Spirited Away - Out September 12th

2003 really does seem to be the year that anime makes its comeback after the late 90's slump that almost wiped out anime for the UK industry....

But with interest in anime finally on the up again, we have seen many companies in the UK come back in leaps and bounds, and now we have new companies taking an interest in the anime communities that are growing once again.

While anime cinema releases are few and far between, there have been an increasing number of premiers, screened mainly in London. its great to see that companies are ready to back these new film releases - Sony being the major surprise with their limited cinema release of Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (Knocking on Heaven's Door). Now we have yet another UK premier - the release of the critically acclaimed fan favourite, Spirited Away.

Spirited Away is the story of Chihiro, a headstrong 10 year-old girl who believes that the universe should bend to her every whim. The film follows Chihiro and her parents as they travel to their new home. On their journey they stumble upon an endless tunnel and, wondering where it goes, they explore (as you do) and end up in a ghostly town. When Chihiro's parents devour free food, they are turned into pigs as Chihiro looks on. To survive in this new world, Chihiro must make herself useful and give up her lazy ways.  

Spirited Away is one Hayao Miyazaki's latest films, produced by Studio Ghibli. Some of his most popular works include his early releases, such as his first first feature film in 1986, Laputa: Castle in the Sky (Tenku no Shiro Laputa), as well as the phenomenal My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro) in 1988 and the 1997 film that beat Titanic as the biggest film at the Japanese box office, Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime). These are the films that many remember Hayao Miyazaki for, with Spirited Away heading for the same status as it receives rave reviews across the globe.

Spirited Away is a film that really benefits from a cinema release. Unlike many anime destined for the UK which end up going straight to DVD, its wonderful to get a proper release here - it deserves better treatment than Princess Mononoke. Hopefully that should change with the release of Spirited Away, which we hope will encourage other cinematic releases here in the UK. The Otaku's need not worry about having to watch Spirited away in the public friendly English language version, as there will be a Japanese subtitled version to go along with it. (I know which one I'll be seeing ^_^)

The UK release of Spirited Away is due for September 12th with both the English dub and Japanese sub. But if you feel you can't wait that long to watch it, then you can try entering our competition to try and win one of ten pairs of tickets to the media screening of the film. Just click here to find out how to enter. Good luck!

To the those who don't win, don't forget to see Spirited Away upon its release date. Go. Now. Write it in your dairies or stick a post-it on your head to remind yourself. ^_^


Article by Kevin Leathers

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