And, watch it again in Japanese with fan subs. A lot was changed for the US audiences, and it’s a better film before the censorship. (eg. The little village girl who says goodbye to Ashitaka early in the film is his “sister” in the English version, but was originally an ardent admirer who, in those few shared moments, stoically comes to terms with her future without him and gifts him the crystal pendant as a token of her memory. Which is a far more poignant scene than his little sister sending him off, by orders of magnitude — to say nothing of the quality it imbues the later scene when he gifts it to San. I’ve no idea why they blunted the concept, and hope they don’t fuck up future Ghibli films.) Also, though US voice acting in anime has come a long way from the not-even-half-assed drek of the 80s-90s, the emotive content of the Japanese audio is superb, even without understanding the words themselves.
Yeah, as with bands reuniting for another FINAL album, it sort of cheapens the finality of both productions for whatever that's worth.
As a side note; I freaking LOVED The Wind Rises, more than most Ghibli fans it feels like. My father is a retired aircraft loadmaster so I've had a soft spot for aviation since I was a child, but being an absolute commie, liberal, beta-cuck, that appreciation was tempered over time with the reality of the military industrial complex. I felt targeted directly by that movie.
Yeah exactly. I know the guy won’t live forever, but I feel like he’s fallen into a “boy who cried wolf” situation where people will continue to doubt the truth in this kind of statement from him.
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