A creative and traditional director: Hayao Miyazaki
There are no sharp lines in Miyazaki’s films, some of the kind we find in Western animations. Having a character doesn’t feel bad that he won’t do any good; As in real life, there is bad in good and good in bad. In addition to his sensitivity to the women’s issue, Miyazaki also draws attention with his environmentalist approach and attitude against war. One of its most important features is that it uses Japanese-enhanced elements in its films. While carrying this culture from the past to the present, it makes it suitable for the age and thus prevents it from being forgotten. “It is not right to abandon the traditional conclusion. Surrounded by high technology, our children are moving more and more from their roots day by day. We have to tell them how rich their culture is ”.
Spirited Away
It is the first Oscar-winning anime. During her family’s move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches, and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.
Mononoke-hime
While protecting his village from rampaging boar-god/demon, a confident young warrior, Ashitaka, is stricken by a deadly curse. To save his life, he must journey to the forests of the west. Once there, he’s embroiled in a fierce campaign that humans were waging on the forest. The ambitious Lady Eboshi and her loyal clan use their guns against the gods of the forest and a brave young woman, Princess Mononoke, who was raised by a wolf-god. Ashitaka sees the good in both sides and tries to stem the flood of blood. This is met by animosity by both sides as they each see him as supporting the enemy.
Howl’s Moving Castle
A love story between an 18-year-old girl named Sophie, cursed by a witch into an old woman’s body, and a magician named Howl. Under the curse, Sophie sets out to seek her fortune, which takes her to Howl’s strange moving castle. In the castle, Sophie meets Howl’s fire demon, named Karishifâ. Seeing that she is under a curse, the demon makes a deal with Sophie–if she breaks the contract he is under with Howl, then Karushifâ will lift the curse that Sophie is under, and she will return to her 18-year-old shape.
My Neighbor Totoro
Two young girls, 10-year-old Satsuki and her 4-year-old sister Mei, move into a house in the country with their father to be closer to their hospitalized mother. Satsuki and Mei discover that the nearby forest is inhabited by magical creatures called Totoros (pronounced toe-toe-ro). They soon befriend these Totoros, and have several magical adventures.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
An animated fantasy-adventure. Set one thousand years from now, the Earth is ravaged by pollution and war. In the Valley of the Wind lives Nausicaä, Princess of her people. Their land borders on a toxic jungle, filled with dangerous over-sized insects. Meanwhile, two nearby nations are bitterly engaged in a war and the Valley of the Wind is stuck in the middle.
Castle in the Sky
A young boy stumbles into a mysterious girl who floats down from the sky. The girl, Sheeta, was chased by pirates, army and government secret agents. In saving her life, they begin a high flying adventure that goes through all sorts of flying machines, eventually searching for Sheeta’s identity in a floating castle of a lost civilization.
The Wind Rises
Jiro dreams of flying and designing beautiful airplanes, inspired by the famous Italian aeronautical designer Caproni. Nearsighted from a young age and unable to be a pilot, Jiro joins a major Japanese engineering company in 1927 and becomes one of the world’s most innovative and accomplished airplane designers. The film chronicles much of his life, depicting key historical events, including the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the Great Depression, the tuberculosis epidemic and Japan’s plunge into war. Jiro meets and falls in love with Nahoko, and grows and cherishes his friendship with his colleague Honjo.
Kiki’s Delivery Service
This is the story of a young witch, named Kiki who is now 13 years old. But she is still a little green and plenty headstrong, but also resourceful, imaginative, and determined. With her trusty wisp of a talking cat named Jiji by her side she’s ready to take on the world, or at least the quaintly European seaside village she’s chosen as her new home.
Ponyo
The son of a sailor, 5-year-old Sosuke lives a quiet life on an oceanside cliff with his mother Lisa. One fateful day, he finds a beautiful goldfish trapped in a bottle on the beach and upon rescuing her, names her Ponyo. But she is no ordinary goldfish. The daughter of a masterful wizard and a sea goddess, Ponyo uses her father’s magic to transform herself into a young girl and quickly falls in love with Sosuke, but the use of such powerful sorcery causes a dangerous imbalance in the world. As the moon steadily draws nearer to the earth and Ponyo’s father sends the ocean’s mighty waves to find his daughter, the two children embark on an adventure of a lifetime to save the world and fulfill Ponyo’s dreams of becoming human.
Porco Rosso
In Early 1930’s era Italy air pirates, bounty hunters and high fliers of all sorts rule the skies. The most cunning and skilled of these pilots is Porco Rosso. A former Ace, he now makes a living flying contract jobs, such as rescuing those kidnapped by air pirates. Donald Curtis, Porco’s rival in the air and in catching the affections of women, provides a constant challenge to the hero, culminating in a hilarious, action packed finale.
Castle of Cagliostro
After successfully robbing the Monte Carlo Casino, Lupin The Third and Jigen Daisuke soon learn that their money is in fact counterfeit and they go after the man responsible: Count Lazare de Cagliostro. The two soon find out that the Count is behind something far worse than counterfeiting money for casinos: he has been keeping a family secret hidden deep in his castle. Can Lupin find out what this is and live to tell the tale? With the help of Jigen and the wise samurai Goemon Ishikawa XIII, Lupin is hell-bent on finding out the Cagliostro family’s secret fortune and make it his own.