Dinojar Ghibli Friends Kickstarter Goodies

Hey everyone! Happy New Year!! Thank goodness 2020 has been and gone... it feels great to say goodbye to those dreadful days. I know the start of this year at least won't be very different, but I'm trying to embrace the whole 'new year, new leaf' thing, and after a year of getting used to the changes, I feel more prepared for deal with this new normal. Fingers crossed I can be more productive because of that, starting with my blog! Anyhow, gloom and new leaves aside, for today's post, I'm serving you a dose of cuteness ♥ Calling all Studio Ghibli fans, especially! I hope you guys enjoy reading :) 

So, back in April 2020, towards the end of the month, I backed a kickstarter project that I was super excited about!! Dinojar/Dinojar Studio, a lovely artist based in Singapore, had set up the most adorable project dedicated to Studio Ghibli characters, focusing on pins, but also offering stickers, too. As soon as I set eyes on the designs over on Dinojar's instagram (be sure to go give them a follow), I had a mighty need to add some of the pin badges to my ever-growing collection! However, the struggle was real when it came to choosing which pins I wanted most!! I limited myself to two enamel pins, and after a few days of deliberation, I finally had my favourites settled on. I cannot wait to show them to you guys!! Although, if you follow me over on instagram then you'll have likely already seen the gorgeous items I received (because they arrived a few months ago now and life has just gotten in the way of me blogging about them, oops...). 

How sweet is this thankyou note! I love when artists/businesses do this :) 

Before I show off the super cute 'rewards' I got, a little more about the kickstarter project. If you've never heard of/used this website before, it's basically set up so that small businesses and independent artists can create products via crowd funding. They will set a goal of how much money they need in order to make the product(s) they are proposing and people can pledge to contribute to the project. If the artist doesn't manage to reach their monetary goal, then the project backers will be refunded. But if they do gain the support they need, then they can make the products, and everyone is happy! Kickstarter is a wonderful idea and it feels great to support small businesses that little bit more than if you were just pursuing something from their online store :) Many artists also offer special reward tiers that will be unlocked once they pass their initial contribution goal, and what's more? Most kickstarter projects come with a promise of a freebie for backers, which is so lovely!

The Ghibli Friends Enamel Pins kickstarter project launched by Dinojar Studio offered twelve potential characters, and as more of the goal was reached, each of these designs was unlocked. Here's a list of the Studio Ghibli characters included: Totoro, Haku in his human form, Chihiro, Pazu, Kiki & Jiji, a Soot Sprite, Mei, the Catbus, No Face, Dragon Haku, Chibi-Totoro with a little acorn in hand, and Sheeta. Honestly, each and every design was stunning and so sweet and I wanted them all T_T. I unfortunately have a budget to stick to, so in the end I opted for Mei and Dragon Haku. The latter pin I knew I would be backing for as soon as I saw the design on Dinojar's instagram. I love dragons so much and the spirit of the Kohaku river is one of my favourites!! So let's see these cuties... 

I am not sorry for the cuteness overload, haha! JUST LOOK HOW ADORABLE EVERYTHING IS!!!! *squeals*. My heart is happy everytime I look at my rewards from the Dinojar kickstarter. How could it not be?! Awww! As you can see above, I also decided to get a sticker, too, because I was torn between whether I wanted Dragon Haku and Haku in his human form more. I am yet to add a pin to my collection of Haku as a human, so I really wanted to, but everyone's favourite dragon boi won in the end... I mean, just look at him!! And Mei was just too cheerful not to get, but again, it was a tough decision between the Kiki & Jiji pin and this one :) It's all Dinojar's fault for designing too many brilliant pins!! :O 

Since it's been a while now, I can't remember prices exactly, but I'm pretty sure the pins were $14 (Singapore dollars) which works out at just under £8 each. What a fantastic price!! And I think stickers were $1! Wow... I was so impressed by the pricing for such adorable and intricate designs, so a big thankyou to Dinojar for being so awesome!!

I fell in love with this little dragon baby as soon as I saw him! This is such a precious interpretation of Haku/Kohaku and I adore it! I really love the mint shade that has been chosen for his mane and tail fur; it's really pretty! I am a big fan of the overall pastel colour scheme of this pin, and think it's fantastic that his horns and whiskers stand out so much. Those whiskers though!! They might be my favourite feature of the entire pin. The depictions of dragons in Asian folklore is so unique and different to European folklore, and the whiskers as well as the snake-like appearance are something I think is beautiful! So, I very much appreciate the attention to detail that has gone in to making the whiskers look so eye-catching. At a very close second, in terms of favourite things, comes Haku's facial expression. It's so solemn and it looks like he's in deep contemplation/ is lost in thought, and I don't know, I can just relate it to a lot. Little solemn and/or moody faces are just too cute!! Wouldn't you all agree? I want to mention just how fluffy Haku looks!! I want to cuddle him! Also, those rosy cheeks go so well with the gold-plating. 

Guys, how sweet is this pin of Mei!? If you're not a Studio Ghibli fan... firstly, get off my blog. I'm only kidding; it's practically impossible to not be a fan of the creations of this amazing Japanese production company!! But if you have yet to enrich your lives by watching the movies, Mei is a character from My Neighbour Totoro (1988) and Dragon Haku is from Spirited Away (2001). I barely ever see any merch of Mei, and so I just couldn't pass up on backing this design. I really love how delighted Mei looks! She's going on a little adventure and has that expression of childish wonder and carelessness. It makes me think of my childhood when I was very young (Mei is supposed to be five, I believe but don't quote me on that) and my little adventures about the garden, collecting cool things I found and looking for bugs. Whenever I look at the pin, it puts a smile on my face, and furthermore, I picture the scene from the movie that inspired this design. It's so very cute! 

