Guest Bethany Van Scoo joins the crew for discussion of Spirited Away (2001), written and directed by Hiyao Miyazaki. This was the first non-English film to win Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards and was the highest grossing film in Japan from 2001-2020. It also has some truly epic depictions of food.

My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999) has a very different style than any other Ghibli film. Based on a yonkoma manga (a format similar to US newspaper comics like Peanuts), it follows a family in a slice-of-life format, written and directed by Isao Takahata. Our hosts are joined this week by artist Phil Dragash.

Cléa from Radio Clash Revival joins us to discuss Princess Mononoke (1997), written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, the first Ghibli film to break through to wide release outside of Japan, featuring a dubbed English script written by Neil Gaiman.

Rob Lumley joins our hosts to discuss Whisper of the Heart (1995), a film written by Hiyao Miyazaki and directed by Yoshifumi Kondō. It tells the story of a boy and girl who bond over John Denver's classic track, "Take Me Home, Country Roads". Also there's two magical cat statues, one of whom gets his own spinoff.

Pom Poko (1994), written and directed by Isao Takahata, focuses on tanuki, Japanese raccoon dogs, who in folklore are known for their shape shifting abilities. Unfortunately in the English dub of the movie, they are incorrectly known as raccoons. Join our three hosts and our guest, Dr Becca Tarsa, to find out who doesn't love these adorable little scamps.

Originally planned as an in-flight short for Japan Airlines based on Hayao Miyazaki's manga "The Age of the Flying Boat", Porco Rosso tells the tale of a former WWI flying ace who has undergone a remarkable transformation. Guest Niall McGowan joins Neil, Ruben, and Jamie to discuss Neil's favourite of the Ghibli films.

Written and directed by Isao Takahata, Only Yesterday (1991) is a beautiful film about nostalgia, childhood, and choices. Guest Doris Weiss joins us to discuss Japan's top grossing film of 1991.

Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) is based on Eiko Kadono's 1985 novel of the same name. The fictional city in the movie is based on real cities in Sweden and the animators travelled there to get inspiration. Our guest is artist Crystal McDowell, here to provide insight into the animation and other artistic elements. You can see some of Crystal's beautiful work here: https://www.fernandfoil.com/

My Neighbor Totoro (1988), written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, was sometimes screened as a double feature with Grave of the Fireflies (see episode 3). George Hendricks of the Mogwai Minute is our first guest on the podcast and brings his young daughter's perspective to the movie.

Grave of the Fireflies (1988) is notorious for being one of the saddest films ever made. It was written and directed by Isao Takahata, and produced by Studio Ghibli.