The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness Goes Inside Studio Ghibli

studio ghibli, wind rises, hayao miyazaki

I know a number of my readers will be interested in this. The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness is a documentary about the workings of the famous animation studio that made such movies as Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and The Secret World of Arrietty, Studio Ghibli.

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness cover
The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

It will be out on DVD on January 27 (list price $29.95), but digital download purchases are available now. Here’s a synopsis, followed by the trailer:

Granted near-unfettered access to the notoriously insular Studio Ghibli, director Mami Sunada follows the three men who are the lifeblood of Ghibli — the eminent director Hayao Miyazaki, the producer Toshio Suzuki, and the elusive and influential “other director” Isao Takahata — over the course of a year as the studio rushes to complete two films, Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises and Takahata’s The Tale of The Princess Kaguya. The result is a rare “fly on the wall” glimpse of the inner workings of one of the world’s most celebrated animation studios — creators of successful films including Princess Mononoke and the Oscar-winning Spirited Away, the highest-grossing Japanese film of all time — and an insight into the dreams, passion, and singular dedication of these remarkable creators.

The DVD bonus material will include The Kingdom According to Ushiko featurette, trailers, and English subtitles. Here’s a review of the film from when it played in festivals earlier this year.

Anime & Manga Posts

Jul 04, 2015

Emma Volume 1

By Comics Worth Reading

I’m very glad Yen Press brought back Kaoru Mori’s maid manga Emma. The period piece combines a cross-class romance (gentleman and maid) with beautifully illustrated details of daily life, set...

Jun 29, 2015

The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Volume 14

By Comics Worth Reading

I’m so glad to get another volume of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service! (The previous book, volume 13, last appeared at the end of 2012.) Although it’s horror, it’s one...

May 30, 2015

Prophecy Volume 3

By Comics Worth Reading

My hopes for this series raised in volume 1 weren’t completely fulfilled. Instead of thoroughly exploring the nature of computer crimes and behavior online, Prophecy volume 3 follows up on...

Apr 09, 2015

Planetes Returns as Dark Horse Omnibus

By Comics Worth Reading

Now that Vinland Saga is returning, it’s about time that Makoto Yukimura’s earlier series Planetes becomes available again. (It was previously published by Tokyopop, which no longer functionally exists in...

Mar 27, 2015

Meteor Prince Volume 1

By Comics Worth Reading

As portrayed by Meca Tanaka, Meteor Prince is silly comedy, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Hako is the Queen of Bad Luck, known for having things fall on her....

Mar 07, 2015

Best Sites For Full Stream Anime

By BeautyLifeGeek

Since middle school, I loved watching anime. My first anime experience was sneaking into my living room late at night to catch the latest episodes of Dragon Ball Z and...

Feb 09, 2015

RWBY

By BeautyLifeGeek

DISCLAIMER: The Following anime review is based on my personal opinion and experiences. Thank you.  While taking a break from all the research and inspiration for new beauty videos for...

Jan 19, 2015

Read Shonen Jump for Free for a Month

By Comics Worth Reading

To celebrate the three-year anniversary of the launch of the English-language digital Weekly Shonen Jump, Viz Media is giving away four issues online. Starting with the January 19 issue (today!)...

Jan 04, 2015

GF13-050NSW Nobel Gundam

By BeautyLifeGeek

Name: GF13-050NSW Nobel Gundam Type: Mobile Fighter Gundam Bought: Christmas present from my boyfriend Completed: 1/2/2015 Description: GF13-050NSW Nobel Gundam is a mobile suit fighter gundam for the nation of...

Jan 03, 2015

Monster: The Perfect Edition Returns Naoki Urasawa's Thriller to Print

By Comics Worth Reading

Monster originally ran from 1994-2001 in Japan, and Viz serialized it in English from 2006-2008. Those volumes, out of print, have been in demand for two reasons. First, author Naoki...