I love the contrast between the colours of the Dragon Haku pin and the Mei one. Her outfit and overlook look is bright, with vibrant, strong colours. Very summery and happy, and I especially like Mei's tiny yellow shoes and bag. One of the most precious features, in my opinion, is that Mei is swinging her bucket and water is spilling, because again, this just highlights the careless, free nature of children without a care in the world, whilst they are at play. She's skipping along, and probably hasn't even released that Chibi-Totoro is perched on top of her head. It's the sweetest image! 

Here's a close up of the Haku sticker I also backed. I've already popped this little cutie onto my laptop and he looks perfect, standing out so well due to the bold blue shade of his hair mostly! It's one of the best things about this design for me, as blue is up there in my top five favourite colours. How can a design be beautifully simplistic and somehow detailed at the same time!? Dinojar achieved that with their human Haku design, though! I absolutely adore that Boh (the chubby mouse) and smol version of Yubaba's bird have been incorporated into the design! Haku's got buddies with him and I love seeing these two characters in this form because it reminds me of when they didn't want to change back in the movie (sorry for the slight spoiler there!). 

The tiny smile on Haku's face just completes the whole design, and makes me audibly 'awwww!' every time I see it on my laptop. I don't know if it was a freebie, or I accidently ordered two stickers of the same design, or Dinojar didn't notice they'd packaged two by mistake, but either way, I was sent two of these lovely stickers so I will definitely be giving one away in the future :) 

The backing cards used to display the pins are super pretty. I'm lovin' the green ombre effect, and the dotting of little sparkles looks lovely. I almost wanted to keep them on their cards forever, but they are too stunning not to show off! So, alas, they are now in my ita bag :') Look how shiny the gold-plated enamel is!! I used to prefer silver-plating but gold makes everything glow and just highlights the colours so well. It draws your eyes into the design, and I think that's wonderful for when you out and about to get people to really notice your pins. Both of these pins are double-backed as well, so you don't have to worry that they might fall off your clothing/bags/whatever you pin them onto. Anyway, guys, I'd love to know which is your favourite of the two pins I purchased?

A final note that I'd like to make is that Dinojar launched a second Ghibli Friends kickstarter last year, featuring more adorable character designs and I so wish that I had the money free at the time to back another of their projects. I will certainly be trying to get my hands on some of those pins in the future, via Dinojar's Etsy shop. Most recently, Dinojar hosted another campaign for Avatar pins, so if that's something you're into, definitely go have a look at their instagram account to see the designs! 

I want to give a huge thankyou to Dinojar for creating such beautiful pins, and for always being so lovely on instagram. I am very happy to have some of your work in my enamel pin collection, and I am looking forward to your next projects! I hope you all enjoyed reading my first post of 2021!! Wishing you a marvellous year, guys, with good health and happy moments for you and your loved ones :) 

Thankyou for reading!

♥

What is your favourite Studio Ghibli movie and/or character?

Are you a fellow collector of pins?

Or not, do you collect anything else? 

For life snippets and to keep up to date with me, follow me on social media: 

| Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Bloglovin' | 

PokoPins Haul | Review

Hello guys! It's almost the end of the first week of September and gosh, where did the last five days go!? I hope you all had a fantastic start to the month, and that your weekends are just as fantastic. If not, *big hugs*. Today, I have some gorgeous, super adorable things to show you and help brighten your day, hopefully! If you follow me over on Instagram, then the topic of this post has been long awaited for you. So, enjoy! And if this is your first time stumbling upon my little corner of the internet, welcome :) 

Back in May, I received my pin I'd purchased from PokoPins, and I posted 'unboxing' videos on my IG story where I discussed my initial thoughts. And you guys loved watching! I promised to blog all about it, but then something amazing happened :) The artist behind PokoPins watched my videos and loved them, too!! As a thankyou, Beth very kindly offered to send me a free pin with my next purchase from her store. How lovely is that!?! When I made my first order at the beginning of May, it was such a challenge to choose just one pin, but I had a budget to stick to. I planned to get myself another as soon as payday rolled around, so this gesture from Beth was so wonderful!! When payday finally arrived, I headed over to the PokoPins website and popped another of their stunning enamel pins into my shopping cart. Then I got to chose another!! 

Before I show off the latest additions to my ever-growing pin collection to you guys, I just wanted to say a huge thankyou to Beth!! It was so very kind of you! ♥. And now... let's look at these beauties! 

So, the very first pin that I got from the PokoPins Ghibli Beast Dangle Pin Collection was Moro. I HAD to have it as soon as I laid eyes on it, as I hardly ever see fanart/merch of this character. If you didn't already know, Moro is a character from the Studio Ghibli movie Princess Mononoke (1997), which is my absolute favourite movie by this phenomenal Japanese animation company! There are several reasons why I love it above all of their other brilliant movies, but the main one is the legendary/mythological creatures. Moro is one such creature; she's an ancient wolf god and she's epic. It's so fantastic that PokoPins included her in this collection, and even more so that she's been made cutesy! I love kawaii Moro, the cutest god of the wolves there ever was :D 

And just look at those charms! As a nature nerd, I fell in love with the pin after seeing those tiny leaves (as well as the bed of leaves Moro is sitting on), and I love that Beth incorporated Mononoke's mask into the design. It's so eye-catching and just makes the pin stand out even more. Of course, the gorgeous gold plating/outline helps. I've said this so many times, but I used to always prefer silver or darker plated metals when it came to pin badges, but I've been sold on the gold! The way it shines when it catches the sun on a nice day, almost illuminating the design. It's kind of magical! Wouldn't you agree? 

