MML Traffic #8 for week 5 - May
and
week 1 - June

By Lawrence Lin


Table Of Contents Mailing List Stats For This Week

We looked at 186 posts by 59 different contributors.

Introduction

    I guess the listserv is on a Thursday to Wednesday rotation this month. Thought the week would end on Thursday, oh well.

1. Kiki and Jiji

(11 posts in various threads): Kiki's question, Did they see Totoro again? (was: Kiki's question)

Han Pham inquired, "The English dub added in alot of stuff. Like dialouque that wasn't there in the Subtitled. . . In the dub, The last thing that Jiji said to Kiki was "Kiki" and something else. but in the subtitled, all Jiji said at the end was "meow". So does anybody knows if Kiki ever got to talk to Jiji again?" Kyle Pope replied, "In the original japanese Jiji never spoke to Kiki again (in a coherent human language that is). There is much speculation around why the communications breakdown and if Kiki and Jiji ever regain their ability to communicate."

Robin Casady added, "Kiki has successfully completed her coming of age trial. She has adapted to a new environment, found her skills, and acquired a boy friend. Perhaps talking to Jiji is something that belonged to childhood." Han then turned to Totoro, "This reminds me of Totoro, like how Satsuki and Mei never see Totoro again at the end of the movie. Does Miyazaki has some specific reasons why the characters doesn't get to see the magical animals or lose communications with them?"

After some bantering back and forth Ryoko Toyama answered the "Do they see Totoro again?" question, "Miyazaki-San said that they wouldn't see Totoro again, since if they stayed in Totoro's world too long, they wouldn't be able to come back to human world again. Seeing Totoro once was enough, he said. . . It's not like they forgot about Totoro, as it was shown that they still make Totoro snow statue, but they don't have to actually meat Totoro again. . . And one of the three short films Ghibli is currently making for the museum is "Mei and Kitten bus," so maybe the magical world hasn't been closed yet, at least for Mei."

2. Nausicaa DVD and Anchor Bay

(21 posts in various threads): Nausicaa off of Anchor Bay's List, Nausicaa Response, Anchor Bay and Disney (Was Re: Nausicaa Response)

Vance Palodichuk posted, "Anyone notice that Nausicaa/WOW is no longer on Anchor Bay's DVD release schedule?" Chris Meadows emailed the company and got this response, "It is currently being held up due to rights negotiations with another company in order to release the full length original cut. We still do have the right to release WARRIORS OF THE WIND but will not be pursuing that option." A mixed message, on one hand they're trying to release the movie in its original form, on the other hand is the fact that Disney is probably that other company and they play hardball.

Sharon Westfall added, "While I can understand Disney's right to protect distribution rights of properties negotiated, I can also see fans attending the Con not really concerned about "who" puts out the Studio Ghibli DVDs, just more sensitive about "when" it will come out." Ryoko Toyama added an intriguing comment, "I know that Ghibli got a good deal with Disney. I'm not so sure about Anchor Bay (there is a reason why I feel so). I hope that I can clarify the situation in near future, but I am not allowed to do so right now." Interesting. . .

David Athay replied to Sharon's post, "In my case I am concerned about who releases the DVD because in large part that also dictates what the quality of the DVD will be. . . For all of the complaints I have about Disney video, they do have very deep pockets and you can be fairly sure that they will produce a high quality DVD." David's comments caused a flurry of posts about Anchor Bay and their DVD releases (general consensus: they make a good product). The thread turned to where to buy Ghibli videos, and then fansubs, which killed it in a hurry.

