Castenell, Dee-Princess Mononoke

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  Princess Mononoke was easily one of the best films that we have seen and that studio ghibli has made. The character development, themes, artwork, and stunning music all added to the incredible factor the film had. This movie dealt with many great things like how humans even back in the old days were in conflict with technology and nature. Even today we are in conflict considering the vast amount of trees being cut down and desecration of many fertile lands. The characters were very clearly described while having so many underlying tid-bits of info about them. Ashitaka,  the main character, is plagued by a boar god and forced to leave his village forever and search for a remedy. During his journey he aids a few stranded workers and meets princess mononoke (San). In the village, he learns of the cause of his plague and how this lady (Eboshi) caused all of it to occur. On Ashitaka's journey, he realized the conflicts between nature and civilization and stood in the gray area seeing the problem from both angles.
   

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   This film expressed hatred in a form of crazy strength and a metastasizing plague. Mainly it showed a relationship between gods and humans. Lady Eboshi and the Emperor were both figures that challenged the gods without fear. As the story progressed, the gods proved to stand no chance against the technology and weapons possessed by the civilizations. Primordial gods versus advanced weaponry equals a complete slaughter for the gods unfortunately. Nature was defeated and the demand for expansion continually grows without remorse for the horrible punishment and abuse us humans cause. The one instance in which the humans opened up a can of worms they really should not have was when they took on the forest god himself. By killing him, they broke the natural balance and unleashed a rage and hatred that was omnipotent in every form. An overwhelming tsunami of death reigned over and destroyed the civilization that challenged nature and also the many lives in the process. This was all caused by the insatiable desire for more that humans have. "Everyone wants everything", a direct quote from the incredibly knowledgeable monk. Anyways, I thoroughly enjoyed this film and own it on dvd. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone!

Castenell, Dee- Ah my Goddess!

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The film Ah my Goddess! was by far the most feminin movie we have seen, shojo one could say. It focused on some great themes though which can trigger intense philosophical debates (as seen in class). The movie focuses on the relationship between a teacher and student, and a human and a goddess. Keiichi (the human), Celestine (the teacher) and Belldandy (the Goddess) are the three main figures in this story. Throughout the film and based on the reading, the teacher-student relationship is quite normal although most people would be surprised considering Celestine was with Belldandy as a little girl. Often women ninja or samurai would have relations with their mentor or student way back in those times. The priests of that era even allowed it to occur. In our society, that would be pretty messed up and against our sociocultural
norms.

Anyways, this movie brings up a great point seeing as it associates God's with humans and portrays the different responses from each side. The Gods do not seem very keen on the whole idea, thus they created a gate in which it seemed certain that any couple who seemed to go through would be separated forever. It seems as though the Gods created it to be impossible to pass through unless it were a fairy and a fairy passing through. I believe that the only reason Keiichi was able to go through the portal at the very end was not because of his mutual love for Belldandy but because of Celestine making Keeichi a fairy by using his body as a host. Considering that the Gods did that, it shows that they do not desire the relationships between the upper powers and lower powers which is evident in Japanese society and frowned upon. Members of higher-up clans or emperors should not ever marry anyone of lowly power.
Despite all that, I wanted to mention that Celestine was swayed by the immense display of love Belldandy and Keeichi had for each other.  His desire to purge the world of corruption was completely understandable, only his methods were not suitable or humane in the least. Before I rant on more, I would like to mention that even though this movie was pretty shojo-esque, it was enjoyable from many perspectives and displayed humor, great animation, and a sweet love story.
Overall, I recommend this movie to women who enjoy anime, and to men who like to think and analyze anime and the themes it possesses. 

