This year’s choice, thanks to Chris, is 6:00 by Dream Theatre. I need to get more stuff by them…

Last year I sent The Sixth Station by Joe Hisaishi, from the soundtrack to Spirited Away.

In 2007 I sent Princess Six by Ash. (I’d ignore the video. It was just the only place I could find the music…)

I made a promotional video for the Sco Monster Toy. Music by Joe Hisaishi.

Enjoy!

Takeshi Kitano, mozna go spokojnie nazywać wirtuozem, ten japoński rżyser już niejednokrotnie pokazał nam, że potrafi dać czadu(w świecie kina to musi być jeszcze wariatem, jedna żona od 31 lat? Powinni się uczyć od niego ). Z drugiej strony tworzy filmy takie jak “Zatoichi” czy “Hana bi”.

Dziś jednak chce wam przedstawić film “Brother”, który nabyłem za magiczną kwotę 7.99

Nim przedstawię fabułę, dowiedzmy się czegoś o samym filmie. Primo, jest to film o yakuzie, czyli będzie krwawo(a jak może być inaczej w filmie tego reżysera), może zabrzmi to dziwnie, ale jest to moje krwiste spełnienie marzeń. Nie ma tu jakiejś ostrej muzyki, zero rocka, hard rocka, nic na wzór Tarantinowskiej jatki. Muzyke skomponował Joe Hisaishi. Czujecie już to? Kitano i Takeshi uczynili z filmu sztukę, a walkę między gangami ukazali z prawdziwą finezją. Pisze o spełnieniu marzeń gdyż w ten sposób nie jest to jakiś tam kolejny film o gangach, tylko jest to film o wojnie między gangami(w dodatku nie amerykańskimi!). Poza tym, jak na nas dzialają zwykłe tradycyjne jatki? Właśnie, wcale nie działają. Po tym filmie możemy z całą pewnością powiedzieć i zapamiętać, że życie gangstera to przerąbana, okropna sprawa. Coś gdzie codziennie grozi nam śmierć.
Z drugiej strony możemy po prostu dobrze się bawić, nic nie wyciągnąć i tylko napawać nasz wzrok tym dziełem. Choć byłoby to na prawdę marnotractwo, gdyż postaci wykrowane w tym filmie, aż proszą się o poznanie.
Film Kitanowskim stylem jest brutalny, a odgłosy wystrzałów nienaturalnie głośne, wszystko to nakładając się na siebie daje obraz, który zostaje nam w głowach. Obraz szokujący.
Yakuzą się nie interesuję, więc niestety nie mogę wam powiedzieć na ile to co zostało pokazane jest prawdą, a na ile nie, zresztą czy Japończycy też moga wiedzieć wszystko na ich temat? Najważniejsze jest tylko by omijać białe limuzyny

DUŻY SKRÓT

Aniki przylatuje do Ameryki, musiał uciec z Japoni, a w Ameryce ma swojego młodszego brata. Pomimo tego, ze w ogóle nie zna japońskiego, w końcu odnajduje swojego brata(po drodze mając oczywiście niemiłe spotkanie z tubylcem).

- Aniki co się dzieje?
-Tu też wywołałem wojnę hehe
(zabawna scena, cała w ogóle postać Anikiego jest świetna – wciela się w niego reżyser)

Wojna się rzopoczyna, ale nie z gangiem amerykańskim, tlyko z innymi mniejszościami żyjącymi w Ameryce.

Tyle przyznam wystarczy, film warto obejrzeć. jego wykonanie jest po prostu niesamowite. Całkiem świeże spojrzenie na filmy gangsterskie.
A zakończenie, człowiekowi aż same łzy się do oczu cisną.

Scenariusz i reżyseria:
Kitano “Beat” Takeshi
Muzyka:
Hisaishi Joe
Zdjęcia:
Yanagishima Katsumi

Takeshi Kitano :      Yamamoto
Omar Epps :            Denny
Kuroudo Maki :       Ken
Masaya Kato :         Shirase
Susumu Terajima : Kato
Royale Watkins :    Jay
Lombardo Boyar :  Mo
Ren Ôsugi :           Harada

10/10 – choć jeden knif jeszcze jest, ktoś kto nie za bardzo orientuje się w kulturze japońskiej, może uznac ten film miejscami za irracjonalny.

Lepsi od Wonderek a nawet Bruce’a Lee ! Zobacz jaka była ich reakcja

Wonder Girls, Bruce Lee, Joe Hisaishi, Wai Lin, Sumi Jo, Jisung Park, Tae-Hwan Park, Yu-Na Kim, JYP, Rain, BoA i inni . A kto najlepiej reprezentuje Azję ? DBSK !

Wydawałoby się że zaraz popłaczą się ze szczęścia. Ale nie. Na rozdanie nagród przyszło tylko 3 członków DBSK ; Jaejoong, Junsu i Yoochun co pokazało jak zła jest sytuacja w zespole.

Tłumaczenie  :

Junsu :

To był długi czas. To honor, móc uczestniczyć w takim wielkim wydarzeniu ale dostać nagrode jeszcze wiekszy. Ta nagroda nie jest dla jednego członka zespołu ale dla wszystkich 5, dlatego że wszyscy 5 członków włożyło wiele wysiłku by byliśmy w stanie ją odebrać. Dziękuje bardzo wszystkim naszym fanom w Azji, że umożliwili nam uzyskać tak wielką nagrodę.

Yoochun :

Myślę że po raz pierwszy chciałem śpiewać tak źle. Po zostaniu piosenkarzem, musiałem sprostać tak dobrym członkom, dlatego myśle że możemy tu być. Będziemy pracować jeszcze ciężej by rozwinąć się poza Azją. Liczymy na jeszcze większe poparcie niż teraz.

Jaejoong :

Nie mogę być szczęśliwszy ponieważ  nagroda pochodzi bezpośrednio od fanów z Azji. Dla naszych fanów, którzy obserwują i ewentualnie naszych dwóch przyjaciół, którzy oglądają , chciałem powiedzieć że was kocham.

