Miyazaki Fest is off and running!

Check back here periodically for updates. If directing others to the blog-a-thon, please link to this post and to this one.

Over at Tuwa's Shanty and the Roots Canal (and, no, I can't think of a better blog title, even if I don't quite know what it means), Tuwa has written a lovely post--with music and screenshots--on perennial favorite My Neighbor Totoro. There are links to an interview with the filmmaker, a Roger Ebert appreciation, and more. Go read it.

Saturday morning update: Noel Vera writes terrifically on Howl’s, noting its commonalities and departures with Miyazaki’s previous films. (He’s also written about Miyazaki’s early TV work on Sherlock Hound, Panda Go Panda!, and other Miyazaki work. Scroll to the bottom of his page.)

Saturday evening: The kind folks at Cinemarati mention the blog-a-thon but, more importantly, link to one of Miyazaki's most obscure creations--a music video called "On Your Mark."

Sunday update: Michael at CultureSpace has joined the fun, with a great post on Spirited Away.

Comments

[Tuwa]

Well, originally it was just Tuwa's Shanty, and you're the first person to ask why. (It was in response to Tofu Hut, and my estimation that if John's musical knowledge was a hut, mine must be a shanty. I was wrong; it's more like a lean-to.) Then rosswords made some cool comments, we started chatting by email, and I invited him to join up. He wanted me to keep the URL and keep the title, but eventually we decided to expand it. (It felt dishonest to claim it still as exclusively mine, y'know?) So now it's Tuwa's Shanty and the Roots Canal.

I still wouldn't mind changing the title. I suggested something like "The fantabulous mp3-thingie" but he didn't like that. :-)

...
I think I found your site through Girish, though it might have been Matt Zoller Seitz or the Self-Styled Siren. I'm quite fond of all their work; I see that you are too.

[Noel Vera]

Thanks for the kind words, Walter. We may not agree on Howl, but I think that's a minor nit to pick; we're basically on the same page with regards to Miyazaki as a storyteller.

[Michael]

Walter, at the last minute I've joined the Miyazaki blog-a-thon. You can find my post here(when you have a moment, would you mind adding it to your blog-a-thon updates post?). I didn't say anything before about taking part because I didn't think I'd have time this week at all to write, but fortunately I was able to.

I've been greatly enjoying your Miyazaki posts and look forward to seeing more if you plan to post additional ones. Thanks for getting the blog-a-thon going.

[Edmund Yeo]

Hmm, I wouldn't really say that On Your Mark is obscure, while it may be difficult to acquire in the west, this music video received quite a lot of media attention when it was released as On Your Mark is performed by Chage and Aska, one of the biggest Japanese pop duos of their generations (if not the biggest).