Which Studio Ghibli films would you recommend?

[brotherbear]

Which Ghibli film(s) should I purchase? I honestly don't own ANY of the Ghibli films yet and I generally love the ones I've seen. I have seen Spirited Away (in Japanese), Princess Mononoke (in my Japanese class....therefore in Japanese), Kiki's Delivery Service (again..in Japanese), and My Neighbor Totoro (guess what? In Japanese). So, as you can tell, I'm pretty much a Japanese buff and I'm an anime purist in that I have to watch the film in Japanese before ever watching it in English (And it helps me with the language, believe it or not!)

Anyway, all four of those films I really enjoyed (Kiki, not AS much. I found it a little boring actually). But I absolutely LOVED Mononoke Hime, so I'm planning on buying it ASAP. Spirited Away is second to Mononoke.

Knowing this, what DVD sets would you guys recommend for me? (Or even the film, since you have an idea of my tastes...)

Thanks!

-BB

[TheSequelOfDisney]

My Neighbor Totoro
Kiki's Delivery Service
Howl's Moving Castle
Spirited Away
Princess Mononoke
Castle in the Sky
Porco Rosso
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind


I own all of these, except Porco Rosso, and I have to say that each one is phenomenal (only if the DVDs were better ). Out of the ones which I have seen, I would definitely buy "My Neighbor Totoro," "KiKi's Delivery Service," "Howl's Moving Castle," "Spirited Away," and "Princess Mononoke." Out of these, they are simply the best, the most magical. PM and HMC are definitely my favorites out of any of the ones I have seen, with SA right behind. So if you absolutely had to choose, I'd pick those three, and maybe an extra dish of MNT, just to mix things up a bit

[Disneyfreak1990]

they're all good but you will have a hard time finding them in english since you can only find them at a couple stores since i can't find them at Wal-Mart, which is supposed to have everything , Target, or Costco. but don't bother with the features except for Nausicaa's which has a history of Ghibli going all the way to when Miyazaki was first doing magazines all the way to Howl. the reason you shouldn't bother with the features is this: they're horrible, worse than the gold collection in my opinion since the first disc has only a commentary and a behind the voices while the second disc is just the storyboard. they could've stuffed that on the first disc but no they had to make sure it was two-disc. i'm only talking of the one's released by disney not the others like Princess Monanoke.

[Escapay]

Grave of the Fireflies is one of, if not THE best of the Ghibli films. It's not released by Disney, but by Central Park Media, and the two-disc CE has a nice amount of great material (I only have the single-disc version, unfortunately).

the reason you shouldn't bother with the features is this: they're horrible, worse than the gold collection in my opinion since the first disc has only a commentary and a behind the voices while the second disc is just the storyboard.

Yeah, having a short featurette and complete (or select-scene) storyboards is worse than a kiddie game, read-alongs, and bonus shorts.

Escapay

[Chernabog]

Spirited Away
or
Princess Mononoke

They are equally good, although they have nothing to do with eachother.
See both of them.

[Mr. Toad]

I clicked off everything but My Neighbour the Yamadas.

[Disneyfreak1990]

the reason you shouldn't bother with the features is this: they're horrible, worse than the gold collection in my opinion since the first disc has only a commentary and a behind the voices while the second disc is just the storyboard.

Yeah, having a short featurette and complete (or select-scene) storyboards is worse than a kiddie game, read-alongs, and bonus shorts.

Escapay

what i ment was that they need more than a Behind The Voices, which dosn't really have anything to do with the film, just showing you what the actors do, and a storyboard of the WHOLE film, i can understand half an hour or less but that's a bit to much just like that Peter Pan read-a-long. they should have Featurettes that are showing the process of the film in chapters starting with the storyboard ideas all the way to release time like the platinum editions do and even a japanese version of the film like Final Fantasy Advent Children did.
and i do sorta agree with the games and read-a-longs but they do need something to entertain the toddlers and the like. i don't mind the shorts as long as they are using it in the same way as the film IE: the blue coupe short going in Herbie since both are about living cars.

and you know i'm a fan of Anime but i don't have much Anime related stuff.

[jeremy88]

Well, I love all the Ghibli films...My Personal Favorite since childhood is My Neighbor Totoro but I voted for Spirited Away, I think that one appeals to a lot of people more and it's a great story...with awesome music.

But, which ever title you choose, you can't go wrong. There all wonderful movies.

By the way...I'm taking Japanese also, and yeah watching them in Japanese actually does help especially with pronunciation.

