Tuesday 30 November 2021

[3WR] アーヤと魔女 / Earwig and the Witch (2020)

 アーヤと魔女    Earwig and the Witch[link to netflix]  

Released: 30 January 2020 (82 min)
Director: Gorō Miyazaki
Producer: Toshio Suzuki

As part of Ghibli Club, each person submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list? 

Reviews:

Oddly Sympathetic Portrayal
Idle worm threats
Why so angry
Earwig bewitches Witches
Gorō's devilry disservice 


Tuesday 23 November 2021

[3WR] アキラ / AKIRA (1988)

 


 アキラ    AKIRA[link to netflix]  

Released: 16 July 1988 (124 min)
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Producer: Ryōhei Suzuki and Shunzō Katō

As part of Ghibli Club Gaiden [ジブリクラブ外伝], we have decided to have a "rest week" which allows people to catch up and we also have an optional side film that is Ghibli adjacent. Each person also submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list?

Reviews:

So much yelling
The Road Warrior
The Amoeba Cacophony
Espers vs Vespas
SO MUCH KITCHEN
Bike strikes psych

 



Friday 17 September 2021

ロン丼牛ドン / London Gyudon 12: Kineya Mugimaru

For reasons that felt somewhat outside of our control, there has been a bit of a gap since our last gyudon so we have been stuck on 11[1]. As we are not aiming to be Spinal Tap, I did not want this to be the case.

The last eighteen months or so has seen a fairly large hit to the restaurant sector in London and we have not always been allowed to go to restaurants in that time. Even so, the project was still something that I thought of “finishing” with the one that would take us to twelve. I would finish something that I had started.

As it happens, on my walks around the area, I do, of course, still keep an eye out for interesting eateries and was recently made aware of Kineya Udon - though due to the udon part rather than the gyudon part - opening relatively nearby in St Pancras Station. I used to work around here and knew that there were a few things around here but I was very much drawn to the station based noodles concept. I may have mentioned my romanticised view of “tachisoba” and this was pretty damn close. I went there for the udon[2] and was a) very happy with the nostalgic taste and b) made aware of GYUDON. Actual gyudon[3]. I messaged Paul and told him that it was back on[4] and we organised a time.

St Pancras Station is beautiful from outside the front-facing on to Euston Road (or whatever it is called at that point) is wonderfully ornate with the interior being refurbished to a lovely standard. The back end of the station is modern, and designed to be a juxtaposition from the front and I think it works very well. As Eurostar comes into St Pancras, there are quite a few decent amenities and fairly good quick food options in a light and breezy environment. Kineya Udon is at the rear of the station near the domestic platforms but also fairly near the exit to Kings Cross station so it is fairly easy to get to.

The ordering method befits both an udon place and a train station as you do order and pay before sitting. There are two touchscreen menus from which you can order part of your meal - you select and are given a receipt to hand to the cashier. Rather oddly, in my opinion, you can order the bulk of your meal but you pick up options after ordering from the screen, so for example, if you want a korokke, you cannot order at the menu, you have to pick up later from the freshly fried section in the style of a canteen. As would be entirely appropriate, we ordered a gyudon each, a zaru udon to share and some tempura bits and bobs. As an exercise in nostalgia, we also got some fried chicken pieces.

As ever, we started on some of the sides and I knew what to expect with the udon. Zaru udon is pretty simple/basic and so you do have to get that right - you cannot rescue it with sauce. And they do get it right here, with a simple sauce and nice noodles. As expected, this was good and being able to add sesame is always a winner. The tempura was fine although nothing special but entirely in keeping with the concept. The chicken was very “convenience store” style which I was not a fan of but Paul was very happy with. Again, probably more as an exercise in nostalgia than taste! The pieces were fairly oily and tasted kind of unhealthy - again that would definitely hit the spot for a lot of people.