The second pin I purchased was of The Baron, who is a character from both Whisper of the Heart (1995) and The Cat Returns (2002). This dashing little feline gentleman who's full name is actually Baron Humbert von Gikkingen (what a name!) is a statue living in an antique shop, who comes to life at night-time. As soon as I discovered this fabulous character, I instantly adored him :) I have been a fan of anthropomorphic (humanised) cats since I was a small child, and the 1998 movie production of Cats the Musical is to blame. I was obsessed as a kid, still am now to be honest, and The Baron reminds me of a mashup of several characters from T.S. Elliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. This book was the inspiration behind the world famous musical. 

I am super happy that I now own some artwork of The Baron; the pin design of this character by PokoPins is the best I've seen so far! And he's even more dapper in person; you could say he's purrrfect... I'll never tire of using that pun. Please don't hate me :D

How adorable are his little top-hat and bow tie!? He looks like he means business, especially with his stern facial expression. The gold-plating matches fabulously with The Baron's ginger coat, and I really like how subtle the touches of red and blue are to his outfit. The sparkles dotted about are so pretty as well, and his ears!! They are so pointy! His dangle charms are of Toto the crow, another enchanted statue from The Cat Returns. And it's super cool that Beth has chosen him for the charms, as he's a very underrepresented character when it comes to fanart. This is actually the only time I have seen him!

This incredibly sweet pin is the one Beth very kindly gifted* to me (this was not in exchange for a review or anything, just as a thankyou for my videos, which I appreciate so much! I have anxiety disorder and videos are tough for me to make, so it's a lovely reward!). Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea is a 2008 Studio Ghibli movie, with a storyline that somewhat mirrors popular mermaid-to-human fantasies but with a twist. The star of the show is actually a goldfish who longs to be a human. She's magically transformed into one when her friendship with a little boy called Sosuke blossoms. It is such a cute and heart-warming tale, and Ponyo is a sweetheart. She is so captivated by the human world (instantly sings *Ariel, listen to me! The human world is a mess*. Uh oh, the Disney fan in me is trying to come out!), and it's such a joy to experience the journey of her first time on land alongside her. If you've seen the movie, the scene with the ramen!! If not, get it watched immediately! Heads up, if you're in the UK, it is on Netflix :) 

This pin though!! It's so bright and colourful and attention-grabbing. It's also quite bigger than the other two pins, so that makes it further stand out. I can't wait to wear it! It is marvellous that the design is of Ponyo jumping/running on top of the waves, and that her hair is flowering with the current. So adorable :) Her little happy facial expression makes me melt from the cuteness overload each time I look at it! 

The charms are super precious! The green bucket is the one that Sosuke carries his new friend around in. The boat is his toy that he's playing with in the ocean when he meets Ponyo for the first time. And the egg & pork is from that ramen scene I mentioned, so you can imagine how delighted I was when I saw this feature of the pin!! 

Guys, I need more of these Ghibli Beast Dangle pins in my life! There's so many others available; including: No Face, a soot sprite surrounded by konpeito candy, Totoro, Calcifer, the Catbus, Haku as a dragon, Jiji and Howl in his bird form. They're all stunning and their charms are so well thought out! I'd really love to buy the Haku pin next (because he's the greatest dragon ever!) but he's sold out T_T. Fingers crossed that he is backed in stock next time I visit the shop. 

All three of the pins I've talked about today are 'grade B'. If you are not familiar with this term, it refers to pins that a bit cheaper because they have the tiniest imperfections. However, as you can see, mine are all beautiful and it's really hard to notice the minuscule 'blemishes'. I have always been kind of weary about ordering grade B's, but I'm not anymore! I'm over the moon with the overall quality of the pins I received from PokoPins. Oh, by the way, the grade B pins are £10 and the standard ones are £12 each. When I placed both of my orders, there was a 10% discount offered so I only paid £9 per pin. And if you're a fellow Brit, the P&P was such a great price at £1.15! Worldwide shipping is also available, though.

Each of the pins is double-backed with two pink backs/clutches/clasps- I don't know what the heck these things are called XD But yeah, I'm very glad they are double-backed because the likelihood of them being accidentally knocked off my clothing by clumsy me is very slim, haha! One of my concerns when I first spotted these pins was that the o-rings, connecting the charms to the main body of the pin, would be flimsy and leave me worrying I'd loose a charm when I was out and about. But they seem very sturdy; i'm impressed, but only time will tell! I've not been able to persuade myself to wear them yet because they are too lovely. I have a problem. So many pins never worn... who's the same!? At least I have ita bags ordered I'm waiting for to pop my favourites in. I'm looking forward to being able to display them, without the risk of wearing them. Honestly, I have lost pins before because I've forgotten I'm wearing them and as a consequence have haphazardly took my backpack on and off whilst shopping. Oops! 

Finally, I just want to mention how smooth the enamel is. The surface of the pins have a great finish! If you have a friend or family member who's a lover of all things Ghibli, you should totally put one of these awesome pin badges away for them for Christmas, or treat yo'self. You know you want to :) 

Well, I hope you all enjoyed reading about these superb enamel pins. Which is your favourite and why? Please check out Beth's shop and give her a follow on instagram. Her artwork is soooo cute and always cheers me up whenever I'm scrolling on IG and spot her posts! Now, I'm gonna go watch The Cat Returns :D Have a nice evening, lovelies!

Thankyou for reading!

♥

Are you a pin collector?