[castleinthesky]

I recommend every single one of those. However I hold reservations with My Neighbors the Yamadas, which is excellent, but very drawn out, since it is like a moving comic strip.

Others to think about Grave of the Fireflies and Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro, which is not a Ghibli film but directed by Miyazaki.

The best is Princess Mononoke, but after that it is hard to rank them.

And to comment on your post about watching films in Japanese to have them pure I watch mine in English. Considering I know 0 Japanese it would make sense, and you, being brotherbear, probably know a lot. However in another light, dubbed films are pure, as Miyazaki says, reading subtitles takes a nuance out of the film that was there originally.

[Disney's Divinity]

I would recommend Nausicaa or Grave of the Fireflies if you're asking about for movies you haven't seen yet. Just as a warning for Nausicaa, make sure you're in a good mood to see the movie. I remember watching it for the first time when I wasn't really interested and ended up hating the movie until I re-watched it again several months later.

[Disneyfreak1990]

you don't really have to worry about watching it in Japanese then in english since it comes in both languages since i watched one of them after my earlier post. although i don't speak japenese i love the language and would love to read it so that if i decide to get a japenese only thing like a movie or international game i can understand what they're saying in the subtitles.

[DaveWadding]

Grave of the Fireflies is one of, if not THE best of the Ghibli films. It's not released by Disney, but by Central Park Media, and the two-disc CE has a nice amount of great material (I only have the single-disc version, unfortunately).

That movie is a killer though. I bought the DVD and have only had the stomach to watch it once. GREAT movie still.

But my recs are Nausicaa (such a great movie) and Howl's.

[yamiiguy]

Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke for sure, they both came 8th and 21st in Channel 4's (UK channel) 100 Greatest Cartoons and they deserve that position imo

One that I love is Laputa, Castle in the Sky and another is Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

[Billy Moon]

And to comment on your post about watching films in Japanese to have them pure I watch mine in English. Considering I know 0 Japanese it would make sense, and you, being brotherbear, probably know a lot. However in another light, dubbed films are pure, as Miyazaki says, reading subtitles takes a nuance out of the film that was there originally.

Not necessarily. It depends on what you're used to. I'm used to almost everything having subtitles. When I was a kid, even many of the children's programs on TV were subtitled, so I have no problem reading subtitles while watching a film. But if your first language is English, you may be so used to having everything in your own language that having to read subtitles requires some effort.

Based on the few Ghibli films I've watched with the English dub, I'd recommend the Japanese versions. The dubbing does take something away from the film, because the voice performances aren't really original and genuine, but rather based on somebody else's performance and adjusted to pre-existing visuals.

[Disneyfreak1990]

Yamiiguy you've got to be careful with Castle in the Sky since the full name offends spanish speakers. it means nothing in japenese but in spanish it means Bitch or Whore. that's why it had to be called castle in the Sky without the Laputa part.

[castleinthesky]

Yamiiguy you've got to be careful with Castle in the Sky since the full name offends spanish speakers. it means nothing in japenese but in spanish it means Bitch or Whore. that's why it had to be called castle in the Sky without the Laputa part.

Yes, you need to be careful while saying it, however it is fully acceptable while typing it. Laputa is different from la puta. The latter would be profane in spanish, not the former.

[Disneyfreak1990]

spanish people still can't tell the difference since when someone writes the former they are about as offendended as if you are typing the latter. it's even worse when your just saying the former. heck i didn't even know what it ment until i went on Nausicaa.net where the owner was naming the films off and when he got to Laputa: Castle In The Sky his wife told him to wash his mouth out. but the thing is he didn't know it ment something bad until he looked it up himself. so far that's the only swear i know in another language.

[castleinthesky]

spanish people still can't tell the difference since when someone writes the former they are about as offendended as if you are typing the latter.

Well I'd have to say that's very stereotypical. Maybe you should use some, or many, but I doubt all spanish people can't tell the difference. Spanish peple know their language and grammer. They can tell a difference.

[Billy Moon]

Yamiiguy you've got to be careful with Castle in the Sky since the full name offends spanish speakers. it means nothing in japenese but in spanish it means ***** or *****.

Oops! And now you went and offended the English speakers on the forum...

[Disneyfreak1990]

hey there. i don't talk like that in real life. the most i'll say are the two most minor ones that are used in church all the time. and i put it in to show what it means to those who don't know and because it's 'nicer' than what what it really means.
and Castleinthesky when someone uses an english word that sounds like another but means something else you can get confused IE: their and there.