As part of our Stage 5 exploration of Howl’s Moving Castle, we begin by developing our own definitions of animation, manga and anime by considering our own viewing history:

• Which cartoons do we recall watching as a young child?
• Which full length animations are we familiar with?
• Are we still watching cartoons?
• What are your favourite comics or graphic novels? Manga?
• What similarities and differences can we detect?

We will watch a short film to help understand the stylistic features and plot imperatives of acclaimed creator Miyazaki.

Click on the image to watch the video.

1. The Immersive Realism of Studio Ghibli (10 mins)

*featured image from Flickr – labelled for re-use