What's your favourite Studio Ghibli character and/or movie? 

Find me on social media at: 

| Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Bloglovin' | 

Naomi Lord Art Haul & Review

Hey everyone! I hope you're all had a lovely Tuesday, and that you still have lots of chocolate leftover from Easter, (or have taken advantage of the discounts!), to enjoy :) I am a firm believer that there's no such thing as too much chocolate, however I am currently living on a diet made up of almost entirely chocolate & I am scared I will get sick of it! :O That would be borderline illegal behaviour! I have some at the side of my laptop as write up this post, haha. Not many things make me happier than chocolate & nerdy merch... and if you, too, love the latter, then I'm sure this will be a fun read for you :) I hope you all enjoy reading &  checking out the fabulous artwork I have to show you guys today! 

If you follow me over on my Instagram, you may have already seen the items that I'm going to talk about today, and you might have even watched the videos I posted on my story showing them off, but I just had to blog about them as well, because it would be wrong not to... everything I received is so wonderful & needs to be shared with others!! I'm sure that most of you will have seen Naomi Lord's gorgeous artwork on various social media sites across the internet, and if you haven't, then I'm very happy to bring it to your attention :) 

Naomi Lord is a UK based freelance artist, who creates both original characters and fanart. She is probably most well-known for her Harry Potter artwork, which is not surprisingly how I first discovered her. She is super kind and hosts a giveaway once a month over on her Instagram, giving one of her lucky followers a chance to win a custom portrait of themselves (or a friend) as a Hogwarts Student, in their house colours & with their very own Patronus! It is through these giveaways that her beautiful art came into my life, and I have been wanting to order from her ever since. I am delighted that I finally could! 

As well as Harry Potter themed work, Naomi also creates art surrounding a wide variety of other topics, including Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit, Disney, Studio Ghibli and more! She designs a lot of mythology based characters and her own interpretations of fantasy creatures, deities, witches and astrology symbols. So many of my favourite things have been brought to fabulous, colourful life by Naomi Lord, and I adore everything she illustrates! 

So, it's about time that I showed you guys my entire haul from Naomi Lord's Etsy store. 

Ta-da! Sorry, not sorry, for hitting you all in the eyeballs with cuteness overload! … That might be the cheesiest/weirdest line I've ever written, but I don't care because LOOK!! :D How adorable is every single thing that I purchased, and even the business card & little thankyou note is incredibly cute! It is always so sweet when artists include a note, and even more so when it is includes a hand-drawn doodle :) That cat is an exact representation of me when I opened my order! It's nice to know when artists and independent businesses appreciate your purchase.

Let's take a close look at each of the items I added to my basket, and I'll tell you guys what I think :)

I knew that I would be buying some stickers, specifically the San/Princess Mononoke one, which I've had on my wishlist for a while now, but the other two were chosen after a very stressful decision making period. All of Naomi Lord's work is beautiful and it was super tough to settle on just two more stickers, but I had a budget so I had to rein in my mighty need to get ALL THE STICKERS!! 

Since it's Springtime, the season of pretty flowers and sweet baby animals, I opted for this lovely flowery Eevee design. The flower crown is gorgeous, and makes me think of the apple blossom that grows in our garden. It's very difficult to say what my favourite feature of this sticker is, because I love the huge floofy neck, the big teardrop tail, the bunny-esque ears and the tiny toe beans, as well as the sprinkle of grass and the tiny heart detail. What's not to love about this Eevee? 

Something that I adore about Naomi's characters is that they just look so cuddly! Detective Pikachu actually looks like a plushie and I just wish that I could give him a hug :) His big, friendly eyes are full of personality and make me 'awwww' each time I notice them. Pikachu's rosy cheeks and oWo expression is what made me settle on this sticker. It wasn't until I saw it in person that I really noticed just how stunning the sakura (cherry blossom) illustration in the background is, and how clear the steam rising from Detective Pikachu mug of coffee is. I love it!!

As I said, this item was one of the things that I knew I would be purchasing before I even started browsing through the wonders on offer. Princess Mononoke is my favourite Studio Ghibli movie, and San is one of, if not the main, most iconic character from it. Again, I cannot choose just one feature that I like best, because there are just so many intricate details. The trees and sky that make up the backdrop for one look spectacular. Each time I focus my attention on it, I can just imagine myself laying on the forest floor and looking up through the canopy. I really like the contrast of the green and blue against the colours of San's outfit and mask. Along with her bold outline, which is something that I absolutely love when it comes to Naomi's illustrations, this contrast really makes the character pop. I also find her solemn expression so cute, and it's just the best expression to use for San, in my opinion :) 

I couldn't resist picking up one of the 6x6 print's that Naomi Lord has available. All of her designs can be purchased in either a sticker form or a print, which I think it's really great! I struggled to pick between getting Princess Mononoke in print form or Kiki, the character that I eventually decided upon. Kiki is the protagonist from another movie by Studio Ghibli, Kiki's Delivery Service. It's one of my top five from this fabulous Japanese production company, and the reason why I ultimately went for Kiki as a print version is due to the expression on her face :D She looks incredibly excited and enthusiastic about whatever adventure she's going to be facing next, and her happiness is almost infectious, so I thought it would be wonderful to display this print up on the wall where I can see it & have it instantly put a smile on my face!

A lot of Naomi's art is coloured in more pastel shades, which is another thing that I love about it, however when it comes to this Kiki print, the colours chosen for her are much bolder and vibrant. Her red bow and shoes are especially eye-catching! Not gonna lie though, the main factor as to why I wanted this print might be because of Jiji (the cat).... I relate so much to his character & it's lovely to see him smiling, instead of looking gloomy or nervous, haha. 

