Someday's Dreamers Anime Review

Someday's Dreamers
Mahotsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto trans. Things That Are Precious to a Mage
Sentai Filmworks
Complete Collection - 2 discs
300 mins. - 12 episodes
$49.98 (2012)
$29.98 (2003-2004) Vol. 1-3/ea.
$34.98 (2003) Vol. 1 w/Artbox
ISBN 814131019714
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Masami Shimoda
Studio - J.C. Staff

Synopsis: Yume Kikuchi travels to Tokyo from her home in the countryside to be an apprentice mage.  She possesses "special power" which allows her to perform magical feats.  In order to regulate the use of "special power" the Bureau of Magic was set up by the government and using magic without a license bears a penalty.  She apprentices under Masami Oyamada, a well-known mage with a mysterious "special power".  Masami runs a salsa club and lives in the apartments above the club.  Yume stays at an available room during her studies.  She gets very embarrassed because Mr. Oyamada is a good-looking man.

Yume comes from the countryside to study in Tokyo

Yume's mother is a powerful mage and Yume possesses above average skills.  She has a lot of potential, but controlling her power and knowing how to use it are very difficult.  Mr. Oyamada is a patient teacher and Yume meets other mage trainees like Angela Brooks, a young mage from England.  Mages work hard to help people, but are limited by the strength and type of special power they possess.  Some mages are weak and wash out of the trainee program.

Yume's first meeting with Mr. Oyamada and Smiley is a bit awkward
since they're not wearing any shirts (it was a hot day)

Each mage's power is different and they select a symbolic avatar when manifesting their special power.  Yume chooses a dolphin and her teach Mr. Oyamada manifests snowflakes.  Yume meets the famous mage, Master Chief Ginpun who admires her mother.  He takes an interest in her as she progresses in her training.  Yume befriends a local girl named Runa who plays hooky at the salsa club because she is unhappy at home.

Yume is paired up with trainee Angela Brooks from England

Two other people work at the salsa club - Smiley is Mr. Oyamada's friend and Melinda is his unofficial girlfriend (and a salsa DJ).  Yume is afraid she won't make it as a mage trainee and must find confidence in herself.  She gets to know Mr. Oyamada and all of the people around the club.  She uses her special power, but doesn't really understand it.  Can Yume succeed when she has so much self doubt and unanswered questions?  Will the shy country girl make it in the big bustling city?

The mysterious and wise Master Chief Ginpun (he's blind too)

Pros: Animation is solid with good character designs, opening theme song grows on you (nice and jazzy), story uses different accents for characters - like Yume hides a country accent which comes out when she gets nervous or talking to her family (this makes the original Japanese voice acting particularly good), nice ending

Yume watches as Angela summons her "special power" with
her tell-tale dog avatar

Cons: Yume has three hairs sticking up at the top of her head (called ahoge and defining her as a moe character), dub accents are pretty lame, they call using magic 'special power' which sounds dorky - "You're much better at using special power than me.", they say "special power" over and over again (and over and over...), simplistic and silly at times, very slow-paced and mellow

Yume befriends a young man who lost part of his leg and used to play soccer

Mike Tells It Straight: Someday's Dreamers is based on a manga by Norie Yamada and Kumichi Yoshizuki.  It occurs in a world where magic is called "special power" and accepted into the modern world through bureaucratic regulation.  Mages are gifted people, but not all are created equally and some have only a hint of power.  Our protagonist is a classic moe character (big eyes, hair strands coming off her head) who is shy and awkward in the big city.

Smiley, little Runa, and Melinda from the salsa club Pachanga

The story is about personal growth and emotional interaction with others.  Not a bad theme, but a bit simple and unrealistic at certain points.  It's a slice of life show after all and the pace is pretty slow.  I liked the music and the animation was good, but I got bored with the characters and story.  I recommend watching it in original Japanese with subtitles to see if you can discern the different dialects.  The dub attempted to mirror this change in accents, but I didn't really like the dub actors' performances as much.

Mr. Oyamada and Yume have breakfast together

It seems like this anime is the first in a franchise.  A follow up series with a different cast of characters was released domestically in 2012 called Someday's Dreamers II Sora.  The original creators Yamada and Yoshizuki continue to collaborate on stories in this universe they have created.  The first series is perfect if you're looking for something mellow and slightly interesting, but it was a bit bland for my taste.  I give it a fair recommendation, but with no imperative to track down a copy and watch it.

