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Miami Herald
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Joe Hisaishi conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in a No. 17 Phillies jersey. Here's why
PHILADELPHIA -- Is Studio Ghibli's Joe Hisaishi a Max Kepler fan? You might have thought the Japanese composer and conductor was showing solidarity with the recently declared "unhappy" Phillies outfielder when he sprang onto the stage of Marian Anderson Hall for an encore Friday night. He was wearing a Phillies jersey with a "17" and "Hisaishi" on the back. But it turns out the jersey on the 74-year-old Hisaishi was a nod to a different MLB No. 17: Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani. Hisaishi was here conducting three concerts of his own music with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and he was backstage after Wednesday night's concert icing his conducting (right) shoulder when he mentioned to an orchestra manager that he would soon be leading concerts in a baseball stadium: the 42,000-plus-seat Tokyo Dome. So the orchestra decided to outfit him in Phillies gear with the number of his favorite player on back. These concerts marked Hisaishi's Philadelphia debut, and it was a grand slam, if a delayed one. He was originally scheduled to appear for two shows in January, but postponed because of illness. A third concert was added and the run nearly sold out. The program included his Symphony No. 2 and Viola Saga with orchestra principal violist Choong-Jin Chang as soloist. It was a knowing audience. These works were written for the concert hall rather than the composer's better known habitat on soundtracks to Hayao Miyazaki films like My Neighbor Totoro and Castle in the Sky. Still, filmic aspects in both works were abundant enough to suggest a familiar soundscape, and the audience was in Hisaishi's thrall. But the suite from Spirited Away - the 2001 film - was fully transporting. With Hisaishi shuttling back and forth from podium to piano, the performance by the Philadelphia Orchestra was surely among the most polished interpretations this music has ever received. And the most moving. Bruce Springsteen recently said that an album is "a record of who you are and where you were at that moment in your life." It might be impossible to know who Friday night's audience was or where they were in 2001. But for a few at least, the journey back sailed along a path of tears. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
SoraNews24
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- SoraNews24
Ghibli anime art greeting cards are a canvas to tell friends and family how and why you care【Pics】
Studio Ghibli supplies the watercolor art, leaves the message up to you. In Japan, most greeting cards don't come with lengthy pre-written messages. Instead of preparing a declaration of laser-focused sentiment for you, like 'Grandma is so proud that you're graduating from middle school!', Japanese greeting cards tend to keep things short and broad. They might have a simple 'Happy birthday,' 'Congratulations,' or 'Thank you,' but generally the idea is that you'll supply the message yourself, with the card being something to please the eye and set the mood while you express your feelings in your own words. That brings us to this line of gorgeous Ghibli greeting cards. Each of them features a beautiful watercolor painting of characters or settings from the anime studio's beloved films on the front, but is blank inside, leaving it to you to tell the person you're sending it to why you chose this piece of artwork while thinking of them. Totoro, no surprise, is featured multiple times in the line. The scene of him traipsing through the tall grass with a leafy parasol is a great pick if you're following the Japanese custom of sending cards in summer to check in on friends and family and see how they're handling the heat… …as is the card depicting this nighttime ocarina concert. The good-times-with-good-folks vibes of these paintings make them an apt choice for sending to old friends you're looking forward to seeing again, even if you don't have any concrete plans in the near future… …and if you're the type that likes to plan ahead, for a fellow fan this card is practically a Christmas gift in and of itself. Since this Spirited Away card shows Chihiro's parents still under the curse that's transformed them into pigs, it's hard to say whether or not your own mom and dad would appreciate it, or if it's better to save it for a friend… …but this illustration of the approach to the bathhouse of the gods is one any fan of the movie will enjoy (as evidenced by the fact that it's the only design in the series that's currently sold out). We saw a peek of Princess Mononoke's Ashitaka earlier… …but he's got a second card too… …and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind strikes a similarly dramatic, determined pose. Castle in the Sky/Laputa's Pazu swooping in to rescue Sheeta works for both romantic gestures and friendly 'I'm here if you need me' reminders… …and finally, rounding things out is a much more relaxed aviation image, courtesy of Porco Rosso's flying boat. As an added bonus, the cards come with a special envelope bearing the Studio Ghibli logo with Totoro in profile, the same way he appears at the start of the studio's movies. And while technically these are all meant to be put in the mail or handed off to someone else, they also make excellent 24 x 15.8-centimeter (9.4 x 6.2-inch) mini posters that you can arrange in whatever array you want on your wall or on your desk. The cards are priced at 550 yen (US$3.80) each and, with the exception of the Spirited Away bathhouse design, are all available now through the online shop of Ghibli specialty shop Donguri Kyowakoku here thanks to a recent restock. Source: Donguri Kyowakoku Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2) ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Japan Today
