In case you didn't know, i'm running a whole other blog over here.
http://mistersean.blogspot.com/ Its content is aimed more at a general audience, while this blog (I've Seen A Kaiser Roll/19091977) is not necessarily for everyone. I just posted this bit.
I am not into where Japanese animation & Manga have gone & what they have become. When i was a kid, i got into the stuff because American cartoons were really bad in the 80s. They're still really bad, but there have been some good ones that have come out (original TMNT, New Adventures of Mighty Mouse, Ren & Stimpy, the Simpsons). But in a medium which is limitless, the output has been extremely limited. So, American kids turn to Japanese cartoons for some variety. The stuff being released today is total crap, there is no argument, but alot of what was being brought here in the 70s & 80s were actually good cartoons, regardless of where they came from. Hayao Miyazaki is one of the best cartoon producers in the world, his earlier work is better, his newer work is beginning to suffer from George Lucas Syndrome. I was profoundly influenced by Miyazaki, half because of his obsessive use of the big blue sky with big white clouds & vast expanses of green fields & woodlands, half because of the post-apocalyptic world he constantly portrayed in his earlier movies (Nausicaa, Laputa, Future Boy Conana). Most of the earlier Japanese cartoons released for the US market had some aspect of post-apocalyptic-ness in them, which i love. Miyazaki later moved into his folklore phase with movies (Kiki's Delivery Service, Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle). Miyazaki started as a very slap-stick animator with excellent timing & real cartoony-ness to his work, but as that has gone out of vogue, his work has become more Anime-generic. Most of his works are scored by Joe Hisaishi (who is very influenced by Yellow Magic Orchestra & Ryuichi Sakamoto) who writes real tear-jerkers. Hayao Miyazaki's work is very influenced by French comic artist
Moebius & Japanese manga/anime masters Osamu Tezuka & Leijii Matsumoto (add Miyazaki to those two & you've got the big guns of Japanese cartoons).
Future Boy Conan: Longer Intro plus extras: I was profoundly influenced by this work & wanted to live in this place.
Panda Ko Panda: Hilarious re-working of Pippi Longstocking with Pandas, this is my son's favorite cartoon. Pippi is his current favorite movie.
Totoro: This is a children's classic & should be seen by all kids. Fantastic.
Laputa: Ancient technology from Gulliver's Travels in a folked out post-apocalyptic Russian mining town.
Nausicaa: Miyaki's epic, the cartoon is a good way to get the gist of the whole series & see some exciting animated interpretations of the comic, but
the comic is the best way to experience Nausicaa.
Porco Rosso: Shows Miyazaki's total obsession with military aircraft (why hasn't he made a tank movie yet?) & is a very fun watch.
Lupin: Castle Cagliostro: Showing off Miyazaki's earlier slapstick style but incorporates alot of elements he'll use in the movies that follow this excellent cops & robbers adventure story.
If you want to learn more about Hayao Miyazaki check out
Nausicaa Net.