Syuusuke no Kanojo

Porco Rosso depicts the story of a bounty hunter caught up in the middle of a wartorn era. His name is Marco Porcellino, his alias: Crimson Pig.

A highly skilled aerodynamic pilot, who shows an arrogant and cold front, Marco does not recieve a lot of sympathy from the aerial pirates that plunder the Adriatic Sea (Ocean bordering Italy and Croatia). He would be the perfect stereotype cover photo for the Italian Avation Weekly magazine, except for ooone minor problem. Marco, is a pig.

However, this does not set him back any…Marco is actually quite satisfied with being in this state of affairs. Human problems and emotions cannot bother him anymore, like love, lust, and war, but under the pig fat that keeps him humbly protected and sheltered, you shall find a sensitive side to Marco. A side of pride, braveness, and caring for those around him, willing and able to bet his skin for a friend or to challenge the whole world for love. Unfortunately, he will never recognize this lost hope…he’d much rather be relaxing on his lonely island in the sea, sipping on high quality wine…or a fast fly on his hydroplane, the Savoia S21.

Synopsis | (See Spanish Version)
by: Alfredo Cofre

When he beats once again an aerial piracy act, (this time, done by the Mamma Aiuto band, �Help Mom�) the Adriatic�s aerial pirates gather themselves and hire a North American adventurer, Donald Curtiss, a candidate to Ace of the Air, a Hollywood actor, and a pursuer of being Preisdent of United States, to erradicate Porco from the air. He accept, more than anything, to prove to the world that he is the best in what he does (and what in he doesn�t as well). Anyway, in the Adriano Hotel he finds another motivation as he falls in a deep love (like always) with Gina, the owner of the hotel and the closest friend of Porco, whom she has been in love in a relative secret. Gina is a very suffered woman, she has lost three pilot husbands in the war or in plane accidents, and she keeps no more tears to cry for another man. Curtiss pretends to impressionate her by shooting down Porco _(what a mistake…). However, Porco isn�t for such games; His hydroplane is getting old, and needs an urgent repair. When he was flying to Milan, heading to a long-time friend�s plane garage, the old Piccolo, Porco is intercepted by Curtiss who took an advantage of a failure in Porco�s plane engine, and shot him down.

This is a gentle, and enchanting movie which is easy to fall in love with. Children and anime fan anime fan alike will be swept away. The theme is mystical and imaginative. One thing that really attached me to this movie is the freedom, sincerity and variety of emotional expression the characters use (especially the two young girls and Totoro, their furry forest friend).

There are lot of magical adventures to be found in this movie, from flying with umbrellas to catching a giant living (and “meowing”) cat bus that leaps from tree top to tree top to get around. Although the girls’ mother is in the hospital, and the youngest girl, Mei, gets lost (and found), there is nothing dirturbing about this movie. It is very gentle. The animation is colorful and expressionate, and the characters are youthful, lovable, and free spirited. All in all it is an enjoyable, lovable, and imaginative adventure.

This movie will make you feel like a kid again, thanks to all the lively characters!

Two young girls, Satsuke and her younger sister Mei, move into a house in the country with their father to be closer to their hospitalized mother. Satsuke and Mei discover that the nearby forest is inhabited by magical creatures called Totoros. They soon befriend these Totoros, and have several magical adventures.

Kiki’s Delivery Service was an animated movie directed by the world acclaimed animator, Hayao Miyazaki. The story was based on Eiko Kadono’s novel of the same title. It was the first major success of Studio Ghibli, which attracted over 2.6 million spectators, and has a box-office of 2.17 billion yen. Rather than following the explicit and epic route of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind or Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Miyazaki made Kiki a heart-warming story of a little girl, about her struggle of growth and independence. One may be surprised that a movie can be built on no antagonist. Even so, it is still highly entertaining and enjoyable, with values and meanings that are by no means less than its predecessors.

Synopsis
10-year old Chihiro becomes trapped in a forbidden world of gods and magic when her parents take her to investigate the other side of the tunnel. In order to survive, Chihiro must work and make herself useful, and find within her the courage and resolve she needs to save her parents and escape from a world where humans are dispised.

Review
The story is very light and imaginative. Spirited Away is comparable to Alice in Wonderland, as the story of Chihiro going through the tunnel is very much like Alice falling through the rabbit hole, but the similarities are superficial. The world of Spirited Away, in some ways, is wilder and more surreal than Alice in Wonderland yet at the same time more believable and coherent as well.