| 1. | (24 posts) | "Sen" DVD Color Issues |
| 2. | (6 posts) | "Sen" DVD English Subtitles |
| 3. | (22 posts) | Hate is Love |
| 4. | (4 posts) | "Howl's Moving Castle" not Studio Ghibli Material? |
We looked at 143 posts by 72 different contributors.
A big week on the MML following the past few slow weeks.
Several topics received a healthy amount of posts, but none more than the release of "Sen" on DVD in Japan. After gathering over 5.5 million pre-orders expectations were high, but things started falling downhill after Atsushi Fukumoto posted, "many people on the net are reporting that the picture of DVD has extreme red tint. Rumor says it is intentionally done by Ghibli's request. Many viewers think it is simply unacceptably bad quality."
Mike Arnold added, "when I took the video home and watched a few minutes I immediately noticed that the picture had a strong orange tint on my TV set. I thought it was just me, but I guess not. I checked a few other scenes and they all had the same thing. I can't imagine why Ghibli would do this intentionally though." I confirmed that the R3 (Taiwan) release also has the red tinting.
Oliver Ho translated a Japanese site with an (yet unconfirmed) explanation from BVHE Japan, "Theatre presentaion was for DLP, the DVD uses a new colors..... LCD/Plasma DVD has different colour specs, so Miyazaki decided on the new colour tones....."
Gregor Menasian didn't buy the explanation, "All video signals should be adjusted the same, so that they display properly on a properly calibrated display! If even after adjustment, your display needs a bit more red which it can't be adjusted for, you should get an external color corrector, not expect everyone to make their DVDs more red!"
Some investigation from Warren Savage, "I looked at the opening scenes on a Vectorscope/Waveform Monitor. I also ran the signal through a Processing Amplifier (ProcAmp), and set the monitor up to show unprocessed signal on input A and processed signal on input B.
The unprocessed picture appeared a bit warmer than I remember seeing it in 35mm, either in Sendai or in San Francisco. And the blue Studio Ghibli screen (with Totoros,) was cyan. Clouds and the opening title especially showed this subtle warmness. But it was nowhere near as bad as shown on those websites. It was a subtle-but-noticeable warming of the picture. . .
Having wasted 30 minutes re-patching my editing system and playing with knobs, I set everything back to neutral, called up Chapter 1, sat back and enjoyed (again) the movie...
Noah Selsby wrote, "So, the big question, is the color different than the trailer? Answer: absolutely. HOWEVER! I feel there is good news: it was not anywhere as distracting as the screen-capture that were shown on the forums. I'm not sure what they were using to capture it, but on my tv, the color shift seems a lot more subtle. For those of you that have my tv, I keep the color settings on "vivid" and "cool." The effect of the movie is almost akin to watching a movie like Amadeus, which it lit mostly by candles. Was it intentional? I believe so. There is a warmth to the color that reminds me of period pieces. I, for one, am willing to bite with these reports of Ghibli saying it is intentional. Looking at my tv and comparing it to the screen capture, I am convinced that had I not seen anything about this supposed color issue, I would not have questioned the colors at all. Now, there are a bunch of people that are using color histograms to "prove" that it is "wrong," but I really just don't think that such a thing is possible. It seems to be a creative decision and I'll go with it. There!"
Others noted that the trailers on the second DVD do not have the tinting, which points to the coloring as an actual decision, not a technical mistake. More to come in the following weeks.
Moribana took issue with a different aspect of the "Sen" DVD, its English subtitles, "In Sen the cutesy American colloquialisms rear their ugly head again. For example, Okasan and Otosan become Mommy and Daddy. Neither of these words in Japanese have the cloying weight of feeling that Mommy and Daddy carry.
Also, cliches abound. Kamaji's 'Shirenai ka? Ai! Ai da!' Which is simply Don't you know? Love. It's Love!' for some odd reason gets the Disneyish
Don't you understand? Its called....Love! (groan). . .
Piyuuuuiiii or something infantile and other subs read things like ZGO ZHELP ZOUR GUUESSH, supposing to communicate held noses?!? Sen and Yuubaba speak in shrill voices, but speak clear Japanese. What was the justification for these silly insertions? Miyazaki can be cute yes, but never cloying and the subtitles lapse many scenes into sentimentality which IMO is utterly foreign to Miyazaki and his universal wisdom. . .
There was even a mistranslation or two unless I'm misreading the Japanese. Chihiro's father excitedly says 'Look Chihiro, there is your new school' to which the crabby Chihiro responds 'Keiko kireii gakko jya nai' which means 'Not a very clean/beautiful school' or in the context 'what a dump'.
But the subtitles read 'It's really not a bad looking school.' Unless there is some nuance to the Japanese I am missing this is a blatant
mistranslation, rather shocking in such a big release.
There was more, but these stand out in my memory. I am being a bit harsh as much of the film was fairly well translated. I noticed two new translators joined the Alpert/Moriyoshi team so perhaps they are responsible. Trying to 'reach American audiences' or some such nonsense no doubt. . . So a rather dissapointing release.
Julio Gea-Banacloche answered one part, "my guess is that you *have* run into a nuance. It's the "affirmative ja nai," which has bewildered many a student of Japanese and seems to be fairly common in women's speech.
Think of it as a "kirei gakko ja nai ka," without the "ka." It's sort of as if she was saying "isn't it pretty." (No sarcasm implied, although I'm guessing that her delivery is probably rather unenthusiastic.)
