My Neighbor Totoro 龍貓 となりのトトロ

 Released Year: 1988

Directed by 宫崎駿 Hayao Miyazaki

Voiced by:

日高範子Noriko Hidaka & Dakota Fanning  as 草壁皋月Satsuki Kusakabe    
坂本千夏 Chika Sakamoto as 草壁梅 Mei Kusakabe   
糸井重里 Shigesato Itoi as 草壁達郎 Tatsuo Kusakabe   

 Story:

In 1958 Japan, university professor Tatsuo Kusukabe and his two daughters, Satsuki and Mei move into an old house to be closer to the hospital where their mother Yasuko is recovering from a long-term illness. Satsuki and Mei find that the house is inhabited by tiny animated dust creatures called susuwatari—small, dark, dust-like house spirits seen when moving from light to dark places. When the girls become comfortable in their new house and laugh with their father, the soot spirits (called "black soots" in early subtitles and "soot sprites" in the later English dubbed version) leave the house to drift away on the wind. It is implied that they are going to find another empty house--their natural habitat.

One day, Mei sees two white, rabbit-like ears in the grass and follows the ears under the house. She discovers two small magical creatures (chibi or "dwarf" totoro and chu or "medium" totoro), who lead her through a briar patch and into the hollow of a large camphor tree. She meets and befriends a larger version of the same kind of spirit (ō or "large" totoro), which identifies itself by a series of roars that she interprets as "Totoro" (in the original version, this stems from Mei's mispronunciation of the word for "troll").[3] She falls asleep atop the large totoro, but when Satsuki finds her, she is on the ground in a dense briar clearing. Despite her many attempts, Mei is unable to show her family Totoro's tree. Her father comforts her by telling her that this is the "keeper of the forest," and that Totoro will reveal himself when he wants to.

One rainy night, the girls are waiting for their father's bus and grow worried when he does not arrive on the bus they expect him on. As they wait, Mei eventually falls asleep on Satsuki's back and Totoro appears beside them, allowing Satsuki to see him for the first time. He only has a leaf on his head for protection against the rain, so Satsuki offers him the umbrella she had taken along for her father. Totoro is delighted at both the shelter and the sounds made upon it by falling raindrops. In return, he gives her a bundle of nuts and seeds. A bus-shaped giant cat halts at the stop, and Totoro boards it, taking the umbrella. Shortly after, their father’s bus arrives.

The girls plant the seeds. A few days later, they awaken at midnight to find Totoro and his two miniature colleagues engaged in a ceremonial dance around the planted nuts and seeds. The girls join in, whereupon the seeds sprout, and then grow and combine into an enormous tree. Totoro takes his colleagues and the girls for a ride on a magical flying top. In the morning, the tree is gone, but the seeds have indeed sprouted.

The girls find out that a planned visit by Yasuko has to be postponed because of a setback in her treatment. Having reached the age where she fully understands the concept of death, Satsuki takes this seriously. She angrily yells at Mei and stomps off. Thinking that her mother can be cured by healthy food, Mei walks to the hospital with an ear of corn.

Mei's disappearance prompts Satsuki and the neighbors to search for her. Eventually, Satsuki returns in desperation to the camphor tree and pleads for Totoro's help. Delighted to be of assistance, he summons the Catbus, which carries her to where the lost Mei sits. Having rescued her, the Catbus then whisks her and Satsuki over the countryside to see their mother in the hospital. The girls perch in a tree outside of the hospital, overhearing a conversation between their parents and discovering that she has been kept in hospital by a minor cold and is otherwise doing well. They secretly leave the ear of corn on the windowsill, where it is discovered by the parents, and return home on the Catbus. When the Catbus departs, it disappears from the girls' sight.

In the end credits, Mei and Satsuki's mother return home, and the sisters play with other children, with Totoro and his friends as unseen observers.

 L² Scored: 8/10

L² Comment:

Released in the same year as "Graveyard of the firefly", Totoro also brought a big fortune for the production team in that year. I only watched it once before many years ago, not really enjoy the storyline when i was small coz i found it quite dull. But rewatching it, i found it quite meaningful and touching.