Although it had not been the whole pandemic time that I had not had gyudon, this was still pretty highly anticipated by me although there was something that made me think that it might be that good. It looked quite good with an egg included in the bowl and quite a liberal sprinkling of spring onion. The taste, however, was quite plain. I struggle to even remember the taste in all honesty and it did not taste particularly of gyudon. The beef was a little thicker than ideal and was not marinated sufficiently for my taste. The biggest indicator was how the rice stayed very white with little flavouring coming from the topping - it stayed unseeped. The portions were a decent enough size so we were quite satisfied in terms of the volume but the taste had let me down.

Kineya Mugimaru is yet another place where the food is generally good but the gyudon is not up to the standard that I want. I have been back to Kineya and will go again for the noodles but the gyudon search continues [Gyud]on and on.

It is also worth mentioning that there appears to be a branch in Cambridge so this one has spread outside London!

Cost of gyudon: £9.60

Kineya Mugimaru
Unit 27B, The Circle, St Pancras Station, London N1C 4QP


1. And when we started, I thought 12 would be the last gyudon -being a monthly idea for a year but I am not the best at this regularity stuff.
2. It is worth pointing out that I came across Marugame Udon not long after this which opened in 2021 near Liverpool Street Station. It takes this udon concept and pushes it further into a large restaurant. It is very good and a hearty recommend from me.
3. As it happens, I then found a couple more places within the next few days that had gyudon in the Holloway area - there seems to have been some gyudon growth in the last year or so.
4. “Like Fat Pat’s thong” ©The Thick Of It

Saturday 17 July 2021

Ghibli Club Awards

After six months, we reached the end of the road and felt it worth a marker of some sort to let us see what a journey it has been. So, an awards ceremony was born which was held in the greenery of Montrose Playing Fields (aka “Mattress Park”) by the beautifully named Silk Stream followed by a lunch at Bang Bang Food Hall.

Ghibli Club started as a result of some idle chat around there being lots of films that you could watch but not actually getting around to it - and thinking that maybe it could be a somewhat shared experience. I said that all the Ghibli films were on Netflix (pretty much) and that I would be happy to watch them all again (or for the first time in some cases). Then we thought, if you are doing it, then it does not take any extra effort to ask other people too.

I wanted it to have very low “barriers to entry” and so was not keen on there being discussions or something that would eat into time more than the two hours for each film. It would, however, be nice to show that you’d seen it so I stole an idea from the excellent caneandrinse podcast to request 3-word reviews (“3WRs”). We watched our first film, Nausicaa, before 18th January 2021 and decided on a weekly roll (on a Tuesday, which was due to a regular quiz some of us did). I posted this as a blog on 22nd January to ask if others wanted to join[1] in with the club.

After a few films, we got a better idea of how to make it work a bit better or smoother. The first thing was that people did actually want to discuss. I guess that those that actually were watching along the same schedule thought that it would be worth actually discussing but I really did not want to have one per film so we went for one every 5 films. The discussion could then take place in a “rest week” every month or so which also allowed us to choose a non-Ghibli side (or “gaiden”) film too. The first discussion was very good with 6 people in there and was the first time a few of us had met too which was pretty nice - especially in a lockdown. The discussions were feisty and fun with a clear understanding that people had to be honest - there was no need to pretend to like things or say these films were 6/10[2] when actually we thought 3/10. The spreadsheet that I used to administer the club was kept separate from other members so that reviews were kept anonymous and did not affect your view until you had already seen it - I published the relevant blog post only after I had received sufficient 3WRs. That core of 6 stayed to the end with a later, remote, addition[3] who joined the later discussions. Those discussions became a little long and unwieldy so we started having them in groups of 3 or 4 rather than 5s so that people could get to the end without falling asleep!

As we came to the last few films, there was a tone of sadness at coming to the end but I feel like it was really good that we got to see them “together” and the order was perfect for seeing how things changed and adapted over time.

And so, on to the “awards”.

The voting was done via a Google form so, again, it was kept separate from everyone and so we did not know how others had voted[4] in each of the categories. The categories were fairly simple but we also wanted to have a vote on all the 3WRs too.

The winners were:

Favourite Joint: Kiki's Delivery Service & Spirited Away
Least favourite Joint: Only Yesterday, Ocean Waves & Tales from Earthsea
Favourite Visuals Spirited Away
Favourite Soundtrack/OST Spirited Away
Best Side Your Name.

