March 16 is going to be a big day for Ghibli Park! The Valley of Witches section will officially open, and five exhibits are joining the Grand Warehouse. The exhibits showcase characters from Hayao Miyazaki’s new movie The Boy and the Heron, plus Spirited Away’s …Read more »
Longtime collaborators actor Leonardo DiCaprio and director Martin Scorsese, who most recently teamed up for Killers of the Flower Moon, sat down for a chat about their favorite movies for the site Letterboxd—and some Ghibli films came up during the chat. DiCaprio mentions that since …Read more »
No Face is one of the most iconic and mysterious characters from Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning anime movie Spirited Away. Kinyo Roadshow (translated as Friday Roadshow) is a weekly Friday-night movie segment on Japan’s Nippon TV, and while playing Spirited Away last week, it tweeted some …Read more »
Hayao Miyazaki’s birthday was on January 5, and on the same date his Oscar-winning movie Spirited Away played on Japanese television. During the film’s ad time, a special commercial played — a Suburu commercial featuring Spirited Away’s Chihiro and Yubaba. Technically, you only hear their …Read more »
People born in the Year of the Dragon (of which 2024 is one) are said to be strong, fearless, energetic, and born leaders. But what constitutes the personality of a dragon — like a literal one — in anime is much broader. For example, Dragon Ball‘s …Read more »
SPIRITED AWAY: Live on Stage is coming to Blu-ray and streaming services! The footage comes from Tokyo’s Imperial Theatre, and the Blu-ray will offer two discs so you can see both sets of casts playing the characters. The Blu-ray comes out on November 14. Specific …Read more »
So far the very successful Spirited Away play in Japan has had two actresses rotating in the role of Chihiro, the main character. Next year, however, two more actresses will be added to the rotation, both of whom already have impressive credentials: Rina Kawaei and …Read more »
The official live-action Spirited Away stage play has been a hit in Japan, and now it’s been announced that the play will move beyond its home country. Next year, between April and July (with specific dates still coming) the play will be performed at the …Read more »
How would you like to get around town in a bus decorated with Spirited Away imagery? Right now people in Fukuoka City, Japan have that option, but only for a limited time. The Spirited Away buses, put out by operator Nishitetsu Bus, are around for …Read more »
No-Face from Spirited Away is wanted in Taiwan for swallowing people . . . I mean, for violating traffic laws. Well, actually, police are seeking a person dressed as No-Face who has yet to be identified. According to Taiwan News, a No-Face cosplayer was messing …Read more »
Not everyone can be in Japan to see SPIRITED AWAY: Live On Stage, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t see it at all! GKIDS, which also distributes Studio Ghibli anime movies, has revealed that it’s gotten North American audiovisual distribution rights for SPIRITED AWAY: …Read more »
Studio Ghibli films are beloved around the world, but they’re especially treasured in their home country of Japan. Line is a popular messaging app in Japan, and recently Line Research posed a question for a survey: “Which Ghibli anime do you like?” The survey received …Read more »
Yesterday Otaku USA reported that the Spirited Away stage play was on hiatus because Romi Park, who plays Yubaba and Zeniba in alternating performances, had caught COVID. Rather than have the alternating actress take over as Yubaba and Zeniba, the production felt it was best …Read more »
People were getting themselves seated for the Spirited Away play at the Misono-za theater in Nagoya when it was announced the performance had been cancelled. Romi Park, who plays Yubaba and Zeniba in alternative performances, had been diagnosed with COVID. Park said she was using …Read more »
Anime food is just beautiful. It’s really not fair. There are some great videos out there reproducing tasty anime treats. But the dream is to get to the real place. Short of collab cafés, sadly, we won’t have that chance. If we did have our way, though, …Read more »
Danica Davidson
Matt Schley
Kara Dennison
