Day 4 - Favourite Film

[purplekitte]

I've seen a lot of good anime films, most associated with an on-going anime series and a few not, but I'm a Studio Ghibli girl at heart, so for me this question comes down to Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke.

I love Spirited Away for being the heart-warming bildungsroman that's one of Miyazaki's hallmarks, done so well, and everything just ties together nicely. But at the moment, I'm going to say Princess Mononoke is my favorite for opposite reasons, though it changes back and forth over the years.

Princess Mononoke is the darkest Miyazaki movie in my opinion. It's got his environmental themes out the wazoo and at the end there's some hope with the flowers, but all-in-all the Forest God is dead, and it feels like industry is going to destroy the old trees and old gods and old ways. And yet, while in the future a compromise, a solution is so unlikely, there's Ashitaka and it's possible. Ashitaka and San don't fit in the world, him because he's just so shiningly good, her because she's on the side that's lost, that's all but been wiped out. Every character has motivation that makes sense from their point-of-view and even the people who are more antagonistic to the heroes aren't completely unsympathetic villains, another thing often seen in Miyazaki.

I cry pretty much every time I watch Princess Mononoke. It's one thing to invoke anger with the destruction of the forests or wild boars, but I've known few other works that could so push that anger into despair. It's not clean or clear or pretty and doesn't claim to have the answers. It's hard to explain, but that's why I love it.

The List:
Day 1 - Very first anime: Inuyasha
Day 2 - Favourite TV series: Moyashimon
Day 3 - Your anime crush: Ken Ichijouji from Digimon
Day 4 - Favourite Film: Princess Mononoke
Day 5 - Anime character you feel you are most like (or wish you were):
Day 6 - Most annoying anime character:
Day 7 - Character you’d most like to slap:
Day 8 - Most epic scene ever:
Day 9 - Saddest anime scene:
Day 10 - Favorite slice of life anime:
Day 11 - Favorite mech series:
Day 12 - Best instalment of a franchise you don’t like
Day 13 - Worst instalment of a franchise you do like.
Day 14 - Current (or most recent) anime wallpaper
Day 15 - A reality check for a genre you like
Day 16 - An anime classic that simply doesn’t work for you.
Day 17 - Best Background Music
Day 18 - Best Five-team
Day 19 - Change you’d like to make to any one anime
Day 20 - Most ambiguous anime character
Day 21 – Favourite OAV Series
Day 22 - Animation studio you'd most like to slap.
Day 23 - Anime you think had the best, or most intriguing art
Day 24 - Favorite anime hero or heroine
Day 25 - Best anime villain
Day 26 - Your favorite harem anime
Day 27 - Favorite anime opening theme song
Day 28 - Favorite anime companion/summoned creature
Day 29 - Best Anime Music Video
Day 30 - Favorite anime ending theme