Ged Senki (2006)

Tales from Earthsea

Calamities are plaguing the land of Earthsea and dragons have been seen fighting above the clouds—something which has never happened before. Sparrowhawk, a powerful Archmage, sets out to uncover the mystery behind these concerning events and meets Prince Arren along the way. Arren is the fugitive heir to the Kingdom of Enlad and a seemingly quiet and distressed lad. Wandering aimlessly in an attempt to escape the dark presence haunting him, he decides to tag along Sparrowhawk on his journey. However, their arrival in the seaside settlement of Hort Town is met with unexpected trouble—Lord Cob, a powerful evil wizard obsessed with eternal life, stands in their way. Forced to confront him, the pair joins forces with Tenar—an old friend of Sparrowhawk—and Therru, the ill-fated orphan girl she took in. But the enemy's cunning hobby of manipulating emotions may just prove to be catastrophic for the young prince. Set in a magical world, Ged Senki goes beyond the classical battle between the forces of good and evil, as it explores the inner battles of the heart. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Ged Senki is an adaptation of part of Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea series; it also marks the debut of Hayao Miyazaki's son, Gorou, as director. The film reached number one at the Japanese Box Office on its opening week with a gross of 7.7 million dollars. In 2007, it was nominated for the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year and for best composer, Tamiya Terashima, at the Asian Film Awards. It also won the Raspberry Award (Bunshun Kiichigo Awards) in 2007. In 2008, it was nominated for Best Original Score for an Animated Film at the International Film Music Critics Award. It was also selected in the Out of competition section at the 63rd Venice Film Festival.