Miyazaki’s Magical Food: An ode to anime’s best cooking scenes

https://www.seriouseats.com/studio-ghibli-anime-best-food-scenes

by DemiGuru • 3 years ago

128 63 3 years ago

duxup2• 3 years ago

I signed up for HBO ... er whatever they call it now, just to share Miyazaki films with my kids.

There's a joy and generosity that the films have towards people, animals, and even food that you don't find in much media anymore.

More than once I watched expecting the "bad guy" to get his in the end, but the film ended just fine without it, maybe better because of it.

dcre5• 3 years ago

Absolutely. And generally great treatment of gender, and none of the Disney obsession with royalty.

astrange5• 3 years ago

There's a Western/Japan cultural gap here. Ghibli movies are not different from other anime. The reason anime stars women is because the animators are horny and like drawing women first, marketing second, and because they're feminists maybe like tenth. (Miyazaki's waifu is Clarissa from Castle of Cagliostro.)

And the opposite happens too; a work where all the characters are men is usually by/for women, and a lot of things Japanese women love to write look like "ugh some perverted guy did this" to unfamiliar Western readers, making it tricky to localize romances.

montagg• 3 years ago

Lots don’t even have a villain, really. They are really great for children, to help them see that not every story needs a villain to be compelling.

My daughter is 21 months old and has seemingly memorized Totoro—if she hears the soundtrack, she’ll start talking about what’s happening in that scene. If she hears the track where Mei grabs the soot sprite, she’ll yell out, “I caught one!”

Miyazaki movies are truly timeless. They’ll still be loved in the 2080s.

ehnto• 3 years ago

The music is so much of the experience, and the "Ghibili" style is unmistakable. I have not seen all of the films, but I have heard all of the music! It was even better in concert.

If you ever get the chance I am sure it would be an unforgettable experience for you and your family to see it performed in concert, it's quite regularly toured around various countries by different orchestras.

jjulius• 3 years ago

I'd had Miyazaki's films on my watchlist for years, and when we found out we were expecting our first kiddo (now 3 years old), I decided to wait to watch any of them so that I could watch them, for the very first time, with her (well, "them" now, on account of our second kiddo).

I'd love to see suggestions from folk around which film might be a great first choice, I'll probably give that a go this week.

Edit: Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! :)

Andrex• 3 years ago

I haven't gone super-super-deep into Ghibli but I feel confident saying either My Neighbor Totoro or Spirited Away.

Be careful to keep your expectations straight for any of the Ghibli films you watch after Spirited Away though, because it's possibly their best. I go back and forth on that or Princess Mononoke taking the crown.

mpsprd• 3 years ago

Spirited away: One of the best and has all all the flavours of Ghibli, I recommend starting with it.

Shorter: Totoro, great for kids with a short attention span, my toddler enjoyed it.

larrywright2• 3 years ago

Totoro or Ponyo would be my recommendation.

duxup2• 3 years ago

For kids:

My Neighbor Totoro

Spirited Away - (3 year olds might find some moments scary, lost of strange creatures and scary moments for the protagonist but not for too long.)

The Secret World of Arrietty

Depending on how they handle those you could try others.

dcre5• 3 years ago

Totoro of course, but Kiki is highly underrated and great for little kids.

mcphage• 3 years ago

Ponyo or My Neighbor Totoro would probably be best for a first choice.

Kiki's Delivery Service and The Secret World of Arriety would be better for a (slightly) older child.

Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle for slightly older yet.

j_french• 3 years ago

I've been doing this with my kids. It's been so enjoyable, we're all getting a lot of joy out of it. My youngest became obsessed with Totoro when she was 4 and I think I enjoy it more every time we watch it. Waiting a while before I show them spirited away, Ponyo spooked her first time round, but a year later and she loved it. There's a lot to process in some of them for small kiddos, so like most everyone else says, those two are probably the best ones to start with.

genocidicbunny• 3 years ago

Totoro is probably the best for your kids age. Ponyo and Kiki's Delivery Service might also be good around this age.

A lot of suggestions for Spirited Away, but I think you're going to need to wait a few years for your kids to appreciate and connect with it -- I'd say 7 or 8y/o. Around that same age, Castle in the Sky and Nausicaa become palatable too. A little after that you can probably introduce them to Porco Rosso and Howls Moving Castle -- they both touch on some war stuff that might be hard for young kids to understand.

Whatever you decide though, hold off on Princess Mononoke until they're older. That one to me is the most visually jarring one, and I'm glad I was as old as I was when I first saw it because a younger me would have definitely had a nightmare or two.

DrPhish• 3 years ago

For a great, under appreciated (in the west) Miyazaki series pre-Ghibli, check out “Future Boy Conan”[0]. It’s my personal favourite, and all 3 of my boys (and my wife) have watched it multiple times. It’s the source of a lot of Ghibli tropes, and I think they were expertly executed.

Of course it’s nice that it’s a TV series, so you get to spend that much longer in the world with the characters.

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_Boy_Conan

sogen• 3 years ago

Some kind soul uploaded it and made it available for anyone at the Internet Archive

throwaway5752• 3 years ago

You can see them every year on the big screen in a lot of cities and I highly recommend it: https://www.fathomevents.com/series/studio-ghibli-fest

The absence of true "bad guys" is one of the best part (Suliman, Yubaba).

wintorez• 3 years ago

A YouTube playlist for anyone interested in Anime Food: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcLTe8MoAV4&list=PLopY4n17t8...

wahnfrieden2• 3 years ago

The most delicious was one of the Ghibli shorts they screen on 35mm only available to see at the museum. A bread making witch. Don’t recall the name.