For each film, the most popular 3WRs (with winning percentage) were:

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Ohm My God (71%)
Laputa: Castle in the Sky
Pirates! Pilots! Islets! (71%)
My Neighbour Totoro
Imaginative Parenting Solutions (43%)
Grave of the Fireflies
Sibling Spirits Reunited (60%)
Kiki's Delivery Service
Supergirl does Amazon (57%)
Only Yesterday
Overcoming child abuse (43%)
Porco Rosso
Pig's gotta fly (43%)
Your Name.
Joint (29%): Sliding doors moments & Temporal Transformational Romance.
Ocean Waves
Romanticising Toxic Relationships (86%)
Pom Poko
Scrotum to totem (43%)
Whisper of the Heart
Joint (29%): Smitten kitten written & Baron concrete road
Princess Mononoke
Wolves (F)ighting (C)onsumption (57%)
The Garden Of Words
Rainy Shoe Rendezvous (67%)
My Neighbours the Yamadas
One hot mess (43%)
Spirited Away
No-face saves face. (43%)
The Cat Returns
Im-paws-ible meow-rriage tail (43%)
Howl's Moving Castle
Birdperson the Movie (57%)
Tales from Earthsea
Ghibli's expensive knock-off (29%)
For a few dollars more
Joint (43%): Chime calls time & Weaponised musical chairs
Ponyo
Joint (29%):Soup thief, ahoy! & It is Ham
Arrietty
Failed sugar heist (57%)
From Up on Poppy Hill
Who's your daddy? (43%)
The Wind Rises
Jiro to zero (43%)
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Joint (29%): Moonwalker thwarts suitors & Celestial Moon Presence
When Marnie Was There
Kuuki time travel (33%)
Wolfwalkers
Trances with Wolves (43%)

1. Interestingly, I know of two film clubs that started as a result of not wanting to do this one. They liked the idea but not the films (and not seen, at that point). I am not sure how they ended up but not sure they got to 25 films! I think they wanted a discussion like a book club which seems fair.
2. This was a unilateral decision by me to avoid scoring films. The problem with scoring films is that the discussion almost inevitably then becomes about the score rather than the film itself. We all, also, have quite differing views on what the bounds of scoring are. For me, an OK film is 5 or 6 and a bad film is 1-4 but many people would say bad films are still at the 6 or 7 end. It makes the whole thing somewhat meaningless without normalisation. The discussions we had, I think, really allowed people to have multiple views on the same film - being both positive and negative about a film which I do not think is quite as easy if you then start from a score.
3. This was someone that I knew from an excellent film quiz that he used to create and host weekly (twitter: @Jamie_Reviews and website: https://justalittlebitrandom.blog/ ) which I would strongly recommend.
4. Well, I did because I had the responses but I am, of course, an honest person.

Friday 9 July 2021

[3WR] Wolfwalkers / Wolfwalkers (2020)

 Wolfwalkers  

Released: 26 January 2020 (103 min)
Director: Tomm Moore
Producer: Paul Young

As part of Ghibli Club Gaiden [ジブリクラブ外伝], we have decided to have a "rest week" which allows people to catch up and we also have an optional side film that is Ghibli adjacent. Each person also submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list?

Reviews:

Mononoke für kids
Dad's kinda slow
Wolves wander warily
Trances with Wolves
Werewolf? There wolf!
Wolf Witches Win
Very Hairy Fairytale



 

Tuesday 29 June 2021

[3WR] 思い出のマーニー / When Marnie Was There (2014)

 思い出のマーニー    When Marnie Was There[link to netflix]  

Released: 19 July 2014 (103 min)
Director: Isao Takahata
Producer: Yoshiaki Nishimura

As part of Ghibli Club, each person submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list? 

