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Japan’s magic umbrellas reveal cute patterns in the rain

Oona McGee
Sep 21, 2015
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September in Japan is the bridge between summer and autumn, with warm humid days mixed in with cool nights and passing typhoons dumping some of the year’s highest amounts of rainfall around the country.

With the rain set to continue, umbrella sales are in full swing at the moment, and some of the best ones here are simply magic. They won’t send you flying through the air like Mary Poppins, but they will reveal hidden secrets when the rain begins to fall!

Japan
(cute goods • Ghibli • japan goods • rain • spirited away • Totoro • umbrellas • weather)

Celebrate May with a visit to Mei and Satsuki’s house from Ghibli’s My Neighbor Totoro

Oona McGee
May 18, 2015

Our love of the Studio Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro has truly blossomed during the month of May. Just when we thought things couldn’t get any better after we heard about Totoro’s Forest in Saitama Prefecture, complete with a house for black dust bunnies known as Kurosuke no Ie, it seems there’s even more reason to celebrate, with an exact replica of Mei and Satsuki’s house open to the public in Aichi Prefecture.

Japan
(anime • Ghibli • Hayao Miyazaki • manga • Moricoro Park • My Neighbor Totoro • travel)

Ghibli Easter eggs are good, but Pixar Easter eggs are even better【Video】

KK Miller
May 11, 2015

Studio Ghibli and Pixar are two of the most successful movie companies in the world. They’ve released over a dozen memorable movies that can be enjoyed over and over again. The connection doesn’t end there, as Japan loves Pixar movies as much as the rest of the world loves Ghibli.

There are dozens of hidden gems to be found in Ghibli movies, which pay homage to beloved characters, and Pixar is also well-known for having a slew of Easter eggs that not only give a nod of respect to past characters, but also give clues about future characters and movies! Disney has released a new video of some of their favorite hidden treasures, and fans in Japan couldn’t be more excited about it.

Internet
(cool • Disney • easter eggs • Ghibli • movies • Pixar • secrets)

You know what? An Alice in Wonderland/Spirited Away mashup actually kind of works!

Mike
May 9, 2015

Artist and T-shirt designer Saqman, who, despite his pen-name inadvertently reminding this writer of genitals, actually seems like a pretty wholesome guy, recently put together this spiffy and kind of spookily appropriate-looking mashup of Spirited Away and Alice in Wonderland, and it really works on a level we never really thought about!

Global, Internet
(Alice in Wonderland • anime • anime & manga • art • Disney • Ghibli • Miyazaki • spirited away • t-shirts)

Miyazaki wanted to make “Parasyte” the next animated Studio Ghibli production

Evie Nyan
Apr 21, 2015

Parasyte, the creepy science fiction horror manga series about a boy with a sentient alien parasite living inside his arm, was almost the newest Studio Ghibli animated venture, it has been learned. Studio Ghibli’s former president Toshio Suzuki last week sensationally revealed the news that Hayao Miyazaki had intended to bid for the rights to the series, which eventually went to film studio Toho.

So, what is Parasyte and what, if anything, have we missed out on here?

Japan
(anime • Ghibli • Hayao Miyazaki • manga • Miyazaki • Parasyte • Studio Ghibli)

Wander through the forest with Princess Mononoke in these beautiful photos from Oregon cosplayers

Fran W
Feb 24, 2015

Tesla Cosplay are an all-female group who describe themselves as “five girls from Oregon who decided to add a little ‘awesome’ to their lives”. And looking at these photos from their recent Princess Mononoke shoot on location, we think they’ve achieved that aim!

Japan
(cosplay • Ghibli • photography • photos • Princess Mononoke)

The amazing papercraft model from the Ghibli Museum — see the museum in intricate miniature detail!

Kay
Feb 10, 2015

For Ghibli fans, the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo could be considered a holy Mecca of sorts, a place to make a pilgrimage to. The museum offers delightful entertainment filled with creative fun, which we guess is something you would expect from Ghibli, and it’s bound to be a hugely enjoyable place to visit, even if you’re not a die-hard Ghibli fan.

And one of the attractions at the museum has to be its gift shop, full of original Ghibli goods that can only be purchased there. In fact, we think that the shop alone could be reason enough to visit the museum, and we’ve even brought to you a previous article featuring 10 cools items from the shop that we thoroughly recommend. And now, we have another special item to share with you, also from the museum shop, that one of our Japanese reporters Yoshio found absolutely fascinating. It’s the Ghibli Museum original “Minituart”, a detailed miniature replica of the museum, and we just had to see for ourselves how exact a replica it was!

