Unwrapping: Studio Ghibli Classics from Wasabi Records

Wasabi Records has released at least seven of Joe Hisiashi's original scores for his works with Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.  We "unwrap" seven at once and give you a peek at the beautiful design put into these releases.  As of April 5, 2014, these titles retail only in Europe.

The music is from each title is property of Wasabi Records and no copyright infringement is intended but offered for informational purposes only.

Tracks used:

00:00 - "Opening Theme" - Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

04:52 - "Carrying You" - Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

07:06 - "The Girl Who Fell from the Sky" - Castle in the Sky

08:12 - "The Village in May" - My Neighbor Totoro

09:36 - "On a Clear Day" - Kiki's Delivery Service

10:23 - "Porco E Bella" - Porco Rosso

11:40 - "Journey to the West" - Princess Mononoke

12:59 - "Princess Mononoke Theme - Vocal" - Princess Mononoke

14:25 - "One Summer's Day" - Spirited Away

16:31 - "The Return" - Spirited Away

PURCHASE OPTIONS - Amazon.it

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind - http://amzn.to/PFyeb1

Laputa: Castle in the Sky - http://amzn.to/1q5vhvy

My Neighbor Totoro -  http://amzn.to/1qcuqeC

Kiki's Delivery Service - http://amzn.to/1lAEADF

Porco Rosso - http://amzn.to/1oBO1Yj

Princess Mononoke - http://amzn.to/1jhIBw0

Spirited Away - http://amzn.to/1mMQHNZ

MORE UNWRAPPING/UNBOXING VIDEOS

Joe Hisaishi: Studio Ghibli 25 Years Concert

These days there are a plethora of concerts featuring great film and video game music being performed all over the world.  Many of them I truly wish I was able to attend, but there is one, above just about all others, that I've desired to see for years....and the only way to do so has been via a Japanese released Blu-ray entitled, Joe Hisaish in Budokan: Studio Ghibli 25 Years Concert.

The cost of this release managed to keep my trusty credit card in its sheath, but just today, I stumbled across this concert on Youtube, and so am excited to share it with you now.  Perhaps you've never heard of this concert or have, like me, been waiting for it to come down in price.  In either case, we have a great chance watch this concert online (for now).  So, if you have any affinity for Joe Hisaishi or marvelously large concerts, then you should be clicking the "play" button above as your next task for the day.

You'll find that  the quality of the video and sound is quite impressive, especially for Youtube,..but not nearly as impressive as the shear size of that orchestra and choir! And then there's the performance...

I have lost count as to how many times I got the ol' chills while watching this concert. Yes...we know Hisaishi-san's thematic material for Ghibli Studios quite well by now, but the range of force and passion to quiet, contemplative beauty captured here is truly remarkable. Selections from from Nausicaa, Ponyo, Laputa, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and other famous Ghibli films make this two-hour concert rapturous.

Now, I'm going to spare you a blow by blow review of this video, as it is meant to be experienced and not merely read about. Suffice it to say, I will be dropping the necessary dollars to acquire this Blu-ray, because seeing and hearing this on the home theater setup is only going to make this experience even better!

If you'd like to join me in that you can pick it up at the following outlets:

YesAsia.com

CDJapan


So what do you think of this?  Will you be picking it up on Blu-ray?

Time to Get Pon-ed! - The Movie and Music of Ponyo

HAYAO MIYAZAKI's PONYO (shortened from GAKE NO UE NO PONYO, lit. PONYO ON TOP OF THE CLIFF) is STUDIO GHIBLI's latest movie to hit stateside, and it's been doing very well, not to anyone's surprise. The film reached 9th place in the U.S. box office charts in its first week, with an estimated $3,506,000 in earnings, which makes it the 8th highest grossing theatrical anime release in the United States. The combination of being completely hand-drawn and being shown immediately after a string of trailers for DISNEY / PIXAR's upcoming 3D-CGI films, almost does itself a disservice, making it seem like a dated film, but MIYAZAKI wouldn't do it any other way. He even had the CG department at STUDIO GHIBLI dissolved before the production of PONYO began...

MIYAZAKI's long-time, feature composer, JOE HISAISHI, brings us an enthralling score once again, but in a much more upbeat fashion compared to the last few GHIBLI films. As cliché as it might sound, the two go together so well that they might loosely be considered the STEVEN SPIELBERG and JOHN WILLIAMS of anime feature films.

Read the full article here + streaming clips from the original score