Reviews:

Kuuki time travel 
Family tree sketching 
Strong family ties 
Girl forgets gran
Fiend oar Grandmother
Mudflats steal Shoes!
Pure, honest friendship





Tuesday 22 June 2021

[3WR] かぐや姫の物語 / The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)


 かぐや姫の物語    The Tale of the Princess Kaguya[link to netflix]  

Released: 23 January 2013 (137 min)
Director: Isao Takahata
Producer: Yoshiaki Nishimura

As part of Ghibli Club, each person submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list? 

Reviews:

Celestial Moon Presence
Classical shimmering beauty
Slightly episodic storybook
Princess of nature
Nurture nobbles nature
Moonwalker thwarts suitors
alien attracts aristocracy
  



Tuesday 15 June 2021

[3WR] 風立ちぬ / The Wind Rises (2013)


 風立ちぬ    The Wind Rises[link to netflix]  

Released: 20 July 2013 (126 min)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Producer: Toshio Suzuki

As part of Ghibli Club, each person submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list? 

Reviews:

Jiro to zero
Detailed Writing Rises
Aeronautics meets origami
Jiro's flighty fancies 
Close to bone
Flying Mackerel Bones
The Final Flight? 
 

Tuesday 8 June 2021

[3WR] コクリコ坂から / From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)

 


 コクリコ坂から    From Up on Poppy Hill[link to netflix]  

Released: 16 July 2011 (91 min)
Director: Gorō Miyazaki
Producer: Toshio Suzuki

As part of Ghibli Club, each person submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list? 

Reviews:

Who's your daddy?
love boat lives
Goro’s good film
Incest evading lovers
Friends like family
Flagging home makeover
Japanese Animal House.

 

Tuesday 1 June 2021

[3WR] 借りぐらしのアリエッティ / Arrietty (2010)

 借りぐらしのアリエッティ    Arrietty[link to netflix]  

Released: 17 July 2010 (94 min)
Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Producer: Toshio Suzuki

As part of Ghibli Club, each person submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list? 

Reviews:

Concise, conventional content
giant renovates kitchen 
The Little Escape 
Small but mighty
Theft without heft
Failed sugar heist
Resourceful Little People


 

Tuesday 25 May 2021

[3WR] 崖の上のポニョ / Ponyo (2008)


 崖の上のポニョ    Ponyo[link to netflix]  

Released: 19 July 2008 (101 min)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Producer: Toshio Suzuki

As part of Ghibli Club, each person submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list? 

Reviews:

It is Ham
Brunhilde breaks free
Ponyo de replay
Soup thief, ahoy!
Futures faced together
Infuriatingly mind-circling song
Fishfingers are magical


Wednesday 19 May 2021

[3WR] Per Qualche Dollaro in Più / For a few dollars more (1965)

 

 Per Qualche Dollaro in Più    For a few dollars more  

Released: 30 January 1965 (132 min)
Director: Sergio Leone
Producer: Alberto Grimaldi

As part of Ghibli Club Gaiden [ジブリクラブ外伝], we have decided to have a "rest week" which allows people to catch up and we also have an optional side film that is Ghibli adjacent. Each person also submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list?

Reviews:

Draw your weapon
Chime calls time
Weaponised musical chairs
Bounties bite back
Nick saves day
Pistol Partnership Payback



 

Tuesday 11 May 2021

[3WR] ゲド戦記 / Tales from Earthsea (2006)

 ゲド戦記    Tales from Earthsea[link to netflix]  

Released: 29 July 2006 (115 min)
Director: Gorō Miyazaki
Producer: Tomohiko Ishii & Toshio Suzuki

As part of Ghibli Club, each person submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list? 

Reviews:

Archmage seeks balance
Ghibli's expensive knock-off
Life's worth living
Cob's Carnage Castle
Dragging Dragon Fable
Prince Perpetrates Patricide
Substance lacking fantasy



Tuesday 4 May 2021

[3WR] ハウルの動く城 / Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

 ハウルの動く城    Howl's Moving Castle[link to netflix]  

Released: 20 January 2004 (119 min)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Producer: Toshio Suzuki

As part of Ghibli Club, each person submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list? 

