Nerd Fight: Best Studio Ghibli Film
Nerd Fight: Best Studio Ghibli Film
Hello all you Geek Enthusiasts and Nerd Aficionados!
We are back with another poll for this week. Last week saw the fight for the best Cartoon Series. Southpark ended up running away with it at the end. Mest5150 can thank all the fans from reddit for the outpouring of love that took it to the top. On each week’s podcast the Malice Corp crew will each choose who they want to put in the ring. Winner from the previous weeks poll gets to pick first in the new weeks poll. This week we focus on the brilliance of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.
So, delving into the wonderful world of Studio Ghibli Anime and We are celebrating Hayao Miyazaki coming out of retirement. This studio has made some of the most well known Anime Movies of our time. In Japan Miyazaki is considered their very own Walt Disney. So check out some of Malice casts favorite movies created by this amazing director.
Spirited Away:
Probably the most well known and critically acclaimed of hos movies, it’s hard to find flaws with this movie. Based on 10-year-old Chihiro and her quest to save her parents who have been turned into giants pigs. This movie has heart, depth, and Chihiro transforms from a scared helpless child to one who ends up saving the day. It’s always satisfying to watch a child defeat the evil witch.
Princess Mononoke:
If you can get past the maggots that spring up, this movie is amazing. A story about a prince that becomes involved in the struggle between a forest princess and the encroachment of mechanization. It’s the Japanese take on Fern Gully, but it was made more for adults then children for sure.
Howl’s Moving Castle:
Very much Miyazaki’s take on a boy saving the girl movie trope. Sophie has an uneventful life at her late father’s hat shop. Her life changes when she befriends wizard Howl, who lives in a magical flying castle. However, the evil Witch of Waste takes issue with their budding relationship. She casts a spell on young Sophie, which ages her prematurely. Now Howl must use all his magical talents to battle the jealous hag and return Sophie to her former youth and beauty. The characters are engaging and it has an amazing cast voicing the characters.
My Neighbor Totoro:

Kiki’s Delivery Service:

The Castle of Cagliostro:
When master thief Lupin III discovers that the money he robbed from a casino is counterfeit, he goes to Cagliostro, rumored to be the source of the forgery. There he discovers a beautiful princess, Clarisse, who is being forced to marry the Count. All so the Count can find the legendary treasure of Cagliostro. In order to rescue Clarisse and foil the count, Lupin teams up with his regular adversary, Inspector Zenigata, as well as fellow thief Fujiko Mine. This movie has it all, the romance, the drama, and a bad guy getting foiled by an anti-hero. What more do you need?
Ponyo:
Time to vote
There you have it folks, those are this week’s combatants. Vote for your favorite Miyazaki Movie. Also, if you want to see why we chose who we did then make sure to listen to this week’s podcast. You can find it either at Podcasts.com or YouTube. Heck, while your there you can even subscribe and that way you’ll know when our next podcast is airing.
Finally, if you would like further insights into the movies, click on their name and it will take you to their respective wiki pages. Voting goes until September 1, 11:59:59 PM PST. So, don’t dilly dally. Get your vote in and help give someone on the podcast bragging rights for this week.
-SuperwhovianFreak, Contributor Out
Twitter – @SuperwhovianNut
Instagram – SuperwhovianFreak
This is so hard. Each was stunning.
This was so hard. All were stunningly conceived and executed. My top 2 are Princes Mononoke and Ponyo because they are about creation goddesses and I’m all about goddesses.
Yeah Studio Ghibli is fantastic when it comes to their projects. True geniuses at work.
They’re brilliant. Even if a little violent at times! Mononoke I am looking at you!!! 😂😂😂
I’m telling ya; Japanese Jim Henson. Take Fraggle Rock, then The Dark Crystal. Almost this very conversation right there. ‘Nuff said.
I’ve seen him called the Japanese Walt Disney
I can see that; especially with how much more visual variety and darker themes Walt and his teams were willing to tackle than Disney, Inc. is today, but even comparing Walt himself & co to Jim Henson & co, I’d say there’s still big differences. In Walt’s day, Disney paid just as much attention to character presence and the emotion that created in every shot as they created the cinematography for the background in every scene to do the same. On the other side, Jim and the muppeteers always seemed to put the emotions and realism of the character first before the emotions they made the viewer feel. Even the backgrounds seemed less evocative than they too seeming to be designed and shot with a focus on getting the audience to believe that this was a real place.