Hayao Miyazaki is the crowned prince of family-friendly Japanese animation. His works have garnered international attention to the wonderful things going on in hand-drawn animation today, his art has been acknowledged the world over, and by all accounts, he’s the most accomplished person distributed by Disney at the moment. But did you know how long he’s been in the animation game? Try over 30 years!!! He’s been toiling to perfect his craft for longer than most of us have been alive, and he’s gotten so damn good at what he does that it’s hard to believe that his newer work is still hand-animated. But even back when he started making features, Miyazaki was still amazing. Today’s feature, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, is his first feature, and it is head and shoulders above anything else that was happening at the time. It’s a strong, pointed parable about the damage we’re doing to the environment and the consequences it could have later down the road.

1,000 years after the end of the world, humanity lives on in a fractured state. There are pockets of people left who have learned to live in harmony with nature from the mistakes their kind has made in the past. But in between these pockets lies the Sea of Decay, a noxious condition that covers the rest of the known world. It’s very existence is poisonous to humans, and it has hindered humankind from expanding its territories ever since. In this tattered world, we follow Nausicaa, a precocious young woman who is the princess of the Valley of the Wind, a peaceful settlement ruled by her father. She is trying to find a way to rid the world of the Sea of Decay, but her research is hindered one day when the settlement is visited by a crashing airship. The airship contains a prisoner that Nausicaa rescues, and the prisoner tells her that she is the princess of far away the kingdom of Pejite, and that the cargo the ship was carrying must be destroyed. And then she dies. Awwww…. So the cargo the princess was talking about was from the greedy empire of Tolmekia, as was the airship, and what it was carrying happens to be a deadly warrior embryo, a weapon from the war 1,000 years ago that could threaten the very safety of the earth. Things get crazy when Tolmekia invades the Valley for the warrior embryo, but Nausicaa won’t go down without a fight! She will do whatever it takes to save her family and friends and make sure the Tolmekian army doesn’t try to awaken that evil, evil thing in their midst!

I like this one a lot. Nausicaa is a strong, smart female character who makes it very easy to love her. She has a lot of heroic qualities, but she doesn’t lose her childlike essence, which seems to be a theme of Miyazaki’s work. You don’t need to be an adult to be a hero who cares about people in a mature way, and he also feels the importance of keeping that childlike wonder alive. Now that I think of it, he’s also very feminist, as well. I can’t really think of that many male Miyazaki protagonists; they’re there, but not nearly as prevalent as the women. Nausicaa is really a prototype of what we would see in the future from Studio Ghibli; powerful family-oriented fantasies about the importance of life above power and greed.

The animation is that of a bygone age. You won’t likely see this unique style of drawing nowadays. Anime, like American animation, goes through cycles, and the 80s was a time of incredibly thin, almost gaunt women, a non-descript male anatomy, and doe-eyed little girls with constant triangle-shaped open mouths. There isn’t as much detail here as in newer animation, but there are touches here that are epochal but beautiful nonetheless; some of my favorites are the look of objects either dirty or scored by fire, which use an unmistakable line effect needing an artist’s steady, careful attention. Nausicaa is full of attention; from the exquisitely designed post-apocalyptic Sea of Decay to the pristine Valley of the Wind, from the most insignificant passerby to Nausicaa herself there is so much care given to this film and its look. It’s just so well done.

The American voice acting is a mixed bag. I wish I could’ve been in the booth when Patrick Stewart delivered his performance as Nausicaa’s father. What a voice acting champ! I almost begrudge how he doesn’t really have to steer out of his normal range, but his voice is so damn robust that you can’t really stand against it. It’s a force of nature, and when you consider that his character’s the leader of the tribe tied to nature, it only seems more fitting that his strong, commanding voice make a splash. Alison Lohman’s Nausicaa is a little flat. I’m not sure how old she was when she recorded this, and I don’t want to bash a child, but I will say that there’s not really enough character in her voice to carry such a larger-than-life heroine. Oh, well, she eventually redeemed herself in Drag Me To Hell many years later, so all is forgiven. Uma Thurman is Lady Kushana, leader of the Tolmekian army and a real firecracker. THIS is what I mean when I say you have to have some character. She’s not too hammy, but she really lets loose and has fun being a villain. Kushana is a real bitch and Thurman obliges that aspect of her, so hearing her get into villain mode really put a smile on my face.

Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind is, like all Miyazaki films, a unique experience. You’ll never see something quite like it. There’s something for everyone in the family, and even something for jaded film snobs like me. It still has a lot to say to the people of 2009, even from 25 years in the past, and with a magnificent score by Joe Hisaishi and a burgeoning American voice acting crew, I would be inclined to listen. Even if you don’t normally like Miyazaki, check this one out; it’s pre-Studio Ghibli, so you might find it to be a refreshing break from his upbeat rigamarole. This IS a post-apocalyptic film after all. I give Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind 8 1/2 smooth Patrick Stewart line reads out of 10!

Check me out next time, when I dive into THX 1138! Until then!!!

Spirited Away is Hayao Miyazaki’s biggest success so far and the movie he got the Oscar for.

Plot:
Sen Chihiro is moving with her parents. On their way to the new house, they happen upon an abandoned theme park. Curious, they go to look at it. When the parents find plates of food, they dig in. Sen doesn’t as she’s afraid. When night falls, her parents are turned into pigs and Sen Chihiro, turned Chihiro Sen, finds work at a bath house for gods, with the help of the mysterious Haku.

*sigh*
Spirited Away is just plain wonderful. (Depending on my mood, it fights for the favourite Miyazaki movie spot with Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle and My Neighbour Totoro.) Visually, it’s definitely the most beautiful of Miyazaki’s movies. And I love Haku.

But it’s not only Haku I love – I also love Chihiro and pretty much all the characters.

And I think it’s a fascinating look into the mythology of Japan – all the gods and creatures running around. I bet somebody who knows their Japanese mythology could tell you about each and every one of them – what they mean and represent and so on.

[I'd love to hear that, btw. So if anybody wants to get into it, I'm totally available.]