Reviews:

Birdperson the Movie
Unrequited Turnip Romance
An elderly Chihiro
Granny's got gumption
Peaceful Prince Turnip
Magic hair day
Ghibli's best film.


Tuesday 27 April 2021

[3WR] 猫の恩返し / The Cat Returns (2002)

 猫の恩返し    The Cat Returns[link to netflix]  

Released: 20 July 2002 (75 min)
Director: Hiroyuki Morita
Producer: Toshio Suzuki & Nozomu Takahashi

As part of Ghibli Club, each person submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list? 

Reviews:

Mad Cat King
Im-paws-ible meow-rriage tail
Renaldo moons Meow-ssi
Feline feminine fancies
fearless felines frolic
That Darn Cat
Utterly lovable absurdity







Tuesday 20 April 2021

[3WR] 千と千尋の神隠し / Spirited Away (2001)


 千と千尋の神隠し    Spirited Away[link to netflix]  

Released: 20 July 2001 (125 min)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Producer: Toshio Suzuki

As part of Ghibli Club, each person submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list? 

Reviews:

Remember the name
breathless bathhouse bridge
Baby got back
Don't Look Back
No-face saves face.
Fantastical contractual fairytale
Overflowing with imagination



Tuesday 13 April 2021

[3WR] ホーホケキョ となりの山田くん / My Neighbours the Yamadas (1999)

 


Released: 17 July 1999 (104 min)
Director: Isao Takahata
Producer: Toshio Suzuki

As part of Ghibli Club, each person submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list? 

Reviews:

One hot mess
Family muses amuses
Repetitive forgetfulness anecdotes
Sketches Four Framing
Granny gets grouchy
Watercoloured Familial Sitcom.
Dad's a pillock


Tuesday 6 April 2021

[3WR] 言の葉の庭 / The Garden Of Words (2013)

 言の葉の庭    The Garden Of Words[link to netflix]  

Released: 31 May 2013 (46 min)
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Producer: Noritaka Kawaguchi

As part of Ghibli Club Gaiden [ジブリクラブ外伝], we have decided to have a "rest week" which allows people to catch up and we also have an optional side film that is Ghibli adjacent. Each person also submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list?

Reviews:

Check the crep
Boy cobbles dream.
grooming by rain
Pray for rain
Shinjuku fears parked
Rainy Shoe Rendezvous


  


Tuesday 30 March 2021

[3WR] もののけ姫 / Princess Mononoke (1997)

 もののけ姫    Princess Mononoke[link to netflix]  

Released: 12 July 1997 (133 min)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Producer: Toshio Suzuki

As part of Ghibli Club, each person submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list? 

Reviews:

Animals against deforestation
Poor, ugly, beautiful 
Keep your head
Supernatural Boar War
Raise your hands!
Boar hunting mishap
Wolves (F)ighting (C)onsumption
Fantastically animated action


Tuesday 23 March 2021

[3WR] 耳をすませば / Whisper of the Heart (1995)

 


耳をすませば    Whisper of the Heart[link to netflix]  

Released: 15 July 1995 (111 min)
Director: Yoshifumi Kondō
Producer: Toshio Suzuki

As part of Ghibli Club, each person submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list? 

Reviews:

Ghibli's Youthful Spirit
Brilliant Baron Begins!
Hewn from rock
Library of Love
Baron concrete road
Storytelling ignites academics
Smitten kitten written


Tuesday 16 March 2021

[3WR] 平成狸合戦ぽんぽこ / Pom Poko (1994)

 平成狸合戦ぽんぽこ    Pom Poko[link to netflix]  

Released: 16 July 1994 (119 min)
Director: Isao Takahata
Producer: Toshio Suzuki

As part of Ghibli Club, each person submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list? 

Reviews:

Scrotum to totem
Troublesome tanuki tragedy
Testes and trees
Romanticised conservatism bollocks
All for Tanuki
Ballsy extinction rebellion 
Doubly on display
 


Saturday 13 March 2021

[3WR] 海がきこえる / Ocean Waves (1993)

 

 海がきこえる    Ocean Waves[link to netflix]  

Released: 05 May 1993 (73 min)
Director: Tomomi Mochizuki
Producer: Toshio Suzuki

As part of Ghibli Club, each person submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list? 

