My next suggestion thread: MNT and WHR

[Jeikobu]

I want to ask about everyone's personal spiritual opinion of two more anime. Did you like them? Do you think that I would? Please tell me if these are good for Christians to watch and why. And before anyone mentions it, yes I have read the reviews here.

My Neighbor Totoro-Miyazaki is obviously a legendary figure in anime, and having only seen Castle in the Sky, I want to see more of his films. I think MNT definitely looks like it's worth a shot. Only one thing bothers me. Are the creatures that the kids find supposed to literally be "gods"? And if so, do they dwell on this? Does it hurt the experience of the movie? I decided not to see Princess Mononoke due to the amount of false religion it looked like it had. Something about those white "god" figures I saw pictures of bothered me, and I decided it would be better to pass it up. MNT doesn't look like it goes that far, however I don't really know a lot about it, so I woulkd like opinions on this. And if you do recommend it, how can I see it subbed? The licensed DVD only has the dub. Can I download it somewhere? (it can't really be robbery if it isn't licensed here)

Witch Hunter Robin-I've heard things about this that made it sound good, then things that made it sound bad. I was bothered in general at first by the involvement of witches. But when I consider it, it comes down to how they are portrayed. If they are shown as the evil villains, that's one thing. Disney movies like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty have witches as villains. But reading the review, it sounds like the heroes also use witchcraft. This bothers me. Is it really witchcraft, or is it more like a superpower? I want to know the deep truth of it before I try this anime. And while it's great that the review makes it sound like Robin is a nun and prays at a church and such (and the review says that it's one of the few anime that "seems to be sympathetic to Christianity"), if she uses witchcraft, what sense does it make? The Bible says that good and bad water do not flow from the same spring. Please clear this one up for me.

Any help would be appreciated. Arigatou

[Mr. SmartyPants]

well yeah, Robin is a witch. But you could also say she's a superhero... ya know. There isn't anything really... "witchy" about her

my neighbor totoro was amazingly awesome and cute. They aren't gods or anything. They can plant trees and plants and stuff in a rapid time, like it's "magical" or something but it's all good

[R. Zion]

Basically 'the craft', from what I remember, resembles more the mutant powers of, say, the X-Men, as some have put it, than real witch craft.

There are there strange circles that popped up in 2 or 3 episodes I never understood, though.

[Mangafanatic]

Yes, Totoro was a "tree spirit". But this thought was scarcely touched on, and there was really nothing else of this nature in the film. You should REALLY give it a try. Very cute and heart warming!

[Jeikobu]

Ok, I think I'll see MNT (but I have to somehow get a hold of a subbed version). But I'm still not sure about WHR.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

i REALLY love witch hunter robin because each episode is like a supernatural crime show. It's so awesome!

[Aka-chan]

Totoro's very clean. I haven't seen Monoke-hime, so I can't compare it with that for you, but I'd say Tonari no Totoro has even less emphasis on it all being spirits than even Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi.

[Ashley]

Can I download it somewhere? (it can't really be robbery if it isn't licensed here)

Careful--others do not share that view. And officially, I can't let anything be posted here about where to get downloads of this. So play nice.

[Mangafanatic]

All fansubs ethics aside, My Neighbod Totoro IS licensed. I saw a US released version of this film a year or so ago. You might even be able to pick it up at a Blockbuster. That's where my copy came from.

[Hitokiri]

The witches in WHR aren't as the usual mindset...warty, pointy hat hags that fly on brooms. They all fight for a different cause. For instance, Robin who is said to be a craft user, uses her powers to help wtches by capturing them and constrain thier powers.

Than you get some witches who use thier powers for revenge, thier own personal gain, or for kicks.

While some use thier powers to help others in need. For instance, in one episode, a guy finds out her has the power to bring a person back from near-death by sacraficing a person's life to save that. [spoiler]in the end of the episode, he sacrafices his own life to save his friend [/spoiler].

So it's kinda mixed. I don't really think them as witches but more so as mutants like X-Men but more realistic.

[Rev. Doc]

I watched a coule of episodes of Witch Hunter Robin on CN but didn't really care for it.