The story is absolutely amazing. And while it should be really scary – and there are a lot of threats flying around the place – you’re never afraid. I’m not sure how Miyazaki accomplishes that. Maybe you’re just lulled by the beauty of it all. Or maybe his sense of humour does the deed… anyway, it is done.

Oh and the score… Joe Hisaishi is awesome… I probably should have mentioned him in the Miyazaki movie posts before this one because he wrote the score for all of those and they’re all great, but for Spirited Away, he outdid himself. [And then again for Howl's Moving Castle.]

The cute, it is lethal.

Summarising, as most of Miyazaki’s stuff, definitely a must-see.

Inspired by friend and artist Timo (www.tim-o.de) I’d like to share some fantastic classical music from Japanese artist Joe Hisashi, please enjoy!

Joe Hisaishi – Ashitaka Sekki  from Mononoke (don’t be confused around sec. 24-26 – it continues wonderful…)

Joe Hisaishi – Summer

Joe Hisaishi – Hana Bi

Joe Hisaishi – Mononoke Suite

Joe Hisaishi – Oriental Wind

Como viene siendo habitual, de vez en cuando os dejo algo de música. En esta ocasión os dejo un concierto en directo de Joe Hisaishi tocando Summer de la película Kikujiro. Espero que os guste!

Hayao Miyazaki, tuo japanilaisen animaation grand old man, on todennäköisesti hienoin animaatio-ohjaaja, mitä maailma on tähän mennessä nähnyt. Suitsutus ei suinkaan ole perusteetonta yli-innokasta animefanitusta, koska hän vain sattuu olemaan poikkeuksellisen lahjakas taiteilija, joka on luonut liudan legendaarisia anime-elokuvia.

Ponyo Rantakalliolla on Miyazakin tulkinta H.C. Andersenin Pienestä merenneidosta. Elokuva perustuu alkuperäissatuun vain nimellisesti, ja alkuperäisen aihion ylle vanha herra on luonut – kuten tavallista – täysin oman maailmansa. Tuloksena on sympaattinen hyvän mielen elokuva, joka on ensimmäinen Miyazakin lastenelokuva sitten Totoron ja Kikin lähettipalvelun.

Viisivuotias Sôsuke löytää rannalta ”kultakalan”, pelastaa sen, vie kotiinsa ja nimeää sen Ponyoksi. Kaksikko tietenkin ystävystyy, ja Ponyo haluaa muuttua ihmiseksi. Tästä tosin Ponyon isä, dandymainen pitkätukkavelho Fujimoto ei pidä. Tämä on itse ollut ihminen, mutta jätti sen elämän taakseen kyllästyttyään ihmisten ”meret tuhoavaan” elämäntapaan ja nai merten jumalattaren, Gran Mamaren. Isän ponnisteluista huolimatta sinnikäs Ponyo haluaa ihmisten pariin, mutta muuttuessaan ihmiseksi nostattaa samalla hirmumyrskyn.

Elokuvan alussa näytetään roinaa täynnä olevaa merenpohjaa, joten Fujimoton nuiva suhtautuminen ihmisiin ei ole ihme. Miyazakin kaksi tunnettua teemaa ovat jälleen läsnä: huoli ympäristöstä ja se, etteivät pahiksetkaan ole oikeasti pahoja. Koska kyseessä on kuitenkin puhtaasti lastenelokuva, ympäristösaarnaus jääkin paljolti taka-alalle, mikä sinänsä ei ole ongelma, koska Miyazakin maailmantuskaa on saatu ruotia aiemmissa elokuvissa paljonkin.

Täysin käsityönä tehty elokuva on ollut aikaavievää projekti, joka alkoikin jo vuonna 2006. Kuulemma Miyazaki on jo kauan halunnut tehdä meriaiheisen elokuvan, mutta muun muassa meren liikkeiden kuvauksen vaikeus oli syypäänä projektin lykkääntymiseen. Nyt tuntuukin, että elokuva on osittain lähinnä piirroselokuvan keinoin tehty tutkielma merestä, koska visuaalinen panos on välillä saanut siirtyä juonen kuljetuksen tontille.

Ongelman elokuvassa muodostavat välillä epäjohdonmukaisuuksiin ja latteuksiin syyllistyvä juoni, sekä jollain tapaa yksiulotteisiksi jäävät hahmot. Esimerkiksi lopun haaste ei oikein tunnu haasteelta ollenkaan – Miyazaki on kärsinyt jännitysmomentteja liiaksi. Siinä missä Totoro ja Kiki eivät vastaavia tarvitsekaan, olisi Ponyo myrskyineen kaikkineen kaivannut jonkinlaista draaman kaarta – mutta toki koko perheelle sopivaa sellaista.

Hahmotkin tuntuvat tosiaan hieman paperisilta. Joko olen liian vanha samaistumaan viisivuotiaiden sielunelämään, tai sitten Miyazaki ei ole onnistunut luomaan pääkaksikolle kylliksi sielua. Fujimotokin tuntuu huikentelevaisessa olemuksessaan Liikkuvan linnan Haurun toisinnolta. Eikä Miyazakin hovisäveltäjä Joe Hisaishin soundtrack’kaan nostata kylmiä väreitä, kuten tämän toisen japanilaisen mestarin tekeleet yleensä. No, onhan tuo tunnaribiisi ihan söpö.

Elokuvan sympaattisuuden varastavatkin vaivihkaa vanhukset. Sôsuken päiväkodin naapurissa sijaitsee vanhainkoti (joka on muuten ehkä hienoin yhteiskunnallinen oivallus pitkään aikaan – tästä saa täkäläinen vanhustenhoito ottaa oppia!), jonka mummot nousevat elokuvassa yllättävänkin tärkeään rooliin. Tässä herääkin kysymys, onko Miyazaki sisällyttänyt Ponyoon omia ajatuksiaan vanhenemisesta – puhumattakaan Liikkuvasta linnasta, jonka päähenkilö oli lumouksen voimasta vanhukseksi muuttuva nuori nainen? Maestro itsekin kun täyttää piakkoin seitsemänkymmentä.

