Alyssa Wejebe / Roundup
A marathon of Japanese animated features directed by acclaimed animation director Hayao Miyazaki was hosted by the Genshiken Club in the Great Hall Friday, with free admission.
“Lupin the III: Castle of Cagliostro,” “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind,” “Castle in the Sky,” “My Neighbor Totoro,” and “Kiki’s Delivery Service” were all shown from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with intermissions between each movie.
A small group of students showed up Friday to watch the marathon. Alex Weldon, the club vice president, said that “[He] figured people will trickle in and out.”
Gregory Jones Jr., club president, said Miyazaki’s films were screened because he wanted to give people who had never seen them an opportunity to do just that.
“[This is] something [I] had in mind since starting the club,” said Jones.
Miyazaki was picked as the focus since his “movies are generally capable of being enjoyed by everyone,” regardless of age and other differing traits, according to Weldon.
According to Jones, “Cagliostro” was the first time Miyazaki directed an animated feature film. Before that, Miyazaki had only worked in television animation.
Jones said that although “Cagliostro” when first released wasn’t a major hit, it caught the attention of Toshio Suzuki, who would later co-found the major Japanese animation company, Studio Ghibli, with Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.
Through Studio Ghibli, Miyazaki would create the other movies featured in the club marathon.
Dr. Dale Fields, club advisor and assistant professor of astronomy, said that the people in charge of Genshiken are former students of his, who “show good stuff,” so he’s happy to sign forms to help them continue.
Fields said that the club doesn’t just show Japanese media through animation, but also live-action. He said an easy example was when they screened live-action work from acclaimed filmmaker, Akira Kurosawa.
The Genshiken Club plans to show the rest of Miyazaki’s films: “Porco Rosso,” “Princess Mononoke,” “Spirited Away,” “Howl’s Moving Castle,” and “Ponyo,” spmetime in April.
The Genshiken club’s work-in-progress website can be found at MyTokyoBox.com/Genshiken and at http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/.