Newest film from Studio Ghibli. I know it came out some time ago but the upcoming DVD release reminded me that I needed to watch this and so last night I did.

I've seen about 3 other Studio Ghibli films before and loved them all very much. So I had some pretty high expectations before watching Ponyo and I'd say that overall, some were met and some weren't.

Animation, both in terms of character and landscape design, as well as movement, are outstanding of course. There is no question that this is one of the best looking anime movies yet. The colours are so vivid and the characters move around in such a real way, it really is something else.

It's charming, and it's very cute. I really liked the characters, especially Sosuke's mom as I find her portrayal in the movie to be very good. The dubbing is also excellent, as one would expect from a localized Studio Ghibli film.

Now on to the story, where I kinda had a problem. You see, I almost felt as if it was non-existent. I don't know, maybe the file I watched it off of was messed up, but I don't believe that a lot of things were explained in the movie. It felt almost like a short film to me, one that didn't really make a point, which is in sharp contrast to the other Ghibli films I watched which have always had a really elaborate story.

I don't know, maybe this was supposed to hearken back to the studio's earlier works, but it just left me kinda wanting more. I mean I loved everything that was there, but I just felt that there wasn't enough of it.

I don't know, I'd like to hear from other anime fans who have watched this. I'll probably watch it again, just because it's such a pleasure, but I wish the story was more developed. Like for example, who is Ponyo's dad and what is it exactly that he was doing at the bottom of the sea? What is Ponyo? Her mother? Things like that....

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Originally posted by SYSTEM-J Levels is...decent...damn better than a lot of the shite dominating the charts at the moment. It sounds absolutely nothing like...a billion and one similar tracks in this big-room style. I always had a soft spot.