Studio Ghibli Question Time: What’s the significance of Howl’s exchange of hearts with Calcifer?

The boy Howl swallowing Calcifer's heart in the anime Howl's Moving Castle. This happens late at night in a field outside Howl's study, but his face is illuminated by the fire demon's light.

That’s an excellent question, not just because it impacts a key relationship in the film of Howl’s Moving Castle but because it also gives us an example of the contrast between relationships with an equal power balance and relationships where all power is given to one side. I’m not going to talk about this in terms […]

Surprise, surprise! The Manga Bible on YouTube

I watched a surprising and very flattering new YouTube video today. It’s constructed, probably by AI (subtitles in that not-quite-grammatical format that says hi, I’m almost human,) from Asha Bardon’s recent interview with me for CBR, and it does a competent job of briefly summarising/abstracting the interview over a backdrop of anime frame grabs. I’ve […]