Friday, November 05, 2004

Conan, the boy in future

Do you know Hayao Miyazaki? If you've never heard his name, do you know the movie " Spirited Away " or " Princess Mononoke " ? He is these movies' Creator/Director.

But for me, whenever I heard his name, I always think of " Conan, the boy in future ".



This TV Animation is his first directed film and I saw it when I was in 5th grade. When it was first shown, it really didn't make an impression to the public. It's different for me. I totally became addicted to this series. I was always looking forward to watching an episode every week. This was the inspiration & beginning of his numerous and incomparable work. Since then there were more great films that he created.

I am anticipating the showing of Conan here in the US..but I realized it's really hard and almost impossible because of 2 reasons.

1. Tabataba ( Tabacco, Cigarette )

There are scenes where the kids dealt w/ the issue of Tabataba.

I think it would be difficult to replace or substitute w/ another scene or material in this film. One of the scenes depicted Conan ( main character ) and this other boy who, when they met, thought they were enemies, They show to prove who was the stronger boy...but then they recognized that they were both strong. Both boys ended up becoming the best of friends. They initiated their friendship by smoking a tabataba.

2. Kid Labor & Slapstick Abuse

When I was a child, I didn't feel anything about these. However, if non-Japanese people watch these episodes, they might think " why are the kids working ? " " why do the adults hit them? "

But for me, it's not a concern...it's just how the story goes.

So I think ..because of these reasons, it's hard to distribute to other country, especially the US...

This is also about the relationship betwn parents and kids. How much should parents protect their kids? Which TV shows parents should show to their kids. But you know.. I think most kids are more mature than parents expected. When I was a child, I knew what was wrong & what was right. I watch TV for pure entertainment and nothing else I knew... " Conan, the boy in future " ... This is a really good Miyazaki animation. very heart-warming, very cheerful, very thrilling, very funny TV show.

Hopefully they will be able to show this TV show in USA.