Reviews:

Splits to Kochi
Separated by JRLine
Individualism breeds discontent
Bathtub bed abides
Exploitative love abound
Friends fight fervently
Romanticising Toxic Relationships

 


Friday 12 March 2021

[3WR] 君の名は。 / Your Name. (2016)

 君の名は。    Your Name.[link to netflix]  

Released: 16 August 2016 (107 min)
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Producer: Kōichirō Itō

As part of Ghibli Club Gaiden [ジブリクラブ外伝], we have decided to have a "rest week" which allows people to catch up and we also have an optional side film that is Ghibli adjacent. Each person also submits a 3-word review [3WR] for the film after watching. Why not send yours to add to the list?

As it happens, Your Name is actually a film that I have already blogged about and that is here too.

Reviews:

Mitsuha san's frontiers
Musubi via boobie(s) 
Celestial Freaky Friday 
Temporal Transformational Romance
Sliding doors moments
Embrace the change

 




 

 

Wednesday 10 March 2021

Ghibli Club scheduling

Here is a table of the current schedule as it stands which will try to update the links semi-regularly. 
There is also a Google calendar that you can see of these dates and you can subscribe to this calendar too [link to subscribe] to join in easily.

Watch order Original Title UK title Netflix 3WR post Watched (by)
1 風の谷のナウシカ Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind [vid] [blog]

18 Jan 2021

2 天空の城ラピュタ Laputa: Castle in the Sky [vid] [blog]

25 Jan 2021

3 となりのトトロ My Neighbour Totoro [vid] [blog]

1 Feb 2021

4 魔女の宅急便 Kiki's Delivery Service [vid] [blog]

8 Feb 2021

5 おもひでぽろぽろ Only Yesterday [vid] [blog]

15 Feb 2021

Discussion Forum 1-5 From Nausicaa to Yesterday

22 Feb 2021

6 紅の豚 Porco Rosso [vid] [blog]

22 Feb 2021

a 君の名は。 Your Name. [vid] [blog]

1 Mar 2021

7 海がきこえる Ocean Waves [vid] [blog]

8 Mar 2021

8 平成狸合戦ぽんぽこ Pom Poko [vid] [blog]

15 Mar 2021

9 耳をすませば Whisper of the Heart [vid] [blog]

22 Mar 2021

10 もののけ姫 Princess Mononoke [vid] [blog]

29 Mar 2021

Discussion Forum 6-10 Porco Princess

31 Mar 2021

b 言の葉の庭 The Garden Of Words [vid] [blog]

5 Apr 2021

11 ホーホケキョ となりの山田くん My Neighbours the Yamadas [vid]

12 Apr 2021

12 千と千尋の神隠し Spirited Away [vid]

19 Apr 2021

Discussion Forum b-12 Gardening Away

21 Apr 2021

13 猫の恩返し The Cat Returns [vid]

26 Apr 2021

14 ハウルの動く城 Howl's Moving Castle [vid]

3 May 2021

15 ゲド戦記 Tales from Earthsea [vid]

10 May 2021

c tbd tbd [vid]

17 May 2021

Discussion Forum 13-c The Cat comes back around the side

19 May 2021

16 崖の上のポニョ Ponyo [vid]

24 May 2021

17 借りぐらしのアリエッティ Arrietty [vid]

31 May 2021

18 コクリコ坂から From Up on Poppy Hill [vid]

7 Jun 2021

Discussion Forum 16-18 Ponyo's Hill

9 Jun 2021

19 風立ちぬ The Wind Rises [vid]

14 Jun 2021

20 かぐや姫の物語 The Tale of the Princess Kaguya [vid]

21 Jun 2021

21 思い出のマーニー When Marnie Was There [vid]

28 Jun 2021

d tbd tbd [vid]

5 Jul 2021

Discussion Forum 19-d The Wind was There

10 Jul 2021




Tuesday 2 March 2021

Ghibli Club update (post Porco Rosso)

UPDATE Notice

The club has been coming along quite well and we have seen 6 (plus 1) films under the umbrella now.

