Slashdot Mirror

For those of you who enjoy good Anime, this is *definitely* worth checking out.

This is the man who created my all time favorite Anime, Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä (Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind). Not only is this a full length story (weighing in at right about 2 hours...I hate 45 minute 'movies' with no time for a real plot) but the depth, the characters, and the writing are all abosolutely amazing.

It's strange, but very few people in the US seem to be familiar with Nausicaa, despite the fact that I'm told it almost always places in the top 5 of every Japanese poll about the greatest Anime ever. I suppose part of the reason may be that no Enlglish dub was ever made (Technically, there was an English dub, it was called Warriors of the Wind. However, I refuse to count it, because it was so horribly chopped, mangled, and destroyed, it's not even worth watching. They cut out almost half an hour in the dubbing and editing, essentially everything that was important for the plot, leaving you with a few disjointed action scenes.)

If you'd like more information on Hayao Miyazaki and his Animes and Mangas, check out some of the following URLs:


http://www.nausicaa.net/

http://www.princess-mononoke.com/

http://www.ntv.co.jp/ghibli/

Find out for yourself why the old stigma 'cartoons are for kids' only goes in the US. This will show you how amazing an indepth a 'cartoon' can be.

Some anonymous coward dun said:

You're right, it wasn't cut... I saw the Miramax version at the Toronto Film Festival (where Miyazaki introduced the movie BTW). There were some obvious differences in the dialog compared to the subtitled version I saw, though... but apparently the changes were approved by Miyazaki himself.

Yup...then again, most of the changes I've heard that were done to the script (alas, I've only seen the sub, and damnit, I want EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU WHO READ SLASHDOT TO GO SEE PRINCESS MONONOKE ON THE 29TH IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, because this movie REALLY REALLY REALLY deserves to be in more than twenty cities) were mostly to clarify plot points that would not be obvious to American audiences or of Japanese idioms that didn't translate 100% well to English. (For example, they explain more on the history and mythology, and that the hero is "dead to the world" when he cuts his topknot [Japanese audiences would Get This but American audiences wouldn't, most likely]; another thing I know they changed is part was retranslated from "this soup tastes like water" to "this soup tastes like piss" (which is a LOT closer to what is meant in Japanese by saying your soup tastes like water!).)

There's a lot of VERY neat info about the translation and the process of bringing the movie over to the States on the official website along with some trailers and whatnot...and yes, Miyazaki made it a condition of Disney/Miramax releasing his films (Princess Mononoke is not the only or even the first film Disney bought the distribution rights to; they bought the rights to five of his films including "Kiki's Delivery Service" though Princess Mononoke is probably going to be the only one to see theatrical release Stateside) that none be cut or bobbitted...just dubbed and released, and he had final approval on all dubs. :)

In all seriousness, this is a beautiful movie, one which I seriously think everyone needs to see (and for those of you worried about the kids, Miyazaki himself recommends "fifth grade and up"). I can certainly see why it ended up being the highest grossing film in Japan of all time for quite some time (only being beaten by the Japanese release of "Titanic", for which Leonardo Decaprio should be sacrificed to the forest gods ;). Lotta important messages in it that everyone could stand to hear an' all...and no, it's not preachy about it.

(And yes, I'm serious about everyone needing to go see the movie and all. The opening on October 29th is a limited showing; nationwide theatrical release is largely going to depend on how well the movie does in the limited opening and how much "buzz" it creates. I can't afford to drive over 300 miles to the nearest showing...and I promise each and every one of you right now, if you DON'T go see it and I have to wait nine months for the fucker to come out on video because it never made it to Louisville because SOME people didn't go see it when they didn't HAVE to drive three hundred miles out of the way, I will PERSONALLY sic the Inugami on each and every one of you. I mean it. Seriously. Goddamnit, I want this thing to go NATIONWIDE AND BEYOND. I want little kids to grow up wanting to be San-sama, already...don't deprive me of this once-in-a-lifetime chance to corrupt^H^H^H^H^H^H^H teach America's children and adults of a beautiful movie :)

Not coming from the "Committee To Hopelessly Addict Americans To Ghibli Films",

As a side note, if you see it and like it, tell your friends! Miramax is apparently taking a "word-of-mouth" approach, because this movie is getting very limited release initially and they'll only release it in a wider selection of theaters if there's good buzz (thus me hawking it). If you're lucky enough to live near a big city, see it!

Info can be found at www.rotten-tomatoes.com (good general movie site) and www.princess-mononoke.com.

Akatosh dun said:

The concept is nice, but you're still stuck with the problem that most languages are based on anacdotal references as well as accual words. You can translate the words, but the concepts will still frequently be lost.

It's very interesting that you bring that up. Idioms can be a bear to translate at times, much less cultural references (even from English to Spanish and back--in many fansubbed animes, the fansubbers have to include a section at the beginning for cultural references and idioms that Americans wouldn't necessarily get but Japanese audiences would). Not only that, some concepts do not translate clearly across languages (I actually find it easier to think of the Japanese concept of honour in terms of the Tao or the Dine' {Navaho} concept of the Path of Beauty than in English!).

A really good shot of how translation can require translating idioms and noting cultural reference is the discussion of the upcoming American release of "Mononoke Hime"/"Princess Mononoke" (click here for the gory details :). Neil Gaiman is translating for the dub, and apparently there were multiple major issues in translating it including:

The fact the entire dialogue in the movie is not in modern Japanese but in an archaic form (roughly akin to Middle English or the old form of English used in the King James Bible)

A mess of cultural references that Americans would not be aware of (such as one of the main characters cutting his hair--in Japan this is recognised that a warrior is leaving forever and to be among the dead)

A number of idiomatic phrases that had to be translated into American idioms (such as a comment that a character's soup tasted like water--which is about as low as one can go to insult one's cooking...this ended up being retranslated into "Your soup tastes like piss" which is more understandable to silly gaijin :).

Needless to say, it was quite illuminating...especially since some cultural references were noted that I didn't pick up on the first time I saw it (I've seen the fansubbed version) and I'm an otaku. Apparently Gaiman has rewritten the script explaining some stuff that American audiences wouldn't catch, either...and to be honest (IMHO) Gaiman is probably one of the few people who could've pulled it off.

Another really good example of this is the first tape of the anime "Compiler"--which was dubbed, but they STILL had to explain at the end why a giant Colonel Sanders turned into a Japanese baseball player and defeated a mad statue :) (Basically...Roy Bass won the Japanese equivalent of the World Series for the Tigers...the celebrating fans grabbed a statue of Colonel Sanders from a KFC, it being the only Anglo-looking statue that could be found, and threw it into the sea...they have not won the pennant since, and legend goes that some say the town will not win the pennant until the statue of Colonel Sanders is retrieved because the sea gods are pissed. :) Neat story, but not one most Americans would get...then again, the Japanese wouldn't get why octopi are often thrown at Detriot games if they get in the Stanley Cup :)

Miramax (a Disney subsidiary) is hoping to change that. Check out Princess Mononoke. No, she's not a princess by the strict Disney definition.

Then again, I think the best animation is story-driven. It doesn't matter how well rendered it is if there's no story or plot. Toy Story worked because it was a good story well-told.
--