Profile

The administrator of this blog. A man in his 30s. Currently working in education.

Started writing this blog after having a lower wisdom tooth extracted on September 1, 2020.

The blog was initially named “Number5,” but it was changed to “Sifr Insight” on May 20, 2023. “Number5” was chosen because the administrator wore jersey number 5 in junior high school baseball, but he decided to change it to “Sifr Insight” after discovering that the name “Number5” was widely used elsewhere.

For now, the primary focus of the blog is to record thoughts on movies and animations.

In addition to movies and anime, I also intend to write articles about home appliances and services I use. Since blog posts written by others have been helpful to me many times, I want to share information that I believe is as beneficial as possible.

Materials Related to Ghibli Works

“Sifr Insight” mainly features reviews of movies and animations, and due to personal preference, there are many Studio Ghibli works.

Currently, Ghibli works are not streamed domestically in Japan, so the only options are “Kinyo Roadshow (recordings)” and “commercially available discs.” I have been collecting Blu-rays little by little for a long time. Currently, I own:

I hope to collect them all someday, but for now, I’m compiling my thoughts on the discs I have on hand. I also own the manga version of “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” and the UHD Blu-ray of “Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro.”

I believe the most important thing in a movie review is “what I thought just by watching the work,” and that’s generally what I try to write about. However, for Studio Ghibli works, a vast amount of material is available, and I often use these as hints.

Materials Other Than the Main Feature Films

While Studio Ghibli’s films are, of course, interesting, their production documentaries are also very fascinating. Currently, I have the following Blu-rays on disc:

There are other documentary works, and I think they are extremely interesting for fans, so I highly recommend watching them.

In addition to video works, various books and literature also exist. For example, there is a paperback series called “Ghibli Textbooks(PR),” which includes writings by directors and Toshio Suzuki, interviews with animation directors and art directors, and is very informative. I currently own the following:

In addition to the above, I own some storyboards and books of Hayao Miyazaki’s interviews, which I use as references when writing articles.

Including this blog, the internet is flooded with “analyses” of Ghibli works, and one of the reasons for this is the abundance of materials like those mentioned above.

If materials comparable to Studio Ghibli’s were available for all video works, people like me would be delighted, but that’s not how things usually work out (funding is a serious issue, and some materials are out of print).

Materials Related to Makoto Shinkai’s Works

I am as devoted to Makoto Shinkai’s works as I am to Studio Ghibli’s.

Around the time I got a 4K TV, the release of “Your Name.” on UHD Blu-ray was announced, and I thought, “This is fate!” and bought it with a spring in my step. I think that was my first step into purchasing UHD Blu-rays.

However, since Makoto Shinkai’s works are properly streamed, the materials I currently own are limited to the following:

My favorite Makoto Shinkai work is “The Place Promised in Our Early Days,” but since it’s available for streaming, I don’t own the disc (I might buy it if a UHD Blu-ray is released).

I bought “5 Centimeters Per Second” solely to write a blog post. The storyboard collection was also purchased because there was something I absolutely had to know while writing an article.

If Makoto Shinkai’s works weren’t streamed online, just like Ghibli’s, I think I would own all the discs. But now, when I want to watch something, I usually turn to online streaming, except for the ones I already own on disc.

Social Media I Use

An imaginary friend who is supposed to be helping Sifr write blog articles.

Basically, he’s supposed to add a comment at the end of each article.

About the Author

Recent Posts

Sifr

A Japanese man in his 30s, originally from northern Japan and now based in Yokohama. He works in the education field by day, and in his spare time, writes articles about his favorite movies and animation.

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