Yume uses her "special power"

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Chobits Anime Review

Chobits
Funimation
Complete Collection - 4 discs
675 mins. - 24 episodes + 3 bonus episodes
$49.98 (2011)
$54.98 (2011) Blu-Ray
$99.98 (2005)
$59.98 (2005) Parts 1-2/ea.
$19.98 (2004) Vol. 7
$29.98 (2003-2004) Vol. 1-6/ea.
$39.98 (2003) Vol. 1 Limited
$34.98 (2003) Vol. 1 w/Artbox
ISBN 704400087202
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Morio Asaka
Studio - Madhouse

Synopsis: Hideki Motosuwa moves from the countryside to Tokyo in order to study and become a college student.  He lives alone in a studio apartment and attends prep courses.  One of his neighbors, Hiromu Shinbo, is also attending the same prep school classes and owns a small persocom.  Hideki has never seen a persocom before and is amazed at the pint-sized, personal computer shaped like a doll.  Shinbo's persocom is named Sumomo and has a boisterous attitude.  She is very cute and able to perform all sorts of useful functions like taking calls, accepting messages, surfing the internet, and other computer tasks.

Hideki finds a bandaged up girl on a trash pile which turns out to be a persocom!

One fateful evening while walking home Hideki discovers a full-sized persocom on top of a trash pile.  She is wrapped in bandages and apparently left for the garbageman to pick up.  Hideki picks her up and carries her home.  He has no idea how a persocom works or what to do with her.  She resembles a beautiful young woman and Hideki is very embarrassed to undress her from the bandages.  He manages to turn her on and the she appears to be very dazed.  The only word she can utter is "chi" and this becomes her name.

Hideki brings the bandaged up persocom home

Hideki has Shinbo analyze Chi, but she is apparently a very powerful persocom and too much for Sumomo to handle.  Shinbo knows a young computer genius named Minoru Kokobunji and they take Chi to see him. Even his persocoms can't analyze Chi and they all conclude she is a very unique unit.  Perhaps even one of the legendary Chobits series which are said to possess the capability for emotions and intuitive learning.

Hideki unwraps the bandages to find a beautiful persocom

Chi lives with Hideki and slowly learns more about life.  She even gets a part-time job at a bakery.  Hideki learns how to care for a persocom and continues to study for the college entrance exams.  Dangers exist for Chi and Hideki because of her unique nature.  Many people try to take advantage of Chi because of her naive nature and hidden capabilities.  What is the truth behind the Chobits series?

Hideki freaks out as Shinbo inspects Chi

Hideki gets a part-time job at a bar and meets the owner's beautiful daughter named Yumi.  His prep school teacher is a hottie named Takako Shimuzu.  Even his landlady, Chitose Hibiya, is attractive.  The young hot-blooded Hideki is surrounded by lovely women in his life and now has a very cute persocom living in his apartment.  How is he supposed to dress and clean her when she's anatomically correct?  What about his library of porn manga?  It's a comedy of errors as Hideki fumbles his way to teaching Chi about life.  Explore a world where computers walk and traditional relationships are challenged by artificial perfection.

It's Shinbo's turn to freak out as Sumomo crashes trying to analyze Chi

Pros: Great soundtrack including opening/ending theme songs, charming characters - innocent Chi, big goofball Motosuwa, reliable Shinbo (or so it seems), and wise Kokobunji; progresses past the typical harem anime, explores themes of artificial intelligences and regular humans relationships, includes a short entitled "Chibits" featuring Sumomo and Kotoko

The weird things on Chi's head house connection sockets for cables

Cons: Chi has no personality and just does cute things, Motosuwa is a big pervy dork, he leaves Chi on her own too often and just asks for someone to take advantage of her, an older dude in the series kind of has an implied relationship with a high school age girl, weird children's storybook with creepy music and characters, too many recap episodes! - a total of 3

Hideki buys Chi girlie underwear!

Mike Tells It Straight: Chobits is the second anime series I've seen based on work by the manga group CLAMP.  It's an interesting pseudo-harem/slice-of-life show exploring potential relationships between artificial humans (persocoms) and normal humans.  The series had some good points including the cute relationship between Hideki and Chi as he teaches her about the real world.  The supporting characters were surprisingly intricate with their own little side stories.  Hideki is a typical young man with a penchant for porn and being totally inept with women.

