First, the catch-up: my "six-month contract" at Semi-Benevolent Big Oil has been renewed yet again (hurray!)...I am now approaching my five-year anniversary with the company as a contract employee. It's been a really good gig--I really like my co-workers, the project is interesting, and the pay is really good, so I can travel, buy books & DVDs to my heart's content and still have plenty left over to put in my savings.
I'm halfway through the rewrites for the fantasy novel formerly known as The Wolf Prince (but which needs a new title). I thought it might get shorter when I removed repeated explanations and repetitious descriptions; instead, it's ballooned to 209,00 words/520 pages, with the addition of new (and needed) scenes to flesh out some of the world-building and relationship-building. I'd like to finish getting the book in shape by end of summer for my beta readers, and ready to submit to publishers by end of year (if my beta feedback doesn't indicate the need for another major rewrite).
I haven't been watching a lot of anime lately, mostly due to the fact that I've been frantically writing and rewriting, but I do have a review to share. Earlier this evening, a long-time friend of mine (the same friend, actually, who introduced me to anime many years ago with Kiki's Delivery Service and The Vision of Escaflowne) had an Anime Day at his place, where he showed the first few episodes of Usagi Drop (charming and with a lot of heart; I'm looking forward to watching more episodes via my Crunchyroll subscription) as well as several recent Studio Ghibli releases, including Ponyo and The Secret World of Arrietty.
I found The Secret World of Arrietty utterly captivating, with lush, gorgeous artwork, an engaging story and sympathetic characters, and with Miyazaki's characteristic touches of humor and reverence for nature. The film is based on Mary Norton's famous children's book, The Borrowers. As the film opens, a young boy named Sho arrives at his grandmother's old country house, to rest before undergoing a major operation to repair a defect in his heart.
Upon his arrival, he catches a glimpse of an impossible tiny girl dodging among the plants in the overgrown garden. It's Arrietty, a smart, fearless girl who belongs to the Borrowers, a mysterious race of tiny people who live hidden in the walls and under the floorboards of old houses. Later that evening, she accompanies her father on her first mission to "borrow" some badly-needed supplies like sugar and tissues. With the mission almost completed, she encounters Sho, who recognizes her from their encounter earlier in the day. Arrietty's parents are horrified, and declare sadly that having been discovered by a human, they must now abandon their home before a worse fate descends (and indeed, the grouchy old housekeeper, Haru, has been noticing missing items around the house for some time now, she is on the hunt herself for the rumored "little people," with the intent to capture or exterminate them).
The film held a room full of adults completely under its spell right through the closing credits, with many happy sighs. It's been a while since I've seen something I liked this much; when I got home, I immediately ordered the DVD for my "keeper shelf."