It has been a grand year for Japanese films, and they don't come much grander than Hana-bi, a poetic, violent masterpiece from Kitano "Beat" Takeshi, and Princess Mononoke, a superb animation by Miyazaki Hayao.

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Other films in the shortlist included Chan-wook Park's "Oldboy" from South Korea and Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki's animated film "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" ("Spirited Away").

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The name Rapyuta is taken from the Japanese film by Hayao Miyazaki Castle in the Sky - in the film it is the place where all the robots live.

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Fans of Hayao Miyazaki rejoiced when it was announced Studi Ghibli and Level-5 were bringing their epic JRPG, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, to the US and Europe.

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Tilda is only in town for a few days but is hoping to catch Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, the latest feature from Japanese anime guru Hayao Miyazaki, while she's here.

BBC: Reporter's log: Venice 2008

Hirauchi Kaichu onsen, the tidal pool in which the man and I were poaching, is on Yakushima, an island whose cedar forest earned a spot on Unesco's World Heritage List (and was the inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki's anime classic "Princess Mononoke").

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Just on the level of sheer spectacle -- and these are movies we're talking about, spectacle is no small matter -- a flick like "Jack the Giant Slayer" has a lot going for it: a perilous daylong climb into the clouds, a castle in the sky worthy of Hayao Miyazaki, waterfalls that drain into thin air and the delightful sight of a 100-foot chef sneezing into his pastries.

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