3. Warriors of the Wind Cover

(15 posts): warriors of wind

The cover scan referred to in this thread. Christy Williams inquired, "who are these people? I dont remeber any flying horse!?" Marc Hairston put together the definiate reply, "The New World ad people created a mish- mash of semi-familar looking images stolen from other well-known films (in 1985) to get the potential buyer/renter to pick up the box

Guy on the Flying Horse--ripped off from "Clash of the Titans" ad
Robot in Robe with laser--looks like a cyborg Obi-Wan
Boy with the reins to the giant worm--rip off of "Dune"
God Soldier with lightsaber--another Star Wars ripoff
girl on jet scooter--a nod to what's *really* in the film ^_^
the font for the title is ripped off from the first Star Trek films.
"

Jee Hoon Lee added, "the beast they are riding on looks suspiciously like the famous JAWS poster of the shark swimming up, teeth bared. He he. You have to admit this is, in a sickening way, rather amusing."

4. Grave of the Fireflies Questions

(4 posts): Grave questions

Evan Talbott (actually his mom) had two questions, "1. At the beginning of the movie, why does the mother leave Seta and Setsuko behind? She says she's going to the shelter, she leaves, and then the kids follow suit. Considering that they didn't leave very long after the mother left, what's the point?

2. At the end of the movie (during the "Have a rice ball" scene) Seta withdraws all his money and buys a whole bunch of nice food, clothes, and other stuff. But before then they'd been eating frogs and grubs. Why? What was keeping him from buying that stuff EARLIER and not having his sister starve?"

Deedlit replied, "I can't answer the first question, it's bugging me too, but as for the other one ... Remember the scene when he asks the farmer, that sold them food before, to give him some more? He answers he couldn't even sell it, he has so little. So withdrawing the money wouldn't help any, cause he'd have nowhere to buy food. Only after a period (one that is too long for Setsuko) there's food to be bought again. That's a part of the tragedy too ... I think ..."

5. I Want to Like Nausicaa, but I Can't

(9 posts): Heresy?

Christopher Kelly wrote, "There seems to be some degree of consensus on this list that Nausicaa represents Miyazaki at his best. . . on the basis of the film alone, I disagree. I've seen all of Miyazaki's major films (except Cagliostro and Only Yesterday) at least twice, and if I had to pick, I'd probably say Nausicaa is my least favorite. . . But when it comes to the mechanics of the film itself; the story, the pace, and the animation, I've never been very impressed. It's hard for me to be more specific; the last time I watched it I wasn't looking for the week points. It just always leaves me with a vague sense of dissappointment. . . . I love Nausicaa, but I find it slower and more awkward than his other work. I'll post again on this once I've read the manga"

Vance Palodichuk replied, "I think there are very few people who would disagree that the Nausicaa manga truely is Miyazaki's magnum opus. The movie falls short of fulling capturing the manga's complexity and greatness, but it's a delight if only to see those characters in motion. And there are a few scenes that I can think of that truely give you a glimpse into the world of the manga, if it were animated." Derek Webster added, "I just found that the movie really suffers in comparison to the manga - I'd read it so often and knew it so well, that when I finally saw the movie I couldn't stop myself from judging it by the standard that the manga had set for me."

5. Princess Mononoke VHS Release

(1 post): Re: _PM_ VHS release

Buena Vista Home Entertainment made an official announcement on their retailer-only website, Shun Chan paraphrases the good stuff:

- Rental VHS (priced for video rental stores) will be released on August 8, 2000.
- No mentioning of either a DVD or a sell-through VHS release in August.
- UPC number: 786936089905; BVHE stock number: 1580303
- Pan and Scan
- English. No mentioning of other languages.
- Like titles: Watership Down, Barefoot Gen, Grave of the Fireflies
- Trailered on: The Defender; Mission to Mars; Alien Visitor

Quickies

    Griffin Waldau created some hand drawn Nausicaa animations for perusal. An article in the LA Times about the weak plots in modern animation, Miyazaki and a few others excluded. Studio Ghibli's postal and electronic addresses. Akon took place last weekend, Marc Hairston has a report. A Panda! Go Panda! (considered the predecessor to Totoro) cover scan is out, DVD to be released July 25.

Conclusion

    Word from the Nausicaa.net hard drive salvage is that all the data has been recovered, and this weekend is the target restart date. I spent the last couple of days moving out of my dorm. Anything with wheels became hot property, I saw a person using a grocery cart. See you next Thursday.

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