes, and the overall world.  One part super-hero spoof, one part James Bond spoof, and a surprising amount of depth.  Bird is wasting his talents on hack Hollywood pictures like Mission: Impossible 4: Electric Boogaloo: McBain's Revenge: Fatal Discharge.  He should be making movies at Pixars, and he should have the freedom to make movies his way.  Just my two cents.

These screenshots come from Blu-Ray.com, always a helpful resource for BD fans.  Gracias!

26 Days of Future Boy Conan - Episode 06

Episode 06 - Dyce's Rebellion

Episode Summary: Conan and Lana make their escape. They eventually find a plane from the last war that Lepka wants to use. They are captured in the hangar. Lepka threatens to hurt Conan if Lana doesn't tell him where her grandfather is, but she refuses. Dyce seeing what Lepka has done decides to help Lana. Dyce and his crew kidnap Lana and make their escape on the Barracuda.

"One of the reasons I don't like Industria is because there is only rock and steel.  There are no trees and grass."  So says Conan in typical Miyazaki fashion.  I'm wondering if Industria is really a metaphor for modern, industrial Japan?  This depiction of a corrupt, decaying civilization of concrete and steel feels slightly eerie in the wake of last month's earthquake-tsunami, and the resulting catastrophe at the Daiichi nuclear power plant.  And it's more than a little unsettling that we can read ourselves in a post-apocalyptic science-fiction adventure.  We were supposed to be better than this.

The conflict between modern civilization and the natural world, Japan's postwar drive towards industrialization, and the loss of man's traditional connection to nature - this is the central theme of Studio Ghibli for both Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.  I wonder if Heidi, Girl of the Alps and 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother became an influence?  Both were stories set in the 19th Century, and both seemed to dismiss "modern" cities in favor of a traditional rural or frontier life.  Future Boy Conan returns Miyazaki's gaze to his own modern society.

Tonight's episode was fantastic.  How many cliffhangers did Conan and Lana run through in this one episode?  It feels like they were escaping from one jam, just to collide into another.  I love it - hah!  This show really needs to be on Cartoon Network.  I'm not sure how many Americans would feel about Conan's super strength, though.  It's great for heroic feats and the occasional sight gag, but there is a suspension of belief.  Even I think it has a whiff of deus ex machina sometimes.  Conan's ability to fall 20 or 30 feet without taking any real damage (apart from a funny Wile E. Coyote-style gag) is one of those moments where people are going to raise objections.  People always want explanations for everything.  They want Mr. Spock to walk in and explain the science behind everything that happens.

Ah, well, it's alright.  We all get to obsess over various details in the Future Boy Conan universe.  I get to ponder grand themes of man-vs-nature; you get to ask loudly for explanations why Conan alone has all these super powers, like a stack of hidden "Get Out of Jail Free" cards.  Fortunately, we're only six episodes into the show, so there's plenty of time to work through our favorite arguments.

The younger Miyazaki had found a perfect balance between action, comedy and romance.  The early scene where Conan breaks into Lana's prison cell has all three; I even spied a quick riff from Castle of Cagliostro, which was made a year later in 1979.  I enjoy this series, and all Miyazaki anime, because it's heart is sincere.  There isn't a trace of cynicism or contempt towards the audience anywhere.  Miyazaki and Otsuka and the whole crew are having as much fun conjuring all these crazy jams as we are watching them.

I know the episode is titled, "Dyce's Rebellion," but that's more of a sub-plot to this episode, and it's really the setup to the cliffhanger into episode seven.  This episode is all about Conan and Lana; they take the center stage together for the first time since the pilot episode.  After all the buildup, they deserve time together.  As a couple, they do bond quickly, don't they?  Kinda reminds me of Anthony Quinn in The Guns of Navarone.  Or Pepe le Pew.  Either one works.

Bottom line is they're a perfect pair, a matching of equals.  Conan gets to show off all the time, but Lana reveals her tougher side, too, and her intelligence.  She's quiet but she pays very close attention.  Watch out for those types.  They're the ones who will walk away from the poker table with all the money in their arms.  It's kind of a tough thing for Lana, since much of her time is being spent being kidnapped and then rescued, but I don't think of her as a helpless maiden waiting for her prince.  Lana has her strengths.

Oh, and should I finally mention how Castle in they Sky basically rips off these two characters?  It's basically Future Boy Conan starring the under-studies.  I'm sure everyone's figured that one out by now.  I'd really like to hear what fans have to say once the blogathon's over, which Miyazaki anime they preferred.  Me?  I'm going with Conan.  I still say the '70s TV series are where the true Miyazaki-Takahata masterpieces lie.  Just the fact that I get to spend much more time with these characters - Conan and Lana, Heidi and Peter and Clara, Marco and Fio, Anne and Diana - makes a world of difference.