My Neighbor Totoro is excellent and I highly recommend it. However, if you are going to get a subtitle version you will have to purchase a Region 2 copy from Japan as a licensed subtitled isn't available on region 1. There is indeed a licensed Region 1 copy of the dubbed and I remember it to be quite good. Disney was going to rerelease Totoro with subtitle this month but it was replaced with The Cat Returns. However, it is believed it will be coming out in the near future. But if I were you I would go ahead and pick up the dubbed. In fact I saw a copy at Best Buy the other day for $9.99. You can't beat that.

[bakura_fan]

Basically 'the craft', from what I remember, resembles more the mutant powers of, say, the X-Men, as some have put it, than real witch craft.

There are there strange circles that popped up in 2 or 3 episodes I never understood, though.

The circles that appear are used for the craft. They are authentic Celtic Runes. I learned this because I have the whole dvd series. This is what the behind the scenes had to say about the circles....

"Ring of Ogam
Ogam is the Written language of the Ancient Celts. It was used for a variety of reasons, including spell casting. Ogam is usually written in straight lines either vertical or horizontal. The circle on the floor in episode 1 is actually a "Fionn’s Wheel" in which all 25 Ogam symbols are arranged around a series of concentric circles. This was used in "Pathworking", a powerful magical technique.

Hagal's Eight
Hagal's Eight (for the eight letters of Hagal) are runic symbols. While the Ogam writing system was dveloped by the Celts, the runes are derived from the Norse languages. Believed to be a gift from Odin himself, runes were believed to be powerful magical symbols. The runes are divided into three groups of eight: Freya's eight, Hagal's Eight, and Tyr's Eight. Hagal's Eight deal with the forces of nature: the first four runes (the left grouping) deal with disruptive natural forces and the last four runes(the right grouping) represent protective spriritual forces. "

also...it described what a Witch was.....

"Witch
In Witch Hunter Robin the term "witch" is applied to a human of either gender who has paranormal powers. It does not specifically relate to the use of magic. The difference between Witch and Hunter seems to be based on which side one is on, as Robin and Karasuma both have special abilities."

I hope this helps.

[Jeikobu]

I watched a coule of episodes of Witch Hunter Robin on CN but didn't really care for it.

Could you please say why?

My Neighbor Totoro is excellent and I highly recommend it. However, if you are going to get a subtitle version you will have to purchase a Region 2 copy from Japan as a licensed subtitled isn't available on region 1. There is indeed a licensed Region 1 copy of the dubbed and I remember it to be quite good. Disney was going to rerelease Totoro with subtitle this month but it was replaced with The Cat Returns. However, it is believed it will be coming out in the near future. But if I were you I would go ahead and pick up the dubbed. In fact I saw a copy at Best Buy the other day for $9.99. You can't beat that.

I'll either look online for a fansub or wait for Disney to release it subbed, because I'm not a fan of dubbed anime and wuld much rather see it subbed. Thanks for the recommendation though.

In Witch Hunter Robin the term "witch" is applied to a human of either gender who has paranormal powers. It does not specifically relate to the use of magic. The difference between Witch and Hunter seems to be based on which side one is on, as Robin and Karasuma both have special abilities."

Interesting, I guess I'm just a little bothered by how they're called witches and are said to use witchcraft, even if that's not what it's supposed to be.

[Crossdive]

The witches in WHR aren't as the usual mindset...warty, pointy hat hags that fly on brooms. They all fight for a different cause. For instance, Robin who is said to be a craft user, uses her powers to help wtches by capturing them and constrain thier powers.

Than you get some witches who use thier powers for revenge, thier own personal gain, or for kicks.

While some use thier powers to help others in need. For instance, in one episode, a guy finds out her has the power to bring a person back from near-death by sacraficing a person's life to save that. [spoiler]in the end of the episode, he sacrafices his own life to save his friend [/spoiler].

So it's kinda mixed. I don't really think them as witches but more so as mutants like X-Men but more realistic.

