Anime Top: The Wind Rises (2013)

Is a historical animated film released in the summer of 2013 and is the highest-grossing film in Japan that year.

The main character in the movie is Jirō born at the time of the transition between old and new Japan. Jirō has a passion for the air and the sky, so since childhood, he has always wished to fly an airplane across the old Japanese spaces.

But that dream was difficult when he had severe nearsightedness and could not become a pilot. Then his dream to a new page is when he became an aircraft design engineer.

Jirō spent his adolescence, his love of successfully designing the best fighter of World War II. But this aircraft soon became ashes when the Japanese army failed.

Finally he was helpless in regret and loneliness when his love died. The wind is still blowing, we still have to live the message that the film brings

Best Anime Sen and Chihiro in the mysterious world (Spirited Away)

It was a Japanese animated film for teenagers that first premiered in 2001. Up to nearly 20 years have passed but this film is https://gogoanime123.com still the best film of all time.

The plot revolves around the little Chihiro who is always bored with life. Once, when the family moved into a new house, Chihiro got lost in the spirit land and was trapped.

Chihiro's parents were cursed into cattle, Chihiro had to accept a job at the Yubaba Hotel to find a way to save her parents.

Sen meets Haku, a nice guy who always helps her and her face - the god of a river. The adventure of finding his real name and the answer to return to Sen's human world begins.

The spirit land has rained the Japanese film market and the world for many years and until now this film has always impressed the viewers.

When Kyoichi Utsume was a child, he and his younger brother disappeared. He somehow managed to return, but his little brother did not. Ever since then, he's been obsessed with death and kamikakushi, mysterious beings that are said to spirit people away.

Rumors start flying at Utsume's high school that he, the guy who supposedly doesn't believe in love and romance, has found a girlfriend and is introducing her to everyone. Utsume's friends in the Literature Club discover that the rumors are true when he brings Ayame, a cute but oddly easy to overlook girl, to meet them. Ryoko and Takemi, two members of the Literature Club, decide to follow the couple and come back with gaps in their memories and a strange story of visiting a terrifying other world. Since there's no longer any sign of either Utsume or Ayame, it looks like Ryoko and Takemi's story may be true. Can the members of the Literature Club somehow retrieve their friend from the other world? Will he even want to come back?

My first impression of this was that it was better than I expected. The translation was relatively smooth, and the lack of the usual anime cliches in the story was a welcome change of pace from many of the more recently published light novels I've read (no boob jokes! no harems composed of several well-worn character types!).

Utsume made me roll my eyes, with the way the other characters referred to him as "Dark Prince" and "Your Majesty." Utsume's personality was cold and didn't seem like the sort that would attract a bunch of devoted friends. It helped, a little, that Coda spent time establishing why the other members of the Literature Club cared so much about him. Toshiya had been around when Utsume and his brother originally disappeared and had seen the changes in him after he'd come back. Utsume had helped Ryoko through an exam-inspired panic attack. Aki was a prickly girl who recognized parts of herself in Utsume. Of all of the characters, Aki was probably my most favorite, but I wish she hadn't been quite so focused on Utsume.

The teens' efforts to rescue their friend took them in a couple different directions, and I'm hoping at least some of that comes up in the second book as well. One half of the Literature Club talked to a mysterious magician named Jinno, while the other half talked to a man who was essentially part of Japan's version of the men in black.

The books' ending was confusing. What happened? It seemed like one particular character had been shot, but then for some reason they were fine. Why did another one of the characters disappear? Was that Ayame's influence?

If it weren't for the confusing ending, I think I might have liked this a bit more. I'm still looking forward to reading the second book in the series, at any rate.

Extras:

A short afterword written by the author, an excerpt from the next book, and an excerpt from the manga based on this book.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

I'm pretty sure Aki and Ryoko just found Japan's version of the Men in Black.

So far this is better than I expected. Also, wow, the difference between light novel releases back in the Tokyopop days and light novel releases now is striking. Most of the stuff that gets licensed in English now seems tailor-made for an anime release, or has already been adapted into an anime. This, on the other hand, doesn't have anime cliches inserted into it. Also, it's written in the third person. ::weeping with relief::

The main character is a moody high school student who's been given the nickname "Dark Prince" by his friends (yup, I rolled my eyes). He announces out of the blue that he has a girlfriend, a girl who has such a lack of presence that most people don't even notice she's in the room until Utsume, the Dark Prince, points her out. Readers already know there's something odd about her. Maybe she's a spirit, or some kind of nonhuman being?

This is apparently the first in a 13-book series. Tokyopop published the first two, which I own, and was going to publish the third but then went bankrupt. Here's hoping each book is relatively self-contained so that I won't have to curse Tokyopop, again, upon reaching the end of Book 2.

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Jonathan arrives at the office one cold December morning to find a little girl has been balled up waiting for him for an hour. Madison wants to hire him to take care of the ghost that haunts her house at Christmas and grabs at her.

I've listened to previous Jonathan Shade books and Joe does a great job, as he always does, with Jonathan. Joe knows Jonathan inside and out as he voices Jonathan when joking and being serious. You know what Jonathan is up to by Joe's voice. I'm so glad Joe has continued to carry through as the voice of this series. As always, the audio is clean and clear listening. I'm not distracted from the story in any way.

I love how Jonathan is with Madison. She's young, ten, and he treats her so well. When Esther tells him he wasn't going to not help this little girl, he is great at his payment as Madison only has change to pay with - all her money in the world. This is a small Christmas gift to the young girl so she can enjoy Christmas. Madison made me smile with her humor and personality. She could give Jonathan a run for his money on humors remarks. lol. She is a cute little girl. I enjoyed her interaction with Jonathan.

Jonathan finds that there's more to the ghost haunting than expected. In true Gary Jonas fashion, there is much more to the story than one would expect. Jonathan has a soft heart and it shows in this book. He's determined to do what's right but also what is wanted. The two do go hand in hand from time to time.

The ending brings the feeling of the heart of the Christmas spirit story, like many endings of Christmas stories. It made me smile as it warmed my heart. Also we have Jonathan in his fun remarks with Kelly as friends at the holiday.

The novella is marked at 9.5 in the series, but it's placed before the first book. There are things still in place for the first book or two. If you listen or read this novella, you can do so at any time. Read it before you get to the series or any time during the series. It gives nothing away for the events in the novels but gives a feel for Jonathan and Kelly, the major characters in the series. So, pick it up for the holiday this month!