Young master Kokobunji and his harem of persocoms

I found the series to be enjoyable and fun with a few ecchi/fan-service moments sprinkled in with some sci-fi elements.  The idea of human-shaped personal computers was neat and follows the 'robot servant' theme of many science-fiction novels.  It contained an underlying theme of robot and human relationships which continues into later episodes.  A subtle backstory emerges for Chi's origin as a particularly unique persocom.  This being a slice-of-life show it gets a little slow and boring at times, but the story progresses.

Persocoms are water-proof so they can go to the beach!

The Chobits manga is slightly different than the anime and considered to have a better story.  I was disappointed with the anime ending since it didn't really give a clear resolution to the story (although I can live with it since most anime have lukewarm endings), but I would have liked more of a reveal to Chi's big secret.  The recap episodes I could have lived without.  I'm not a fan of recap episodes and think they're pretty lame nowadays.

The esoteric pseudo-children's book Chi discovers is weird

It's interesting to note one of the characters in Chobits is related to a character from Angelic Layer (also by CLAMP).  Cool to see a little crossover between series even though it's not apparent when watching the actual series.  I'll say Chobits was a funny show until the second half when the Chi's origin story began surfacing.  I liked the fact all of the supporting charactes' lives developed along with the main characters, Hideki and Chi.  At the end of the day it's still a slightly cheesecake show about a horny dude getting a hot android for free.  I'll probably check out the manga to see why people like it better!

Hideki comes home to this every day

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Kamichu! Anime Review

Kamichu!
Kamisama de Chugakusei
Geneon (Pioneer)
Complete Collection - 4 discs
400 mins. - 16 episodes
$49.98 (2008)
$79.98 (2007)
$29.98 (2006) Vol. 1-4/ea.
$49.98 (2006) Vol. 1 w/Artbox
ISBN 013023295490
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Koji Masunari
Studio - Brain's Base

Synopsis: Yurie Hitotsubashi was your average middle school student until one morning she woke up and realized she was a god.  It's a strange feeling and she confides in her best friend, Mitsue, about the change.  Mitsue is a good friend and takes her seriously.  They decide to test out Yurie's newfound powers to see what will happen.  On the roof of the school Yurie summons her will and exclaims "Kamichu!"

The girls of Kamichu! - Matsuri, Yurie, and Mitsue

A massive storm hits the town and it's not just a coincidence.  Yurie's power is real and she is the only one who can calm the raging winds!  It's a difficult adjustment for a shy middle school student to become a deity, but Yurie has some great friends to help her:

• Mitsue - level-headed, wears glasses, Yurie's best friend
• Matsuri - runs a shrine with her little sister after her father retired, always trying to get more visitors to the shrine, her zeal for Yurie's newfound godhood is borderline obsessive, a great friend
• Miko - Matsuri's little sister, shy and very polite, has the ability to see spirits and deities, likes Yashima
• Kenji - classmate of Yurie's, only member of the calligraphy club, he practices on the school's roof often with his paper floating away on the breeze, Yurie has a massive crush on him
• Yashima - a minor deity who lives at Matsuri's shrine, he wants to be in a rock band and play guitar, often possesses Mitsue to perform on stage
• Shoukichi - Yurie's little brother (one grade below), likes Miko
• Tama - Yurie's cat, she has adventures
• Ino, Shika, Chou - three small spirits who are sent by the God Association to help Yurie

Yurie meets all sorts of little deities and spirits around her town

Gods and spirits are very common and represent almost everything - telephones, bicycles, poverty, email, rivers, buildings, battle ships and vinyl records to name a few.  They have their own organization called the God Association and Yurie is now a member.  She visits a special land where the gods dwell and have meetings.  The experiences are all new and somewhat frightening for the timid Yurie.

Yurie feels very out of place in the world of gods

She is assigned three tiny helpers to help with her new duties as a god.  When she uses her power her hair instantly grows very long and she usually falls asleep from the strain.  Her life becomes very complicated as she gains notoriety including calls from the President, investigating a cat uprising, dealing with a visit from the poverty god to her town, and attending the annual God Convention.