Mike Arnold replied, "Mommy and Daddy sound OK to me. Chihiro is an elementary schooler after all. . . Yes, but this in the Japanese version too is corny and, well 'Disneyish'. Kamaji is probably supposed to sound sappy. When I saw the film in the theater people laughed at that line. . . Or "Welggum to our bazzs". Yubaba really isn't speaking clear Japanese here. . . I've still only watched a few minutes, but so far I've actually been a little impressed with the English translation."
Jennifer Califf added, "I wasn't disappointed with the subs at all, really. I thought it was easy to read, the translation was almost dead on. The only real problem I saw was a line of missing dialogue."
An odd subject line from Noel Vera "I've finally realize I hate, hate, hate watching Ghibli films. Mainly because when they're over it's like a lightbulb goes out and I'm in a dimmer, less intensely realized and imagined world. Sigh." Yakko Hudson Saotome replied, "The world is essentially what you make of it yourself, and if anything I'd think Miyazaki's films would inspire you to go out and make the world a more intensely realized and imagined place...a better place."
Juliana posted, "I think Ghibli films not only prods at the audience to strive for the better, but makes them see through the eyes of someone who appreciate the details and what-appears-to-be-mundane matters. They seem to make us appreciate and be aware. Although, after I watch Ghibli films, I do feel the contrast between the world on the animated screen and your "dimmer, less intensely realized and imagined world"; then continue to pour bucket-loads of tears (even during Tonari no Totoro!). I guess that there's a price to be paid for realization."
Michael Rieper swerved the thread around with, "We as Ghibli fan(atic)s expend so much time and energy tracking the studio's (and distributors) every move, that seeing a two-hour movie almost cannot help being a disappointment.
I think the American rollout of "Princess Mononoke" provides a good test case. Since it's Japanese release in 1997 we spent two years asking when, why, how, where, etc. Then if you're like me you spent four hours driving home from school in Syracuse, NY to New York City to see it opening weekend. Having read all the reviews I was so excited to see "Princess Mononoke" how could I not feel a little sad when it
was over? Like a child opening presents on Christmas or a birthday, the anticipation and wait makes the experience that much more exciting.
Elanor Rogers replied, "Believe it or not, actually, when I finally got to see Mononoke in the theater it was one of the few times I was completely satisfied by a movie"
A different experience for Yakko, "One of the major signs that you've just watched a very VERY good movie is that feeling of catharsis you get near the end. Usually, as you're walking out of the theatre you'll be left in a singularly reflective state of melancholy. Well, the way I see it, the deeper the state of reflective melancholy one experiences after the movie the greater the indication that you've had a really really incredible movie-watching experience. When that happens to me, I'm a better person for having seen said incredible film. That's just my perspective."
James Lawlor added, "I wholeheartedly agree. That is something I've noticed with all Ghibli movies I've seen (Kiki, Laputa, Mononoke, so far), with every single viewing. I woudn't nessessarily call it "melancholy" in my case (perhaps with Mononoke or Laputa, somewhat) but that is close to the mark. I find I generally become very reflective after watching a Ghibli movie. Also, I often end up with the desire to see it again, if not shortly thereafter, within the next few days. And sometimes, I do. ^_^"
David Mankins wrote, "All that time spent with those characters, and no way to find out what happened in the rest of their lives....
That's what fanfiction is for, I guess, though I think the quality of Miyazaki's storytelling intimidates people from trying even that.
Noah Selsby remarked on the possibility of Studio Ghibli dropping "Howl's Moving Castle "I must say that if Howl's is cancelled, I wouldn't be too sad. I read the book and it really didn't seem Ghibli-like to me. I assumed that it would be re-worked heavily to make it more of a ghibliesque work, but I wonder if they didn't reconsider and decide to go with more appropriate works? "
Roberto askins asked, "i have understand it that the book is like "dungeons and dragons" or "lord of the ring" is it true?" Robin Casady replied, "Well, it has a castle, wizards, and magic. Otherwise, I'm not sure there is a lot similarity. I also wondered how Studio Ghibli was going to make a good film out of this story."
Growly wrote, "Actually, other than the magic, Howl's Moving Castle has very little in common with dungeons and dragons. . . I think that it could lend itself well to the medium given a bit of work. What I wonder is why everyone else here seems to think it would not. Most of Jones' work predates this whole Harry Potter craze, so it's not as similar to THAT either. But it's definitely no LOTR.
The book itself is very kid friendly - I first read it when I was 11 or 12. And while it's not my favorite of her works - I still love Dogsbody, the first book of hers I ever read - I have a certain amount of affection for it. Not to mention I absolutely adore Howl, even if he is a horribly vain wizard. And Sophie is just the kind of strong female character who is a good main character in a book or movie. (And yes, despite the name of the book, Sophie is the main character).
Oliver Ho pieced together a page on the "Sen" DVD Player. Jennifer Califf wrote a review of "Neko no Ongaeshi". Want to tour the Studio Ghibli Museum? Try the Kichijoji Tour that Chris Kuan took. No, you can't blame Carl Macek for "Laputa" or "Porco Rosso". Michael Rieper posted a Wall Street Journal article about "Spirited Away" and stuff that was left on the cutting room floor (none). Michael Johnson notes a Nausicaa.net plug from Pioneer Animation.
That's all for this week, go play outside.