And finally, if you know me well, I'm sure that you would have been fully expecting to see Snape somewhere in this post, as soon as I mentioned Harry Potter. If you didn't know, he's my main man, my favourite character from the franchise, one of my all-time favourites when it comes to fantasy in general. I have no shame when it comes to my love for this character, and if you don't like him... you need to leave my blog immediately XD I'm kidding, but we can't be friends, maybe...

Guys, look how adorable this version of Snape is! It's brilliant to see the stoic, grumpy Professor we all know and love (or should do!) designed in a chibi style, and I am all for it! I need more cute Snape merch in my life! But for now, I am over the moon with this print from Naomi Lord. 

I love that this kawaii interpretation of Severus is crossing/folding his arms and baring an unimpressed look on his face. I am very happy with all of the attention to detail when it comes to his outfit, too... the buttons along his sleeves, the high collar of his shirt, and the most importantly, the flowing cape! I am very impressed that the print features a 'softly simmering' cauldron :) It makes my little potterhead heart happy! And the addition of the potions are fantastic, too... and that tiny skull on one of them!! Cuteeee! 

Oh, and this is an 8x8 print and is the main reason I made my order in the first place. I am just a fangirl through and through XD I can't describe how much I love the way this illustration of Snape looks, and I cannot wait to get it a nice frame and be able to show it off. The only thing that would have made this print just that little bit more perfect would have been for it to have a more detailed backdrop. I do like that the background is pale as it ensures that the character stands out more, however it would be nice to see scenery like with the Kiki print & sticker artwork... maybe a mix of different shades of green to represent Slytherin? Nonetheless, I think this print is marvellous! 

Before I finish up this post all about my recent haul from Naomi Lord Art, I just wanted to share a little more information for those of you who want to get some of these wonderful products for yourselves or a loved one. The pricing of Naomi's art is superb, and is something I was super impressed by! The stickers cost me £1.30 each; the prints: £3.20 for the 6x6 & £5.20 for the 8x8. How amazing is that!? The shipping was £2.10 for me as I live in England, and my order arrived so fast. It was sent a sturdy envelope, with the cutest kitty doodle drawn on the back. I loved this little touch. Thankyou, Naomi! I can't recommend this store enough and I will certainly making more purchases in the future... I still have my eye on the Weasley family portrait & the artwork of the Egyptian Goddess, Bast :) 

I hope you all enjoyed reading my post, and be sure to check out Naomi's social media and Etsy because I guarantee that there's going to be something that catches your eye, too, so long as you appreciate all things kawaii. And who doesn't like cute versions of their favourites!? 

Thankyou for reading!

♥

Which is your favourite of the items that I picked up from Naomi Lord? 

Are you a fan of Studio Ghibli, Harry Potter or Pokemon?

If so, I'll love to hear who your favourites of the franchise are? 


Did you know you can find me on tumblr? And Pinterest? Also over on Twitter? 

Mary & The Witch's Flower Review

On the 10th of April this year (I know it's taken me forever to write this post, oops!), I went to a fan screening of the new Japanese animation movie by Yoshiaki Nishimura, who was one of the producers at the iconic Studio Ghibli. If you've been a regular follower of mine, you'll know I absolutely adore the movies by Studio Ghibli, with their amazing attention to detail, heart-warming stories and wonderful, relatable characters! My personal favourite movies have to be Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle & Spirited Away. Of course, My Neighbour Totoro is up high on the list too, because it's so flippin' adorable! Totoro is basically me in fuzzy troll form :D (If you're a fan of Totoro, you might enjoy my Totoro cosplay post!). What are your favourite Ghibli movies guys?

If you are a fellow lover of this fabulous film-making company, you'll know that the legend himself Hayao Miyazaki announced that he was going into retirement and that he would not be making anymore movies back in 2014 after creating animation masterpieces for 30 years, so the future of the Studio Ghibli that we know and love was uncertain. However, Yoshiaki Nishimura is here for the modern generation and old generation of Ghibli fans alike, to bring us more movies with his new company, Studio Ponoc! Nishimura worked on many Ghibli movies including Howl's Moving Castle (2004), The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013) and When Marine was There (2014). Those movies were fantastic, so I had high hopes for his first feature film, Mary & The Witch's Flower! (By the way, it has thankfully since been confirmed though that Miyazaki has come out of retirement to help with the creation of a new movie, yayyy!). 

I've never written a full review post that's dedicated to just one movie before, but I am gonna give it a go anyhow! So if you haven't seen the movie, and don't want to read any *spoilers*, why not check out some of my previous posts instead? I hope my review is a good one for those of you who are sticking around to read it :) Enjoy! 

Animation

This movie was just so visually beautiful! It had all of the amazing quality of a Studio Ghibli movie. My absolute favourite thing about Ghibli movies has always been the nature! The way that they illustrate the natural world around us is so unique to them! There's always so much intricate detail in the scenery and natural elements in Studio Ghibli movies, they rival any Disney movie when it comes to their attention to detail! They don't forget to add all of the smallest details, including things like raindrops on leaves and rivers glistening in the sunlight. Every Ghibli movie just excites my inner nature geek! It allows me to really visualise being there alongside the characters, immersed in the adventure. It adds a level of realism that other animation movies just don't. They tend to rely solely on characters that their target audience can relate to, to really sell their stories. Studio Ghibli does both! Yoshiaki Nishimura has definitely brought with him all of these qualities from his time working with Studio Ghibli, and his team at Studio Ponoc have delivered a movie that is just as amazing when it comes to creating stunning, naturalistic scenery :) 

There's just something about Japanese animation, aka anime, that has always appealed to me! Even though movies like those by Disney and Pixar are now making characters that look more and more human-like (not that they didn't before but I hope you get what I'm trying to say! With the progression of digital animation, characters such as Moana & Rapunzel have a look/design much more like an actual person.), anime still does that better in my opinion and they have been doing that for years and years! Other than their characteristic large eyes, anime characters for me have always resembled actual people more and this made them more relatable to me. Gosh I feel like I'm not articulating my thoughts very well XD What I love about Studio Ghibli is that all of their characters are unique and memorable, which isn't always the case with some animes I've watched. Studio Ponoc have designed such wonderful characters for Mary and the Witch's Flower too! 