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Dee Castenell-Grave of the Fireflies

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       Grave of the Fireflies has a strong seat next to the movies I feel are amazing in all aspects. This film demonstrated the incredible perils that the Japanese endured while we mindlessly bombed them over and over. It showed the unparalleled bond between a teenage boy and his sister during the hell of WWII. There was many realistic and powerful scenes throughout the film, one realistic one being that after the passing of their (Seita and Setsuko’s) mother. They had no where to go since their father was at war so they ventured to their aunt who accepted them but grew to despise them once their contributions were drained. The aunt stopped feeding them over time seeing as they were just eating and not working at all to help out. She also showed intense resentment throughout their living there, the mother would despise any type of fun they would have. It makes sense that she would not like the company of Seita and Setsuko but seeing as they had lost their mother and had no one else left, she should have just accepted them and treated them as her child. Unfortunately, family ties are not as strong in Japanese culture so they were quickly shunned for being present in the aunt’s household. This movie shows the harsh truth and the struggles that each and every person has to go through. 

            

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          Many movies try to tie in a happy ending and it usually features some incredibly fake or fairy tale-like ending. To the viewers’ surprise (mostly American viewers who have the happy endings), this movie did not have the fairy tale ending. It was seen in the very beginning that Seita had died out in a subway. It was quite depressing and powerful, the scene depicted Seita as run-down, starved, and emotionless. The one thing he had lived for had dissipated. He was left with nothing, no family, and no money. Another powerful scene was after the death of Setsuko, Seita cremated her but sat there with the flame until the very end, not moving an inch. Seeing that scene and remembering all the hardships he had gone through to keep her alive really hit the heart hard. Probably one of the most touching scenes was the scene in which Seita withdrew the last of the money in the bank to buy some quality food for Setsuko. He knew that after feasting on all that delicious and fresh food, they would be completely broke and left to starve to death or struggle endlessly to survive but he took out and spent all the money anyways to have the temporary happiness and revitalized Setsuko. After coming back with a knapsack full of food, Setsuko was bedridden and completely starved. She was at the end of her rope chewing on a marble in hope that it was food. As Seita feeds her one small piece of watermelon, her dead-like expression changed for a brief moment only to say, thank you, as her last words.

            Anyways, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and the animation was excellent.

Although it is a tearjerker for most, it was truthful in the hardships of what the Japanese endured. I highly recommend it to anyone.

Castenell, Dee- Harp of Burma

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 The anime film Harp of Burma focused on some great points that really interested me. First of all, my major, music therapy, demonstrates the many ways in which music can affect individuals. The playing of the harp for the distressed soldiers was therapeutic. Also fortunately music is the only universal language so it was able to sooth the combat ready troops from India and England (when they were surrounded at the hut). Through music, their lives were all spared and bloodshed was put to a rest. Also the hopes for a positive future were able to persist in each soldier as the going got tough.
 

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 I enjoyed the fact that this story was able to portray so many themes to all ages considering its viewer friendly. It shows war but a completely non-violent seeming side of war. There were no bloodshed scenes and instead it focused mainly on music and the perspectives of soldiers on all sides. Due to some scenes, its evident that no one wanted to go into war and have to shed blood or lose comrades. Unfortunately, the overwhelming pride and sense of honor that many Japanese have led to the deaths of a large squadron. To the Japanese, retreat taints your honor to a point where they would commit seppuku (a ritual suicide). The movie followed a squadron in search of their musical harpist while under the detainment of enemy troops. The harpist, Mizushima, was separated after attempting to calm down the squadron of Japanese held up near some mountains.  He was injured during the whole conflict and woke up under the aid of a Burmese monk. From then on he went into hiding, scared to go back. He came across the remains of the battle that had taken place and saw a vast sea of fallen soldiers bodies decaying. His Japanese duty and emotions flood him and he is left to decide what to do. Mizushima defaults on staying behind to respectfully bury all of the dead even though he has the perfect chance to go back with his beloved squadron. His belief of fate and overwhelming sense of duty succeed in keeping him at bay while his squadron embarque on a journey to the unknown.
   Anyways, this film was incredibly in the sense that it showed sacrifice, peace through music, and various instances of Japanese-exclusive culture at play in everyday life (sounds silly but for us Americans it is quite different.) Overall I very much enjoyed this film and look forward to part 2. I highly recommend it to anyone, young or old.