Just got back from seeing "Princess Mononoke". I'd already seen the movie (in Japanese, subtitled) on video, but this was my first time seeing it in the theater. Wow. I was extremely impressed. The film had a much bigger impact on me the second time around, mainly because I wasn't watching a video. This is a movie that needs to be seen on the big screen. It has a rather limited release (not sure how wide it will eventually open), but it's definitely worth driving a bit to see. The animation is absolutely fantastic, and the epic scale of the whole production is something that only registers in a theater setting.

As for the translation, the script was very good (thank you, Neil Gaiman) and even the dubbing was well done. Claire Danes as San didn't always hit the right note for me (at times she sounded rather "valley-girlish"), but the guy who did Ash.itaka [lol, the conent filter wouldn't let me put the actual name in] (the main character) was fantastic. Earlier I had said that I didn't think this movie was the one to mainstream anime, but I'm definitely rethinking that statement. If people go see this, it very well could usher in more non-Disney animation into the theaters.

Ste "I still think Shichigamma sounds cooler than Forest Spirit" phen