Go,See,Talk Presents "Miyazaki Madness": March 7th – April 4th

Hey Everyone, this month we’ve got something special planned for all you fans of Studio Ghibli. As we announced last February, the entire month of March will be devoted to an event we’re calling “Miyazaki Madness“.

Similar to the NCAA Tournament which inspired it, this month will focus on the films of iconic animation powerhouse Studio Ghibli, most known for legendary artists/storytellers Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata (both before and during their Ghibli years plus 1 from Hayao’s son Goro, 1 from Hiroyuki Morita and 1 from Yoshifumi Kondou). It’s Animation Domination here and we’re hoping to give the NCAA a run for their money this March…

The basic premise behind “Miyazaki Madness” is that it’s a tournament where we rank Studio Ghibli’s animated films, then pit them against one another to find which film is the very best. Here’s the key part: YOU pick who gets to advance by voting on your favorites. We’ll have polls running so you can cast YOUR vote. Come back early and come back often:)

Originally I wanted to make this all about Miyazaki but realized I would be omitting all the other wildly creative talent at Studio Ghibli if we only focused on Miyazaki-san. Plus I couldn’t appropriately tie it into March Madness with less than 16 films. So I had to stretch the idea a little…but it’s all in good fun right? Here are the 16 contenders…

For story info on any of the pictured films above, click the following links below (clockwise from top L to R):

Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind

Laputa — The Castle in the Sky

My Neighbor Totoro

Grave of the Fireflies

Kiki’s Delivery Service

Porco Rosso

Pom Poko

Whisper of the Heart

Princess Mononoke

My Neighbors the Yamadas

Spirited Away

The Cat Returns

Howl’s Moving Castle

Tales of Earthsea

Ponyo

Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro

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This month is a good time for you to check out the contenders for the first time or revisit the ones you love. After I announced this last month, I spent all of February watching and re-watching these films so they’re all fresh in my mind.

On that note, before I continue I want to give a huge thanks to Pixar’s John Lasseter for being such a fan of Miyazaki’s work. If it weren’t for his involvement to promote Studio Ghibli films stateside, most of the work from Miyazaki, Takahata and the crew would be hard to find in the US. Now most all Ghibli films are available in a variety of formats to be  easily enjoyed here in the States including all 16 featured in this tournament. Domo Arigato Gozimashta Lasseter-san!!

So, between now and this Sunday then I’ll be ranking the films to find their appropriate bracket placement. However if you’d like to chime in on what the order should look like, by all means leave a comment below or email me at marc@goseetalk.com. That said here’s the schedule for the rest of this month followed by the official bracket.

Over the next few weeks stop by to vote and check back regularly to see who is eliminated and who moves on. Obviously the polls will close as we advance rounds, but if your favorite film got snubbed, feel free to comment and vent to/with other fans. I’m sure there will be a lot of heartbreaks this month. But hey, it’s March Madness right? Anything can happen!!

I’m looking forward to this, how about all of you??

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Footnote: While I got a lot of anime under my belt in February, I’m certainly not an expert. For the ultimate in Ghibli and Miyazaki check out the official site スタジオジブリ – STUDIO GHIBLI. But for those of you not up on your Japanese, head over to the fan sites Nausicaa.net and Onlineghibli.com for a more introductory experience, or stop by Ghibliblog.com for current news/info and great insight on the studio.

For you collectors out there, check out the jealousy inducing eye candy at Ghibliworld.com and read about the ultra rare and OOP special editions released to different regions.

Also, if you haven’t see some of the ones above, all of the films listed are available through Netflix, Amazon and other retailers.

UPDATE: The “Miyazaki Madness” Tournament is now underway…click here to start voting!!