Japan
(Ghibli • Ghibli Museum • miniature model • video)

Italian jazz pianist unleashes inner Ghibli fanboy, releases anime theme song album

Scott R Dixon
Jan 27, 2015

The legendary anime director Hayao Miyazaki and the Studio Ghibli films have amassed a huge following from an incredibly diverse and very loyal fan base (some more than others) around the world. Famed Italian jazz pianist Giovanni Mirabassi is one such fan and tapped into his inner Miyazaki fanboy to release an album last week featuring jazz covers of 10 popular songs from Studio Ghibli films as well as other classic Japanese anime like Cowboy Bebop and Lupin III. The album, named after the French title of Laputa: Castle in the Sky, is Mirabassi’s homage to Japanese anime and a beautiful take on the iconic songs.

Japan
(anime • cover songs • Ghibli • giovanni mirabassi • Hayao Miyazaki • jazz • music • Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind • piano • Studio Ghibli)

Kyaraben roundup! We take a look back at 2014’s best packed lunches 【Pics】

Evie Nyan
Dec 30, 2014

The Kyaraben trend is still going strong in Japan, and even though winter has prompted some to make the temporary switch to deco-nabe, the demand for adorable packed lunches shows no signs of abating. Today we’d like to take a look back over the best of the past year’s Kyaraben. What can we learn about 2014 in Japan from studying these perfect works of edible art?

Japan
(Anna and the Snow Queen • bento • character bento • cute • food • frozen • Funassyi • Ghibli • Kawaii • Kumamon • kyaraben • mascot • Mickey • Pikachu • Youkai Watch)

Nausicaä re-imagined as an action movie! Check out this awesome fan art!

Evie Nyan
Dec 9, 2014

We love awesome art here at RocketNews24, especially when it features characters that are close to our hearts being re-imagined in different and striking ways. Recently, we brought you some pretty sweet fan art depicting a scene from Princess Mononoke. Now we’d like to continue the Ghibli theme by sharing this piece that re-imagines Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind as an action movie! There’s Nausicaä in her Ghibli form above, but the fan art itself can be viewed after the jump!

Global, Internet, Japan
(cosplay • digital art • fan art • Ghibli • Nausicaa • Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind • Studio Ghibli)

Check out this amazing Princess Mononoke digital fan art from China

Evie Nyan
Nov 25, 2014

It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t love Studio Ghibli movies. From the spellbinding storytelling to the fantastic art, it seems there’s something for everyone when it comes to Japan’s most beloved animation studio. Today, we’d like to share with you this fantastic digital art by Tianhua Xu, a concept artist and art director for Chinese studio Chiyan Workshop. Join us after the jump as we compare this work to the original still from the film Princess Mononoke.

China, Japan
(art • drawing • Ghibli • mononoke hime • Princess Mononoke • Studio Ghibli)

Ghibli background artist Naohisa Inoue’s painting technique is out of this world

Evie Nyan
Nov 18, 2014

Studio Ghibli’s films are known for being whimsical and beautiful to look at. But with all the action going on on-screen, it can sometimes be easy to take for granted the beautiful background drawings that provide the setting for each individual story. Today, we’d like to introduce you to one of Studio Ghibli’s most talented background artists, Naohisa Inoue, and take a look at the incredible methods behind his masterpieces.

Japan
(anime • art • Ghibli • iblard • iblard jikan • Studio Ghibli • whisper of the heart)

【TBT】From My Neighbor Totoro to Ninja Turtles: Anime food in real life!

ロケットニュース24
Nov 6, 2014

Few things could delight kids (and big kids!) more than mimicking their favourite TV shows, movies and videogames, and sitting down to the exact same meal that their heroes enjoy.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles always had the most mouth-watering pizza; Ponyo and Sousuke had home-made ramen noodles; Pop-eye had canned spinach… OK, so maybe not every cartoon meal is the greatest, but putting together food that looks exactly as it did in our favourite shows is sure to inspire even the most kitchen-shy of us to have a go, not to mention encourage fussy eaters to try something new.

If it’s anime-inspired food you’re looking for, cooking website Bistro Animeshi (a combination of “anime” and “meshi”, meaning rice or food) has everything from the fish pie delivered by Kiki herself in Kiki’s Delivery Service to Naruto’s favourite ramen noodles. As well as providing step-by-step recipes for each dish, the food blog makes every effort to match the original dishes as much as possible. We’re sure that you’ll be blown away by what they have to offer.

