Foobs:

As a huge Hayao Miyazaki fan, I feel compelled to ask what anime you've been watching...

Reading the other posts about the poem, I'm struck by how different all the "what it's about"s are. To my mind, if people don't agree on what you're saying, you either aren't saying anything or you aren't saying it well. There are certainly interesting ideas, but to what end? (...)

Dear Foobs,

This shows you what an utter dilettante I am in anime. I certainly have heard of HM, but couldn't recall a single work by him offhand. On double-checking with Wikipedia I find that I've heard of all the films mentioned on the top of the page, but have seen none. Some months ago, thanks to an embedded ad on another DVD, I learned that Walt Disney distributes several of his films on DVD that Wikipedia mentions and that I want to see, but again I haven't done so thus far. Discretionary income requires, er, discretion...or else more income.

Growing up, I was enthralled by Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years (which I found later was a melding of two different stories). There were others of course: Marine Boy, Kimba the White Lion, etc., etc. Once I ran across cable access as an adult, there has been everything from Dragonball Z to Samurai Jack to Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, The Prince of Tennis, Hikaru no Go, Yu-Gu-Oh! (I ought to be embarassed about that last one), the recent and rather light-dark Kiba, and even the occassional selections on Adult Swim.

On the completely opposite end of the spectrum is one of the most enchanting anime films, indeed of any films, I've ever seen: Millennium Actress. This is by a different director. It tied with HM's Spirited Away for an important award in Japan.

Reading the other posts about the poem, I'm struck by how different all the "what it's about"s are. To my mind, if people don't agree on what you're saying, you either aren't saying anything or you aren't saying it well. There are certainly interesting ideas, but to what end?

Exactly.

wr ()()