Ghibli ga Ippai Collection

Background

The Ghibli ga Ippai Collection (ジブリがいっぱい COLLECTION) is Studio Ghibli's internal home video label, used for home media releases (VHS, DVD, Blu-ray) in the country but has recently been expanded to merchandise as well with the introduction of a series of Dream Tomica products released by Tomy. Their releases are distributed mainly by Walt Disney Studios Japan, with Pony Canyon releasing some minor releases and handling rental sales. The brand is also used in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong.

Logo (August 1, 1996?, June 27, 1997-)

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  1997-2009 version

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  1997-2009 "Special" variant

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  2009-present version

Visuals: On a white background, a black and white drawing of Mei Kusakabe from My Neighbor Totoro is seen, with pink blushing and a shadow, walking on the spot. Afterward, it cuts to the letters ジブリが (Ghibli ga), with the "Ghibli" part made out of tree stumps, acorns, mushrooms, Susuwatari (Soot Gremlins, also known as Soot Sprites) and a worm, with the "Ga" part in a standard font appearing one by one. Afterwards, the remaining Japanese text いっぱい (Ippai) appears below in the same font, followed with the English word "COLLECTION" in a black font below all the Japanese text.

Trivia:

• The label name started in August 1996, following the Disney-Tokuma deal. It was first used for a LaserDisc set of the same name, where the same picture of Mei that was used in this logo was used as the set's front cover. The set is now considered to be a rare collector's item, not only due to its obscurity, but for including the original Tokuma English dubs to My Neighbor Totoro, Porco Rosso, Castle in the Sky and Kiki's Delivery Service.
  • While the Tokuma dub of My Neighbor Totoro is fairly easy to come by, due to its North American releases from Fox Video and eventually included on the original 2001 Japanese DVD release for the movie (replaced with the Disney dub in the 2014 reissue), the dubs for Porco Rosso and Castle in the Sky are far hard to find, although they were included in the 2002 Japanese DVD releases (now out of print; to which they would replace them with the Disney dubs on the 2014 re-releases), while Kiki's Delivery Service is pretty much impossible to find, as the laserdisc was the only home release of it. All DVD/Blu-ray releases use the Disney dub.

Variants:

• On Ghibli ga Ippai Collection Special releases, the Mei version plays as usual, but the end result is raised a bit in order for the blue text "スペシャル" to appear below.
• Another variant appears on the 2000 VHS of My Neighbors the Yamadas. Instead of Mei, it shows Setsuko Yokokawa from Grave of the Fireflies as the character walking. After a while, she stops and gives a salute. The scene cuts to the Ghibli ga Ippai COLLECTION logo, in which the entire logo fades at the same time.
• On VHS promos for Ghibli movies, a number appears on the right, that depends on the release (eg, 2 is for Whisper of the Heart).

Later Variant: Beginning in 2009, the logo was reanimated in widescreen HD, and the proportions of the "Ghibli ga Ippai" text were changed to fit the ratio. The "COLLECTION" part remains as is although the font is slightly smoother. This version appears on all Studio Ghibli Blu-rays in Japan since Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea and appears on later DVDs as well beginning with Arrietty.

Technique: Hand-drawn animation by Studio Ghibli themselves.

Audio: A shortened version of the track "Let's Go to the Hospital!" from My Neighbor Totoro, composed by Joe Hisaishi.

Audio Variant: On the Setsuko variant, a sample of the song "Home! Sweet Home!" used in Grave of the Fireflies is played, sung by Amelita Galli-Curci. Also, if you listen closely, you can hear crackling from a record due to the song being recorded back in 1917.

Availability: Appears on Japanese Studio Ghibli home media material distributed by Walt Disney Studios Japan and Pony Canyon. The first appearance of both logos may be on the Ghibli ga Ippai Collection LaserDisc set (see 'Trivia').

• Mei Kusakabe - First used on the 1997 Japanese VHS release of My Neighbor Totoro and appears on other Japanese VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray prints of Studio Ghibli movies.
  • It also appeared on a small number of later Chinese VCD releases, such as the 2006 release of Howl's Moving Castle. Taiwanese release do not feature this logo, or any logos for that matter.
• Setsuko Yokokawa - Unknown, its only known use is on the VHS version of My Neighbors the Yamadas. The DVD release of the movie that was released on the same day uses the standard Mei version. The reason for this was that Disney/Studio Ghibli didn't initially hold DVD rights to Grave of the Fireflies (instead being held by Warner Home Video) until 2008. It likely appeared on the VHS releases of Isao Takahata's movies (most likely notably on Grave of the Fireflies itself), though.
• It is unknown if this logo (and maybe its variant) would be used at the beginning of every disc for the films included in the set. If it does, it is most likely that the Mei variant would be used for films directed by Hayao Miyazaki and other movies, while the Setsuko variant would only be used for Isao Takahata's films. Further proof is that if you look closely at the logo on DVD releases, it is in dot-crawl quality, so it is most likely recorded on one of the LaserDiscs to the set.

See Also

• Ghibli ga Ippai Collection (Home Video Bumper)