STACK Magazine April 2015 Issue 126

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APRIL 2015 JB Hi-Fi 058
visit EXTRAS
Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro
T he Collected Works of Hayao
Miyazaki Box Set is about to drop over
1200 minutes of wonderful straight into
your soul. This set includes eleven glorious films:
Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, Nausicaä of
the Valley of the Wind, Laputa: Castle in the Sky,
My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service,
Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away,
Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, and The Wind
Rises. This must-have set comes complete with
a deluxe collector’s box, 32-page booklet, a
bonus disc with Miyazaki’s earlier work, an
English translated video of Miyazaki’s retirement
press conference, and all of the special features
from the included films.
Based on the classic story ‘Tale of the
Bamboo Cutter’ and directed by Studio Ghibli
co-founder Isa Takahata, The Tale of the Princess
Kaguya is a beautiful film and the culmination
and embodiment of decades of work and
dedication.
Just when you thought that the soot sprites
must have whisked away the film forever,
Spirited Away gets a Blu-ray release and it is
totally worth the wait. One of Miyazaki’s most
adored films, Spirited Away is as beautiful to the
eyes as it is to the ears and heart. An absolute
masterpiece.
On a lighter note, Ben-To Series Collection
introduces us to Sato, a member of the Half-
Priced Food Lovers Club and his over-the-top
antics. Draw your chopsticks and do battle
over the most sacred of cuisines: half-price
convenience store bento boxes.
Dog & Scissors Series Collection doesn’t
really diverge from its title, wherein our two
main characters are a dog and a sicko with
scissors. Lifelong book nerd Harumi gets killed,
comes back as a dog, and finds himself being
tortured with scissors by his favourite author.
[WTF? - Ed.]
I guess having a crush on a zombie would
be undying love in the literal sense. Or should
it be, the loving dead? Sankarea – Undying
Love gets the collected treatment, so you can
knock back episode after episode of blood-
soaked horror and cringe-worthy, ultra-awkward
romance.
In Kill La Kill Volume 4, the penultimate foray
into this insane series, Satsuki takes up arms
to take control of the final outstanding location:
Osaka. Ryuko, of course, has other plans and
somehow things wind up on a nudist beach. Yep.
That’s Kill La Kill for ya.
Continuing the fantastical digital drama of
Shiroe and co., Log Horizon Part
2 arrives and wraps up this
potential Sword Art Online
Slayer. With the Goblin army
gathered and ready for
battle, Shiroe and his
band of misfits turn to
royalty for inspiration.
ANIME ROUND-UP Miyazaki
Characters
To celebrate such a great month for
Ghibli releases, it seems only natural
to pick our top 5 characters. The
best/hardest part is that there’s no
right nor wrong answer.
5 Ponyo – It’s impossible to stay
grumpy when faced with such
a light-hearted, joyous soul such as
Ponyo’s. Sure, I’m still not sure if she’s a
little girl, a fish or some weird chicken/
fish hybrid, but she’s still cute as a
button.
4 San – The ultimate animalistic
warrior, San stands up for those
who can’t stand up for themselves and
displays bravery and conviction like no
other. A true, grade-A bad arse.
3 Totoro – Totoro is everything you
think about when the name Studio
Ghibli is mentioned. Warm-hearted and
immensely hugable, this is one big,
grey, hairy beast that we’d all love to
have in our lives.
2 Kiki – The complete
encapsulation of innocence, Kiki is
the least witchiest witch you’re likely to
see on screen, and perhaps that’s why
she’s so delightful. She really knows
how to rock a smock, too!
1 Porco Rosso – Although not
necessarily the best known of
Miyazaki’s characters, Porco shows the
most character growth when he finally
reveals that he’s not so much a pig as a
warm hearted gentleman of the skies.
Dog & Scissors