"The Princess Mononoke (Japanese: Mononoke Hime)" produced by Director Hayao Miyazaki got the most popular in Japan this summer. It was reported more than 11 million people saw the movie for 84 days after its release.
You know many costume-players in Japan played the role of "San," a heroine of the movie, as I wrote here. Many magazines for movies and animations dealt with the movie. Some foreigners have already started their homepages on the movie, you know.
"Eureka" is a very famous monthly magazine on criticism and poetry in Japan. The magazine formerly dealt with Mr. Katsuhiro Ootomo, who drew comic-type Akira and produced movie-type Akira. "Eureka" published a special issue on "The Princess Mononoke."
I felt a kind of the difference of temperature.
You know Nagoya people can see the movie only at "Scholar-za" theater in Nayabashi. Other movie theaters in Nagoya stopped putting it on the screen.
On the other hand, two large-scale movie theaters in Osaka put it on the screen. In October, 1997, "Sanban-gai Cinema" theater was full. The theater is located at Umeda near JR Osaka Station. The theater has three rooms for movie. Two rooms of the three put the movie on the screen this summer. Of course both of them were full then.
Formerly Nagoya-TV company with "Sunrise" production produced many robot animations in 1980s. It was often reported that there were many animation fans in Nagoya. Those fans wanted high-quality anime and often held independent meetings for screening. Those meetings consisted of screening of some TV animations and a round-table talk by voice actors.
This time Mononoke fans in Nagoya scarcely appeared. I often saw lines for Mononoke in front of "Sanban-gai Cinema" theater.
The phrase "the difference of temperature" is often used in politics. Mononoke is a kind of culture. It is related with Aïnu. For example, Nakoruru is an Aïnu girl in Samurai Shodown (Samurai Spirits). Nakoruru is produced by SNK, a game entertainment company in Osaka. Formerly Osaka people had an economist governor supported by Communist Party in 1970s. Then teachers educated school pupils in order to obliterate distinction in the society.
Many chinese, korean, Okinawa-people and former untouchable people live in Osaka. Most Osaka people have learned the abolition of racial discrimination. Therefore Osaka people can understand the background of the movie.
Now many foreigners live in Nagoya because Nagoya has many factories and many jobs. The number of foreigners increases. But Nagoya people seem not to understand the popularity of the movie. Foreigners who talk about Osaka regard it as a miniature of Hong Kong. Osaka has many shops and a few jobs. When this recession ends, Osaka people will welcome foreigners.
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