Anime Was (Not) A Mistake
271 episodes - English - Latest episode: 14 days ago - ★★★★★ - 7 ratingsAn Anime/Animated Retrospective Podcast ranging from the realms of Ghibli to Godzilla and beyond. Join resident nerd co-hosts Jonathan Kwiatkowski and Dan Ryan as they travel through spirit realms, new, fascinating worlds, and fly through the skies in order to prove that Anime Was (Not) A Mistake.
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Episodes
Episode 20: The Wind Rises
May 12, 2019 22:02 - 1 hour - 101 MB"All I wanted to do was to make something beautiful." On open wings we soar, into the freedom and splendor of the sky, on this episode of Anime Was (Not) A Mistake. In what was considered, at the time to be, a “farewell” for Studio Ghibli legend Hayao Miyazaki, we take a look at the emotional animated biopic of Jiro Horikoshi as he strives to build upon mankind’s age-old desire to fly. Will this prove to the pride before the fall, for both protagonist and creator? Well, you will just have to...
Episode 19: From Up on Poppy Hill
April 21, 2019 23:17 - 1 hour - 77.4 MBHey podcasters, welcome to the 60s! Tonight, on Anime Was (Not) A Mistake we raise the flags on Goro’s return to the Studio Ghibli with 2011’s From Up On Poppy Hill. This is a grounded, easy to relate to story about Umi Matsuzaki in her normal everyday life. Running a boarding house, going to school, and dealing with a possible incestual love interest sure is complicated. Beneath this lesser known Ghibli gem, beats the real heart of a believable story centered around young love. Will you hel...
Episode 18: The Secret World of Arrietty
March 31, 2019 23:22 - 1 hour - 80.3 MBOn this episode of Anime Was (Not) A Mistake we are off on a monumental adventure, in a miniature scale. Have you ever wondered where your stray sugar cubes and tissues go to? Have they been stolen in the dead of night? Well, worry no longer! Your tiny possessions haven’t been taken, but “borrowed” by an intrepid group of tiny people. In The Secret World of Arrietty we learn that it doesn’t matter how small you are, as long as you have the courage and determination to succeed, things will al...
Episode 17: Ponyo
March 17, 2019 21:23 - 1 hour - 81.8 MBWe are off to a cliff on the side of the sea on this episode of Anime Was (Not) A Mistake. Breathe in that fresh sea air and prepare for an adventure spanning all ages. The little fish Ponyo, has fallen in love with the human boy Sōsuke, and will stop at nothing to satisfy her love. Even though the childhood simplicity is evident in every shallow or tide-pool of this Ghibli film, we cant help but ask the hard hitting questions? Is the world order still unbalanced? What will happen to the ol...
Episode 16: Tales From Earthsea
March 03, 2019 04:29 - 2 hours - 127 MBAre you ready to take a journey into a world where magic is real? A world where dragons soar through the air? A world where a new adventure is waiting around every bend? Well, you’re not going to be getting any of that here, because this is Anime Was (Not) a Mistake's episode about Goro Miyazaki’s Tales From Earthsea. In our biggest, dragon-sized, episode to date, Dan and Jonathan discuss what might be the only anime movie so far in the Ghibli canon that might be a ...mistake? Ursula K. Le G...
Episode 15: Howl's Moving Castle
February 18, 2019 02:13 - 1 hour - 100 MBOn tonight’s episode of Anime Was (Not) A Mistake we offer a Ghibli film, perfectly fitted, like a newly made hat, for Valentine’s Day. Join us as we creak and groan with old age or a moving amalgamation of scrap metal in Howl’s Moving Castle (2004). Sophie is a young girl looking for her place in a world on the brink of war. After casually slighting the (petty and voluptuous) Witch of the Waste she is bewitched to live as an old woman and journey on a quest to break the curse. On her journe...
