Winner of the Studio Ghibli Character tournament

Hey guys, how are you all? I have good news!

I would like to announce the winner of the tournament!
(drum roll please)




It was Calcifer!
Thank you soooo much to everyone who voted, I could not have done this without you guys. You are the best! I may do another one sometime soon, who knows? Hope you all have a great day!

An :)

Spooky Week Day 1 - Petrifying Pumpkins!

It is time. Time for the scariest thing in the world. Something that you have feared doing for a long time.

It's origami!!!

(cue dramatic chords)

So I thought that I would do a spooky week on here to add more excitement into Halloween, the scariest event of the year. Everyday, I will take you through how to make something Halloweeny with origami. And on the last day, we will put together all of our creations into something special for the big night! Also, this week, I have a good friend joining and making the halloween origami with me.

Hi guys! I'm Lauren, and this month An and I did some spooky origami together (although it was mainly her- I'm not the most talented at origami!) and I had a skele-ton of fun doing it! I have just started a blog (http://gamingmusicgalaxy.blogspot.co.uk)where I will talk about gaming music, so if that interests you then please check it out! I love all music and play the violin and piano. I hope you all have a wonderful, spooky Halloween!

For this you will need:

Some origami paper, you can get this at craft and hobby stores and probably Asian supermarkets. If you cannot find origami paper, you just need a square sheet of paper that is 15x15 cm. As we are making pumpkins, you could use orange paper but you can use any colour that you want if you want a particularly snazzy pumpkin.

Grab some paper, a hot drink and maybe a friend as we are going to start Spoooooky Origami!

For the method, I will show you a picture of where to fold and another picture of what it should look like when folded.

1. Fold the paper in half so it looks like a triangle

2. Fold the paper again so it makes a smaller triangle. Open it up so you have a big triangle with a fold line in the middle.

3. Ok, so this is the tricky step. Turn the triangle on its side and pull up one of the smaller triangles and open it so you have an opening. Keep one hand on the triangle that is not being opened up and push the top corner of the triangle down so it meets the bottom corner to make a square. Flip the whole thing over and do the same thing with the other triangle

4. When you have a square, take the triangle on the right and fold it over to the left.

5. Fold one edge of the square so it meets the centre line.

6. Rotate the paper 180 degrees and fold so it meets the centre.

7. Rotate the paper back 180 degrees and fold the small triangle you just made back to the centre and take the right triangle and fold it over to the left

8. Repeat steps 5, 6 and 7 but with the other side. It should start to look more like a pumpkin now!

9. Flip the square so the back is facing towards you and fold the corners into the center

10. Flip the pumpkin back around, it should look like a spooky pumpkin. All that is left is to draw a smiley face on it!

And you are finished! Well done, you have made a pumpkin! I hope that the instructions were clear and easy to understand. Please tell me in the comments how you found this mini project, I would love to see your pumpkins. If you would like, send me a picture on Google Plus to me or by the blog email toomuchwasabimakesyoucry@gmail.com Tomorrows Halloweeny project is Ghoulish Ghosties!

Morinaga caramels

Hi guys, how are you all? I'm doing very well at the moment, everything so far has been fine. So, I thought that this would be a fun short post about one of the objects in the short film Mei and the Kittenbus

Its the box of caramels that Mei is holding.

From the Official Studio Ghibli Book, Mei and the Kittenbus

And you may be thinking why? Why would you write a post on just a box of caramels? Well, fellow Ghiblievers (is that the name of the Studio Ghibli fanbase? I really don't know) I actually found some in an Asian supermarket.

As I bought it in the UK, it has slightly different packaging to the original from Japan. I did get the matcha flavoured one because I thought 'Why not?' I have had the original but I bought it a long time ago when I went to Japan a couple of years ago.

The box 

I tried it and it was amazing. I guess you could say that I loved it just as much as Ponyo loves ham. (Yes, I am slowly running out of creativity for these puns) If you find this in the shops, you should get some, you will not regret it.

As one final thing, I do like this little touch on the side. If you throw the wrapper away, the bin will be very happy!

The happy bin :)

So I hope that you enjoyed this mini post. What do you think the Studio Ghibli Fan base should be called? Can you come up with any Ghibli based puns? Leave your thoughts on this in the comments and I will happily read them to see all the creativity. If you liked this post, give this post a 1+ or follow me on Google+ to know when I next post something. Otherwise, have a great day!

Studio Ghibli!

I've recently been obsessed with Ghibli films and music. I found some Ghibli music to listen to on my iPod and I've started to play a Ghibli medley on the piano (very terribly, I'm a terrible pianist). A few years ago, I went to the Ghibli museum in Mitaka and it was brilliant! If you also love Ghibli films just as much as I do, I'll put the details about how to get the the Ghibli museum at the end, I totoro-y loved it (that was an awful pun, I'm sorry)

My collection of Ghibli toys!