Vaikka elokuvassa onkin huomattavissa sitä vanhaa tuttua Miyazakia, on Ponyo rantakalliolla kuitenkin täysin omanlaisensa elokuva. Siinä missä Ghibli-elokuvat yleensä ovat eskapistista fantasiaa, on Ponyo taasen jopa arkirealistinen – näitä meren pohjassa asuvia velhoja ja jumalattaria lukuunottamatta. Sôsuken äiti Lisa käy vanhainkodissa töissä ja Sôsuke päiväkodissa. Perheessä ruoditaan merellä työskentelevän isä Koichin loputtoman pitkiä työrupeamia, ja rentoutuakseen Lisa-äiti korkkaa oluen. Ehkä Miyazaki on halunnut yhdistää sekä pikkulapsen arkielämän että rajattoman mielikuvitusmaailman.

Puutteistaan huolimatta Ponyota ei voi mitenkään pitää huonona elokuvana. Miyazaki suhtautuu elokuviinsa edelleen koko sielullaan, mistä pitkä luomisprosessi kertoo jotain. Elokuva tehtiin käsin, koska Miyazaki halusi sen näyttävän lapsen värittämältä. Ja ovathan ne maisemat ja kohtaukset vaikuttavia. En myöskään kertaakaan tuntenut itseäni tylsistyneeksi, vaan vaihtelevantempoinen juonenkuljetus yhdistettynä arjen ja mielikuvituksen välillä tasapainoilevaan visuaaliseen antiin pitävät otteessaan koko päälle 100-minuuttisen kestonsa.

Ponyo rantakalliolla ei jääne Miyazakin kavalkadiin osana niitä merkittävimpiä teoksia, mutta on kohtuutonta vaatia mestarilta – vaikka hän mestari onkin – jatkuvasti tajunnan räjäyttäviä mestariteoksia. Kyseessä on kuitenkin sympaattinen elokuva, joka jättää hyvän mielen, ja jonka parissa uskoisin ainakin sen varsinaisen kohdeyleisön viihtyvän.

Por Alexei Barros

Quando o RPG Ni no Kuni foi anunciado na TGS 2008 minha expectativa foi exacerbada não somente pela parceria inédita entre a desenvolvedora Level-5 e o estúdio de animação Studio Ghibli dos longa-metragens animados de Hayao Miyazaki. O principal motivo é a trilha sonora do proeminente Joe Hisaishi.

Essa não é primeira colaboração em videogames do mestre que deu aulas de composição para Yuzo Koshiro, vale lembrar. Hisaishi já participou de Zoids: Chuuou Tairiku no Tatakai (Famicom), Zoids 2: Zenebasu no Gyakushuu (Famicom), Tengai Makyou II: Manji Maru (PC Engine CD) e Might and Magic (PC Engine CD-ROM2) – todos lançados somente no Japão e obscuros no ocidente.

Naquela época não havia como utilizar músicas orquestradas, uma característica constante nas composições dele. Mas agora para Ni no Kuni enfim não há mais barreiras tecnológicas. Pelo menos é a impressão que passa, pois parece que os estúdios ignoraram que o jogo é para DS.

Inacreditavelmente o álbum da trilha original não foi anunciado, mas a performance é da Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, a mesma dos recentes concertos de Ace Attorney e Monster Hunter. As músicas impressionaram sobremodo na demonstração – versão completa japonesa só em 2010, americana ainda não confirmada –, que os imbatíveis fãs tiveram a bondade de ripá-la para a nossa essencial apreciação. Não por menos há uma mensagem para jogar com fones de ouvido. Faça o favor.

Todas estão em uma faixa contínua, com breves pausas entre uma e outra. Logo abaixo há a decupagem. Senti reminiscências de Monster Hunter em “Opening”, Professor Layton em “The Story So Far” devido ao som de caixa de música e Shadow of the Colossus em “North Forest” e “Normal Battle”. “Victory” tem um quê de Hitoshi Sakimoto nas trilhas de GrimGrimoire e Final Fantasy XII e “Castle Town” uma levada celta à la Yasunori Mitsuda. Preciso falar mais alguma coisa?

“Ni No Kuni”

00:00: Opening
01:04: The Story So Far…
02:01: North Forest
04:09: Normal Battle
06:29: Boss Battle
08:47: Victory
09:41: Field
13:14: Castle Town

Instantaneamente a trilha tem potencial para ser tocada ao vivo se não no Press Start, por ser um concerto japonês, acredito que no A Night in Fantasia, que costuma executar as composições de animes e games nas mesmas apresentações. Melhor ainda seria se as músicas aparecessem nos monumentais concertos do Studio Ghibli. Para ilustrar, a récita Joe Hisaishi in Budokan – 25 years with the Animations of Hayao Miyazaki, realizada em agosto de 2008 em comemoração de 25 anos do estúdio, que chegou a ser transmitida na NHK e foi lançada em DVD em julho desse ano. Reuniu inacreditáveis 200 instrumentistas da New Japan Philharmonic World Dream Orchestra e um coral de 400 vozes que de tão grande exige dois maestros auxiliares nas laterais, totalizando 600 pessoas no palco sob a regência de Joe Hisaishi. Quando vi a tomada aberta fiquei boquiaberto. Pasmo. Estarrecido com tal grandiloquência. Espere até ver a arquitetura do Nippon Budokan, que comporta mais de 14.000 lugares e foi originalmente construído para as competições de judô das Olimpíadas de 1964. Nem no Japão vi nada semelhante em concertos de game music, e me pergunto se um dia existirá algo parecido, afinal jogos e animes estão próximos. Prova disso, além das mencionadas relações de Joe Hisaishi com games, nesse mesmo espetáculo há a participação da Ayaka Hirahara, da canção “Reset” de Okami. Abaixo o fabuloso segmento de Nausicaä of the Valey of the Wind em que Hisaishi também toca piano.

Agradecimentos ao Fabão pela recomendação, descoberta, decupagem e informações.

[via Nico Nico Douga]

Hayao Miyazaki’s animated films are an international cultural staple. Everywhere I go on this forbidden planet, total chowder-heads and dilettantes alike will proclaim his genius with an exuberant zest almost equal to that of yours truly — and this is a pretty cool thing.

