Diving deep for another review, this time covering Miyazaki’s very first film. This was both a fun artifact and a really entertaining film, and seemed particularly relevant since I’m just now nearing the end of The Anime Machine, which is deeply interested in Miyazaki’s evolving feelings on conflict, gender, and technology. Castle of Cagliostro fits neatly into the old side of these ambiguous themes, totally reveling in explosions and devices and masculine heroism, but it’s still rich with Miyazaki-isms, from the kinetic direction to the reveling in a kind of timeless, faux-medieval European aesthetic. And also it has a bunch of sweet chase scenes. Recommended!
Here’s my full review at ANN, and you can check out my notes below!