Yurie is assigned these little guys to help with her god duties

All the while Yurie must deal with typical middle school problems like trying to confess her love to the boy she likes, dealing with rivals for his affections, feeling like her friends are ignoring her, and trying to find her lost cat.  It's not easy being a god!

Miko, Matsuri, Yurie, and Mitsue palling around

Pros: Cute and well-rounded characters, cool/creative designs for all the spirits/deities (especially the little ones who help Yurie), great ending theme song/credits, very solid animation and backgrounds are awesome, whimsical, received an Excellence Prize at the 2005 Japan Media Arts Festival

Yurie turns into a cat while trying to find Tama

Cons: Very slow-paced and mellow without much really happening, a few episodes were duds (boring), subject of multiple gods/deities may not be popular with some Christian viewers (the anti-Christmas episode won't help either)

Hanging out at Mitsuri's shrine after school

Mike Tells It Straight: Kamichu! is a sweet and slow-paced little show with lots of adorable characters.  Yurie is modest and bashful, definitely not a dynamic heroine or god-like personality.  Her story contrasts the regular every day life of a teenage girl with a spiritual world filled with benign entities.  Yurie's friends and adventures are all very charming.  All the various deities have fun and imaginative designs.

Matsuri looks worried after Yurie uses her power and falls asleep

The animation is surprisingly good and backgrounds really shine.  I liked the music and the ending theme song/credits were great.  I guess the only drawback is the show's slow pace.  It was so mellow I got a little bored halfway through and stopped watching for a few weeks.  I picked it up again and finished it.  I wasn't expecting the series to end the way it did, but it was really nice.

Yurie talks to Yashima about being a god

Everything about Kamichu! was really cute and adorable.  Nice change of pace from cliched action and fan-service shows.  It reminded me a little of Studio Ghibli works for the whimsical quality, but didn't have any real danger or intrigue (or excitement).  Overall a good recommendation for exactly what you get.  

Cutest ending ever!

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Junkers Come Here Anime Movie Review

Junkers Come Here
Bandai Entertainment
Movie - 100 mins. - 1 disc
$29.98 (2003)
$29.98 (2004)
ISBN 669198223594
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Junishi Sato
Studio - Bandai Visual/Triangle Staff

Synopsis: Hiromi is your typical 6th grade girl who has a crush on a boy and spends time with her friend.  She also has a talking dog named Junkers (pronounced Yoon-kers).  He only talks to her in order to keep from starting a media frenzy caused by a talking dog.  Junkers is a little Schnauzer with a big personality.  He keeps Hiromi company because both of her parents are so busy working they never have time to spend with her.

Junkers and Hiromi listen to a music box

Her father directs commercials and is always out of the country shooting on location somewhere.  Her mother is a corporate workaholic who spends every night at her office.  Hiromi lives with her housekeeper and tutor (yeah, that's kind of odd), but her parents are barely home.  She has developed a crush on her tutor (almost big enough to rival the housekeeper's) and he is engaged to be married after taking his college entrance exams.

Hiromi's parents in the same room for ten seconds.  Awkward!

Junkers and Hiromi go on adventures together and her imagination runs wild as an overcompensation for her solitary existence away from her parents.  She puts up a good front to hide her feelings, but the delicate facade is in danger of cracking when her mother drops a bombshell - she is considering a divorce from Hiromi's father.  Now Hiromi must face a looming divorce between her parents along with the departure of her tutor, Keisuke, after exams.  It may be too much for her to take.

Hiromi on the phone with her mom while her tutor Keisuke eats dinner

Hiromi's life is filled with problems a young kid shouldn't have to face.  It could be her magical dog Junkers can do more than just talk.  What other amazing things can he do?  Maybe he can help Hiromi keep the people she cares about in her life, but at what price?  Get ready for a magical Christmas!

Hiromi and Junkers in disguise

Pros: Super cute dog who talks!, Hiromi is awesome and her fantasies are pretty amusing, great message about spending time with your kids instead of working too much, very interesting slice-of-life view of a Japanese (upper) middle class family,

Hiromi's housekeeper cleans Junkers' feet

Cons: Heavier subject matter than indicated by the description on the case (i.e. divorce), animation feels a bit dated, ending had some hokey magical elements, Junkers is pronounced Yoon-kers (in the dub too)

Keisuke and his fiancee Yoko talk while Junkers spies on them for Hiromi

Mike Tells It Straight: Junkers Come Here is a feel-good moving with lots of comedy and cute misunderstandings.  Junkers is pretty adorable and has a fun personality.  The adventures he and Hiromi have are great.  The story gets more serious once Hiromi's mother drops the d-word - divorce.  Suddenly the story takes a serious turn as Hiromi is faced with a monumental crisis.

