Anime:
Unlike many folks out there who read this, I’m not a gung-ho Anime fan; part of it is that extreme cuteness isn’t a big draw for me, and the other is that the more wild, cartoony stuff isn’t much in my taste, either.
However, I have exposed Mere to the Miyazaki movies, and she’s seen a few; KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE, THE CAT RETURNS, NAUSICAA, CASTLE IN THE SKY and HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE are favorites, and she just saw WHISPER OF THE HEART with her cousin. It was a little slow for me, but it was right up the tweener girl alley.
I’ve held off on SPIRITED AWAY; partially from the parents-taken-away stuff that can be triggering for adoptees, and partially from the scary-weird parts (she’s sensitive to that, and her sister far more so). She saw MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, but that was a while back, and she found it weird and very very slow.
I should look into PORCO ROSSO and POM POKO, I assume.
Any other suggestions?
The only series anime she’s seen was HAIBANE RENMEI, which we all loved. (One of the discs is missing, I gotta replace it.) Her con ‘persona’ name, when she uses it, is ‘Little Reki’, from that series. If you’re suggesting a series, keep in mind that she’s still only 9 1/2, and that if it’s too weird or slow, she’ll lose interest.
But she and her cousin Kay are digging into the house Anime stuff with great gusto, and i’d like to keep them supplied in Anime crack.