Ni no Kuni's Release Delayed

Namco Bandai have announced that Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch has been delayed. In America the release date has been changed to late this year, whereas the European release has been delayed until the first quarter of 2013. For those of you who cannot wait, the game has already been released in Japan on both the PS3 and Nintendo DS.

A reason for this delay has yet to be announced, as of writing, but hopefully it will be coming soon. I personally was looking forward to this game, and hope this delay will make the game even better.

The game is being developed by Level-5, with animation and design being created by Studio Ghibli, for the Playstation 3. The story follows a boy called Oliver who, in his quest to find his mother, crosses over into another world.

Arrietty Interview Clip, and Opening Sequence

The UK Magazine recently uploaded an interview with the actor Mark Strong, who plays the role of Pod in UK dub of Studio Ghibli's newest film Arrietty which is due out this coming Monday (9th January). Mark Strong has also appeared in films such as Green Lantern and Sherlock Holmes. In his interview he describes Pod as "a very traditional, very manly guy who takes care of his family and, like a miner, on regular occasions has to go out into the big world and find stuff for his family to survive."



The second clip uploaded by SFX was of the opening sequence to the film, which shows Arrietty hurrying to her house under the floorboards of the human's home. If you have ever seen the live-action film The Borrowers you will notice a few similarities with it, as they are both the same story.

'Only Yesterday' Review

'Only Yesterday' was shown as one of the films in Film 4's Studio Ghibli Season. Right from the start of the film it appears to be a break from tradition for the team as the film is based more on normal life than the fantasy worlds or situations that Studio Ghibli are famous for.

The film revolves around an office worker from Tokyo called Taeko Okajima, who wants to finally make a second trip to the countryside to pick safflower plants that she had been dreaming of ever since she was a girl. During the trip she reminisces about her school days, and all the trivial things that adults wouldn't think twice about any more. For example, the girls get told that they will start having periods soon whilst in a school assembly, and the boys then start diving at the floor to look up the girls skirts to see if they have their period, or telling one of Taeko's friends not to pick up the ball as they will 'catch her period'.

Once in the countryside Taeko begins work on a farm with her friend Toshio, who has worked on a farm for a large amount of his life, and the other woman who pick the safflower plants. 

This setting looks very peaceful, and is very well animated as some of the scenes show an amazing amount of detail on all of the greenery. All of the flashbacks actually feel older, as the palette used seems to be paler than the modern parts of the story, giving the feeling that the memories are possibly a little cloudy in Taeko's mind.

The story is very easy to follow, and as such is a film that can be put on at any time of day and enjoyed. The flashback sequences may take up a large part of the film, but they do not detract anything from the storyline (which has been the case in a few other films) and are implemented incredibly well.

All in all, it may not be one of Studio Ghibli's best and most enjoyable films, but it is a very good film none-the-less, and shows a slice of the Japanese lifestyle, something that Otaku's love.

'Little Norse Prince' Review

One of the films as part of the Studio Ghibli season on Film 4 is one of the earliest titles created by the studio, and that is Little Norse Prince. Released in 1968, it is a prime example of how Studio Ghibli have become one of the most loved anime studios in the business.

'Little Norse Prince' starts with our hero Horusu trying to escape a pack of wolves, with nothing more than his hatchet that his father passed on to him, and the rope it is attached to. This is brought to an abrupt end by an appearance of a Stone God who quickly overshadows all the wolves, who know better than to attempt to take him on just to get the boy. Horusu then helps the Stone God with a 'thorn' in his shoulder that is actually The Sword of the Sun, which when forged properly will become a tremendously powerful weapon. And so the quest begins...

Horusu travels to another village in search of someone to help him forge the sword, and in the process meets Hiruda, a girl with a beautiful singing voice but hides a sinister side, and an evil sibling who forces her to do his dirty work.

Although the character design does look dated, and the animation does look a little worse-for-wear when the action really kicks off, it is still a really good example of what Studio Ghibli do best. There are scenes that tug at your heart-strings, scenes that shock you (the first time you realise everything is not as it seems with Hiruda is prime example of this) and scenes that make you think 'so this is where *insert anime title* got an idea from then!'. Definitely not one to be missed.

Film4's Christmas Studio Ghibli Season

This may be old news to some of you, especially as it is now four days in, but Film4 (a digital television channel in the United Kingdom) announced recently that they will be screening a Studio Ghibli film everyday from the 10th to 25th December.

The films on offer are a mixture of popular and well known Ghibli titles, like My Neighbour Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service, and the lesser known titles of their extensive and impressive back catalogue, like Castle of Cagliostro or The Little Norse Prince. Film4 have also made the decision to run all the films with their original Japanese voice talent with English subtitles. This Christmas season definitely has a treat every day in the run up to the big day!

The full list of titles is as follows (all times are GMT):

Ponyo - 10th December 6.55pm
Princess Mononoke - 11th December 4.40pm
Tales from Earthsea - 12th December 4.25pm
Lupin the Third: Castle of Cagliostro - 13th December 4.45pm
The Little Norse Prince - 14th December 5.10pm
Only Yesterday - 15th December 4.10pm
Whisper of the Heart - 16th December 5.05pm
The Cat Returns - 17th December 4.50pm
Kiki's Delivery Service - 18th December 4.25pm
Castle in the Sky - 19th December 4.25pm
Pom Poko - 20th December 4.15pm
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds - 21st December 4pm
Porco Rosso - 22nd December 4.55pm
Ocean Waves - 23rd December 5.30pm
My Neighbour Totoro - 24th December 5.15pm
Ponyo (Repeated) - 25th December 5.10pm

I personally am surprised that the other two Studio Ghibli films that received a cinema release in the UK (Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle) are not part of this schedule, but this looks like a brilliant season none-the-less.

Studio Ghibli Season on Film4