The name

Who here has wondered why the studio have such as unusual name? I have. Definitely.
I thought that Ghibli was a japanese word that I was just not familiar with. But it turns out that its not a Japanese word at all. It's actually Italian, Hayao Miyazaki believed that it would 'blow a new wind into the anime industry' How metaphorical. But I believe that they have done just that with their captivating and engaging films.

The history

This studio was founded on 15 June 1985 with Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata as the directors and Toshio Suzuki as the producer. It was formed after the success of the film Nausicaa, of the Valley of the Wind, directed by Miyazaki for another film studio called Topcraft. Suzuki was a part of the production team and together along with Takahata, Studio Ghibli was formed

Most of the films were directed by Miyazaki but others were directed by other directors, for example, Hiroyuki Morita who directed my one of my favourite Ghibli films, The Cat Returns! The composer of all most of wonderful music was composed by Joe Hisaishi.

In 1996, it was agreed that Disney would distribute the films internationally so people outside Japan could enjoy the magic.

Did you know: Studio Ghibli had a close relationship with the magazine company Animage. There was a section called Ghibli Notes where they had exclusive articles of the studio. There would often be artwork in and on the cover.

The Ghibli museum was opened October 2001 where there are exhibits based on the films. There is a Catbus which you can climb into and a huge (possibly life size) robot from Laputa, Castle in the Sky. Also, they show exclusive short films that you cannot see anywhere else.

In 2005, Suzuki was made Corporation President after the studio became independent from Tokuma Shoten, an entertainment publisher. But in 2008, he stood down and Hoji Hoshino replaced him. Suzuki wanted to improve films as the producer instead of asking this from his employees. Hoji Hoshino who was the President of Walt Disney Japan, was chosen by Suzuki to become the new President as he had been helping Studio Ghibli sell their films ever since 1996

Miyazaki's son Goro directed Tales from Earthsea. Miyazaki's last time directing a film was The Wind Rises, it was released on 20 July 2013 in Japan. But sadly, on 1 September in the same year, the great Hayao Miyazaki comfirmed his retirement during a press conference.

Goro Miyazaki however directed his first anime TV series Sanzoku no musume Ronya which is based on Astrid Lindgren's  story, Ronia, the Robber's daughter on 31 January 2014

Suzuki retired as producer in March 2014 and became the general manager

Due to Miyazaki's retirement, Suzuki announced that would take a 'brief pause' on August 2014 to consider where the company would go in the future. Who knows what they may do? Nobody knows. But I'm sure that people will hope that Studio Ghibli to carry on making extraordinary films.

The films

Here are some fun facts about the films

I have decided to have a few fun facts for some films that the studio has made. 

Nausicaa, of the Valley of the Wind

In the American dub, Shia Labeouf voices Asbel.

When this film was to be released in the West, it was edited and rewritten. Miyazaki as asked for all films released in the West to be translated directly and for there to be no editing.

Laputa, Castle in the Sky

In the American dub, Mark Hamil voices Muska. 

The foxes from Nausicaa, of the Valley of the Wind, make an appearance in the Castle.

My Neighbour Totoro

The Catbus could be based on Bakeneko, a cat from Japanese folklore where when a cat reaches a certain age, it can transform into other forms. 

The page in the book Mei and the Kittenbus where you can see all the other forms

There has been a short film called Mei and the Kittenbus which shows the other forms of the cats, including trains.

The book, Mei and the Kittenbus

The caramel box that Mei is seen to have during the film is actually a box of Morinaga caramel that you can buy in Japan.

Princess Mononoke

It was the highest grossing film in Japan until it was beaten by Titanic

Spirited Away

Chihiro, was based on Miyazaki's friend's daughter. He wanted to create a film where the main character was just a regular 10 year old with no special abilities to show that everyone can be heroines.

The river spirit was based on Miyazaki's experience with cleaning a river

Kiki's Delivery Service

Miyazaki himself makes a cameo. In the scene after Kiki saves Tombo, a street worker shouts 'That's my broom', an animated Miyazaki is in the top right corner of that scene.

EDIT: Studio Ghibli have made some animations for the company Ito En called My Neighbour Rice Ball. Check out this link to see more! http://en.rocketnews24.com/2016/09/15/studio-ghibli-introduces-new-character-my-neighbour-rice-ball-as-part-of-ad-campaign/

I will start the Ghibli Character Tournament on 12 September. Vote for your favourite character by writing their name in the comments and every week, the losers in each pair will be eliminated.

