Studio Ghibli Worship Plans

I have plans…

We need to have a day (maybe two) of straight Studio Ghibli movie watching. *whispers* probably online, because I have the movies somewhere in Hong Kong and I cannot be asked to get them, so my conscience is clean somewhat, and I also want to buy the original artwork DVDs from the Studio Ghibli store in the future, so, meh~

And then, after each film, we can rant as much as we like about them, or just cry. I’ll do both, probably.

When I (or would you like to tag along?) go to Japan, I’m going to visit the Studio Ghibli Museum. Which I think will become my home. Since I’ll never leave.

Game plan or what?

Not forgetting that that much fangirling will be done during and between movies. I’m thinking of making you (and anyone who wants to tag along) watch every one of my favourite SG films. Including ones I haven’t watched since childhood for fear of becoming a train wreak solved only by contact with Totoro. Be warned.

~ Persephone

“Do you think it…”

“Do you think it’s possible to fall in love with the idea of a person?”
– Little Numbers

Ok, this is from a Klaine fic. The best fanfiction ever written that should be a movie in its own right, or a published novel, like 50sog.

It’s just, wow, amazing, no words can describe how much I wanted to shove their faces together and make them kiss the whole way through this story.  The Klaine fandom never ceases to bewilder me by being the most fantastic and talented group of people. Not to mention compassionate, accepting, and all-round fabulous.

“Once you’ve met…”

“Once you’ve met someone you never really forget them. It just takes a while for your memories to return.”
– Spirited Away

I’m on a Studio Ghibli spree today. This was something said by Zeniba in ‘Spirited Away’ on of my favourite films, when Sen, was trying to remember her long forgotten childhoon, during which she met Haku.

Personally, I strongly believe that your memories aren’t as fallible as one would think. It has been said, that the more you access certain memories, the more likely they are to become less true, as your brain will subconsciously add and take away things from the memory. So, a cherished memory may not be as reliable as one you think you’ve forgotten long ago.

While you may store many precious moments in your brain, sometimes, a traumatic or profound event may render your brain unable to protect itself and process the information; upon which, it will sometimes cause amnesia, and cause you to ‘forget’ about particular events. Does that mean the moment you fall in love, you are in danger of forgetting all about it, due to the shock? Or will your heart remember how it went ‘doki doki’ from the sheer, overpowering feeling of euphoria and completeness, and prevent you from fainting and forgetting, ever?

(I won’t admit to reading Haku x Chihiro fanfiction, ever, but should you want a recommendation… well… that’s another story 😉 Honestly, they’re a cute pair of children, and will make an inseparable, unbeatable couple. But that’s not canon, yet, so I’ll just put this in brackets, okay?)

~ Persephone

Studio Ghibli Forever

So, what am I talking about today? Since I was most inspired by the amazing Studio Ghibli 25th Anniversary Concert, I decided I would do a post about my favourite film studio – yes, I grew up with Studio Ghibli and not Disney. Problem?

Now, I wasn’t even remotely joking when I said that I grew up with Studio Ghibli films. A good description of my childhood would be watching ‘Grave of the Fireflies’ and not something like ‘Dumbo‘. Actually, speaking of which, I don’t recall ever seeing ‘Peter Pan’ or ‘Bambi’, but I remember watching ‘Laputa: Castle in the Sky’ and being rendered inconsolable for a few days.

Why are the works of Hayao Miyazaki (-sama?) so powerful and profound? There are light-hearted moments in every film. But if one should ever look at the symbolism behind every scene, they would find much darker tones, such as the violence and wars in the background of ‘Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind’. There are many lessons to be learned, and even if you’re not of the right age to appreciate the message put out by Studio Ghibli – there is always a chance that you would pick it up during another viewing later in life. Proof? I did. (And this applies not just to films, but many books as well.)

In films, one of the key factors in creating the perfect atmosphere, is the soundtrack. Studio Ghibli is no different, except they had an exemplary composer – Joe Hisaishi. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve listened to his works, and remembered scenes from films I don’t think I would ever forget. The OST (Original Sountrack) for ‘Spirited Away’ for example, has a piece, Waltz of Chihiro, which need only to be played, and I would recall the feeling of joy at the precise moment when Sen, remembers Haku’s real name.

Similarly, in ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ – which is based off a series of books by Diana Wynne Jones (which I would recommend reading for another experience entirely) when the Jinsei no Merry-go-Round (Merry-go-Round of Life) plays, my heart pangs at the feeling of riding high in the sky, on the balcony of a rickety castle, controlled by a fallen star – Calcifer.

Forever is a long time to hold something close to your heart. But if it is the works of Studio Ghibli, I don’t think it would be difficult at all. Thank you, ‘My Neighbour Totoro’ for making me smile, even though you’re basically growing seeds at night… I will always wait for the Catbus to arrive, when it’s late at night, and the rain falls so strongly, you’d think someone jumped really hard to make it so. Thank you Hayao Miyazaki and Joe Hisaishi, for making my childhood so wonderful, and giving me many fond memories to look back upon.