I personally don't like the look of it though, just by what I have heard and what I feel the Lord tells me when I look at it, it is a negative feeling towards it...
btw, you forgot to put IMO after that X-Men reference. Some people would agree, others wouldn't. Please put an IMO after that sort of thing, otherwise people might get the impression that you believe your opinion is the opinion, rather than just that: an opinion. Thanks...
oh, and, incase I said anything in need of it that I didn't really notice, IMO...

[Mangafanatic]

btw, you forgot to put IMO after that X-Men reference. Some people would agree, others wouldn't. Please put an IMO after that sort of thing, otherwise people might get the impression that you believe your opinion is the opinion, rather than just that: an opinion. Thanks...
oh, and, incase I said anything in need of it that I didn't really notice, IMO...

Um, anything that any of us say in a discussion post (especially in a thread where opinions have been solicited) has an understood IMO before it, because any statement anyone makes that's not plain synopsis is obviously an opinion.

If we threw in "IMHO's" every other sentence, the phrase would loose its importance.

[Rev. Doc]

Could you please say why?

I didn't care for the overall gothic feel of the show. While this might appeal to many younger audiences it wasn't an enhancement to me.

And as far as finding a fansub of the subtitled Totoro, I think the age of the title and the fact that it is licensed is going to make that almost impossible. You most likely will be better off waiting for the Disney release.

[Namelessknight]

WHR-the "witches" are simply another branch of humanity that can access genepool power not available to homo sapiens; it's all genetics[the whole point of the show, if you understand what Robin truly represents]. As for the symbols, as Bakura-fan stated, they are ancient Celtic runes. I did alittle bit of research and it turns out they were what the druids supposedly used. I loved WHR, but could understand why others wouldn't\couldn't....

[Yojimbo]

[img]Please%20put%20an%20IMO%20after%20that%20sort%20of%20thing,%20otherwise%20people%20might%20get%20the%20impression%20that%20you%20believe%20your%20opinion%20is%20the%20opinion,%20rather%20than%20just%20that:%20an%20opinion.[/img]

Well his opinion is just that his opinion. In this type of thread people will give their opinions there is no right or wrong one here.

[Jeikobu]

Um, anything that any of us say in a discussion post (especially in a thread where opinions have been solicited) has an understood IMO before it, because any statement anyone makes that's not plain synopsis is obviously an opinion.

If we threw in "IMHO's" every other sentence, the phrase would loose its importance.

You'll have to excuse Crossdive, he's the biggest Marvel nut on the planet and is sensitive to anything remotely negative toward Marvel. ^^]I didn't care for the overall gothic feel of the show. While this might appeal to many younger audiences it wasn't an enhancement to me.

And as far as finding a fansub of the subtitled Totoro, I think the age of the title and the fact that it is licensed is going to make that almost impossible. You most likely will be better off waiting for the Disney release.[/QUOTE]
Darn, I was afraid of that. I hope Disney hurries up. Thanks though. ^^

As for WHR, I think what I may end up doing is renting it and then seeing for myself what I think. Arigatou for all of the suggestion minna-san. Any more are still welcome.

[Ren_sama]

My Neighbor Totoro was a beautiful story! It was so sweet! Sweet like Spirited Away...it's nothing like Princess Mononoke. Not violent at all, just cute kids and cute little animals...^o^ I love that movie...

Witch Hunter Robin...I love the series. I taped and kept every episode from CN...if you're willing to see Full metal Alchemist, which, in my opinion, is more 'threating' to Christianity, then I think you'll be able to handle WHR. Robin is a witch, but not one seen in Disney movies. Robin, despite how cheezy this may sound, fights for good! (wow, that did sound cheezy)
The whole witchcraft, evil power thing only applies to the villans of the show...whom usually get burned up or jailed at the end anyway.
Thoguh, there was that one girl who was [spoiler]a painter because she liked the nature that God created, so she painter the lakes and trees etc. But she also had this issue that whoever littered were evil and blew them up...[/spoiler] Though I think it was just the girl...
Robin was a nun (or she came from a convent) before she came to HQ,,,

[Jeikobu]

Interesting. That makes it sound pretty good, but my younger brother really didn't like what he saw of it and he usually has very good discernment. And granted it looks dark but then I think it's supposed to look that way. I guess I'll just have to see for myself.