Their long awaited collaboration has come at last….
Here are 5 facts about “Zen- Grogu and Dust Bunnies” streaming on Disney+, explained by a Japanese Star Wars fan.
1. What are “Dust Bunnies”?
Dust bunnies are small round-shaped spirits made from soot, known as Susu Watari（ススワタリ）or Makkuro Kurosuke（まっくろくろすけ） in Japanese. They appeared in two Ghibli movies, “My Neighbor Totoro”（となりのトトロ） and “Spirited Away”（千と千尋の神隠し）.
2. What did the flower mean?
The dust bunnies produced a flower and offered it to Grogu. The flower is identified as a daisy（hinagiku ヒナギク） in audio description. Pink daisies symbolize hope in Japan.
Well, I hope this original short will be the beginning of a long journey of Lucasfilm-Ghibli collaboration.
3. What is “Zen”?
Zen is an idea of finding peace of mind through zazen meditation.
You must unlearn what you have learned.
（C）2022 Lucasfilm Ltd.
4. What was the circle?
At the end, Grogu swung his hand round in a wide circle then a black painted circle appeared. The circle is called Enso（円相）and represents the complete perfection of the mind and heart.
It is written in Sumi ink（墨） which is made from soot – same as dust bunnies – and glue. And written by Toshio Suzuki, a film producer and the former president of Studio Ghibli Inc.
5. What was the background?
In this short film, Grogu himself does not have color. We can see through the color of the background. It resembles Washi, Japanese traditional paper.
Here’s a video from UNESCO explaining Washi.
the tweets that implied “Grogu and Dust Bunnies” collaboration
Shortly before the surprise announcement, Dave Filoni and Kathleen Kennedy visited Japan. Maybe there was a final meeting or something with Ghibli. (It says he visited many places including Akihabara “The Paradise for Otaku”)
日曜は早朝に日本に到着したばかりのフィローニ監督をお供し、彼が心酔するゴジラ、ウルトラマン、ポケモン、スターウォーズを求めて、六本木→川崎→東京→有楽町→秋葉原を巡り、計15キロの徒歩と、８回建ビルを階段で上下した。すげえスタミナ！ pic.twitter.com/oDSFp0sAgb
— Shuzo John Shiota 塩田周三 (@da_shooz) November 6, 2022
今日もデイブと半日、東京のギークサイドを散策。中野ブロードウェイから新宿のゴジラストア、その後ポリゴン訪問。全ての道程を電車やバスで。で、夜は六本木の5スターホテルで今日来日したキャシー・ケネディ氏にお呼ばれ会食。ギャップ激しい一日でした。 pic.twitter.com/lMl2AzMrH5
— Shuzo John Shiota 塩田周三 (@da_shooz) November 7, 2022
Hayao Miyazaki was rumored to be participating in this project after the image of him and Grogu was posted on Studio Ghibli official Twitter.
— スタジオジブリ STUDIO GHIBLI (@JP_GHIBLI) November 11, 2022
初の英語話者向け日本情報発信記事。英語で自然に書くの難しいな。。Visionsが公開した時、翻訳で抜け落ちてる情報が結構あって、まとめて記事作ろうと思い立ったのだが（特に The Duel！）、仕事が忙しすぎて断念。もう一回チャレンジしてみようかな。
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