The World According to Nathan #1 3/11/05.
Hi everyone! I have decided to do an occasional column sharing my thoughts on game design, anime, the world in general. And this is the first one!
Thought I'd share an experience that I had on a recent trip to Japan.
The photo above shows myself (left), my daughter-in-law Megan, son Abel, and host Travis in front of a movie theater in Koga, Japan. It was New Year's Eve 2004 and snowing. It is interesting to see what was being offered, as shown on the posters. The latest Studio Ghibli anime is shown on the poster above Megan. And the Incredibles poster is left of me in the picture. There are also Godzilla and what appears to be a love story movie poster up there.
I found it interesting that the new Studio Ghibli movie, Howl's Moving Castle was showing in Japan about the same time that The Incredibles was showing there. The Incredibles was out of the theaters in the states, having run its course there (and soon available on DVD!), but it wasn't too far behind the US release. Certainly not the years that it usually takes for a Japan release to make it to the States! I wonder how long it will take for Howl's Moving Castle to make it to a theater near us? Did Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away do well enough for it even to make it to theaters? Or will it be released directly to DVD?
I live in a small town on California's Central Coast hundreds of miles away from a major metropolis - we don't get anything but the major movie productions offered in theaters locally. So I haven't had the chance to see any of the animes in the theater. One of my goals while visiting Japan was to see an anime in a theater. It was wonderful! The theater, though small, was clean, and the other viewers were well behaved and polite. It was a real pleasure - even if I didn't understand the language!
I've been a fan of anime for a long time - long before there even was a "Cartoon Network". It is good to see that animes are becoming more main-stream in the US. And though many of the best animes never make it to theater or cable, its increasing popularity means that more and more are available on DVD for collectors and fans - like me!
When it is available, check out Howl's Moving Castle. It maintains the Ghibli studio's high quality standards, and I believe that you will enjoy it as you have their other offerings.
Happy viewing!
Nathan G. Doster
DoCoE Design Lead