I always love the costume designs when it comes to Ghibli movies! Like Kiki's iconic, simple purple dress and big red bow! I think that no matter how simplistic or extravagant an outfit a character wears is, they are still eye-catching and perfect at mirroring the personality traits of the characters themselves. For instance, Sophie in Howl's Moving Castle (2004) wears a plain, practical green dress and this matches well with her focused and determined characteristics. Studio Ghibli are also great at colour-coordinating too! Studio Ponoc have really given us everything that Ghibli would have in terms of animation and character design. In their first ever feature movie, the protagonist, Mary, wears a red coat that matches so well with her ginger hair. Before I get carried away with talking about Mary's design, I'll stop here and save that for the next section of my post, haha!

Characters

I was really happy to discover that Studio Ponoc has carried on the tradition of bringing us the wonderful, relatable characters that Studio Ghibli have always done! Something that I especially love about Studio Ghibli characters is how unique and personable they are. You can see so much of yourself in the way the characters behave and interact with their surroundings, fellow characters and situations they are faced with in the movies. These characters, especially the ones in the lead roles, usually have to overcome something that will test their courage or loyalty or determination, and this is Studio Ghibli's way of teaching their viewers both old and young something valuable, some kind of life lesson that they can take away after watching the movie. Studio Ghibli movies are full of emotion and often make you think about how you would react if you were faced with what the characters are. This is what makes the movies so good for child audiences, just like Disney movies were important for my personal development and empathy growing up. I wish that I had grown up with Studio Ghibli in my life when I was a small child. This Japanese film production company approach things in a much more raw way than American animation movies in my opinion, they seem to have less of a sugar-coating if you get what I mean. 

Another aspect that I especially admired about Studio Ghibli movies was their bringing-to-life of strong female characters. In so many of their movies, the lead role is a female character, and they often have wilful, determined and powerful personalities and have to face challenging tasks that require intelligence and bravery. It is refreshing to see women portrayed in such a way, and it makes me so happy that these movies are aimed mostly at children. It is important for kids of all genders to grow up with female role-models that are frankly badass! It was great for me when I was young to see strong protagonists like Disney's Mulan, that didn't let stereotypes or societal influences hold them back! What is so great about Studio Ghibli movies is that many of these iconic women are in fact children themselves, so it allows young audiences to believe that they are capable and have the courage to stand up for what they believe in, to be who they are and that they are able to face whatever is in their way. Studio Ponoc have followed in Ghibli footsteps, bringing us some more awesome girl power!!

A 13 year old girl called Mary is the heroine of this movie. She is a very relatable character, who reacts to the scenarios she faces in such a realistic way. For instance, at the beginning of the movie, we see a very bored Mary, who is staying at her Great Auntie's house deep in the English countryside. She's fed up of having no one her age to play with and being stuck in the middle of nowhere. I can imagine that many children often have to visit their relatives in the summer holidays when they are off from school, and experience a very similar boredom being away from their friends and maybe surrounded only by adults, etc. After eventually deciding to venture outside and exploring the new world around her, she stumbles upon the witch's flower and her adventure begins! I always loved stories when I was younger where the characters would randomly find something magical, and be transported into a fantasy world of some kind. In the days when your imagination is whimsical and endless, it is easy to believe that these sorts of things can really happen, and along with Mary's typical teenage attitude, I imagine that children will be able to really associate with the lead character and be captivated by the storyline. 

I don't want to go into too much detail on the other characters in the movie, to leave at least some things for you all to discover for yourselves. However, I will mention that as most animation movies do, Mary & The Witch's Flower has a character that befriends the lead character and the typical bad guys. I will mention them more in the next section :) 

Storyline 

I'm not going to reveal too much here, because again I want to leave some parts of the movie to the imagination (although there will still be spoilers because it's impossible to discuss the storyline without telling you more about what happens!). I'm just going to briefly describe the storyline the best I can, and share my thoughts and feelings about it with you guys. 

So, in this movie as I mentioned earlier, we follow the teenage Mary as she explores her new surroundings in the English countryside. She is fed up with spending all day inside the grounds of her Great Auntie's house and so decides to venture further afield, into the woodland nearby. Not only does she discover the flower after which the movie is named, she also comes across a broomstick hidden amongst overgrown plants and trees. We already know how this broomstick came to be here because of the very beginning of the movie, but I'll let you find that out for yourselves. Anyhow, Mary is playing with the broomstick later on and it suddenly takes flight! It flies her to a magnificent school for witches and wizards! With the help of the 'witch's flower', Mary finds herself being able to do magical things beyond her wildest dreams and everyone at the school is immediately impressed with her, claiming her to the greatest witch they've all seen in a very long time! I'm absolutely lovin' the whole magic school angle, because it's very Harry Potter-esque and I'm definitely a Potterhead :)

All is not as it seems at this school, and some of the teachers, including the headmistress, are working on a.. what shall I call it?... 'project' (haha!), that involves the creation of some very strange creatures. Mary soon discovers what the teachers are trying to do and it involves the scenario that we saw unfold at the start of the movie, as well as the pretty but peculiar  witch's flower. Our lead character finds herself in a challenging situation when she learns more about what the teachers want the flower for and is fighting to protect it; then things get worse when a local boy who is a friend of the family, whom Mary has been teased by on numerous occasions, gets taught up in it all. The teachers need him to complete their project (I can't stop laughing that I've called it that :D) and so they kidnap him. Now, Mary has to rescue him as well as help save the day! It is a test of friendship and bravery with some magic thrown into the mix as Mary tries to put an end to the strange goings once and for all! 

