Ponyo: The Little Fish With The Round Tummy

I can't believe that, as many times as I've watched "Ponyo" since I started this blog, I have never voiced my opinion on it!!!!!!!!!!  But after watching "Moonphase," an anime with a major focus on vampires, I felt I needed something a little more lighthearted!!!!! 
"Ponyo" is an animated adventure centered on a 5-year-old boy (Sosuke) and his relationship with a goldfish princess (Ponyo) who longs to become human. Ponyo confirms Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki's reputation as one of the most imaginative filmmakers working today. Loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson's "The Little Mermaid," Ponyo is a magical celebration of innocent love and the fragile beauty of the natural world. The daughter of the sea goddess Gran Mamare (voiced by Cate Blanchett) and the alchemist Fujimoto (Liam Neeson), Ponyo (Noah Cyrus) begins life as an adventurous little goldfish. Chafing at her father's restrictions, she goes in search of adventure and meets Sosuke (Frankie Jonas), a good-natured 5-year-old who lives by the sea. Sosuke adopts Ponyo and quickly wins her heart. Fujimoto uses magic to bring her back, but Ponyo's love for Sosuke proves stronger than his elixirs. She transforms herself into a human girl and returns to him during a spectacular storm at sea, but her metamorphosis upsets the balance of nature, precipitating a crisis only Gran Mamare can resolve.
I may be prejudiced by my love for almost anything Miyazaki, but "Ponyo" definitely gets the highest rating in my book!!!!!!!!!! 

"Moonphase" Phase Out?

I've spent the majority of the time since I woke up this morning watching "Moonphase." This anime most definitely does not fall under the "sugary" anime category, but something about it makes me think that when I'm done watching it, my final opinion won't be that favorable.....
All Morioka Kohei wants to be a regular photographer, but all he ever seems to capture on film is ghosts! With 70 percent of his photos inhabited by the undead, Kohei has managed to gain not only a reputation, but also a job at an occult magazine. Things couldn't be more "normal" until he is sent to a obscure castle where he photographs a mysterious girl with a knack at disappearing, thus piquing his interest to return. And thus, Kohei sets out on a journey that takes him into the heart of the occult, on a mission to help the cutest vampire in existence find her long lost mother!  What started out as a seemingly cute anime about a vampire eventually evolved into a martial arts battle for survival!  But it once again diverted itself back to the original storyline.  All in all, not a bad series, though I did find Haiji, the little spirit, to be slightly annoying!  On a positive note, one of my fave voice actresses (Monica Rial) has a role in this particular anime!  I'm not sure what rating to give this anime, but it was neither the worst nor the best I've seen since I became interested in anime  about 10 years ago!!!!!!!!!

Back 2 "Nana"!!!!!

I took advantage of the fact that the family decided not to attend today's services at church to watch some anime.  I watched the second box set of "Nana" this morning!

Careers, friendship, love--can two bright young women named Nana manage to have it all? Nana K.'s Tokyo experiment is in jeopardy when she finds herself strapped for cash and her relationship with Shoji on uncertain ground. Nana O.'s love life takes an unexpected turn when she's reunited with her old flame, Ren from Trapnest. With such a close connection to her favorite band, will Nana K. get to meet the man of her dreams--Takumi? Sometimes dreams do come true...

I guess this is the part of the blog where I talk about what I liked and didn't like about the anime.  That's going to be incredibly difficult!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I guess the characters are so real that it's hard to find one to dislike!

I am definitely enjoying this anime and can't wait to purchase the 3rd box set from the Dealer's Room at this year's Anime USA convention in a few weeks!!!!!!!!!!!  (Along with a few other anime titles!)