~ Persephone

“I believe that…

“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they’re right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”
– Marilyn Monroe

So, this is a quote that I found quite some time ago. It’s always been on my mind, because, quite frankly, at many points throughout my (rather short) life – I’ve needed much inspiration to carry on.

It’s extremely easy to believe in the words of another person when your mind is vulnerable, and honestly, Marilyn’s words evoke the hope in me, that I didn’t think existed anymore. It’s simple yet difficult, to try and make yourself think that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that all the hardships you endeavour will only make you a better person – because you have to endure the ups and downs of life first.

Without this quote, I think I would’ve cried in frustration every time I lost a friend, or something fell apart . To all of you – never give up, because the future is kind to those who suffer first.

~ Persephone

“Everyone who te…”

“Everyone who terrifies you is sixty-five percent water. And everyone you love is made of stardust, and I know sometimes you cannot even breathe deeply, and the night sky is no home, and you have cried yourself to sleep enough times that you are down to your last two percent, but nothing is infinite, not even loss. You are made of the sea and the stars, and one day you are going to find yourself again.”
-Finn Butler

This is inexplicably all in capitals, I’m not sure why, but I’m not rewriting the whole thing. (Edit by Sephy: Don’t worry, I re-typed the whole thing for you. Gosh I’m nice.)

Anyway, my laziness aside, this poem has so many memories, so so many, and I guess now that it’s just a collection of letters, and not the way she looks at me, it doesn’t matter all that much.  I just want you to read it.  I’ m finally finding who I am again, and I want to tell her, but she’s not here, and maybe it’s all horribly ironic and a bit cringe-worthy but, gosh, P, I can’t stop loving her. I can’t bloody turn it off.

I think Charlie is losing it

I don’t think there’s another person like Charlie on YouTube these days. I also think he’s suffering from it.

Oh Charlie – you’re treating it like a job. I thought making videos was an interest! Stop trying so hard and analysing everything!

That cereal video is great you know, because it’s you, and I don’t know about anyone else, but I just miss Charlie. Any Charlie is good Charlie.

I just need you to have fun and smile!

P.S. I sound like a crazy person. Or maybe just a fangirl. I remember watching his science videos in Physics.

I have many passions in life

Ok, so obviously I want to be a writer, and that’s not going to change, I’ve always loved reading, I think it’s an incredibly personal experience that no other media can even begin to rival, it can make you feel so intense – next to real life, in my opinion, and it’s the best form of life experience. We all know that going through things makes us who we are, especially hard things.

Reading has saved my life on many an occasion, I owe my life to people who are alive, making stupid vlogs, and to people who died many hundreds of years ago. Hell, I owe my life to people who don’t even speak the same language as me.  I’m going to dedicate my life to making sure that reading what I’ve written saves people, even if it’s just one person, one solitary person reads my book and thinks ‘you know what, I think I’ll wait around a little bit longer’.  I don’t care if a million people pick up my book and say ‘well this is a bit shit’, because like I said, I just want one person to read my words and stick around for the end of their story.

Let me get back to the original point of this post, which is that, as much as I love reading and I love writing, I also love film.  I’ve made, and been involved in making, several short films about various things over my short life, and the idea of capturing an emotion and literally showing it to other people has always seemed like another level of magic to me.

To conclude, I am going to spend the next few weeks, maybe months, we’ll see how it goes, filming the vast majority of my life, and trying to make some kind of sense of it.  If I get anything decent, I’d love for you to do the soundtrack (Sephy, that’s you), I’ll even sing for it, with my horribly untrained and low voice, but I reckon’ I sound alright, I’ve got a lot of enthusiasm anyway, and that’s what counts.  Anyway, I’ll keep you updated on my project, and we’ll see if it ever gets good enough to go up on our blog! (Edit by Sephy: I’m not really composing material, but for you, I’d try *whispers* we may need a Mac though – and a keyboard.)

I guess I’m just trying to figure out what I want to do, because, as my Mum said the other day, ‘You’re not the kind of person to sit back and let things happen, and there aren’t many people like you, you’re going to do great things’.

Ok, this is seriously powerful- I cried, a lot

Gosh, every word of this song speaks to me so much. For obvious reasons, but also, the first verse, where he was so young and surrounded and terrified by these stereotypes, just made my heart break in two, because I was like that, afraid that I was fundamentally different from everyone around me, that there was something wrong with me.
And the lyric ‘we paraphrase a book written 3500 years ago’, never a more powerful lyric about religion has there ever been.
Also it’s just beautiful to watch, there is some serious talent in that video.
Every moment in this song/video is so perfect, I can’t even begin to describe how it makes me feel.
Like I can conquer the world, a little bit, but first I’d like to get married.

” A film is nev…

” A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a poet.”
– Orson Welles

Well, I thought this was apt, seeing as I watched Monsters University today. My verdict? It was funny. It also made me feel smart when I remembered the little things from the first film. Poor Randy – give it up, Mike and Sully are clearly the unbeatable duo.

It was cute seeing Mike as a little kid though, I guess~

~ Persephone