Okay, so I think I explained it well without giving too much away... that was hard to do! :D

via GIPHY

All in all, I really enjoyed the storyline. I always love stories involving sorcery and mystery, featuring legends or people discovering lost treasures or artefacts that lead them into a world of magic and fantasy! As I was writing that sentence, my brain automatically pictured Jumanji (1995), and I now have a mighty need to watch it! But yeah, Mary & The Witch's Flower has this and more, and I really like how the flower plays into the magic, it's like something out of a Hogwarts Herbology lesson (can you tell that I have Harry Potter on the brain guys?). I can't help comparing the story a little to the Studio Ghibli movie, Kiki's Delivery Service, however that's mostly because of the witchy theme. The adventure and action parts of the movie are much more comparable to Spirited Away, where the lead character Chihiro has to do everything she can to rescue her parents from a witch and her 'minions', Mary in this movie has to do the same to save her newly-found friends.

I cannot recommend this movie enough to those of you who are fellow fans of Japanese animation movies, and if you've never watched one before I still think you'd definitely enjoy it if you're a Disney fan or you like anime series anyway. I went to watch Mary and The Witch's Flower with one of my best friends and he'd never seen any Japanese animation movies other than the Pokemon ones, yet he loved it! It really is a fabulous movie, especially for a first production and now I am so looking forward to seeing what Studio Ponoc do next! Based against other Japanese movies I've seen, mostly using Studio Ghibli movies as a comparison, I would give Mary and The Witches Flower a 4 out of 5 stars, so I think that shows much I liked it! I hope you all enjoyed my review, I'm pretty sure I rambled a little haha :) Let me know in the comments if I've persuaded you to watch the movie, and I'd love to hear what you thought if you do. Have an awesome day guys, and make sure you stay hydrated in this heatwave (and even if you're not in the UK, drink that water people!). 

Thankyou for reading!

♥

Have you seen this movie already? 

I'd very much like to hear your opinions!

What has been your favourite movie of 2018 so far?

Magical Maidens Pin Haul | Reviews

Hey guys! Hasn't the weather been lovely today!? Even though I'm not the biggest fan of hot weather, 1) because it effects my fibromyalgia & 2) because my wardrobe consists almost entirely of black clothing, I still enjoyed the sunshine today (mostly from the comfort of the shaded areas of my garden, haha, but still!). I had to pop into my local town centre this afternoon to pick up my eBay click & collect order... I thought it was a cool idea to purchase a Viking helmet to wear at one of the Eurovision semi finals in support of my favourite song of 2018, the Danish entry, which is all about Vikings and is just fabulous! :) Whilst I was out, I decided to make the most of it and find a geocache too, and it was such an interesting cache idea, very creative and well hidden. I ended my little outing at subway *nom nom*. Back at home, I spent the rest of my day relaxing out in the garden, playing with the dog and watching butterflies. I am so happy that I'm starting to see so many butterflies appearing! How did you all spend your day? I hope you had fun whatever you did!

Another awesome thing that happened today was that I received the most wonderful mail, including my pre-order from a super kawaii pin creator called Magical Maidens! If you've been a regular follower of mine, you'll know how much I love Studio Ghibli and so when I spotted the new Ghibli X Pokemon inspired pin collection coming soon to this great store, I couldn't resist ordering some for myself! I really wish I could have bought them all!! If you love pin badges, Japanese animation, or just all things cute, then this is a post for you. Enjoy ♥

On the adorable postcard above that I was sent along with my pins (this had a nice note from the seller on it), you can see an array of examples of the various Studio Ghibli pins that are available from Magical Maidens. There are even more  designs than these available too so you totally need to go check out their website and etsy to discover what other character pins they've created. I had been noticing more and more of these gorgeous pins popping up on my Instagram timeline, and was finding it so hard to choose which ones I wanted more!

Can you guys tell which Pokemon is also incorporated into the design of these pins? If you thought Ditto, then you are correct! These pins remind me of the Ditto transformation plushies that are available from the Pokemon centre and I absolutely adore them! I'd been putting a little bit of money aside each payday to finally add some of these marvellous pins to my collection when I noticed a special offer code... Magical Maidens were offering a free pin if you purchased five pins or more, and so I of course jumped at this chance and purchased my pins right away!! Keep reading to find out which characters I chose :)

The first pin I added to my shopping cart was Calcifer, the little fire demon from Howl's Moving Castle (2004). This movie is my second favourite Studio Ghibli and Calcifer is definitely one of my favourite characters from across all of the amazing animation movies! He is so adorable, grumpy but with a big heart, and I am really happy to finally have a pin of him!! I really love the vibrant colours of this pin badge, as well as the wiggly edges/outlines of the design. I think it's super cute that Calcifer is sitting in the shovel that Sophie uses to move him around in the movie. It is a very eye-catching pin and the gold outline matches really well with the orange and yellow colouration. 