Ah, but what’s the secret to the consistent quality? It isn’t merely a result of the innate talent and hard-work of the director, producers and staff of Studio Ghibli. It’s also the case that Miyazaki maintains nearly total control over every aspect and stage of the project. Little of the animation and drawing is outsourced from their studio, he still hand-draws some of the project frames himself, and everybody on the Ghibli team is forced to actually care about their job. This is similar to gain-staging in recording audio — keeping a careful watch over the audio levels when recording, mixing and mastering, so as to maintain optimum balance and quality. You don’t have to keep an eye on it, but those who do come out with the most controlled and intentionally detailed work.

Studio Ghibli is the pinnacle of hand-drawn animation, and it’s amusing that I still encounter people who won’t watch it or give it a chance just because it’s anime: “kids’ movies.” But when someone tells me such a thing, I recognize it just means that person really just doesn’t know anything (plus it’s an inherently racist Euro-centric notion that because Euro/American cartoons are mainly aimed at kids, all cartoons are aimed at kids). You can be the most brilliant surgeon or aeronautical engineer or political analyst or business executive in existence — but if you don’t get Miyazaki, you’re a fucking shadow in this world. Your genes are deficient and it’s a fluke that you even have a sex drive.

Joe Hisashi does the music in nearly every Miyazaki film; one of my favorite scores is that of Kiki’s Delivery Service. This youtube video does us all a great service by binding together the two brilliant catchy ending soundtrack pieces of the film. The first song is an inspiring pop gem, and the second is a catchy throwback to ’50s doo-wop. I suggest you listen to these songs, as there are few other things in the world that mean anything at all.

Another Friday, another 10 random (soundtrack) songs…

1. “Isfahan” – E.S. Posthumus, Unearthed
2. “Eingeschlossen” – Klaus Doldinger, Das Boot (The Director’s Cut)
3. “Road Made for Animals” – John Tesh, Tour de France…The Early Years
4. “The Demon God II” – Joe Hisaishi, Princess Mononoke
5. “Ruined Landscape” – Klaus Doldinger & Giorgio Moroder, The Never Ending Story
6. “Library of Congress” – Trevor Rabin, National Treasure
7. “Not from Dixie” – Henry Mancini, The Music from Peter Gunn
8. “Hideout” – Clint Bajakian, Outlaws game soundtrack
9. “Montezuma’s Revenge” – Rick Wakeman, White Rock
10. “Ultramarine” – Michael Brook, Heat

“Four gods”, también conocida como “The legend” o “The Story of the First King’s Four Gods”, se convirtió por derecho propio en el 2007 la producción más ambiciosa de la televisión coreana, especialista en la realización de seriales románticos para consumo no sólo interior sino también extranjero. Más de 45 billones de wons (unos 45 millones de dólares) invertidos, lujosos vestuarios, cuidada ambientación, decenas de extras, sofisticados efectos especiales, las mayores estrellas de la televisión local contratadas (con Bae Yong Joon a la cabeza, todo un ídolo en Corea, Japón y tambien en México por Sonata de Invierno)… Todo ello para una historia ambientada en la Corea medieval, de luchas, intrigas palaciegas y conspiraciones con un leve tono fantástico. El argumento, acerca de la existencia de una leyenda según la cual un día surgirá un rey, descendiente de un antiguo monarca llegado del cielo, que gobernará y unificará todos los reinos que existen. Nuestro protagonista es presumiblemente este rey de la leyenda, pero para poder ocupar el trono lo va a tener complicado debido a las múltiples intrigas existentes dentro de la corte. Además, sólo el auténtico rey podrá dominar las cuatro fuerzas que representan a cuatro dioses protagonistas de la antigua leyenda.

El compositor elegido para esta superproducción televisiva ha sido el japonés Joe Hisaishi. Éste, conocido especialmente por sus excelentes colaboraciones con Hayao Miyazaki y que puede alardear de un merecidamente ganado prestigio como compositor cinematográfico (además de como pianista, con varios discos publicados) fue sin duda elegido para otorgar a la serie una suntuosa ambientación musical, confiando en el demostrado talento del nipón.

Este drama retratará la historia del 19º rey de Goguryeo, y comienza con los orígenes de la tierra de Jooshin, fundada cuando el Dios Hwanwoong desciende a la tierra junto a sus cuatro semidioses para darle propseridad a la tierra. Pero la Tribu de los Tigres, cuya Sacerdotisa tenía el poder de dominar el fuego, tenían interés de dominar el mundo con este poder, lo cual deriva en una incesante lucha. Hwanwoong le quita este poder a Kajin, la saterdotisa, y concibe un hijo con Sae-oh, una guerrera humana, y este hijo será el primer rey de Corea, Tae Gun.

La historia luego es retomada en el año Año 14º de la Dinastía Sosurim, 384 A.D. en la Villa Guh Mool. Allí, una pequeña niña, Sujini, tiene un destino marcado ya que es la reencarnación del Fenix Negro, y deberá ser asesinada antes de convertirse en el indominable semidios. Los cuatro símbolos de los cuatro semidioses habían sido dispersos por el mundo por el propio Hwanwoong al dejar la tierra, pero han vuelto a surgir al haber nacido el hijo de los cielos, Rey de Jooshin: el príncipe Dam Duk.

