Top Japanese Movies I Recommend Seeing

Spirited Away 


Spirited Away is about a ten year old girl who wonders away from her parent along a path that leads to world ruled by strange and unusual monster-like animals. Her parents have been changed into pigs along with others inside a bathhouse full of creatures. In the movie she struggles to find a way out of the spirit world and a way to get her parent turned back to normal.




Howl's Moving Castle 


When  Sophie, a shy young woman, is cursed with an old body by the spiteful witch of the west, her chances of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking home. I found this movie food hilarious and quite moving. It a great movie to watch which is why I put in the top list of Japanese movies to watch.

My Neighbor Totoro 

When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby. This movie was actually aired after Grave of the fireflies this was suppose to cheer up the crowd after watching such a sad movie. Lets just say it didn't work.

Kiki's Delivery Service

Is about a young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into anew community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service. My Japanese teacher from high school had actually showed this movie in class along with Totoro.

All these movie are a must see I can not recommend them highly enough.

Grave of the Fireflies

The Grave of the Fireflies occurs during World War II. Specifically in the times of the air raids that occurred at the time. It is about a boy name Seita and Setsuko who lose their mother to the fire bombings and air raids.  The orphaned children are then sent to a long distant aunts house who take them under her care. What had been a warm welcoming by their aunt soon turned into a regretful and unwelcome guest to her household.Seita then makes a choice to live on their own in an abandoned shack. O n their own these children face hard realities of starvation, prejudice and total warfare. 

The story starts off with the death of Seita and during the film you see him when he was alive with his younger sister. The film shows the conditions of the war and how it had affected Japan. I had expected to see a united country to help other in the time of war; however I was wrong. 

During the American bomb raids many Japanese were left homeless and other who were killed. Another factor of the war was Japan's rations were low. In this story you hear of orphan's dying of starvation and hunger. Sieta and Setsok's mother had died on the bomb aid fires and their father who was in the navy had also perished. In this time in Japan Japanese did not care for the welfare of others all they though about was the household needs. They aunt had preached about doing work for the nation for sacrificing oneself for the nation. 

The mentality of Japan at the time was to endure fore the nation but what I really though was that nation should have been taking care of its people. Children were dying of starvation, people were dying right and left and during this time the government had not aided their citizens. What little resources that were left for families of soldiers who were affected by the war had been put on the black market. So families who relied on the help of the government and been put in a even more devastating position. 

When I contrast how Japan treated each other to America at the time of the Great Depression I realized Americans had fared off better. At the time of the great depression when work and food was scarce soup kitchens and bread lines had been created. Eventually relief had been granted by the government. In the time of need American's were able to rise and help the lest unfortunate unlike Japan you though in a more selfish manner. 

This movie had been made for a Japanese audience. What made this imagery powerful was the total lack of blame on the American's bomb raids during the war. It made me realize the film was directed to a Japanese audience as a reflection. To realize they way they treated each other in the was past not the right thing to do. Just because this movie was made for a Japanese audience we can still learn the moral of the movie an to make sure and realize that helping one another even during hard times is the righteous thing to do. 

Top 5 Review on Grave of the Fireflies

I have seen the movie Grave of the Fireflies and out of all the reviews I had read I chose five review

Top five review of Grave of the Fireflies

1.      http://www.nihonreview.com/anime/grave-of-the-fireflies/   

2.          http://astromeso.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/movie-review-graves-of-the-fireflies/#comment-17

3.      http://lights-camera-critic.blogspot.com/2011/02/grave-of-fireflies.html

4.      Shttp://my.spill.com/group/planettyro/forum/topics/grave-of-the-fireflies-review?xg_source=activity

5.      http://imouto.my/2008/08/10/review-grave-of-the-fireflies-%E7%81%AB%E5%9E%82%E3%82%8B%E3%81%AE%E5%A2%93/

Hachiko

If you ever had a dog you would know the joy they would feel the minute you came home. As soon as they hear you enter the the door;  you see your dogs wagging his, getting on their hind legs to greet you home with licks to the face. This is how I am greeted the second I get home. But instead of one dog I have three dogs begging for my attention.  Bieng greeted by my dogs gives me a sense of home. If you had not guessed it yet, I am a dog person through and through. My love for dogs stems from their ever love, affection and loyalty. One of the best know dogs know to be loyal was Hachiko.

Hachiko was born in a farm near the city of Odate, Akita Prefecture and was the eighth of his litter. The word ‘hachi" means eight and “ko” means for “prince or duke”. Thus the name Hachiko. However in Japanese Hachiko is known” Chuiken Hachiko” which means “faithful dog Hachiko.” He has been known for his amazing loyalty to his owner even after many years  after his owner death. 

Man’s Best friend

Hachiko was adopted by Hidesaburo Ueno who was a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo. Everyday Hachiko would greet his owner at the Shibuya Station. They had this amazing bond between pet and master. This was truly an example of man’s best friend. On May of 1925 Professor Ueno did not arrive to the station that day, nor the next.  Hachikos master had died from a cerebral hemorrhage.  He never returned to the station and everyday for the past nine years Hachiko kept on waiting for the day his  master will return at the Shibuya station.

People who had seen the two together every day would bring him snack and treats while he kept waiting on his master that would never come. But everyday precisely when the train would arrive he would be there waiting.  He did this for 11 years until finally on March 8,1935  Hachiko had passed away.

Hachiko a National Symbol

The Hachiko’s faithfulness was a national sensation this had impresses the people of Japan as the spirit of family loyalty that people should strive for. In Japan Hachiko has become a symbol of loyalty. On April 1934 they build a bronze statue in the Shibuya station symbolizing Hachiko’s loyalty. Now these days its serves as a remembrance and its used today as a famous place for people to meet up in Tokyo symbolizing commitment and love of the people who meet there. Each year on April 8 people gather around the Shibuya Station for a solemn ceremony in remembrance of Hachiko

In an America the national symbol is the Bald Eagle. Maude M. Grants said “Thus the Eagle full of the boundless spirit of freedom, living above the valleys, strong and powerful in his might, as become the national emblem of a country that offers freedom in word and though and an opportunity for a full and free expansion in the boundless space of the future.” But he himself had said that in the beginning battle of the Revolution which has begun in the morning the bald eagles would fly from the nest and circled around the heads of the fighting men and screeching at them. The patriots took this at “They are shrieking for freedom.” Nevertheless I believe the eagle was not “shrieking for freedom”  but fir  he being woken up in the early morning which would be enough reason to want to scratch anyone’s eyes out.

Although the Bald Eagle became the national symbol of America is has been met with controversy. According to Benjamin he wrote, “I wish that the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country, he is a bird of bad moral character, he does not get his living honestly, you may have seen him perched on the some dead tree, where , too lazy to fish himself, he watches the labor of the fishing-hawk and when the diligent bird has at length taken a fish, and is bearing it to its nest for the support of his mate and young ones, the bald eagle purses him and take it from him...” He goes on to write about how the bald eagle is a rank coward and how even a bird the size of a sparrow attack him boldly and drives the eagle out He is therefore by no means a proper emblem for the brave and honest. He even goes as far to write about how a Turkey would be more of a respectable bird compare to the bald eagle.

Although some readers may object that the bald eagle is not unsuitatble symbol I believe I would rather put trust on a dog than an eagle. I would have to agree with Benjamin Franking about the bald eagle not being the best symbol for America.