My fav of theirs though is Mei and the Kitten Bus just wish I had a better copy of it

dannyphantom• 3 years ago

Was this it? :)

https://vimeo.com/850696013?share=copy

wahnfrieden2• 3 years ago

Yes! Thank you. Haven't seen for a decade. The 35mm prints are worth seeking out

mromanuk• 3 years ago

I'm obsessed with Ghibli and Miyazaki's work, I discover them in earlies 2010s because of my nieces (then my daughters were born). I love to watch Totoro and discover old (new) Ghibli films and watch with my daugthers. Those weren't available in my country when I was a kid in the 80s. Inn a way these movies transport me to that time, it's a warm a nostalgic feeling. I'm looking forward to watch Miyazaki's new film, soon to be released.

bluefishinit2• 3 years ago

I don't know that I'd call Miyazaki's movies "anime's best cooking scenes". There's an entire genre of manga/anime that's devoted to food that takes things way beyond any Miyazaki film. I like Yakitate!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakitate!!_Japan

There's also things like Food Wars which is entirely dedicated to cooking/eating.

winrid• 3 years ago

Looking at screencaps of Yakitate I'd say Miyazaki's food looks way more appealing/homley, but I'll give it a go :)

mitthrowaway2• 3 years ago

(It's as much about wordplay as it is about baking. If you don't enjoy that humour, you might lose interest).

bluefishinit2• 3 years ago

I'd also recommend Moyashimon, which is about fermenting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moyasimon:_Tales_of_Agricultur...

serf2• 3 years ago

similarly Bartender manga is good for descriptions/depictions of cocktails/drinks, as is Death Parade and Love is like a Cocktail.

Animats2• 3 years ago

That's common in Asian dramas, not just anime.

In US dramas, such as Blue Bloods, you'll see people eating. But no close-ups of the food. In Asian dramas, there will often be close-ups of the food.

Although not to the level of detal of US fast food commercials, which have become gross.

hinkley2• 3 years ago

I got so hungry watching Eat, Drink, Man, Woman. Fuckin' Ang Lee. Couldn't get enough Jane Austin so made his own.

If I'm ever under doctor's orders to eat more calories, that'll be at the top of the list of movies I watch for inspiration.

edgarvaldes• 3 years ago

In US media is very common to have a character take a single bite to the food, then run away. I dunno why, but I hate that. In Korean tv the characters are always eating, full bites, empty glasses, etc. I love it.

astrange5• 3 years ago

It's hard to film an eating scene. You can only do so many takes, the actors don't want to get full, and the food looks better if it's fake.

carabiner• 3 years ago

Kdrama food scene with noodles and pour over coffee: https://youtu.be/HFMkrXezcLQ

marginalia_nu• 3 years ago

An interesting exception is the film The IPCRESS File, the original with Michael Cain. It has extremely detailed cooking scenes, including the protagonist making his morning coffee in a french press as part of the opening montage. Good film, if a bit trippy at times.

crooked-v• 3 years ago

I think it would be a disservice not to link this video on the subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs_mH4QnAe4

larrywright2• 3 years ago

Watching Ponyo was how I learned that people added meat, eggs, and vegetables to instant ramen.

tehnub2• 3 years ago

I really enjoyed the beach-side cooking scene in Ride Your Wave: https://www.sakugabooru.com/post/show/107905

Great movie overall.

hinkley2• 3 years ago

"It's HAAAAAM" gets yelled in my kitchen every time we have ramen, or just ham.

squarepizza• 3 years ago

Going meta, here's Miyazaki cooking ramen in live action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BPTNdmdJSc

dtgriscom• 3 years ago

Not Miyazaki, but I loved the food in Pixar's short "Bao". Made me hungry.

WaitWaitWha3• 3 years ago

Hmmm... There was a cartoon series, I believe Chinese or Japanese (?)[It was over twenty years ago] that was about a young boy who was a very good cook, and most of the episodes were about acquiring some special ingredient, cooking to save some poor person, or winning some great competition.

I first saw it in the very very early days of YouTube.

For the life of me, I cannot recall which one. Any ideas?

Asking, because as far as animated cooking series, it had some great cooking scenes in each episode.

joombaga• 3 years ago

Perhaps "Chuka Ichiban!" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C5%ABka_Ichiban%21

It's Japanese, but takes place in China.

WaitWaitWha3• 3 years ago

Yes! Thank you!

tehnub2• 3 years ago

Is it this? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C5%ABka_Ichiban!

WaitWaitWha3• 3 years ago

Yes! Thank you!

astrod• 3 years ago

There is a section at the new Ghibli Park in Aichi prefecture which showcases some of these foods.

https://ghibli-park.jp/en/about/ghiblisgrandwarehouse.html

philsnow• 3 years ago

This article just makes me wish that they had used gifs of the Ghibli food scenes, they're so much more compelling: https://imgur.com/account/favorites/V8JvhMT

Somebody put together a cut of several of them with a maybe-"lo-fi" no-words version of that Jason Mraz song "I'm Yours", which is really relaxing, but I can't find it right off the bat. edit here it is: https://i.imgur.com/9yvTOn4.mp4

genjii931• 3 years ago

I highly recommend Makanai (both anime and live action). Great story and great food imagery.

WeylandYutani• 3 years ago

Anime made me buy a rice cooker. It really does taste different.

suierklepye• 3 years ago

Food has a universal appeal that transcends cultural and linguistic boundaries, making it a powerful tool for conveying emotions and relationships in film.

Miyazaki’s Magical Food: An ode to anime’s best cooking scenes

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