Informacion General

• Título: 태왕사신기 (太王四神記) / Tae Wang Sa Shin Gi
• Título en inglés: The Story of the First King’s Four Gods
• También conocida como: The Legend
• Título en español: La Leyenda / La Historia de los Cuatro Dioses del Primer Rey
• Género: Drama épico, Fantasía.
• Capítulos: 24 (cada capitulo dura una hora)
• Pais: Corea
• Año: 2007
• Canción final: Love Song for a Thousand Years by TVXQ

Birthdays on Fridays are sweet…

1. “Destiny” – Eric Woolfson, Freudiana
2. “1988 (Robert Fripp)” - Various Artists, Angels in the Architecture
3. “San Francisco 1906 (Excerpts)” – Synergy, The Jupiter Menace soundtrack
4. “The Floater” – Henry Mancini, The Music from Peter Gunn
5. “Never Ending Story” – Klaus Doldinger & Georgio Moroder, The Never Ending Story soundtrack
6. “Pipeline” – Alan Parsons Project, Ammonia Avenue
7. “Why Does the Sun Shine?” – They Might Be Giants, Severe Tire Damage
8. “America (bonus track – single)” – Yes, Close to the Edge
9. “Relay Breakdown” – Synergy, Electronic Realisations for an Electronic Orchestra
10. “A Miner” – Joe Hisaishi, Laputa: The Castle in the Sky soundtrack (Image Album)

regarding #3 & #9: we were big Synergy fans in college (still am); Synergy is Larry Fast, electronic keyboard pioneer.  If you haven’t heard him as Synergy, you might have heard him playing keyboards on Peter Gabriel’s early albums & tours.  His first LP Electronic Realisations is brilliant.

Joe Hisaishi é um compositor japonês que começou a tocar violino aos 4 anos e daí pra frente a música tomou conta da sua vida. Fez grande sucesso nos Estados Unidos e Europa. Mas é mais conhecido por suas criações para animes.

Composições para Anime: Arion, Venus Wars, Nausicaa, Laputa, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Totoro, Porco Rosso e Mononoke Hime.

Site oficial

This is my review of Ponyo. I don’t have anything to say for it really, as it speaks for itself.

I must admit that I’ve always had a liking for the works of Hayao Miyazaki and his production house, Studio Ghibli. I’ve seen many of his major films, including 1988’s My Neighbor Totoro, 1989’s Kiki’s Delivery Service, and 2001’s Oscar-winning epic Spirited Away. Miyazaki has always held to a high work ethic, consistently putting out fanciful tales with vibrant imagery and deep, thought-provoking central themes. This is a real challenge, considering the superficiality and profit-motivated tendencies of animated films today. With this high expectation in mind, I walked into a Gurnee theatre last Friday night in the hopes that this would be on the same caliber of his prior works.

Needless to say, I was not disappointed.

The film opens with some silent pans around the ocean. The scene is calm and tranquil, but still full of life due to the hand-colored cel shading. Shades of blue flow around the screen as we see some of the native life around this sea. It is rife with all sorts of mollusks and jellyfish. The maritime menagerie dances in its rhythm, as camera pans down to reveal a man perched on the floor below. This man, donned in eccentric clothing, silently supervises the marine life as the camera turns to some fish staring out of what looks like a submarine window. The largest of the fish manages to get through the window and swims out to join the parade outside. She spots a brood of jellyfish and, eager to see the seascape, follows them around. Eventually, she grows tired and falls asleep on an ascending jellyfish. Her cnidarian companion surfaces, emptying the fish onto the shore above.

At this point, the score begins to play, with the audible imagery matching the visual imagery beside it. Ghibli has had one composer since 1983, a man by the name of Joe Hisaishi.

Hisaishi’s scores make the film as much as Miyazaki’s directing. Although his prior work has signature rhythms that can be noticed in near every song he composes, Ponyo’s score is different. He abandons his signature style for a newer, more experimental sound. This newer direction pays off, amplifying intensity during scenes of conflict and sharpening emotion during more expository scenes. It certainly contributes to the film, to say the least.

As the fish washes ashore, she lands on some rocks by a house on the water. Enter Sosuke (Frankie Jonas), a five-year-old boy living at the house by the rocks. He sees the fish on the rocks, and grabs a pail to put the fish in. When he goes to grab the pail, he cuts his finger on the rock. The fish licks it, and he heals instantly. This mesmerizes him, but the reflection is short-lived because he needs to go to school. He hops into the car with his mother Lisa (Tina Fey) and they drive off to his school. But first, they visit the senior center, Lisa’s workplace, and say hello to Toki (Lily Tomlin), Kayo (Betty White), and Yoshie (Cloris Leachman). Here, Sosuke shows the fish, which he has since named Ponyo, to the elders. Toki and Kayo are amazed, but Yoshie is mortified at the fish’s somewhat-human face. After the fish squirts water in Yoshie’s face, Sosuke bolts to the rocks below the cliff, where Ponyo (Noah Cyrus) shows her magical nature, saying, “Ponyo loves Sosuke!” before being swept away by the eccentric man from before, Ponyo’s father, Fujimoto (Liam Neeson).

One thing of note is the voice acting for Ponyo and Sosuke. Disney unfortunately played the “family extension” card, using the voices of their current stars’ siblings. While I find this to be a very cheap use of talent, the voices lent to the film were nowhere near as bad as I had expected it to be before watching the film. In terms of the adult voices, Liam Neeson expresses the character of Ponyo’s father beautifully, not to mention how well he delivers soliloquy. With Tina Fey, many have only heard her in her Sarah Palin impression on Saturday Night Live. But in this film, she strips away the quasi-Southern accent for a more homely tone, a tone fitting of a mother raising her child.

Starting about 30 minutes into the film, the action starts to rise and the themes of the film start to materialize. Ponyo, now trapped in her home by Fujimoto, wishes to be with Sosuke again. Her father warns of the “imbalances of nature” caused by a magical being like her fraternizing with a human like Sosuke. Neeson delivers a soliloquy about a takeover of marine life against a polluting, self-serving human society. In the middle of this speech, Ponyo transforms herself into a girl about Sosuke’s age. It is revealed at this point that the taste of Sosuke’s blood was the catalyst for the transformation. As you can see, the themes of environmentalism, individuality (Ponyo defies her father’s wishes), and dissent are stark and noticeable. Watching this film, I was reminded of another film Disney had a part of. It reminded me of the film that revitalized the company and was on the beginning of a decade of success. This film is The Little Mermaid, released 20 years prior.

The scene after the one I just covered really shows the brevity and charm of the movie. Her change from fish to human has upset the balance of nature, leading to a massive storm to take hold. During this storm, Ponyo’s legs sprout and her brethren change into large, golden fish, and lift her up to the shore. She runs on the waves, and as Sosuke’s mom’s car passes by, she leaps to the road on the back of one of her sisters. She runs towards Sosuke, and once she speaks, this film truly takes life.

