This will mainly be an anime and art blog–though as I am somewhat random with a lot of interests, I may stray from the topic from time to time. This will never be one of those in depth anime review blogs. There are plenty of those around with way more time invested than I can give. Rather I may post recommendations or give my impression on series, address different anime-related topics or thoughts that I find interesting, and post things that I find really cool or useful.
I’ll most likely post artwork or sketches… but my job has kept me from drawing as much as usual. I’ll get to that stuff eventually. 🙂 Finished artwork is always available at my DeviAntart Gallery.
Star In My Pocket 
I just wanted to say I read what you wrote about Myazaki or more specifically your post on Ponyo. I wish my wife had the same whimsical heart about Myazaki’s movies. She did enjoy Ponyo, but most of the others she thinks are weird etc. I would love to have someone like yourself to curl up with and lose myself with inside a Myazaki movie.
You stated what I have been saying lately as well that it is sad to think that sooner rather than later he will likely stop making movie. And I like you have resolved to the idea of at least cherishing the movies he has made.
May I ask if you know of any other anime movie creater that is in any way, shape or form in the same ballpark as Myazaki? That is my next mission. I want to try and find someone else who at the very least meanders in the whimsy part of the pool. I know there can never be another Myazaki, but I must confess I would settle for a mere mortal attempt at his style.
I’ll empathize with you. Back when I first met my fiance I discovered he hadn’t seen ANY Miyazaki movies.. ! Luckily I own a large collection. He appreciates them–especially from an artistic perspective–but I believe some of the more whimsical innocent ones such as Totoro and Ponyo are a little lost on him (he was more interested by Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.) At least we can celebrate Miyazaki’s next film, based on the borrowers. I’m so excited to see it – it looks vintage and beautiful and everything we love about Miyazaki. I believe there were also rumors about a sequal to Porco Rosso.
It’s hard to pin point an actually movie creator I would put on par with Miyazaki. I think of Satoshi Kon as the more grittier film creator to balance Miyazaki out in Japan – but as talented as he is, Tokyo Godfathers is his only movie that I LOVE and feel like re-watching every December.
There are three anime movies that come to mind that I would highly recommend, both whimsical, charming, with the subtle comment about life to them. One is “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time,” which has been released in the US. It’s the story of an every-day school girl who finds the ability to leap back in time. I believe your wife would like this one. The other movie is “Brave Story” — which I believe is about as close as you can get to the whimsy and adventure of a Miyazaki Film! Unfortunately you can only watch this one as an imported DVD or as a download… it still hasn’t had a US debut even though Netflix lists it as available to save. The final one is “Origin: spirits of the past”… its humanity vs. nature theme puts me a little in mind of Nausicaa.
I am sure there are more good ones out there and I am determined to find them. If you watch regular anime series, there are actually a couple I would recommend that – in any way, shape, or form – remind me style and whimsical nature of something from Miyazaki. They would be Mushi-shi, Kami-chu, Natsume Yuujinchou, and Dennou Coil.