Anime Was (Not) A Mistake

Episode 08: Porco Rosso

Rev up your plane engines, and prepare to soar over the animated Adriatic Sea! Anime Was (Not) A Mistake is back with a vengeance with the rip roaring, and utterly charming Porco Rosso. Join the intrepid pig man pilot/bounty hunter Porco as he lives a life full of aerial mechanics, wine bottles, cigarette smoke, and romance. This film manages to skillfully combine humor and Italian sophistication, and bumbling sky pirates into an incredibly poignant picture. Studio Ghibli never loses altitude, while still managing to ask the big questions. Should experience trump instinct? Does love ever really die? Do all planes go to Heaven? Pull up a chair and listen to us recount the fantastic tale of this “Bacon-Slab Bombardier.” We here at the podcast are convinced that you haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen pigs fly!  

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Episode 07: Only Yesterday

 Get ready for the nostalgia, regret, and wonder only childhood can provide on this latest episode of Anime Was (Not) A Mistake. Today get ready to hop on a train to the Japanese countryside as hosts Dan and Jonathan examine Isao Takahata’s 1991 classic Only Yesterday … and wonder if the Sonic the Hedgehog film will truly become a new cult classic. If you ever hated the taste of pickled onions, had a 5th grade crush that also loved stormy weather, or had dreams of a patent leather purse/ an acting career that never went anywhere this movie might be one for you. Let’s pick some safflowers, breathe in some country air, and soul search as we journey through life together.  Remember, “Some say love, it is a hunger, an endless aching need. I say love, it is a flower, and you, its only seed.”

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Episode 06: Kiki's Delivery Service

Grab your broomstick, a radio, and a black cat familiar, as another episode of Anime Was (Not) A Mistake soars into your life. Today we join the lovable, and highly relatable Kiki on her journey of self-discovery and magical innovation. It's time to shake off the summer and leap into life, in search of new experiences and an adventure. This is a movie near and dear to every Ghibli fan we've ever come into contact with and might just be the most watchable of the Ghibli movies, anime fans or not? We will leave that for you to decide. But, this deceptively simple movie certainly shares some of the most poignant morals. Keep smiling and you are bound to succeed. Your art can be magic. Always be true to yourself and you will be able to fly! Most importantly, never use blimps as a form of transportation and always appreciate Grandma's pumpkin and herring pie. 

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Episode 05: Grave of the Fireflies

We are back, back, back, again just in time for the tail end of summer with a real tearjerker. Today on Anime Was (Not) A Mistake we talk about 1988's war torn Grave of the Fireflies. This film has been lauded as one of the most poignant antiwar films in existence and for an animated film, it's difficult not to get emotional when watching. Join us as we discuss the horrors of war, the symbolism of firefly light, and ponder how we would react if placed in Seita and Setsuko's shoes. Will we cry, live on the air? What are we fighting for? Why do fireflies have to die so soon? The only answer we can muster is to keep a box of Kleenex and aa case of Fruit Drops close at hand.

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Art By: Dan Ryan Instagram:@king_dannis   Twitter:@xDKR

Music  "Ghibli's Waltz" By: Ross Bugden Youtube: Ross Bugden - Music

Episode 04: My Neighbor Totoro

Ready, Set, Hey, Let's Go with another episode of Anime Was (Not) A Mistake! On this episde we travel to the rural Japanese country side, in search of soot sprites, forest spirits, and the wonderous sense of childhood. Sisters Satsuki and Mei, explore the emotions of moving to a new house, getting accostomed to having a mother recovering in the hospital...oh, and setttling right next to resident Ghibli mascot Totoro.  This fluffy rabbit/bear/spirit of death and nature has a collection of quirky tricks up his sleeve that might just help the girls more than they could have ever dreamed. While this film is undoutedly one of Studio Ghibli's most lighthearted film, we couldnt help but question are there some darker motives just underneath the surface. We have no time to ponder this right now though, the Cat Bus is starting to pull away. All Aboard and hold on tight! 

Episode 03: Castle in the Sky

Sail with us into the storm as we search for lost civilizations on the latest episode of Anime Was (Not) A Mistake! Today we take a look at the first official Studio Ghibli film, Castle in the Sky. Follow the intrepid Sheeta and Pazu as they flee a corrupt army, team up with the Dola Gang (a bumbling group of sky pirates) and search for the technological marvels of the legendary Laptua. Laputa may be a floating city in the sky that as inspired countless tropes in anime, video games, and modern pop culture, but did you know that this film was intentionally going to take place below the ocean waves? Also could this film possibly be the root of a sprawling Ghibli universe? Only time may tell. Learn this and so much more by listening to the latest episode of Anime Was (Not) A Mistake, but mind your footing its a long way down, clutch your crystals...and leap.

Episode 02: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Hop on your glider, it is time to soar with us in the latest episode of Anime Was (Not) A Mistake! Today, we take a look at the film that lauched both Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki into the stratosphere, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.  How did the Ghibli trio of Myazaki, Takahata, and Suzuki meet? Well, it might have had something to do with the amazing success and ingenunity this film sparked. Join the multi-facteted Princess Nausicaä (totally not Princess Zandra) as she defends her homeland from the encroaching toxic jungle, fights for world peace  between Tolmekia, Pejite, and the rest, and pursues a connection between the world of incests and the human race. Follow the fox squirrels, and mind the Ohm, there's still hope...not even a Giant Warrior can stop us in our attempts to prove that Anime Was (Not) A Mistake.

Episode 01: Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro

There is a mystery afoot in the duchy of Cagliostro and it is up to us to solve it! Join Anime Was (Not) A Mistake in our inaggural episode during the pre-Ghibli times. It's Hayao Miyazaki's directorial debut with Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro and technically the one film that started it all. Just how were the seeds of Studio Ghibli planted? Hoe does Miyazaki's interpretation of Lupin and his chorts' characters trasition to the Big Screen? And will Lupin the Third a.k.a. "Wolf" the greatest theif of all time make it out of Count Cagliostro's clutches alive, while pulling off his biggest heist yet? You'll have to listen to find out. Quick to the Gyro!

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Art By: Dan Ryan Instagram:@king_dannis   Twitter:@xDKR

Music  "Ghibli's Waltz" By: Ross Bugden Youtube: Ross Bugden - Music

 

Episode 00: Anime Was (Not) A Mistake - Introduction/Meet the Hosts

Hello there, and welcome to Anime Was (Not) A Mistake, a new podcast were resident cohosts/anime nerds, Jonathan Kwiatkowski and Dan Ryan take a mostly comedic look at the Studio Ghibli films in cronological order. Join us as we discuss the nuanced history of Hayao Myiazaki, Isao Takahata, and more, in relation to one of the world's most prolific anime studios. If you are curious to find out the intention behind each penstroke, listen to recaps/reviews of some of your favorite Ghibli films, or if you just think that Totoro is like, "totally your spirit animal", this is the podcast for you! So, soar with us through the open skies on gliders, dance with forest spriirts, and try to see the world through eyes unclouded by hate, in the pursuit of proving that Anime Was (Not) A Mistake. #WhatdidGoroDo?

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Art By: Dan Ryan Instagram:@king_dannis   Twitter:@xDKR

Music  "Ghibli's Waltz" By: Ross Bugden Youtube: Ross Bugden - Musi