Hiromi's father reads a letter from her while in France

Her life is in utter turmoil and her parents are too busy working to notice.  It's a tough lesson for parents and kids to go through, but this movie gives a good portrayal.  Divorce is a heavy topic and might not be suitable for some children.  Definitely a judgement call by parents whether they should show this to their kids or not.

Junkers is kinda magic

This movie is kind of a cross between a Satoshi Kon (Tokyo Godfathers, Perfect Blue) and Studio Ghibli (Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away) film.  Great characterization and serious subject matter crossed with magical whimsy.  I thought the message was done well and many kids must go through this dilemma when their parents are going to split.  The animation is not up to Studio Ghibli standards and I didn't see a lot of replay value due to the serious subject matter.  I would say this movie is worth watching and it might surprise you, but wouldn't put a high priority on seeing it and can't say it's a keeper.

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Popotan Anime Review

Popotan
Geneon (Pioneer)
Complete Collection - 3 discs
300 mins. - 12 episodes
$34.98 (2007)
$29.98 (2009)
ISBN 013023295292
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Shinichiro Kimura
Studio - Shaft

Synopsis: A magical house mysteriously appears outside of town and is rumored to be haunted.  A young boy musters his courage and enters the house to investigate.  Instead of finding ghosts he accidentally barges in on a naked young lady after her bath!  He discovers the house is inhabited by three lovely sisters, their maid, and a feisty little ferret.  They befriend him, but soon thereafter the house and sisters disappear.

We follow the sisters as their magical house travels through space and time on a search for an enigmatic young woman.  At each place the sisters converse with 'popotan' (dandelions) and find clues to the whereabouts of the young woman.  The sisters also make friends and help people at each place, but are forced to abrubtly abandon their friendships when the house transports. 

Mai, Mii, Ai, Unagi and the mystery girl

Their quest becomes increasingly difficult as the sisters continuously leave friends behind.  They move forward in time and witness the negative results of their departures on those left behind.  Can the sisters maintain their quest despite the grueling emotional challenges they face? 

List of characters residing in the house and participating in the quest:

• Ai - the oldest sister who wears glasses, has large boobs, cooks terribly, has the ability to speak to the 'popotan', has an easygoing nature, but is too accomodating and will let people walk all over her
• Mai - the middle sister who is more athletic, has small breasts (and is constantly reminded of this fact by her younger sister), is tomboyish, has the hardest time dealing with leaving her friends behind each time the house travels
• Mii - the youngest sister who cosplays as 'Magical Girl Mii', is obsessed with rubbing her face on anything 'puffy' including people's cheeks and especially breasts (particularly Ai's)
• Mea - the sisters' maid, is apparently an android showing very little emotion, has small breasts like Mai, a voracious appetite, and is a skilled fighter
• Unagi - the sisters' pet white female ferret, she can apparently transform into human form, and likes to hang out in between Ai's breasts (because they are warm and soft)

Pros: Lots of fan-service/nudity - the girls take a lot of baths together (at least once an episode), opening/ending theme songs are really catchy (especially the ending song), good soundtrack, trip to the hot springs episode, nice theme of valuing your friendships with other people


Mii loves her 'puffies' at bath time! 

Cons: Nothing is really explained about the ultimate purpose of the sisters' quest or the convention of how the magic works, character designs are a little bland, the youngest sister Mii is shown naked quite a bit - lolicon (see explanation below) and could be offensive to some viewers

Mike Tells It Straight: Based on an adult-themed computer game (a visual novel with decision points varying the plot), Popotan has a storied and successful history in Japan.  The video game's protagonist was a wandering guitar player who rents a room with the sisters and his goal in the game is to have sexual encounters with all of them (and then unlock a couple more girls for him to have sexual encounters with).  Yeah, this doesn't happen in the anime. 