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Official 'Spirited Away' cookbook teaches how to make food from the Ghibli anime classic
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24 Mouthwateringly detailed depictions of food have become as much a symbol of Studio Ghibli anime as fanciful flight sequences and plucky heroines. Food takes on the most narrative and thematic significance, though, in "Spirited Away," where different dishes are used to symbolize greed, compassion, or sacrifice, serving as edible milestones on the characters' arcs. So it was a reasonable expectation that the official Ghibli anime cookbook series would eventually get around to "Spirited Away," and now it finally has. Like the other books in the line, "Ghibli's Table: Spirited Away" is a collection of recipes that recreate food seen within the Hayao Miyazaki-directed classic, and also mix in a few new creations inspired by the setting and characters. Publisher Shufu no Tomo says that the 64-page volume contains instructions for how to make the onigiri rice ball Haku gives to Chihiro, the tempura rice ball devoured by the spider-like Kamaji, a non-bitter version of the bitter dumpling Chihiro receives as a sign of thanks from the river god, charred newt-shaped cookies, and 'the chicken eaten by Chihiro's mother.' ▼ You can spot Zeniba's cake on the book's cover too, so it feels like a safe bet that there'll be a recipe for it too. Like all of the Ghibli cookbooks, the "Spirited Away" volume is meant to be simple enough for adults or kids to follow along with. The ingredients used are all things that can be found in a typical Japanese grocery store, so even if you're outside of Japan, odds are you'll be able to source what you need as long as you've got an Asian market nearby or an online ingredient source. The series also tends to have detailed photos of the cooking process, and the descriptions, though in Japanese, are written to be easy for kids and inexperienced home chefs to understand, so they shouldn't be too hard to decipher for non-natives with some basic Japanese language proficiency. ▼ For example, here's a page from Shufu no Tomo's "Castle in the Sky" cookbook, showing photos for the recipe steps and including phonetic readings for the kanji characters. "Ghibli's Table: Spirited Away" is priced at 1,760 yen and goes on sale July 31, but can be preordered now through Amazon Japan here. Source: Shufu no Tomo via Ghibli no Sekai Insert images: Amazon Japan, Studio Ghibli, PR Times Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Studio Ghibli answers Spirited Away fan questions, reveals exciting facts and trivia behind the film -- Studio Ghibli cookbook teaches how to make beautiful, super-easy Laputa Levistone candies【Recipe】 -- Spirited Away posters for first theatrical release in China are stunningly beautiful External Link © SoraNews24
SoraNews24
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- SoraNews24
Official Spirited Away cookbook teaches how to make food from the Ghibli anime classic
From Haku's rice ball to cursed chicken and charred newt cookies, this book will show you how to make Spirited Away's fantastic fantasy fare. Mouthwateringly detailed depictions of food have become as much a symbol of Studio Ghibli anime as fanciful flight sequences and plucky heroines. Food takes on the most narrative and thematic significance, though, in Spirited Away, where different dishes are used to symbolize greed, compassion, or sacrifice, serving as edible milestones on the characters' arcs. So it was a reasonable expectation that the official Ghibli anime cookbook series would eventually get around to Spirited Away , and now it finally has. Like the other books in the line, Ghibli's Table: Spirited Away is a collection of recipes that recreate food seen within the Hayao Miyazaki-directed classic, and also mix in a few new creations inspired by the setting and characters. Publisher Shufu no Tomo says that the 64-page volume contains instructions for how to make the onigiri rice ball Haku gives to Chihiro, the tempura rice ball devoured by the spider-like Kamaji, a non-bitter version of the bitter dumpling Chihiro receives as a sign of thanks from the river god, charred newt-shaped cookies, and 'the chicken eaten by Chihiro's mother.' ▼ You can spot Zeniba's cake on the book's cover too, so it feels like a safe bet that there'll be a recipe for it too. Like all of the Ghibli cookbooks, the Spirited Away volume is meant to be simple enough for adults or kids to follow along with. The ingredients used are all things that can be found in a typical Japanese grocery store, so even if you're outside of Japan, odds are you'll be able to source what you need as long as you've got an Asian market nearby or an online ingredient source. The series also tends to have detailed photos of the cooking process, and the descriptions, though in Japanese, are written to be easy for kids and inexperienced home chefs to understand, so they shouldn't be too hard to decipher for non-natives with some basic Japanese language proficiency. ▼ For example, here's a page from Shufu no Tomo's Castle in the Sky cookbook, showing photos for the recipe steps and including phonetic readings for the kanji characters. Ghibli's Table: Spirited Away is priced at 1,760 yen (US$12) and goes on sale July 31, but can be preordered now through Amazon Japan here. Source: Shufu no Tomo via Ghibli no Sekai Top image: Studio Ghibli Insert images: Amazon Japan, Studio Ghibli, PR Times ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
