As a part of the Outside-in Cinema screenings in Experimedia here at the Library, on Wednesday 22nd June at 6pm you can catch the classic animated film by Hayao Miyazaki, Laputa: castle in the sky. The story follows two children in their search for a large mechanical floating castle.

Earlier in the year, prior to the screening of Ponyo, I blogged about some of the titles available in the Libary on Hayao Miyazaki and his world famous Studio Ghibli. For a deeper, more academic analysis of anime and the culture surrounding it in general, some other books on the shelves in the Arts Reading Room could be worth perusing.

Cinema anime compiles the writings of a selection of researchers looking into the deeper ideas and techniques incorporated into many of the landmark titles in the medium, from the internal cyberpunk musings in Lain to the re-interpretation of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.

Antoni Levi’s Samurai from outer space aims itself at those beginning their journey into anime – specifically those from western countries – and walks readers through the symbolism and mythological references found within many titles in the wide spectrum of titles released via the medium over the years.

Finally, two other titles, both looking at trends stretching across the development of anime as an artistic medium and also focusing on specific attributes of important titles, are The anime machine and Anime intersections. Both titles refer to technical aspects from an animation theory background, as well as employing more literary-based analysis’.