Back to pulp covers tomorrow. When I returned to work yesterday, I had forgotten that I had bought a ticket for last night to finally see Princess Mononoke. I had seen Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind a few months ago (allowing me to finally get a hilarious joke sequence in Bocchi the Rock! when I rewatched it this weekend). Mononoke is basically an even more assured reworking of many themes from Nausicaa. There’s not many directors who have made a film even as good as the latter; it’s a sign of what a staggering artistic figure Miyazaki is that it represented him on the ascendant rather than being one of the true highlights of his career.
I’m still working it over in my head, but certainly the hand drawn animation for Mononoke is as good as anything Ghibli has ever done. Just a gorgeous film to get to experience on the big screen.
If nothing else, I exhort people to go see Spirited Away in October. (The Birds will also be playing.) You won’t regret it.
Did anyone see Meg II? I considered it, but the reviews aren’t great.
