![kokuriko-zaka kara. kokuriko-zaka kara.](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81VCcEj8gsL._SX355_.jpg)
The English audio is _very_ high quality, even to the point of translating entire songs, not only for solo voices but even for a whole chorus. although to be honest I really don't know for sure.) But even though Disney wasn't involved this time, the tradition was respected. (Another possibility is the "agreement" covers works directed only by Hayao Miyazaki himself, not other Studio Ghibli directors. Most likely Disney chose not to exercise its rights in the U.S., either because Goro Miyazaki's previous effort was critically panned, or because some of the themes of a typical "shoujo" -entirely unremarkable in Japan- are considered incompatible with Disney's image in the U.S. But in fact, although Disney remains the international distributor in much of rest of the world, it is not involved in U.S. Given that "agreement" and its recent history, one would expect Disney to distribute "From Up on Poppy Hill" in the U.S. The traditional rule of thumb "dubs suck" has been modified to "dubs suck, except animes handled by Disney". In fact the quality is often so high that even anime connoisseurs who don't actually speak Japanese often prefer the English audio (rather than the Japanese audio with subtitles).
![kokuriko-zaka kara. kokuriko-zaka kara.](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/~kAAAOSwpzdWsHO0/s-l400.jpg)
And second, Disney has gotten us used to very high quality English soundtracks. audiences: First, there's now a strong tradition of "no cuts"- what Studio Ghibli animates is exactly what we see, with no "fiddling" in an editing room. (The agreement has been "amended" a number of times in private, and its exact terms are not known to me.) It's had two important results for U.S. Disney made an "agreement" with Studio Ghibli nearly twenty years ago which suggests they have distribution rights over much of the globe for most Studio Ghibli products. The distributor for this release is "GKIDS", which is not a name I'm familiar with. Although released in Japan well over a year earlier, the English version was released in the U.S. Although not "edge of your seat" manipulative, it definitely pulls you into the story and makes you continually wonder "what's next?". Despite the placid surface, the story is in fact quite intricate, even suspenseful. This story is much calmer and slower and less frenetic than our usual fare, something I found refreshing. It's less "realistic" and "action-packed" than the 3D fare we usually see, but more imaginative. Father and son share a strong preference for the traditional hand-drawn style of 2D animation over detailed and beautiful background paintings.
![kokuriko-zaka kara. kokuriko-zaka kara.](http://www.imcdb.org/i553276.jpg)
But the actual director is his son Goro Miyazaki. Hayao Miyazaki is officially credited as the writer, and seems to have been intimately involved. "From Up on Poppy Hill", the most recent Studio Ghibli fare, is definitely a "shoujo". by Disney, and hence perhaps not as well known) was in many ways a pioneer in this subtype of anime.
![kokuriko-zaka kara. kokuriko-zaka kara.](https://images.static-bluray.com/reviews/8388_5.jpg)
The Studio Ghibli anime "Only Yesterday" (_not_ distributed in the U.S. It seems to me "shoujo" substantially overlaps with anime that emphasize nostalgia and childhood. Then there's the "shoujo" sub-genre -aimed at pre-teen to teenage girls- which tends to have female leads, romantic subplots, and resolutions involving personal growth. We're familiar with whimsical -often "supernatural"- stories from Miyazaki and others, and also the strong environmental themes that pervade much of Miyazaki's work. Not all Japanese anime is the "pow" "bang" of giant robots fighting.