June 14-15 is the 7th Philippine Toy Convention. Honestly I’m not looking forward on the event as a whole. I’m after the toy shopping and seeing my friends. I’m pretty sure it’ll be the same as the previous’. And I don’t want to waste the space with rants and criticism. I’m over it! I’m just after the toy and reunion.
Oh I forgot, there’ll be a change, the ticket price is definitely goin’ up! Now that’s very Pinoy!
Moving on, Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film Gake No Ue No Ponyo (Ponyo on the Cliff) will start showing in Japan on July 19. The present technology promised me to get a hold of it in a month or two.
This is really something to look forward to. Miyazaki films never fail to astound me.
The last Ghibli film directed by his son Goro Miyazaki, Tales of the Earthsea, was really… I’m sorry to say this, but it was way below Ghibli standards. I learned that during the production of the film, father and son were not in good terms because the father believed that the son is still not ready to direct a film. Sorry Goro-chan, I believe in your potential but I must agree with your father. Honestly, I barely remember what the film was all about. It was really hard to keep my attention on the film when I was watching it. A real “hohum”…
Let’s go back to Ponyo, the story is actually about a gold fish who wishes to be a human. It was actually inspired from the Japanese folktale Urashima Taro and Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid. The story may sound simple and the “wants to be a human” theme may be a bit overused but wait till you see it. Every Hayao Miyazaki movie is an uplifting experience. Don’t miss this masterpiece by one of the greatest director.
More on anime, the animated version of Blade of the Immortal will start airing on July 13, on Japanese TV of course. Another manga masterpiece by Hiroaki Samura. It’s about Manji, a rounin who was gifted (or rather cursed) with immortality by an 800 year old nun who infected kessen-chu into his blood. These are sacred blood worms that feed (and heal) on Manji’s wounds. Manji bargained with the nun to kill 1000 evil souls in exchange for mortality. You can expect so much gore and thought provoking plot. This manga really rocks! There are currently 22 tankoubons and the series is still ongoing. It’s been years since I’ve read the first 15 volumes and I’m currently on the 18th volume. I must admit I’ve already forgotten some details so I’m not really bothered by the anime version (IMHO, it’s not advisable to watch the anime if the manga is still “fresh” on your mind).
On the manga scene, I heard that CLAMP will do collaboration with Dark Horse Comics for a project called Mangettes. I haven’t checked the details but I’m really excited. Way to go CLAMP-sensei!
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