Episode 14: The Cat Returns
February 03, 2019 23:12 - 1 hour - 74.4 MBThis episode of Anime Was (Not) A Mistake is truly “Ameowzing.” Tonight, we experience the “Fancy Feastastical” Tail that is Hiroyuki Morita’s The Cat Returns (2002). Join young Haru on her “Furmidable” journey to The Cat Kingdom. She’ll need more than nine lives as she finds herself engaged to a prince, slowly growing whiskers, and developing a growing fondness for catnip. There’s no one to help Haru in her “cat-tastrope” but a few familiar faces. The Baron and Muta are back and they aren’...
Episode 13: Spirited Away
January 21, 2019 00:50 - 1 hour - 108 MBPut on your bathrobes on and remember to tip your resident Radish Spirit. Anime Was (Not) A Mistake is back with one of the most critically acclaimed Ghibli films of all time, 2001’s Spirited Away. During this film we discuss Japanese culture, thematic implements, and ponder just how tasty the food of the spirit world actually is. Join us as we lumber forward like a daunting stink spirit, fly on the back of a river dragon, and polish the floors in order to please our customers. Be you boiler...
Episode 12: My Neighbors the Yamadas
December 30, 2018 03:04 - 1 hour - 72.9 MB“Now I have children of my own. They ask their mother, what will I be? Will I be handsome? Will I be rich? I tell them tenderly…Que será, será!” Seasons Greetings and Happy New Year from us at Anime Was (Not) A Mistake. May your lives in the New Year be bright, full of anime, and may you be at the center of your very own family vignette to be blessed with screen time. Life goes on, even on our podcast and how fortunate for us that we are viewing Isao Takahata’s 1999 charming classic My Neigh...
Episode 11: Princess Mononoke
December 16, 2018 04:18 - 1 hour - 92.4 MB“To see with eyes, unclouded by hate.” Tonight, on Anime Was (Not) A Mistake, we travel through a world of man made iron and natural beauty. 1997’s Princess Mononoke pits humans vs. gods in an epic battle to balance the world. Join us, on our humble podcast, as we discuss what might be Studio Ghibli’s most prolific work. Miyazaki wanted to deliver a tale of beasts and wild frontiers and delivered, in all regards, a motion picture deserving of its spot in anime and film history. So, join us a...
Episode 10: Whisper of the Heart
November 18, 2018 12:46 - 1 hour - 71 MB“Country Roads, Take me Home to the Place I Belong…” On this episode of Anime Was (Not) A Mistake we chase a cat into an antique shop, only to find some real-life lessons, and poignant views on following/working hard on your own dreams. Yoshifumi Kondo’s 1995 directorial debut Whisper of the Heart bows the violin strings of our soul. The film tells the story of young Shizuku Tsukishima in her attempts to survive middle school, traverse blossoming relationships, and look inside herself to fin...
Episode 09: Pom Poko
October 28, 2018 12:24 - 1 hour - 74.5 MB“Mr. Raccoon, Mr. Raccoon, won’t you come out to play?” Anime Was (Not) A Mistake s back again, with the one Ghibli film hailed as the perfect family picture…if your family happens to be a bunch of raccoons. Pom Poko scurries up this time on our humble little podcast to entertain as well as teach. If you ever had an interest in Japanese folklore, military history, and charm all viewed through the lens of a furry little mammal, with black circled eyes and tiny little hands, this film is the p...
Episode 08: Porco Rosso
October 08, 2018 13:33 - 1 hour - 75.4 MBRev up your plane engines, and prepare to soar over the animated Adriatic Sea! Anime Was (Not) A Mistake is back with a vengeance with the rip roaring, and utterly charming Porco Rosso. Join the intrepid pig man pilot/bounty hunter Porco as he lives a life full of aerial mechanics, wine bottles, cigarette smoke, and romance. This film manages to skillfully combine humor and Italian sophistication, and bumbling sky pirates into an incredibly poignant picture. Studio Ghibli never loses altitud...
Episode 07: Only Yesterday
September 24, 2018 21:39 - 1 hour - 87.3 MBGet ready for the nostalgia, regret, and wonder only childhood can provide on this latest episode of Anime Was (Not) A Mistake. Today get ready to hop on a train to the Japanese countryside as hosts Dan and Jonathan examine Isao Takahata’s 1991 classic Only Yesterday … and wonder if the Sonic the Hedgehog film will truly become a new cult classic. If you ever hated the taste of pickled onions, had a 5th grade crush that also loved stormy weather, or had dreams of a patent leather purse/ an ...