Enjoy! :)

How to get to the Studio Ghibli Museum

Go to Mitaka station from Shinjuku with the JR East Japan Chuo line

When you get to the station, exit via the South exit and from bus stop 9, there is a community bus to the Ghibli museum. 

Address

1-1-83 Simorenjaku, Mitaka-shi

Tokyo 181-0013

Pokemon Go

So Pokemon go has been released for Europe, Japan, US, Canada and Australia letting people become a Pokemon trainer in real life. Now people are walking around town looking for Pokemon, battling and training at Gyms and overall, having a fun time. This left me wondering, are Pokemon are based on actual animals?

And the answer is yes
Let's start with the starter Pokemon and have a Magikarpet ride to find these animals!

Bulbasaur

Well, according to the Nintendo wikia, Bulbasaur is reptilian creature which shares traits with amphibians. And as there are no reptiles that are part amphibian, I moved onto his most defining feature. His bulb.

As the bulb is a plant, this meant that the Bulbasaur was in a symbiotic relationship with the bulb. There are three types of symbiotic relationship, parasitism, commensalism and mutualism. Parasitism is when only one species benefits at the expense of the other. Commensalism is where one species benefits without harming the other. Mutualism is where both species benefit from the relationship. In this case, the bulb is important to the Bulbasaur's growth by providing nutrients and in return, the Bulbasaur lies in the sunlight to help the bulb to grow. So we have figured out that Bulbasaur is based on an animal that has a mutualistic relationship with a plant

So what animal could Bulbasaur be based on?

Could this be what the Bulbasaur is based on?
From https://featuredcreature.com/meet-the-ultra-punk-rock-mary-river-turtle-thats-battling-extinction/
I'm not sure who to give credit to for this photo but if you can prove that you are the original photographer, please let me know so I can put your name in the caption. Also, if you are the original photographer and would like me to remove this picture, also let me know so I can remove it.

That animal is the Mary River Turtle. It is probably the closest to the Bulbasaur in appearance but this is not a mutualistic relationship, it is just some plants growing on a turtle. And this is Onixceptable! (I felt that pun was necessary)

There are many plant/animal combinations in the wild but plants need to get building materials from the ground with roots or if they don't have roots, they have a large surface area to volume ratio. The Bulbasaur clearly doesn't have any roots and the bulb has a very small surface area to volume ratio. I don't think that there any animals that share building materials like carbon, nitrogen and water with plants. So could there be something else that can transfer nutrients from animal to plant?

What about fungi?

Lichens are a composite organism made out of a plant and a fungi in a symbiotic relationship. The plant uses photosynthesis to provide food and the fungi provides the water and nitrogen and will protect the plant in return. So we now have an organism that can transfer nutrients from the plant to the fungi. What about organism that can transfer nutrients from an animal?

Labouls are a fungi that are capable of doing just this. They grow on insects and take nutrients from the blood which is an example of commensalism

So i guess that a real life Bulbasaur does not exist as it's an amalgamation of possibly four species. But going back to the Mary River Turtle, I guess that it is an example of commensalism. It doesn't work the same way as the Bulbasaur does but I think that it's the closest that we can get.

Charmander

Charmander is an amalgamation of the words char and salamander. (Amalgamation is a great word!) In the game, Chamander is a lizard Pokemon but is not a salamander. There is a big difference between the two: salamanders are amphibians and lizards are reptiles. 

Geckos are reptiles too, one possibility is that the Charmander is based on the Red Crested Gecko.

The Red crested gecko
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Gekkoninae_Rhacodactylus_ciliatus_orange.png

The red crested gecko is only found in New Caledonia. According to the Pokemon wiki, Charmanders tend to gather together in hot areas which is similar to the tropical climate and the three disjunct populations in South Province, New Caledonia. Chamanders are also rarely found in the wild, the red crested gecko is endemic to South Province. Endemic means that the species can only be found in one place.

Squirtle

The word Squirtle is a portmanteau (Did I spell that correctly?) of the words 'squirt' and 'turtle' Squirtle is considered a turtle Pokemon so I searched for turtles that bears a resemblance to it. Unfortunately, I could not find a turtle which was blue with a brown shell but the turtle that I thought resembled Squirtle in appearance was the Loggerhead sea turtle.

Baby Loggerhead sea turtle
By O%27Brian Bill, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

It has a rounded shell and like all other turtles, they hide inside their shell to protect themselves, like the Squirtle. Unfortunately, sea turtles in general are endangered because of their highly coveted shells, eggs and meat. We can always help groups like the WWF to help protect these marine animals, so not all hope is lost. 

So I hope that was an interesting post about Pokemon. I had lots of fun searching for animals similar to the Pokemon in the game. If you want to help support this blog, please follow and subscribe.

Happy Pokemon hunting!