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I really prefer the approach that Japanese directors take with dramatic films.  While I haven’t seen every Japanese film in existence, the ones that I have seen, both old and new, take a very subtle and low-key approach with less dramatic music or cinematic cues.  This allows the script and actors to speak for themselves [...]

Earlier, episodic, and all posts regarding Cross Game can be found here

The fourth episode has settled it – I am following Cross Game, for sure. Particularly, the low-key, gentle but moving dialogue between Ko and Osamu at the end. Everything about this series has made me feel that I am in for another Maison Ikkoku, which I would enjoy to no end. The personable, charming characters who are familiar but not cliched, the dramatic moments which linger just long enough to be effective but not long enough to seem manipulative, and a slow but steady pace which neither forces plot twists down your throat nor stretches scenes beyond their welcome. I can usually predict anime series well by the fourth episode, and this looks like another restrained but warm, touching slice-of-life story. I can’t wait to continue this.

Pixar, in my opinion, shares some similarities with Studio Ghibli – they both put out, rather consistently, well-made films that are miles above the competition. Now, I wouldn’t say that Pixar has ever managed to reach the heights that Ghibli did with Mononoke-hime or Grave of the Fireflies, but all the same, their movies [...]

Mononoke-hime (Princess Mononoke) is tied as my favourite Ghibli film (along with Mimi wo Sumaseba) and also happens to be one of my favourite works of fiction altogether. It is such an expansive story with a rich mythological backdrop and epic scale – but without sacrificing the more intimate, human elements. No single scene feels out of place, no piece of dialogue feels unecessary. The viewer is utterly captivated and brought into this world that feels so real despite the brain telling you that it must be fiction. I think that other Miyazaki films, such as Porco Rosso or Laputa, show us that he is on a brilliant level of filmmaking. But to me, Mononoke-hime goes beyond even the high standard of those films – it is a film that must have been the work of a genius with a superb natural ability for visual storytelling.