It's a great time to be a Dungeon Crawler Carl fan. Matt Dinniman's LitRPG book series has exploded in popularity over the last year, making it one of the biggest titles around and bringing in even more new fans by the day. The eighth book in the series, A Parade of Horribles, just hit shelves this month and most DCC faithful have already burned their way through it. There's a graphic novel adaptation being published, a tabletop RPG that just shattered crowdfunding records, merch hitting shelves everywhere, and a TV adaptation on the way from Seth MacFarlane and Peacock. The future is bright for Crawlers everywhere, but many who have already read all the books might be looking for something else to fill the Donut-sized void while waiting for the next chapter of the saga.

Since its premiere in 1993, TheX-Files has become a reference for incredibly done, nail-biting procedurals on TV. Starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as the iconic FBI agents Mulder and Scully, the series won over viewers, became a TV staple, and even went on to inspire two feature-length movies and two season-long revivals. But while every iteration so far has seen Duchovny and Anderson step back into their characters' shoes as they work on more extraterrestrial cases, a reboot that's already underway is flipping the script – and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Hulu is one of the most well-rounded streaming services with a diverse library, but its slate of comedies and dramedies is its strongest asset. The streamer has delivered hits like Only Murders in the Building, The Bear, and The Great, all in the past five years. And looking ahead, the future seems bright for the streamer, as some of the aforementioned shows return for new seasons, while new shows like Not Suitable for Work make their mark. However, one of the best comedy shows on Hulu is an underrated hit show that just returned for an even stronger second season.

Chances are, if you grew up in the 1990s, one of your favorite movies has Jim Carreyin it. Carrey became a bona fide star during this time period, anchoring comedies like Ace Ventura: Pet Detectiveand The Maskalongside major blockbusters like Batman Forever. He also proved he could deliver dramatic performances, thanks to his stellar role in The Truman Show. The best of both worlds is evident in Carrey's performance in The Cable Guy, where he plays a cable technician who develops a truly disturbing infatuation with architect Steven Kovacs (Matthew Broderick). 30 years after its debut, The Cable Guy is slated to make a return, albeit in a completely different form.

Famed anime house isn’t worried about losing relevancy by limiting access to its films.

Studio Ghibli has a reputation for preferring to do things the old-fashioned way, and so fans weren’t really shocked when the famed anime production house was initially reluctant to licensing its works for online streaming. The studio eventually softened its stance, striking deals with HBO Max in 2019 and Netflix the following year, and while the Netflix agreement has since expired, HBO Max still offers the Ghibli catalog for streaming…but not if you’re in Japan.

To this day, there’s only one Ghibli-produced film that’s ever been made available for streaming within Japan, and it’s the one film that Ghibli itself didn’t control the rights to, Grave of the Fireflies. Everything else, like My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Howl’s Moving Castle? Not available to view online in Japan.

▼ “Ashitaka, will I ever see you online?”

On-demand online streaming may not dominate the video entertainment landscape in Japan to quite the same extent as it does in many other countries, but things are moving in that direction, especially with Japan’s physical media rental stores fading away at an accelerating pace. It’s getting to the point where one could question whether Ghibli’s attitude about making its anime available for streaming in Japan has gone from being quaintly old-fashioned to detrimentally outdated. That was the sentiment one attendee alluded to at a regular press conference held by Hiroyuki Fukuda, president of Japanese television broadcaster Nippon TV, which acquired Studio Ghibli as a subsidiary in 2023. At the press conference, held on May 25, the attendee asked Fukuda:

“Ghibli’s works remain unavailable for streaming within Japan, which limits their audiences…Concerns have been raised that without opportunities to view these titles, some of them may become forgotten [by the public], so is there any chance of Ghibli’s anime becoming available for streaming on your company’s Hulu service?”

As alluded to in the question, Hulu Japan is a subsidiary of Nippon TV, which would make it the natural, and theoretically easiest to negotiate with, online host of the Ghibli catalog. Users shouldn’t go typing “Ghibli” into the Hulu Japan search box just yet, though, nor that of any other streaming service in Japan, as Fukuda answered that there are no plans to put Ghibli’s films online, because Nippon TV and Studio Ghibli want to preserve the relevance of the TV broadcasts of Ghibli anime.

“Presently, Studio Ghibli and Nippon TV are of the shared belief that we want to preserve the specialness of Ghibli’s films appearing on broadcast TV through our Friday Roadshow program. We are of course aware of the various requests for and different opinions regarding streaming, and this is a matter we intend to continue discussing moving forward.”

Friday Roadshow, or Kinyo Roadshow in Japanese, is Nippon TV’s Friday night movie block, in which it shows a different classic, popular, or family-oriented film each week. Ghibli anime are featured several times per year, with mega-hits like Totoro often saved for dates during summer or other vacation seasons, becoming appointment television for fans.

▼ Hurry home, Chihiro! Friday Roadshow is about to start!

Still, not every Ghibli anime airs every year, and even those that do usually do so only once annually. Nippon TV and Ghibli aren’t currently worried about that lessening the relevance of the studio’s films, though. In his press conference response, Fukuda went on to say that permanent facilities like the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo and the Ghibli Park theme park near Nagoya help build interest and excitement for Ghibli’s anime, as do celebratory events like Ghibli’s art exhibitions that travel around the country. Though Fukuda didn’t mention them, Ghibli’s kabuki stage play adaptations, like the one for Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and the upcoming one for Princess Mononoke, also help to spark interest in their source material, and even if there’s no Friday Roadshow broadcast of them in the near future, Ghibli’s anime are always readily available for purchase on physical media in Japan.

Occasional overseas events and London’s My Neighbor Totoro stage play notwithstanding, the average overseas Ghibli fan has far less access to these kinds of Ghibli touchpoints than fans in Japan do, which in turn makes easier access to the anime movies themselves, though online distribution, a greater necessity outside Japan, which would explain why Ghibli has come around to the idea of streaming its works in foreign countries. And the day may come when Ghibli shrugs its shoulders and says “OK” for streaming inside Japan too. Nippon TV and the studio aren’t at that point just yet, though, and Fukuda’s treatment of Ghibli as a partner, as opposed to just a subsidiary, in the matter is probably a wise call, considering how committed Ghibli is to presenting its creations in the way it feels best conveys their vision.

Source: Nippon TV via Oricon News via Otakomu
Top image: Studio Ghibli
Insert images: Studio Ghibli (1, 2)
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