Instead we get a show with heavy fan-service and a minor lolicon character in Mii.  Lolicon is the Japanese version of the "Lolita complex" where underage girls are portrayed in sexually suggestive poses, clothing or situations.  Mii runs around naked in the bath, talks about and rubs her face on 'puffies' (boobs) a few times.  This could be offensive to some viewers and if you're one of them - the show is not for you.  Be glad Mii doesn't act the same in the anime as in the video game (which will never be released in the US). 



This dance became an internet phenomenon. Try it! 

 As far as I can tell this show is for introverted, adult males (otaku) based on the source material (a video game where you get to score with girls).  It really doesn't explain much about the setup for the story - the girls just keep jumping to a few different places and forward in time.  The game goes into a lot more detail, but first-time viewers are not given any backstory. 

I almost gave up watching this show after the first few episodes because it seemed ridiculous.  Every episode the girls talk to flowers, take nude baths together and then disappear.  Sticking it out was a good thing as the story progressed beyond the mere fan-service vehicle it seemed into a poignant tale of caring for ones friends.  The message was heartfelt, but I didn't really care about any of the characters except Mai.  She was the most interesting and showed genuine emotional loss at the forced abandonment of her new friends.

The progression of time and effect the sisters' relationships have on other people was done well as everything interlaced quite nicely.  I loved the ending theme song too - it was super-catchy.  This show had some good points, a lot of mediocre bits, and gets a fair recommendation.  It won't blow your socks off (maybe that happens in the video game), but you'll probably enjoy some of it. 

TO BUY and Recommendations:
   

My Neighbor Totoro Anime Movie Review

My Neighbor Totoro

Tonari no Totoro
Buena Vista Home Entertainment (Disney)
Movie - 88 mins. - 2 discs
$39.99 (2013) Blu-Ray/DVD
$29.99 (2010)
$29.99 (2004)
$9.98 (2002)
ISBN 786936791716
English/Japanese Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Hayao Miyazaki
Studio - Studio Ghibli

Synopsis: Satsuki and Mei move with their father, a university professor, into an old house in the country to be closer to their mother who is in the hospital.  The sisters (ages ten and four) explore their new home and discover all sorts of interesting phenomena.  Upon their arrival and first inspection they disturb the 'soot sprites' living in the empty house.  Their father knows the only way to keep away house spirits is to laugh very loudly - and that's just what they do!

Mei spies this little guy while she's playing. Hey, where's he going?

After several weeks the girls adjust to their new home and enjoy exploring the surrounding woods together.  One day Mei happens upon a pint-sized magical creature and follows it to a huge ancient tree.  She falls into the tree and right on top of a massive, sleeping Totoro!  Mei is fascinated by the huge furry creature and Totoro is indifferent to the tiny creature sitting on him.  They both take a nap.

Mei drops in on Totoro while he's taking a nap

Later Satsuki and Mei encounter Totoro while waiting at the bus stop in a heavily wooded lane.  He gives them a bundle of magic seeds before boarding a Catbus.  The girls enjoy several more encounters with the 'King of the Forest'.

Satsuki offers Totoro her extra umbrella

Pros: Hand-rendered animation, simple and believable human characters, unmistakable sense of wonder/delight at the benign supernatural, the two little girls are adorable and well-portrayed, widespread international appeal, Totoro is great/hilarious (so is the theme song), it has a catbus!

Satsuki gets Totoro's help when Mei goes missing.  He calls the Catbus!

Cons: Slow-paced, Disney English dub is different than original (long out-of-print) Fox/Streamline English dub (those familiar with previous dub may be disappointed by new dub), instance where one of the girls gets lost could be tough for some young viewers (my young viewers didn't have a problem)

The magic seeds grow with a little help from Totoro!

Mike Tells It Straight: This movie is one of my all-time favorites and has such universal appeal that anyone will enjoy it.  It put Studio Ghibli on the international map and they don't use Totoro as their mascot by coincidence.  The curiosity and wonder of the girls meeting Totoro is absolutely precious.

My two-year old can't get enough of Totoro and goes crazy every time I wear a Totoro-face shirt.  It's slow-paced, but builds to some pretty amazing moments and will captivate younger viewers.  Watch this movie and be transported back to childhood when magic still happened every day. 

"Kaaawwwwaaaaaiiiii!!!!"

TO BUY and Recommendations: