Thoughts on Spirited Away and Anime

I've posted on this subject before, but every once in a while something happens to make me think about it again. This time it was Tim Bray's recent post on Spirited Away got me thinking a bit about anime and how it is perceived here in the United States. I know a lot of people who have rented the movie and been very impressed by it. In many cases I've heard things like "I've never really 'got' anime, but I saw Spirited Away and it was breathtaking." As someone who has become more of a fan of anime in the past few years it's cool watching this happen. I'm glad that people are getting to see the other sides of anime (the side that isn't all Pokemon and Dragonball Z). And I'm hoping that it means good things for the anime import industry in America. And for those who are looking for some of the same magic that's in Spirited Away, two other of Miyazaki's movies have been released recently on DVD: Castle in the Sky (aka Laputa) and Kiki's Delivery Service. While the first isn't one of my favorites of Miyazaki's, it's quite a good movie. The second is the first movie by him I saw. It's the story of a young girl who is a witch. And she must spend a year on her own as part of becoming a witch. It's a wonderful little story that I've been able to watch many many times (and that I love recommending to people).