KnockBack, Episode 89: Spirited Away
Added 2019-10-24 16:00:04 +0000 UTCJapanese animation legend Hayao Miyazaki brings a fantastical flair to all of his work, but out of Studio Ghibli's entire roster of films, 2001's Spirited Away might be the weirdest and more extraordinary of all. Steeped in Shinto symbolism and vague in its message, Chihiro's misadventure is enchanting in its imagery and sometimes even sudden in its harshness, and it -- like all Ghibli flicks -- is more than deserving of a little KnockBack-style attention. So grab a handful of bath tokens and come along with us as we discuss the beautiful and eerie world of the spirits beyond, and the little girl who one day finds herself in their midst.
Comments
Haku is a dude what was with the confusion there?
YP-Berserk
2021-06-05 22:39:49 +0000 UTCHey John! It sounds like you're having an RSS issue. Just go to do your podcast service, delete the RSS link, re-copy it from the CLS Patreon front page, and go from there. It should ameliorate your issue. If you have more problems, reach out to Patreon Support (they're helpful!), or DM me, and I can try to help you.
Colin Moriarty
2019-11-04 01:32:39 +0000 UTCI'm on the first Tier. When will this appear on my feed? Thanks. The last knockback to appear on my feed was 1st August. Last fireside chats was 4th Sept. Have these shows been removed from 1st teir?
John Fraser
2019-11-01 10:16:20 +0000 UTCNo physical media!!!
Colin Moriarty
2019-11-01 02:02:28 +0000 UTCThis was awesome, because the same week this episode went live- the lady and I had just rewatched it in the annual Ghibli Fest screening at our local theater. So the days after just seeing it in theaters, I was able to listen to this episode. Also FYI Colin- at the time of listening to this episode, Spirited Away Blu Ray is available on Amazon for $15...
Jack Sibert
2019-10-31 16:40:19 +0000 UTCNo, I don't think so. As far as I remember, I've never smoked before (and certainly not during) a show.
Colin Moriarty
2019-10-30 23:04:09 +0000 UTCI'm sorry I couldn't be there for you. LOL.
Colin Moriarty
2019-10-30 23:03:54 +0000 UTCOkay, that's deep. =)
Colin Moriarty
2019-10-30 23:03:43 +0000 UTCI don't know how recent we'd get... you guys would really have to vote for some of that stuff, I think!
Colin Moriarty
2019-10-30 23:03:07 +0000 UTCI dunno... I think there kinda has to be a point, no?
Colin Moriarty
2019-10-30 23:02:45 +0000 UTCThat's too obscure even for me.
Colin Moriarty
2019-10-30 23:02:24 +0000 UTCIt was definitely a good one.
Colin Moriarty
2019-10-30 23:02:15 +0000 UTCI know. Bummer. =\
Colin Moriarty
2019-10-30 23:02:08 +0000 UTCYeah, we actually didn't know at the time we recorded this!
Colin Moriarty
2019-10-30 23:02:02 +0000 UTCNot yet, no.
Colin Moriarty
2019-10-30 23:01:48 +0000 UTCSomeone's always surprised we didn't mention something. THERE IS NO PLEASING YOU.
Colin Moriarty
2019-10-30 23:01:42 +0000 UTCI have never seen this, but man it sounds pretty good, so I am gonna check it out, cheers boys!. Colin, were you smoking druing this?, it sounded like you took a drag maybe midway through?
Ryan Murdoch
2019-10-26 06:21:27 +0000 UTCThis movie.. is a movie I watch literally every 2 years of my life it is my favorite movie of all time and I barely watch anime! Colin i officially hate you for not loving it more! Joking of course but this will no doubt be one of the episodes of knockback i listen to over and over again.
Tyler Bello
2019-10-25 20:30:40 +0000 UTCI studied a bit about Japanese myths and traditional storytelling when I lived there and I definitely have to say, even from a short glance, that it takes a substantial and oftentimes frustrating change in brain chemistry to wrap a western mind around the complete shift in priorities and focus. Our concepts of logical world-building and plot structure go completely out the window and that sensibility transcends into a lot of modern-day storytelling aimed at children in Japan. I find that when a film comes out in the west with a more ethereal, opaque direction, it tends to be of the protest school of filmmaking, in that it's a deliberate attempt to fight against the western impulse of more logical storytelling structure, which can often come off as arrogant, purposeless, and indeed lazy. But as with Spirited Away, I think it does it a disservice to describe Japanese (and in some ways Pan-Asian) storytelling techniques that way, as it's rooted in a very long and storied tradition of seeing the world and its intrinsic connection to an inhuman, illogical spiritual plane. That doesn't mean you have to like it of course, there's a lot of Asian cinema that strays too far into the unbelievable for me, but I do think that having the world be grounded in a fundamentally human, logical way might take something away from it.
Travis Johnson
2019-10-25 20:05:24 +0000 UTCAmazing episode as always guys! Do you have any plans to do some more recent anime films? I would love to hear Dagan talk about Makoto Shinkai's work like in 5cm per second, The Garden of Words, and Your Name. Other great anime films from other studios like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Wolf Children, A Silent Voice, and Summer Wars would be great too. The standout from the second list being A Silent Voice which was created by Kyoani and is, in my opinion, the film with the most powerful story out of the lot of them.
Alex Cabrera
2019-10-25 14:05:12 +0000 UTCGreat episode but I really don't think dont films need to be about anything. Certainly not this film. In fact having a more rigid structure and throughline I think would take the simplicity and wonder away from the film. It might sound pretensious but when you look at a wonderful painting, like a cityscape of a crumbled Rome by NY's own Thomas Cole, it's not about anything. But it certainly evokes something. This is how I feel about spirited away. Now I have to say I do prefer Kikis delivery and Mononoke but the ethereal nature of spirited away does exactly what it sets out to do.
Jewelbox
2019-10-25 12:57:39 +0000 UTCYubaba reminds me of Wario at the end of Super Mario Land 2.
Forrest Hunter
2019-10-25 11:55:05 +0000 UTCI almost died laughing when Dagan read the first sentence of his mad libs!
Thornton Melon
2019-10-25 09:11:17 +0000 UTCThis is going to be streaming on that bullshit new HBO Max service...
Brandon Hardman
2019-10-25 07:41:55 +0000 UTCHBO has the rights to studio ghibli films and will stream on HBO max
Hose A Contra Razz
2019-10-25 02:28:18 +0000 UTCAwesommmmmeeee. Thanks Colin and Dagan!!! Has there been a Princess Mononoke knockback yet?
Andrew
2019-10-25 01:00:13 +0000 UTCGreat episode as always. I’m surprised Dagan didn’t mention Castle in the Sky. That one is a favorite of mine, but mononoke is supreme.
Kenneth Oms
2019-10-24 20:34:12 +0000 UTC
