Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful Anime Comic...
Review: A beautiful adaptation of the anime. Makes a GREAT gift. Too bad there is no box set or something, I think that would sell REALLY well...Anyway, the color is just beautiful and its a great way to relive the action and emotion of the original anime, or for people who didn't see it to see it for the first time.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Anime Comic...
Review: A beautiful adaptation of the anime. Makes a GREAT gift. Too bad there is no box set or something, I think that would sell REALLY well... Anyway, the color is just beautiful and its a great way to relive the action and emotion of the original anime, or for people who didn't see it to see it for the first time.
Rating:
Summary: great read, although a little confusing at first
Review: Before they can go to their new home, Chihiro and her family end up in a strage fake-looking place. When her parents are turned into pigs, Chihiro has to depend on the help of a strange and mysterious boy named Haku. I'd never read in the Japanese right-to-left format before, so I had a little bit of trouble at first, but it's not too bad once you get used to it. Everything is read from right to left, not just where you start in the book, but also which speech bubble you start with and what side of the page. I haven't seen the film yet, but, after reading this, I'm really looking forward to seeing it. I liked Haku the most, although Chihiro got more interesting as the story progressed.
Rating:
Summary: great read, although a little confusing at first
Review: Before they can go to their new home, Chihiro and her family end up in a strage fake-looking place. When her parents are turned into pigs, Chihiro has to depend on the help of a strange and mysterious boy named Haku. I'd never read in the Japanese right-to-left format before, so I had a little bit of trouble at first, but it's not too bad once you get used to it. Everything is read from right to left, not just where you start in the book, but also which speech bubble you start with and what side of the page. I haven't seen the film yet, but, after reading this, I'm really looking forward to seeing it. I liked Haku the most, although Chihiro got more interesting as the story progressed.
Rating:
Summary: "Calm down and take a deep breath"
Review: I confess to a severe case of impatience. I have been waiting for 'Spirited Away' to make it to the US for just too long. Finally, I noticed this little set of manga based on the film and I lost all control and bought the first one of the set. So much for will power. This set is really nicely done. They are small, almost pocket sized, but you would never want to put them in your pocket. There is an outer wrap cover, as well as the inner, and the illustrations, entirely in color, are clearly the cels from the film. They are beautiful to look at, in vibrant color and once again demonstrate that Miyazaki and the rest of Studio Ghibli remain masters of the art form. The story is about Chihiro Ogima, who is 10, and her mother and father. They are moving to a new home, Chihiro is very unhappy about all the changes, and her parents are not paying as much attention to her as she would like. When her father takes a wrong turn, they happen on a strange amusement park. The adults are changed into pigs via some weird magic, and Chihiro only survives in human form due to the intervention of Haku, a 12-year-old boy with some magical powers of his own. The styling is classic Miyazaki, with great work on the expressions of both the human and non-human characters. These last come in every shape and type imaginable. Another thing I like is, since the sound effects are left in Japanese, someone has gone to the immense trouble of providing a frame-by-frame translation of them. Just the thing for an adult who wants to read these aloud to a child. One slight warning. These manga are in Japanese order [right to left, top to bottom]. At first, this is a bit confusing, but after a while, it gets to be fun. In addition, it preserves the effect of the original manga page layouts, which really is the best way to present them. These comics are almost precious enough to be considered collectable. I don't know if I will buy the rest of the set yet, but I wouldn't blame me one bit if I did.
Rating:
Summary: "Calm down and take a deep breath"
Review: I confess to a severe case of impatience. I have been waiting for 'Spirited Away' to make it to the US for just too long. Finally, I noticed this little set of manga based on the film and I lost all control and bought the first one of the set. So much for will power. This set is really nicely done. They are small, almost pocket sized, but you would never want to put them in your pocket. There is an outer wrap cover, as well as the inner, and the illustrations, entirely in color, are clearly the cels from the film. They are beautiful to look at, in vibrant color and once again demonstrate that Miyazaki and the rest of Studio Ghibli remain masters of the art form. The story is about Chihiro Ogima, who is 10, and her mother and father. They are moving to a new home, Chihiro is very unhappy about all the changes, and her parents are not paying as much attention to her as she would like. When her father takes a wrong turn, they happen on a strange amusement park. The adults are changed into pigs via some weird magic, and Chihiro only survives in human form due to the intervention of Haku, a 12-year-old boy with some magical powers of his own. The styling is classic Miyazaki, with great work on the expressions of both the human and non-human characters. These last come in every shape and type imaginable. Another thing I like is, since the sound effects are left in Japanese, someone has gone to the immense trouble of providing a frame-by-frame translation of them. Just the thing for an adult who wants to read these aloud to a child. One slight warning. These manga are in Japanese order [right to left, top to bottom]. At first, this is a bit confusing, but after a while, it gets to be fun. In addition, it preserves the effect of the original manga page layouts, which really is the best way to present them. These comics are almost precious enough to be considered collectable. I don't know if I will buy the rest of the set yet, but I wouldn't blame me one bit if I did.