But out of my surprise, i read an article regarding this animation. Totoro is actually represent "God of Death" in Japan?!? People who saw the totoro will die. As the both sister saw totoro, does it means they already dead? A few suspected scene which i think Hayao has told out about this:-

1. Younger sister's sandal was found at the pond, does it mean she has drown?

2. Elder sister cried and beg totoro to look for her younger sister, because she was lost. Is it because her soul lost her way back?

3. At the scene outside of the hospital, the 2 sisters are so near their mother and they wanted to see her so much. But why they never appear while left the corn on the window quietly and suddenly?

Findings said that, the hospital mentioned in this animation really exist! And its for those patient who has suffer the cancer in final stage. And after the sisters saw totoro, both of their shadows never exist anymore... how true is it? i don't remember, but i feel kinda spooky if Hayao really hide this kind of meaning in it. And this is actually based on a true legend which both of this sister has been killed at that place during that time...

Grave Of The Fireflies 火垂るの墓

Released Year: 1988
Directed by 高畑勳 Takahata Isao
& 宫崎駿 Miyazaki Hayao

Vocal by:
辰巳努 as 清太 Seita
白石綾乃 as 節子 Setsuko
Story:

Taking place toward the end of World War II in Japan, Grave of the Fireflies is the tale of the relationship between two orphaned children, pre-teen Seita and his young sister Setsuko . The movie begins in Sannomiya Station and portrays Seita, in rags and dying of starvation. A janitor comes and digs through his possessions, and finds a candy tin containing ashes and bones. He throws it out, and from it springs the spirit of Setsuko, Seita, and a cloud of fireflies. The spirit of Seita continues to narrate their story, which is, in effect, an extended flashback to Japan near the end of World War II, during the Kobe firebombings.

The flashback begins with American B-29s, a symbol of the power of the American war machine let loose by Japan, flying overhead. Setsuko and Seita, the two siblings, are left to secure the house and their belongings, allowing their mother, who suffers from a heart condition, to move to a bomb shelter. They are caught off-guard by firebombs dropped in their neighborhood, and although they survive unscathed, their mother is caught in the air raid. She is taken to a hospital and later dies from her burns. Having nowhere else to go, Setsuko and Seita move in with a distant aunt, who allows them to stay but convinces Seita to sell his mother's kimonos for rice. While living with their relatives, Seita goes out to retrieve leftover supplies he had buried in the ground before the bombing. He gives all of it to his aunt, but hides a small tin of fruit drops, which becomes a recurrent icon throughout the film. Their aunt continues to shelter them but as they gradually begin to run out of food, she becomes increasingly resentful. She openly remarks on how they do nothing to earn the food she cooks.

Seita and Setsuko finally decide to leave and move into an abandoned bomb shelter. They fill it with fireflies for light, but Setsuko is horrified to find that the next day they are all dead. She digs them a grave and buries them all, asking why they have to die, and why her mother had to die. What begins as an new lease on life grows grim as they run out of rice, and Seita is forced to steal from local farmers and loot homes during air raids. When he is caught, he realizes his desperation and takes an increasingly ill Setsuko to a doctor, who informs him that Setsuko is suffering from malnutrition but offers no help. In a panic, Seita withdraws all the money remaining in their mother's bank account, but while at the bank he learns of Japan's unconditional surrender to the Allies and the probable death of his father, who was a sailor in the Imperial Navy. He returns to the shelter with large quantities of food, only to find a dying Setsuko hallucinating, sucking ohajiki as if they were fruit drops. Setsuko offers Seita mud 'rice balls'. Seita gives her a bite of watermelon and hurries to cook, but she dies of starvation. Seita uses supplies donated to him by a farmer to cremate her, and puts her ashes in the fruit tin which he carries with his father's photograph until his own death in September 1945.

At the end, the spirits of Seita and Setsuko are seen, healthy and well-dressed, sitting side-by-side as they look down on the modern city of Kobe.

L² Scored: 10/10

L² Comment:

This should be the most touching animation i have ever watch in my life. Though i have watch it so many times, but it never fail to make my eyes wet with tears. Just imagine how horrible it is when wars happen, anything worse than this might happen.

Love each other and let us stop wars from happening again~ peace.