500 Pixar Scenes in Seven Minutes

This is a terrific fan-made video that's making the rounds.  It contains 500 scenes from all 11 Pixar feature films, all packed into seven minutes.  Lee Unkrich just gave his thumbs-up on his Twitter feed, and that's how I discovered it.  Enjoy this while you're in between innings.

Get Yer Ghibli Wallpapers!

The Studio Ghibli Weblog (in Spain) has a pair of terrific Studio Ghibli wallpapers for you to download and use on your computers.  Nice!  As you can see, are Spanish cousins are basing their designs on the Japanese Ghibli Blu-Ray covers.  Currently, there are wallpapers for Nausicaa, Castle in the Sky, Ponyo and Arietty.  Just follow these links to get to the wallpapers; sizes range from 1024x768 to 1920x1080 resolution.

Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind Wallpaper
Castle in the Sky Wallpaper
Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea Wallpaper
The Borrower Arrietty Wallpaper

From Comics to Anime - Miyazaki's Flying Machines

Here's a look at Miyazaki's ideas for flying machines from his 1983 book, Image Boards.  This is an excellent example of how many ideas are fleshed out years before finding a home in a television series or movie.  The highlight for me are the illustrations of the bug-like flying machine that eventually finds a home in Castle in the Sky in 1986.  This aircraft was very thoroughly conceived by Miyazaki; observe how he describes how the wings and the control panels work.  The bug arms are eventually removed, but that's the only change.

The bug-plane was an idea in search of a story; it's interesting to see Miyazaki test out various story ideas, all in the adventure serial mold.  Pazu is already ready to go, but why is he there?  Who is his sweetheart to romance and rescue?  A large dragon?  That's something you never see in a Miyazaki anime, but do remember that he pursued Ursela le Guinn back in the early '80s.  It's very fun to imagine just what a Hayao Miyazaki Earthsea anime would look like, but it would be a fusion of the original work with his own ideas.  How would the faithful Earthsea fans have reacted back then?  Would they have been willing to accept a radically different adaptation?  Perhaps this was one reason why le Guinn resisted any offers.

I like the cameo by Lupin the 3rd, Zenigata and Clarissa from Castle of Cagliostro.  I also like the illustration demonstrating how a flying shot is animated (stationary cel, moving background).  Naturally, pigs are everywhere.  Hayao Miyazaki was always a comic book artist at heart; I'm sure he would have been willing to forego animation if he had the freedom to create the comics he wanted.  Thankfully, Nausicaa would revive his fortunes in anime and lead to Studio Ghibli.  And many of these clever ideas would be realized on the big screen.  Lucky for us.

Mononoke Hime (1980) - Here's a Hi-Res Poster

Some of you have been asking for higher-resolution scans of Hayao Miyazaki's 1980 Mononoke Hime storyboards.  So I dug around the pages of Hayao Miyazaki Image Boards, his 1983 art book, and decided to pull out this little gem.  This watercolor illustration is probably the iconic image from the 1980 Mononoke.

If you're wondering, Image Boards (the book) can be easily found on Ebay.  A quick search should yield some results.  Good luck!

26 Days of Future Boy Conan - Episode 05

Episode 05 - Industria

Episode Summary: The Barracuda arrives in Industria. Conan is thrown in the brig after he assaults Mosley who was visiting the ship. Lepka is introduced threatening Lana to tell him where her grandfather is. Monsley decides to take Conan in admiring his initiative. When the soldiers come to take him, Conan escapes. He goes through Industria and eventually finds Lana.

This was the best episode of Conan yet!  Who's with me?  I really wish I could post Youtube videos of this series, but barring that, I do hope you're following along by watching at home.  If not, too bad.  This is the best Miyazaki anime you've never seen.  Definitely download Conan if you haven't already done so.

Anyway, where was I?  Ah, yes - tonight's episode was the best one by far.  I'm always partial to episodes with a lot of action and variety of locales, and "Industria" delivers the goods.  Conan and Jimsy are still doing grunt work at the bottom of the Barracuda, shoveling wood into the engine and generally causing mischief, but the crew has warmed up to them.  They finally arrive in Industria, a couple terrific chases follow, nearly all of the major players are reintroduced, and Lana is back!  This will be her first of many jailbreaks.

Episode five is where Future Boy Conan becomes more complicated.  Clearly, Industria represents The Bad Guy in Miyazaki's world, and it's a decaying, rusting, dying wreck of a civilization.  There's that early scene of the Barracuda sailing into port, while Conan and Jimsy look upon wreckage and devastation everywhere.  We're reminged that the world of Men was almost completely destroyed by war only a generation ago.