Rating:
Summary: How can I find the music score (the notes)?
Review: I searched all over, and have found the CD and the picture book, but can't find the music score (the notes) anywhere! Pls help!! If you can help, pls email me at eelinsee2002@yahoo.com
Thanks.
Ee Lin
Rating: 
Summary: emina lufredonw s'ikazayiM fo noisrev agnam emulov-5 A
Review: I was tempted to go out and pick up the five volume manga edition of Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece the Oscar winning "Spirited Away," but I managed to be strong because I did not want to dilute my enjoyment of the film one iota when it finally came out on DVD (I live in the far north, where a film like this is never going to come to a real movie theater). Now that "Spirited Away" is available to the masses the manga version is no longer a substitute: if the choice is between the anime and the manga, see the anime. But for those who are enthralled by the story and everything that Miyazaki-sama invested in the animation, this is another way of cherishing "Spirited Away." Yes, you have to read the book from "back" to "front" becuase things are laid out right-to-left (like the title of this review) and you need to be aware of this so you do not open the wrong end and accidentally find out where each volume ends. The artwork consists of cells taken from the film, which will allow you to look for the little details Miyazaki puts into virtually every drawing. You can also study his use of color, which is certainly worth paying attention to as well. In terms of what you get "extra" with the manga version are the original Japanese soundeffects. There is also a black wrap around cover to protect the book and remind you that "Spirited Away" is something special. Note: If you have seen the film then telling you that Volume 1 ends with Chihiro at the door to the boiler room will mean something to you. If you have not seen the film, then go see the film. This manga is pretty good, but the anime it is based on is simply great.
Rating:
Summary: Ok, here goes:
Review: I'm writing this review because I know how incredibly frustrating it is to want to buy a book, and not know if it's worth it. I'll admit it. I'm no manga fan. But this book is truly a masterpiece. It has a nice shiny cover. It's not hardcover, but it has a nice jacket all the same. I found this very interesting because you read this but the way one in Asia would read it: backwards. It's a very strange experiance, yet quite fun. Now that I've described the apperance of the book, I'll try to tell you the truly wonderful plot of this book without spoiling it. I've have decide that all Miyazaki books and films are the only good manga out there. It amazed me! I never once gave manga a chance until I heard the halarious sounding plot of Spirited Away: It starts with the story of a small girl, named Chihiro, and her family, who are moving away to a new town. They of course, take a wrong turn, as so many of us do while moving to a new house.... wait... I'm only 13, so I wouldn't know. Let's pretend I do.... well, anyway, beside the point. They find an old ghost town and Chihiro wanders off. When she returns, she finds that her parents are pigs... literally. She now has to work there, in order to return her parents. It's SUCH a great story with GORGEOUS art. Buy, it, even if you're NOT a manga fan. I mean, look at me!
Rating:
Summary: This is the english translation of the Japanese film-comic
Review: In Japan, comic books ('manga') are a huge industry. Often, animated films are turned into full-color graphic novels. In fact, almost every film Studio Ghibli has produced has been released as a 'film comic.' This version by Viz Communications preserves the original Jappanese right-to-left reading format (you begin reading at the 'last page', and work your way to what we consider the 'front' of a book.) Don't worry, you'll get used to reading a book "the wrong way 'round." Why would you want this book? 1. To read the story of the movie Spirited Away. The USA (English) DVD version won't be available for quite a while, and this book contains English dialog. 2. To look at the pictures and study the artwork. Even in a small book like this, with multiple panels per page, the pictures show more detail of the artwork than you'll see from the DVD version. Although Studio Ghibli used computers extensively to assemble the film, animators still drew character cels and background artists still painted the backgrounds by hand. Cels and backgrounds were then scanned into computers at high resolution for final composition. Also, on some of the pan or tilt shots in the film, the book layout artists assembled selected frames of the shot into a larger picture. An example of this is -- in the film there is a shot that starts on the roof line above an alley. The 'camera' tilts down to show more of the alley, and finally reveals two of the films' characters running through the alley. In the book, the top, middle and bottom of the tilt shot are assembled into one full-page, highly detailed spread. NOTE: I have the Japanese version of this book. The text is essentially the script of the film. I'm using it and the DVD of the movie to help my study of the Japanese language. There -- I hope that gives you enough information...
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