Becoming Jane And with a new

Becoming Jane

And with a new title being added to the Library, the former one, the Soviet animation classic Cheburashka, is being pushed to the DVD release schedule. Next to a standard edition 3, 990 Yen which will be released on November 21, starting December 17 Japanese shops will be selling a limited edition box set 12, 600 Yen. Furthermore, last Saturday none other than Miyazaki Hayao himself gave a lecture on the Japanese writer Hotta Yoshie called Houjouki Shiki and me at Kanagawa Museum of Modern Literature. Preparing for s coverage, it is time for a small teaser: In the midst of a big applause Miyazaki Hayao starts talking I was asked to talk for 1 hour and half. Im afraid I m not good at giving speeches though, but Ill do my best. There will be a question-and-answer session later. When my wife heard about my lecture of this time, she said, That is the worst choice of selecting a person! I agree with that, usually rejecting such offers. Actually, I was asked to give this speech about one and half year ago. I was struggling to make a movie around that time. In those days, I didnt know if I could complete it. Or I thought a huge earthquake might occur and we d have the world s end next year. So I thought I would not have to do it a year and a half later and accepted the offer. However, one year and a half has passed as quick as a flash. Anyway, Hotta is a very important person for me. Ill talk what Houjouki Shiki means for me and what I have considered about for a long 11th of October second update, NI NO KUNI TRAILER RELEASED: Last months announcement of Ni no Kuni: The Another World, a Level5 video game in which Studio Ghibli is involved, has been given a follow-up. With the Tokyo Game Show currently being held at Makuhari Messe, a trailer has now also been released. Not only containing beautiful Studio Ghibli animation, but a lovely Hisaishi Joe soundtrack as well. Ni no Kuni: The Another World follows the adventure of a 13-year-old boy whose actions lead to the death of his mother. One day, the boy encounters a fairy who gives him a book which promises to lead him to the mysterious world of Ni no Kuni, a reality parallel to his own. There he encounters alternate versions of people he knows for example his neighbors cat is a king there and attempts to save his mother. The door to Ni no Kuni opens in 200 11th of October, STUDIO GHIBLI S NEW FILM TEIKA TO CHOMEI: Last week the opening of a special Hotta Yoshie Exhibition subtitled The Troublous Times Depicted by Ghibli took place at Kanagawa Museum of Modern Literature in Yokohama. The exhibition marks the 10th anniversary of Hotta s death and, as Miyazaki Hayao and Suzuki Toshio have respected Hotta and had a relationship with him, Studio Ghibli has joined the exhibition. Based on Hottas works the studio showcases about 400 image boards of Teika to Chomei , Teika and Chomei, the Studio Ghibli film by Miyazaki Goro that eventually did NOT get realized. Not coincidentally, this week s episode of Suzuki Toshio s radio talk show Ghibli Asemamire at Tokyo FM also dedicated its air time to the exhibition. Its special guest was Hotta Yuriko, Hotta Yoshie s daughter. Looking back at past times Suzuki told, When Miyazaki was making Tenk no Shiro Rapyuta , Laputa: Castle in the Sky back in 1985, I was the chief editor of Animage and editing a guide book about it. I wanted to encourage Miyazaki and asked Hotta to contribute an article to the book, because I knew Miyazaki was a big fan of Hotta. Hotta did not only write literary novels, but had also written the scenario of TOHO movies like MOSURA. To let Hotta know about Miyazaki, Suzuki once visited his house with a video player and showed Nausicaa to him. Both Suzuki and Yuriko can t quite remember if they met each other at the house though. Coincidentally Suzuki and Yuriko attended Keio University at the same time around 19 Suzuki joined the student union and an anti-American-imperialism movement. Yuriko did not join any of those, but experienced more serious facts at home. Hotta Yoshie supported such movements and hid persons who evaded from the police net at his house. For example, Yamamoto Yoshitaka, who was the chairman of Tokyo University struggle committee, and US Army deserters who refused to fight in the Vietnam war note: during the Vietnam war Japan was a logistic base for the US. Episodes like Becoming Jane show Hotta really had a backbone and was a brave man when he was still alive. Concerning the exhibition, today October 11 Miyazaki Hayao will be giving a special lecture on Hotta. As Hotta was quite an influence to Miyazaki, this was not fully unexpected. Hotta was like a rock towering in the ocean for me. When I was drifted by tide and lost my location, I was saved by him many times. Suzuki titled the lecture Houjoki-shiki and me . This was however without Miyazakis permission, making Miyazaki worry about what to talk about. The lecture is not Ghibli s main part of the exhibit.