After the storm clears, we get to see Sosuke’s father, Koichi (Matt Damon). Damon is the captain of a trawler, and his boat is swept far away from the coastal town. He and his crew see a string of lights. They think they have reached a city in China, but the lights are a wall of sunken ships held in a high wave. The moon looms closer than any harvest moon, raising the tides and suspending the ships in their watery home. At this, we are introduced to a new character. A shining figure sweeps across the water, a figure described by Koichi as the goddess of mercy. The figure is Ponyo’s mother, Granmamare (Cate Blanchett). After swimming through the ocean past Koichi and his crew, she meets up with Fujimoto, who is standing by Sosuke’s house in an attempt to regain Ponyo. Before he and Granmamare meet, Neeson’s character tries to ascend the cliff. But when he tries to scale the fence, an enchantment laid by Ponyo stops him. He slinks away in defeat at the hands of his wunderkind daughter, only to be confronted by Granmamare. She tells him that Ponyo can become fully human and live with Sosuke, but if she fails, then Ponyo will turn into seafoam. If I said anything more about the plot, I’d be spoiling the plot, so I’ll leave it alone. However, the second half of the film is just as good as the first, and the movie finishes with an ending that everybody will love.

This was an amazing film that I enjoyed from start to finish. It matched the vibrant and colorful cels of prior Ghibli releases. In addition, it was the first of Studio Ghibli’s films to receive a wide release, making its way to 928 theatres nationwide. This exceeds the 26-theatre run of Spirited away by over thirtyfold. I loved this film so much, I can say that if I had only one wish, it would be to have my memory of Ponyo erased for the sole purpose of being mystified by it just one more time. I speak these words with absolute certainty.

Before I cap off the review and give a rating, I must note one thing. During the credits, the theme song to the movie plays. Having heard the song in its original Japanese a year prior, I derided it for being just a little bit too saccharine, to a point where it takes the rest of the film down with it. In English, it gets even worse. For one, the English performance continues the Disney tradition of giving their singing actors singing careers, with Jonas and Cyrus singing the parts to the song. Also, the song literally sounds like it was written by a five-year-old. I think I can tell where they’re going from, to make it sound like a child wrote it because of the influence of the child characters in this movie, but with a chorus line consisting of seven or eight words, it seems overly simplistic and spoils the hand-drawn images which the credits are superimposed on. To add insult to injury, Jonas’s voice takes on a vocoder effect as the song degrades into a hip-hop beat. At this, I found the bastardization too great to bear, and I left the theatre. But apart from the cloyingly annoying tragedy in the credits, this film was 100 minutes of pure Miyazaki imagination, something that his fans have come to expect. Indeed, they were not disappointed.

MY FINAL RATING:

★ ★ ★ ¾

When my friend’s co-worker was asked “What is your favorite Miyazaki movie?” He replied, “What? That’s like me picking a favorite noodle in a bowl of macaroni and cheese.”

That has to be the best analogy when describing the fantastic works of Hayao Miyazaki. I know when I am confronted with that question I tend to stutter and just blurt out a random Miyazaki film title. I do believe that Miyazaki is the Walt Disney of Japan.

Now that you can see how much I love Miyazaki and his works it is going to to be terribly difficult to find a flaw in his films. Laputa: Castle in the Sky or just Castle in the Sky was surprisingly a film I had not seen but it was one that I really wanted to see soon. I am probably going to watch it again tonight. Heeee…

The story is simple enough to sum up. Orphan Pazu lives in a small tight-knit mining town when a girl is literally thrust into his arms as she floats, with the aid of magical crystal, from the sky while trying to escape pirates and the army. Then Pazu and Sheeta, the girl, leave town to find Laputa by force not by choice with the government and pirates on their tails. They eventually find aid in the pirates led by a strong woman named Dola. Pazu and Sheeta become bonded on their search and eventual discovery of the floating island and that bond is put to the test inside the core of the island when the government captures her. Then with a destructive spell Pazu and Sheeta save themselves as the island floats far into the heavens.

I have to start off by saying the writing is lovely, as always. The script and the story just allow the film to gracefully trot at a wonderful pace. Alnd the characters shine bright with this writing. They grow and change as the film progresses but still are the same people we met at the beginning of the film.

Joe Hisaishi. I love love LOVE Hisaishi’s score. I am a film score junky in the first place. So, if Miyazaki is the Disney of Japan then Joe Hisaishi is the John Williams of Japan. It’s true!

Do I really have to mention the animation? I mean really… The details are astounding. Just as an example of the detail attention there was a point at which Pazu shoots out a wall at close range and I noticed that parts of the wall had ended up int the barrel of the gun and when he moves they tumble out. The deal is that you had to have been actually watching the gun to see it. Pazu was the main focus in the scene. Insanity.

I honestly cannot think of anything that I could say negative or critical about the film. You have to be a jerk to find something bad in Miyazaki films. You should go watch a Miyazaki film right now, it will brighten your day.

Thank you so much to Helen McCarthy for 500 Essential Anime Movies.

I just saw Studio Ghibli’s latest film Ponyo (originally 崖の上のポニョ, Gake no Ue no Ponyo, with Studio Ghibli’s choice for an English-language title being Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea) at my local cinema. Director Hayao Miyazaki really did something new with this one, using a simplistically vibrant color palette and hyper-fluid motion throughout the film. From the opening ocean science-fantasy sequence  to the shots of fishing fleets braving the waves and cars speeding along cliffside roads, much of the film is characterized by complex, poetic, and pervasive movement accompanied by a very grand orchestral score from composer Joe Hisaishi.

While these fast-moving scenes teem with a wonder for the natural world often expressed in the director’s work, the quieter, stiller scenes glow with the warmth of the director’s humanism – which has become just as much a trademark of his films as his environmentalist messages.

