Movie: Howl's Moving Castle (2005)

One of the things that I love about Hayao Miyazaki, as much as I hate to admit to it, is that each of his movies is in some way a love story. Some more than others, some more obviously than others. Princess Mononoke suggested a love for the Earth and nature in addition to romantic love between characters. In Spirited Away there was filial love, love for friends and constructed families, in addition to romantic love (which I will insist existed between Sen and Haku with my last breath -- Zara Helma's Bridge Across the Maybe Sea doesn't help me forget about them as a pairing). Kikki's Delivery Service, too, is a story about connections and belonging and varieties of love.

( You who swallowed a falling star ... a heart's a heavy burden )

Crispin Freeman totally rocks my socks

I know that if you like anime, you're supposed to be all about the subtitles, but I will stand up and admit that I am a lazy cow and most of the time can't be bothered. Which doesn't make a whole heck of a lot of sense considering how much I love foreign films and how ANNOYING I find English dubs of live action movies. But anime … ah, anime. English dubs totally make my life easier and without them I wouldn't have discovered Crispin Freeman and without Crispin it is possible that I wouldn't go a-hunting for anime quite as enthusiastically.

If you're wondering where this is coming from, well, Cartoon Network's Adult Swim just finished the run of Blood Plus two weekends ago and I am missing my man Crispin who voiced Hagi. Prior to that he gave voice to Holland Novak in Eureka Seven which finished off a couple of months ago. Sci-Fi channel is showing Noein and he does Karasu. I've only watched a handful of episodes because for some reason Sci-Fi Ani Mondays is confusing me. Sometimes they show movies, sometimes series … not always the same thing … I … I don't get it.

Anyway, YAY for Crispin Freeman!