Episode 06: Kiki's Delivery Service
September 03, 2018 13:58 - 1 hour - 69.9 MBGrab your broomstick, a radio, and a black cat familiar, as another episode of Anime Was (Not) A Mistake soars into your life. Today we join the lovable, and highly relatable Kiki on her journey of self-discovery and magical innovation. It's time to shake off the summer and leap into life, in search of new experiences and an adventure. This is a movie near and dear to every Ghibli fan we've ever come into contact with and might just be the most watchable of the Ghibli movies, anime fans or n...
Episode 05: Grave of the Fireflies
August 26, 2018 13:42 - 1 hour - 67.6 MBWe are back, back, back, again just in time for the tail end of summer with a real tearjerker. Today on Anime Was (Not) A Mistake we talk about 1988's war torn Grave of the Fireflies. This film has been lauded as one of the most poignant antiwar films in existence and for an animated film, it's difficult not to get emotional when watching. Join us as we discuss the horrors of war, the symbolism of firefly light, and ponder how we would react if placed in Seita and Setsuko's shoes. Will we cr...
Episode 04: My Neighbor Totoro
July 16, 2018 19:28 - 1 hour - 81 MBReady, Set, Hey, Let's Go with another episode of Anime Was (Not) A Mistake! On this episde we travel to the rural Japanese country side, in search of soot sprites, forest spirits, and the wonderous sense of childhood. Sisters Satsuki and Mei, explore the emotions of moving to a new house, getting accostomed to having a mother recovering in the hospital...oh, and setttling right next to resident Ghibli mascot Totoro. This fluffy rabbit/bear/spirit of death and nature has a collection of qui...
Episode 03: Castle in the Sky
June 19, 2018 16:57 - 1 hour - 84.4 MBSail with us into the storm as we search for lost civilizations on the latest episode of Anime Was (Not) A Mistake! Today we take a look at the first official Studio Ghibli film, Castle in the Sky. Follow the intrepid Sheeta and Pazu as they flee a corrupt army, team up with the Dola Gang (a bumbling group of sky pirates) and search for the technological marvels of the legendary Laptua. Laputa may be a floating city in the sky that as inspired countless tropes in anime, video games, and mode...
Episode 02: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
June 04, 2018 17:14 - 1 hour - 79.8 MBHop on your glider, it is time to soar with us in the latest episode of Anime Was (Not) A Mistake! Today, we take a look at the film that lauched both Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki into the stratosphere, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. How did the Ghibli trio of Myazaki, Takahata, and Suzuki meet? Well, it might have had something to do with the amazing success and ingenunity this film sparked. Join the multi-facteted Princess Nausicaä (totally not Princess Zandra) as she defends her...
Episode 01: Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro
May 25, 2018 14:02 - 55 minutes - 76.9 MBThere is a mystery afoot in the duchy of Cagliostro and it is up to us to solve it! Join Anime Was (Not) A Mistake in our inaggural episode during the pre-Ghibli times. It's Hayao Miyazaki's directorial debut with Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro and technically the one film that started it all. Just how were the seeds of Studio Ghibli planted? Hoe does Miyazaki's interpretation of Lupin and his chorts' characters trasition to the Big Screen? And will Lupin the Third a.k.a. "Wolf" t...
Episode 00: Anime Was (Not) A Mistake - Introduction/Meet the Hosts
May 25, 2018 13:13 - 27 minutes - 37.4 MBHello there, and welcome to Anime Was (Not) A Mistake, a new podcast were resident cohosts/anime nerds, Jonathan Kwiatkowski and Dan Ryan take a mostly comedic look at the Studio Ghibli films in cronological order. Join us as we discuss the nuanced history of Hayao Myiazaki, Isao Takahata, and more, in relation to one of the world's most prolific anime studios. If you are curious to find out the intention behind each penstroke, listen to recaps/reviews of some of your favorite Ghibli films, ...