Plenty of tantalising food photos after the jump!

Global
(anime • cartoons • cooking • food • Ghibli)

Ghibli food brought to life for one week of amazing lunches at elementary school in Japan

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Oct 31, 2014

Recreating food from our favorite movies and anime is nothing new. We’ve already seen ramen straight out of Naruto and herring and pumpkin pot pie a la Kiki’s Delivery Service. But what is unusual is that this time it’s not die-hard anime fans breathing life into 2-D delicacies, but a cafeteria at one school in Japan. You won’t believe this special school menu featuring a week of delicious looking dishes from some of Hayao Miyazaki’s most famous works.

Japan
(food • Ghibli • Miyazaki • school lunch)

【TBT】What if Totoro were real? US artist brings Studio Ghibli characters to life in shocking detail

ロケットニュース24
Oct 30, 2014

From Totoro to Ponyo, Studio Ghibli’s characters are adored by millions of people the world over. But if those cute and cuddly creations were given a more realistic makeover would be still be quite so fond of them? If Totoro went from “Aaaaw” to “Arrrgh!” would quite so many kids insist on being tucked into a Ghibli bed-spread each night?

US artist and owner of one of the best names ever Andrew Michael Golden may be familiar to some readers for his “Videogame Characters in Real Life” series which went viral back in September this year. Well, since then he’s been hard at work bringing all of your Studio Ghibli favourites into our world.

And, goodness me, they’re eye-catching…

USA
(art • Ghibli • real life • Totoro)

Miyazaki speaks out about his political views and Japanese politics

Anime News Network
Sep 17, 2014

The Asia-Pacific Journal‘s Asato Ikeda recently transcribed an illuminating interview with famed director Hayao Miyazaki originally printed in Studio Ghibli‘s monthly Neppu magazine.

In it, Miyazaki delves deep into his life, talking about his childhood thoughts on war, his feelings on Japan and its warpolicies,his father, current politics, and the Abe administration.

Japan
(Anime News Network • Ghibli • Hayao Miyazaki • politics)

Ghibli fans show their devotion by making live-action prequel to Princess Mononoke【Video】

Fran W
Sep 13, 2014

The move from animation to live-action can be a challenge, especially in fan-made works. Animation necessarily requires us as viewers to suspend our disbelief, and so there’s more space for imagination. Compared to a richly drawn visual world, then, a live-action remake can look a bit flat – especially if the anime on everyone’s mind is a much-loved Studio Ghibli classic.

Although some fan-made material manages both to pay homage to the original and to stand up as a piece of work in its own right – this year’s Assassin’s Fist remake being a good example – more often than not, there’s something just, well, a bit “off” about most fan-films. Like this Princess Mononoke prequel, for instance…

Japan
(fan film • Ghibli • Princess Mononoke • video • YouTube)

Fox’s Animation Domination HD pays tribute to Ghibli with new video

Anime News Network
Aug 28, 2014

While Fox’s Animation Domination High-Def has a long history of skewering anime properties and tropes, like this battle between Naruto and Sasuke, the ultimate anime hero, and super-powered schoolgirls, it’s all out of love. And now, in response to Studio Ghibli‘s announcement that it may dismantle its production department, ADHD has posted a tribute video called “Goodbye, Ghibli.”

Internet, Japan, USA
(Anime News Network • Ghibli • tribute • video)

This is what happens when you give a Ghibli character a typical anime haircut

Mike
Aug 8, 2014

With all the recent rumors about Studio Ghibli possibly shutting down or being bought out by another media company – which, thankfully, turned out to be a hoax – we’ve been taking a lot of time out to take stock of what it is that makes Studio Ghibli and studio founder Hayao Miyazaki so special.

Certainly, Miyazaki’s films are at least a cut or two above other critically acclaimed anime films and are far and away higher in both visual and narrative quality than most of the anime you’ll see on TV.

But one Japanese Twitter user with a copy of Photoshop thought most anime does at least one thing better than Ghibli: anime hair.

Internet, Japan
(anime • anime & manga • Ghibli • spirited away • twitter)

Grandpa makes Totoro for grandkids after move

Anime News Network
Jul 22, 2014

Hidebochi has run an udon shop for 32 years and worked as a “weekend carpenter” for 52 years. But this summer, the 59-year-old undertook a different sort of construction. He decided to make Totoro for his grandchildren who just moved from Vancouver, Canada to live with him in Mihama, Mie Prefecture, Japan.