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Totoro Makes Me Cry

Am I a total goober or what? I never used to cry at anything—in fact, I often took great pride in being the only stony-faced person in the midst of a sobbing and sniffling movie theater. And now look at me: all weepy at the sound of the Totoro theme.

BEAR NO DRIVE CAR! THAT NO MAKE SENSE! *ahem*

And now, for the Totoro-deprived: some stills from the movie…


Satsuki (emphasis on the first syllable, please) and her little sister Mei wait with Totoro at the bus stop. Satsuki lent Totoro her father’s umbrella a short while later, so poor O Totoro wouldn’t be standing in the rain.


Oh, look. It’s Totoro’s bus! It’s the nekobasu, or catbus. Legend has it that, as cats get older, they become shapeshifters. This particular cat became intrigued by a bus it saw, and decided to become a catbus. There’s some Totoro art out there showing a catbus full of Totoros.


Totoro gave the girls some acorns and other various nuts and seeds as a thank-you for the umbrella. They, of course, planted them in their garden, where trees always go. Now the Totoros have come to Satsuki and Mei’s house to help them grow the seeds into a giant tree.


After growing the tree in the garden, Totoro gives Satsuki and Mei (and his little totoros) a ride to the top of the tree. How? On his spinning top! Totoro rules!


Totoro has hailed the catbus for Satsuki, and now he waves goodbye to them as they take off from the top of Totoro’s camphor tree.

Of course, I can’t give the *whole* story away… but be watching for a special edition Tonari No Totoro DVD set to come out sometime within the next year or so. For now, you can buy the fullscreen English dub. (Ugh. Can’t wait for the double-DVD set!)

So, the big question: why does Tonari No Totoro make me cry? I’m not sure. I think it’s that whole childhood-lost sort of vibe—the scenes that would have made me OOH and AHH as a little kid now make me remember what it was like to be a little kid. I know, I know, it sounds totally retarded. That’s the closest I can come, though. I wish I could turn off the waterworks, believe me. I feel really stupid about it… although it doesn’t really matter when I’m home alone, watching Totoro. ^_^

ruminations 3 Comments

Sense of Purpose

I’ve tried to start this damn entry about half a dozen times now, and everything sounds too depressed or too pretentious. So, I’ll cut to the chase.

Remember when we were in school? In High School, we were all working toward graduation. Maybe our short-term goals involved a certain GPA, or a scholarship, or getting accepted to a certain college. Most people I knew were working toward college, although some people were working toward getting “real” jobs and moving out of their parents’ houses.

Then, when we were in college, we were still working toward graduation, and toward a career. Again, some folks were striving to keep a certain GPA, while others of us were just content to strive not to get kicked out.

Then we graduated (some of us), and worked on living on our own, and getting “real” jobs that could sustain us, and all that adult crap.

So… now what?
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reviews 5 Comments

Ohayocon5

I’m still working on a weekend review, but I did manage to finish my Ohayocon5 photo gallery. (I’ve gotta come up with a new way to make slideshows for my site—besides Flickr.)

There is also a great collection of photos at fansview.com, in addition to an informative narrative on the weekend.

Edit:
OK, here’s the overview I promised. Now, it’s kind of cold in this room, so my fingers are a little stiff; plus, I didn’t take notes during the weekend like I’d planned. So, I don’t promise literary greatness here. But, hopefully, between my photos and my narrative, you’ll get the general idea.
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