This film quite subtly explores the dilemmas of man’s relationship with the environment. Yet Ponyo, despite the doom-and-gloom pessimism over mankind’s relationship with the natural world Mr. Miyazaki frequently expresses in interviews, may be his most optimistic film to date. Whenever the situation looks dire in Ponyo, things soon turn out for the best, and the threat of disaster, when raised, is never nearly as frightening as it could be. Ponyo even includes a few cinematic gimmicks I’ve never seen Mr. Miyazaki use before: subtitles that appear while the characters are using signal lamps, a half-comedic slow motion sequence, and even a closing-circle fade on the final cut that looks like something straight out of early Warner Brothers cartoons. Perhaps the director hopes to balance the dark themes of wartime destruction in his previous film Howl’s Moving Castle, or maybe (and this seems more likely) he just wants to bring happiness to the very young children for whom he clearly made Ponyo. Ponyo will bring a smile to the faces of many young children and pretty much anyone willing to watch it with them.

Some final notes regarding the American release of Ponyo. The voice acting is generally stellar, and you may recognize the voices of Liam Neeson, Tina Fey, Cloris Leachman, Lily Tomlin, and Matt Damon. Children who watch the Disney channel may pick out the voices of Noah Cyrus and Frankie Jonas, younger siblings of Disney channel stars Miley “Hannah Montana” Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers, in the two principal roles. The song that plays during the end credits has been replaced by Disney with two songs, one an English translation of the original song with vocals by the principal child actors and the other with a pop remix of the first.

Bir gün bana deseler ki “Bravo, çok şanslı bir insansınız. “Hayatımın Soundtrack’i” adlı albümde sizin hayatınıza da yer veriyoruz. Kim yapsın müziklerinizi?”, tereddütsüz vereceğim yanıt “Aman efendim çok düşüncelisiniz, tabi ki Joe Hisaishi” olur.

Animeseverlerin tanrılarından Hayao Miyazaki’nin lezzet ikizi olan bu müthiş yetenekli Japon besteci / müzik adamı, Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), Spirited Away (2001),  Mononoke Hime (1997), Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), Tonari no Totoro (1988), Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984) gibi Miyazaki klasiklerine bir nevi can vermiştir.

Bunun yanında yine bir Japon efsanesi olan Takeshi Kitano’nun Dolls (2002), Kikujiro no Natsu (1999), Hana-bi (1997) gibi efsane filmlerinde yine Hisaishi müziklerini görürüz. Gerçi sözlük dedikodularına göre Dolls filminden sonra ikili, birlikte çalışmama kararı almışlar ama hayat bu, hiçbirşey belli olmaz, büyük konuşmamak lazım!

Hisaishi’nin son solo albümü Minima_Rhythm 12 Ağustos’ta piyasaya çıktı. İnternet sitesinden anlayabildiğimiz kadarıyla Senfoni orkestrası ile birlikte icra edilmiş eserler. Yine de kendisini film müzikleriyle, gönül tellerimizi titretirken görmek istediğimizi belirtmeden geçemeyeceğim.

Detaylıca bilgi:

http://www.joehisaishi.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Hisaishi

Buyurunuz benim Hisaishi favorilerim. Hem de canlı performans!

Joe Hisaishi Live performance – Howl’s Moving Castle Main theme

Joe Hisaishi Live – Summer ( from Kikujiro )

Quien haya tenido el placer de disfrutar de una película como Pòrco Rósso, considerada por muchos como la obra cumbre de Hayao Miyazaki (con permiso de La Princesa Mononoke, aunque en mi opinión ésta no llega al nivel de “perfección” de Pòrco Rósso), sin duda recordará su encantadora y memo-rable banda sonora original. El encargado de poner música a la magistral película de sensei Miyazaki fue una vez más el gran Joe Hisaishi, el autor de la gran mayoría de las bandas sonoras del Studio Ghibli, y sin el cual las extraordinarias películas de este inimitable estudio no habrían sido desde luego lo mismo. Quien desee además disfrutar de otros de sus grandes trabajos a parte de su prolongada producción para el mundo del Anime puede acudir también a las bandas sonoras compuestas para muchas de las películas del realizador Takeshi Kitano (como “Sonatine”, “Hana-bi”, “El verano de Kikujiro” y muchas otras).

Refiriéndonos ya en concreto a la música de Pòrco Rósso cabe destacar la clara inspiración de la partitura en la música mediterránea (en especial en la música popular italiana), sabiendo además captar perfectamente ese aroma especial de las películas clásicas de aventuras de la primera mitad del Siglo XX, con sus historias tan ingenuas como encantadoras, con héroes como Errol Flynn o Douglas Fairbanks al frente de sus repartos, y que bien podrían ser Pòrco o Curtis en la mítica película de Miyazaki. Decir en lo personal que la banda sonora de Pòrco Rósso se encuentra a mi parecer (tal y como comenté en un artículo anterior) entre las 10 mejores de todos los tiempos en cuanto a música para Anime jamás realizada, siendo además en mi opinión la mejor obra de Joe Hisaishi en su extensa discografía.

Solo para que os hagáis una idea, decir que me resulta absolutamente escandalosa la calidad musical alcanzada en temas como Women of Piccolo,  MAMMAIUTO o Serbia March, de una finura, una clase y un encanto sin precedentes en el mundo de la música para Anime (y más escuchando “cada cosa” que hay por ahí suelta…) Con todo ésto tan solo me queda por decir lo siguiente a quienes decidan dedicarle un poco de su tiempo a esta obra maestra irrepetible: escuchadla y disfrutad.

Pòrco Rósso: Original Soundtrack

Track List:

01 – The Wind of Time – When a Human Can be a Human
02 – MAMMAIUTO
03 – Addio!
04 – The Bygone Days
05 – A Sepia-colored Picture
06 – Serbia March
07 – Flying Boatmen
08 – Doom -Cloud Trap-
09 – Porco e Bella
10 – Fio-Seventeen
11 – Women of Piccolo
12 – Friend
13 – Partnership
14 – Madness -Flight-
15 – To the Adriatic Sea
16 – In Search of the Distant Era
17 – Love at the First Sight in the Wildness
18 – At the End of the Summer
18 – LOST SPIRIT
20 – Dog fight
21 – Porco e Bella (Ending)
22 – The Time of Cherries
23 – Once in a While, Talk of the Old Days

Fuente:
El Rincón del Manga