N Days of Anime: Spirited Away

(Ante-script: I don't know how many anime films I am going to watch considering I have a growing list. As of now I have four more queued up for time consumption and ambitious analysis, them being Grave of the Fireflies, My Neighbor Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle, and Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below. Note that I am using the word "film." The selections I am/will be writing about aren't mere pictures that move 23 frames per second, but are works of art by preeminent Japanese directors who have no apparent limit to imagination. Respect, man. Respect.)


By now, you have probably discerned my desire to become a hipster. Clearly my efforts are neither paying off or are ignored by the cosmos because I just watched Spirited Away. It is an animated film directed by Hayao Miyazaki (genius personified; he should be placed on a shelf beside Murakami and Kafka) that dives into Chihiro Ogino, a spoiled ten-year-old who most likely has ADHD and a disorder that causes her arms to flail every time she runs. The film is frequently compared to Alice in Wonderland-- I honestly think this is a better story but I don't want to get on Lewis Carroll's bad side-- because of its dream-like setting and characters.

Image (c) Studio Ghibli

Chihiro and her parents are moving to their new home when they are intercepted by a a large building with a long tunnel that leads to an abandoned amusement park. Her parents decide to explore the place and, Chihiro being the typical kid, runs off with them, not wanting to be left alone in the car. They reach a food stall teeming with delicious food (meant for the spirits, you will learn later on) and gobble up everything in sight. Chihiro wanders off to a bath house where she is warned off by a boy named Haku. She runs back to find her parents who have been unfortunately turned into... Yes, pigs. It's always "pigs"! That is like the equivalent of having a black person play the role of a thief in an action movie.

I had a really good disposition the whole time I was watching the film. What a feat! I realized that, with Spirited Away having the usual formula meant for children's adventure stories, I was enjoying something that reminded me what it was like to just sit back and watch a movie without dissecting the story, script, and character formation. Although the plot is sort of a rehash of all Alice-esque tales, the way Miyazaki presented it, with his colorful characters and surprising pop-up scenes, I didn't really mind sitting through two hours of watching some kid's transition into emotional maturity.

The scenes are very resonant of what actually takes place in dreams; not the usual over-saturated crap lazy filmmakers consider a character's REM thoughts in an average Hollywood movie. The animation does Miyazaki's ideas much justice as well, though Chihiro's character design is a bit too plain. I guess that's why I kept on putting off watching the film for eleven years already. So... Don't make the same mistake!

Wait, bloody wrong statement. You have already made the mistake if you hadn't watched it yet.