Next up we have the Catbus from My Neighbour Totoro (1988), which is literally the cutest of all of the Studio Ghibli movies. It is about two little girls who move into the Japanese countryside and meet the ancient forest spirits that live there; one of them being the Catbus! It is like a bus X cat X caterpillar, which is both hilarious and adorable! It is such a random and unique creature, and I love the how perfectly this pin resembles it. Even the tiny mouse shaped headlights of the character have been included. I love the paler brown shades used for this pin, and I feel like it will go well with any outfit no matter what colour. I really like the tiny cat paw detail on the foot of the Catbus, it's so sweet! I've not seen as many Catbus pins available VS some of the more well-known Ghibli characters, so it's nice to see one this cute! 

You can never have too much No Face merch in your life in my opinion! I LOVE this character & I will literally buy anything I come across featuring him, so there was no way that I would be checking out without purchasing the No Face pin! This is the only pin of this character from Spirited Away (2001) that I have seen where he's holding the gold from the movie! Without going into too much detail for those of you who might not have seen the movie yet (you seriously need to!), this character tries to bribe and trick people by offering them gold! And so it's super awesome that he's holding a pile of gold in his hands! Another thing that I like about this pin is how simplistic it is, it looks so cool just having the characters most iconic features and nothing but the gold coins to distract from his overall look, if you get what I mean. Overall, it's just a very nice pin badge :) 

I'm pretty sure this little cutie was the first Magical Maidens Ditto X Studio Ghibli pin I saw and it had me lusting after the collection from then on! It's been exciting to follow the store and see all of the brilliant designs that they have come up with! Of course any Studio Ghibli set wouldn't be complete without Totoro, the character which is the logo of the company itself! He's obviously from My Neighbour Totoro, and he is a troll, a guardian of the forest and a big friendly giant basically! Am I the only one who's sad that he's not real? I wish I could give him a hug because he looks so fluffy! He is magical and can control the natural elements around him, along with his two little sidekicks, Chu-toro and Chibi-toro (I would really love to see these two as pins in the future too so I could wear all three of the trolls together!). This is another pin with a simple design, which is not a bad thing at all. Totoro is an iconic character and he is wonderful just the way he is in terms of design. I cannot wait to show him off to the world! 

YAYY! I'm over the moon that Magical Maidens included a Turnip Head pin in their collection! I very rarely find pretty merchandise for this Howl's Moving Castle character, which is such a shame because he's so charming and endearing! His character is an interesting take on a scarecrow and I just think he's fabulous! This pin is so well-detailed and illustrates all of Turnip Head's best features, even down to the smallest detail like his legs and the flap on the top of his hat!! I am lovin' his bowtie, it stands out! He's in my top 10 favourite characters by Studio Ghibli, and I think he might be my best out of all of the pins I bought in my haul. When I showed my dad (who's never watched a Ghibli movie in his life by the way!) my new pins, he immediately pointed out Turnip Head as his favourite too. I think his character doesn't get as much attention as it deserves, so Thankyou Magical Maidens for creating a pin of him!! 

The sixth and final pin that I chose was this Soot Sprite one! It was hard to resist it, with that huge happy grin and all of the colourful stars! These stars are actually a traditional Japanese candy called Konpeito, and they became famous worldwide amongst Japanese animation fans when they were featured on the movie Spirited Away. The soot sprites had made an appearance in other movies by the company, however they weren't focused on as key characters until we see them as the workers in the boiler room in Spirited Away. There's a scene where they are given these sweets and they are all so excited!! It's too cute! I have actually tried Konpeito myself because I was so curious about what they tasted like. You can read my review here if you're interested :) 

I love that the Soot Sprite pin has these candies in it's design because not only are they pretty but they also make me picture the adorable movie scene I mentioned everytime I look at it! I like that the shape of the Soot Sprite is also a little different than the typical design we see; this pin makes them look more like a ball of fluffy dust and adds even more cuteness to the overall look of the character! It's just another wonderful pin badge and it feels great to have it in my collection. 

I wanted to show you guys this photo above because it captures how pretty the gold outlines of these pins are! They are all like that and so when they catch the light, the gold shines and makes them even more eye-catching. I've always preferred silver to gold, and I don't own many gold accessories so I wasn't sure what I would think of the gold detailing before they arrived, however I can confirm that I love love love it! I think the gold shine makes these pins look so presentable and fashionable, and it just adds that little extra something to them, especially the character pins with the more simplistic designs, like the Totoro one above. What do you guys think of the gold outline? 

An additional thing that I find fantastic about these pins is that they can be worn on their own because they have such bold and colourful designs that make them very noticeable, but they can also be paired up and would look fabulous together. Oh, and they also have rubber backs which I prefer, as they are less likely to rub and irritate your skin VS the traditional metal pin badge clasp. 

I couldn't be more happier with my new Ditto X Studio Ghibli inspired pin badges from Magical Maidens. They are all great quality and in perfect condition, with the most beautiful designs and detailing. I think they are also such a bargain for only £7 each! At this price, I am super tempted to go back for more once my bank account has recovered after my upcoming holiday! I still cannot believe I got one of these pins for free because of the special offer, what an amazing deal! I have a mighty need to fill my life with more of the pins from this collection. I hope that you've all enjoyed having a nosey at these Studio Ghibli goodies. Do you have a favourite pin? Please let me know in the comments guys?

Thankyou for reading!

♥

Are you a fellow pin collector?

If so, do you have a favourite pin in your collection?

Also fellow Ghibli fans, what's your favourite movie and/or character?