Well friends, the second round of “Miyazaki Madness” has closed and we now have only 4 challengers left. In the Elite 8 round we had to say goodbye to fan favorite Princess Mononoke, the short but sweet The Cat Returns, the criminally overlooked Whisper of the Heart and one of my newfound favorites Castle in the Sky. Tis a sad day but you can’t have a tournament without breaking some eggs, err hearts, right?
So with that we enter the semi-final round of the the tournament. That leaves us with the Final Four slugging it out in search of the title of Greatest Miyazaki/Takahata/Studio Ghibli film. Can’t say as I could have forseen this outcome but this is probably going to be the toughest round yet.
Here we have the Oscar Winner up against the Poster Boy (Totoro is a boy right?) and Ghibli’s “cutest” film against their “most heartbreaking” film. Wow, I’m going to be a while in the voting booth…you all better get some coffee:P
Don’t forget we are offering prizes for your participation!! Click the image above to see the hi-rez version of the bracket and start voting after the jump…
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| Spirited Away (2001) – defeated Princess Mononoke last round | My Neignbor Totoro (1988) – defeated Castle in the Sky last round |
| Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki | Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki |
| Summary: In the middle of her family’s move to the suburbs, Chihiro, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a magical world where a witch rules — and those who disobey her are turned into animals. When Chihiro’s parents become pigs, she must find a way to help them return to their human form. | Summary: When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wonderous forest spirits who live nearby. One of the most realistic and grounded Miyazaki films it’s a beloved fan favorite which delights and encourages the imagination of audiences of all ages the world over. |
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Scenes to watch for: – Sen tending to the stink spirit – The paper birds following Haku |
Scenes to watch for: – Finding Totoro for the first time – The cat bus helping Mei and Satsuki to the hospital |
| IMDb score: 8.6/10 G-S-T score: 4.0/4.0 | IMDb score: 8.2/10 G-S-T score: 2.5/4.0 |
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| Ponyo (2008) – defeated The Cat Returns last round | Grave of the Fireflies (1988) – defeated Whisper of the Heart last round |
| Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki | Directed by: Isao Takahata |
| Summary: An adventure of a 5-year-old boy and his relationship with a goldfish princess who longs to become human. This is a clever and imaginative take on the Hans Christian Anderson tale of The Little Mermaid. | Summary: A tragic film covering a young boy and his little sister’s struggle to survive in Japan during World War II. After bombings ravage their country the two set on their own making the best of poverty conditions in this heartbreaking tale. |
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Scenes to watch for: – Sosuke and Ponyo traveling on the toy boat – Ponyo becoming human and every underwater scene |
Scenes to watch for: – Seita giving the last of the fruit drops to Setsuko – Lighting the cave with fireflies |
| IMDb score: 7.8/10 G-S-T score: 3.5/4.0 | IMDb score: 8.3/10 G-S-T score: 3.0/4.0 |
[poll id=”13″]
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Vote for your favorites, feel free to drop a comment and remember to come back and check the results all this week. The Championship bracket goes up on March 28th!!
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8 Comments
Aiden R.
Damn, looks like this is making for an interesting final round.
MarcC
I know! Didn’t think anything but Spirited would have made it this far. Good thing I didn’t bet on these brackets:P
Castor
I can already see a Spirited Away vs Grave of the Fireflies epic duel! 🙂
MarcC
Me too! Though if “Fireflies” takes it all, I might have to rename the tournament. It might seem odd giving the title of “Miyazaki Madness Champion” to a film by Isao Takahata:P Guess we’ll see soon enough!
Novroz
I hate you Marc!! How come 2 of my all time animation in the final round? I am not sure about the final now…it will be TOO difficult to choose.
MarcC
Woah, woah buddy, it’s not my fault. Blame everyone who voted, I just post the results:)
Andrew
Bleh. Spirited Away is good, but far too obvious; Totoro is not only great on its own merits but severely underloved by Miyazaki fans. Glad to see Grave coming out on top so far, though!
MarcC
One of the reasons I did this was to promote more awareness of all the other equally great Ghibli films outside of Spirited Away. Away isn’t the only tent pole in Miyazaki’s resume…there’s lots more!!