This documentary about Ghibli is currently on Netflix, and so don’t miss out. Really fantastic look at the inner workings of the studio, in a very natural and personal way, that tracks them as they were working on the latest two film releases. Enjoyed this immensely.
This is turning into a fantastic series. Produced by Ghibli and directed by Goro Miyazaki (Hayao’s son), you definitely feel the the Ghibli pedigree as you watch it – especially in the pacing – and although the cell shaded CG animation did feel a bit weird to me at first, I quite enjoy it now. I really can’t recommend this enough.
I started playing this earlier in the week – I recently grabbed it at the crazy sales price of $10 on the PSN Store – and boy am I loving it. I do still enjoy getting into a good JRPG every once in a while, and this feels like it’s going to scratch that itch perfectly. Ghibli fan that I am, I’m of course digging the Ghibli touches in this, from the character designs all the way to the lovely animated cut scenes that pop up every once in a while. The combat is also interesting – a bit more involved than simple menu selections – and some of the boss battles so far have already been challenging. As for the graphics, sure, it’s not what I now want from PS4-era games, but for something on the PS3 it looks lovely, and I especially love the way the world is rendered, with an almost painted quality. I also love the way your magic tome is presented, with beautifully designed and illustrated pages that you zoom in to read, giving you info on all aspects of the world, as well as offering up some fun fables. I’m only about 5 hours in, but so far this feels like it should have gotten way more attention that it did.
Porco Rosso is awesome through and through. Really love this film, and all of the dogfighting sequences are truly thrilling to watch. Even though it won’t be directed by Miyazaki, I’m still really excited that a sequel is coming our way soon. I want to experience this world again, with a new story.