A few things have been tightened up and decided since we started so worth staging them for all:

  • The films are being watched chronologically (including what is on Netflix only, so sadly skipping Grave of the Fireflies). This means we can essentially have a schedule (as at time pasted below[1], live version *here*) decided in advance.
  • We have a “break weekevery fifth film to allow both a rest and also to allow more people to catch up if they have fallen behind a little, or have maybe started in the middle.
  • Within the break week, we also choose (one person nominates) a side film - or a Ghibli Gaiden [ジブリクラブ外伝] that is considered, in some way, Ghibli adjacent[2]. The first is Your Name. / 君の名は。 which is adjacent as it was successful enough to be the highest-grossing non-Miyazaki anime ever.
  • The break week also allows us a chance to have a discussion forum about the previous five films. 6 people attended the first one which covered from Nausicaa to Only Yesterday. I think it is fairly safe to say that there was a wide gamut of opinion across the 5 films[3]. The discussion lasted about 2 hours for the five films (and some other introductions etc) but it was a nice, informal way of learning a little more.
    The next discussion will take place at the end of March, please help us decide when by voting in the doodle poll.

Watch order Original Title UK title Netflix 3WR post Watched (by)
1 風の谷のナウシカ Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind [vid] [blog]

18 Jan 2021

2 天空の城ラピュタ Laputa: Castle in the Sky [vid] [blog]

25 Jan 2021

3 となりのトトロ My Neighbour Totoro [vid] [blog]

1 Feb 2021

4 魔女の宅急便 Kiki's Delivery Service [vid] [blog]

8 Feb 2021

5 おもひでぽろぽろ Only Yesterday [vid] [blog]

15 Feb 2021

Discussion Forum 1-5 From Nausicaa to Yesterday

22 Feb 2021

6 紅の豚 Porco Rosso [vid] [blog]

22 Feb 2021

a 君の名は。 Your Name. [vid]

1 Mar 2021

7 海がきこえる Ocean Waves [vid]

8 Mar 2021

8 平成狸合戦ぽんぽこ Pom Poko [vid]

15 Mar 2021

9 耳をすませば Whisper of the Heart [vid]

22 Mar 2021

10 もののけ姫 Princess Mononoke [vid]

29 Mar 2021

Discussion Forum 6-10 Porco Princess w/c 29 Mar 21
b tbd tbd [vid]

5 Apr 2021

11 ホーホケキョ となりの山田くん My Neighbours the Yamadas [vid]

12 Apr 2021

12 千と千尋の神隠し Spirited Away [vid]

19 Apr 2021

13 猫の恩返し The Cat Returns [vid]

26 Apr 2021

14 ハウルの動く城 Howl's Moving Castle [vid]

3 May 2021

15 ゲド戦記 Tales from Earthsea [vid]

10 May 2021

Discussion Forum 11-15 My Neighbours from Earthsea w/c 10 May 21
c tbd tbd [vid]

17 May 2021

16 崖の上のポニョ Ponyo [vid]

24 May 2021

17 借りぐらしのアリエッティ Arrietty [vid]

31 May 2021

18 コクリコ坂から From Up on Poppy Hill [vid]

7 Jun 2021

19 風立ちぬ The Wind Rises [vid]

14 Jun 2021

20 かぐや姫の物語 The Tale of the Princess Kaguya [vid]

21 Jun 2021

21 思い出のマーニー When Marnie Was There [vid]

28 Jun 2021

Discussion Forum 16-20 Ponyo Was There w/c 28 Jun 21
d tbd tbd [vid]

5 Jul 2021


1. Sadly, my html knowledge of tables is pretty bad, so it looks a little poor. Please help me!
2. Adjacency does not mean that the film must be Japanese and/or animated - it is up to the person nominating. For example, another film about witches would be acceptable as linked to Kiki’s Delivery Service.
3. Generally positive but there was some significant negativity towards Only Yesterday in particular.