There's also a very strong Fritz Lang influence in the design of Industria, with it's lower and lower levels of humans and sub-humans.  One anime that really stands out in my mind is the 2001 Metropolis, directed by Rintaro and written by Katsuhiro Otomo.  When I see his films, I can see that Otomo is a Future Boy Conan freak - you can see the influence in the industrial design, and a couple main characters were just lifted onto Steamboy.  Whatever happened to Otomo, anyway?  Remember when the West hailed him as the God of Anime because of Akira?  Once they finally discovered Miyazaki, Otomo was dropped like last week's prom date.  Strange.

Industria can be seen as a character in itself, with its many layers and hidden secrets.  This is an immense city with a deep history as one digs deeper and deeper.  Tonight, we get to see the surface, the human dwellings underground, and the sub-underground which houses the "people who serve no use."  Those are the ones who've been branded on their foreheads, and they behave like a mindless mob of zombies.  They've been cut off from their own humanity for so long, they've accepted the segregation of this culture and lost themselves.  There's one moment when Conan falls into a living quarters of the sub-humans, and he's almost mobbed before fighting his way out.  A mass of hands lurch at him and I'm reminded of the childhood flashback scene from Nausicaa.

We discover that Industria may embody the old civilization and be run by villains, but it's also a dying city.  They recycle plastics into food, and they need the knowledge of solar power to survive; their nuclear power reserves are running out.  Those people in the depths didn't ask for any of this, and they deserve a chance at life as much as anyone.  The problem, of course, is the stupid, surreal system at the very top.  If you could get rid of those old men in white suits, and that bad guy with the wide jaw - reminds you of the Count of Cagliostro, no? - well, this would still be a crummy place.  But it would be a start.

In any case, this is Conan's episode.  He tracks down Lana was a single-minded determination and focus.  He certainly manages to take the Billy-from-Family-Circus path, which is all over the place.  And remember when I wondered if video games took their inspiration from classic anime movies?  Here's a mine cart level!  Here's a jailbreak!  Here's a maze of secret passages!  Hmm...I wonder why there hasn't been a Future Boy Conan video game since the PC Engine CD-ROM?

Monsely returns wearing a summer dress and riding a bicycle.  She's still mean and bossy and a bit of a jerk, but she says she wants to adopt Conan and make him respectable.  Or maybe she's just saying that to Lana to be mean.  I certainly don't trust her, but Miyazaki's tradition of the "older/younger sisters" strongly suggests that Monsely will eventually come around.  Right now, she's playing the Kushana role and domineering everyone in sight.  But I don't think Lana will be pushed around.  She looks like the damsel in distress, but she has a quiet strength about her.  Lana won't break and she won't sell her grandfather out.  Like I said, things are becoming complicated.

Miyazaki's Image Boards Book - Panda Kopanda

Let's take a look at some of the terrific image boards Hayao Miyazaki drew for Panda Kopanda, back in 1972.  Like the Totoro image boards, these appear in in the 1983 art book, Hayao Miyazaki Image Boards, and now they appear here in all their pencil-and-watercolor glory.

Panda Kopanda emerged in the wake of the Pipi Longstockings project, which was planned and developed by Isao Takahata and Miyazaki for a considerable time, only to be dashed to pieces once Astrid Lindgren, the author of the series of Pipi children's books, refused to grant the rights.  In many ways, it's a slighting that Miyazaki never forgave, and you can see similar red-haired, pigtailed females throughout his career.

The frustration and pent-up energy was poured into Panda Kopanda, as much of the old Toei Doga crew (Otsuka, Takahata, Miyazaki, Kotabe) were reunited at A Pro.  The result is a charming and amusing pair of short films.  I think the concept deserved more attention, perhaps a weekly TV series.  The two short episodes are not nearly enough.  Mimi and the pandas and the tiger, they're terrific fun, and it's over much too soon.

Older shows and movies are revived all the time; why not Panda Kopanda?  It has a great cast of characters.  It has a famous history and pedigree.  And it has almost limitless potential, at least in the right hands.  A team of clever writers and animators could really create something special.  Of course, the overwhelming odds are that any new Panda series would become a hideous train-wreck of Poochie proportions.  What I'm asking for is a classic cartoon, not a stupid and cynical toy commercial aimed at the stupidest and slowest kids in the room.  Nah, it'll never happen.  Maybe if you add futuristic robots and Tron light-cycles...Hmm, I wonder if Jesse Ventura would sign onto the project?

I better not tempt the fates.