Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
I’ve been on a spree on catching up with SMAP member content (drama, smasma ep, etc) and here’s one, Miyazaki’s 2004 film, Howl’s Moving Castle. I’m personally not a huge fan of Miyazaki films. I enjoy them and I think they’re intriguing but it’s not something I would put on my favorite list.
Well anyways, the reason why Howl’s Moving Castle has anything to do with SMAP is because Kimura Takuya voices Howl. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from him as a voie actor. I thought that at most he is able to provide a unique voice that suits some characters but I was wrong. Howl is depicted as a ‘prince like’ gentlemen who loves beautiful things but Kimura himself does not really have that image: he’s more of the badboy type. So if I didn’t know that Kimura voiced howl, I would have taken me awhile to notice. I think he did a great job adjusting his tone to match Howl’s character.
Now as for Howl’s Moving Castle as a movie… hmmm questionable. It was interesting but the plot seems messy. [spoiler alert] It was all good build up until the point where Sophie runs into the witch at the palace. To me, the direction of the movie seemed like they’re now going to try to either elope or fight for Howl’s freedom. Instead, after they relocated their home, Howl goes back to fight in the war for the kingdom. It’s as if nothing changed… literally. Although the ending did resolved Howl’s curse he casted upon himself but it doesn’t answer any questions. What was the war about? Is the war over? How about Sophie’s damn curse? like, wat. [end of spoilers]
I’ll probably rate Howl’s Moving Castle as average. It could be better. Chances of me re-watching it for the story is low. Though, I do think Kimura did an amazing job as a seiyuu and now that he’s free from SMAP activities (cries), I hope he’ll look more into it. A fortune teller once told him that the busiest time of his life is going to be between 74-82 years old (LOL) so maybe that is a sign he’ll be in the voice acting industry? I cannot imagine someone that old having an acting project to keep then that busy. hah
Mood: Impressed
Listening to: そのまま – SMAP
Playing: Osu!
Craving: Pu Erh Tea
Watching: Howl’s Moving Castle
