The character Totoro is more like a guardian angel, not an angel of death. Totoro protects the children emotionally as their mother is fighting an illness. I think the story is more about overcoming an emotional hardship and less about its connection with that awful criminal case as you suggest. The only element of death in the story is its relation to the thematic conundrum that their mother may not recover from an illness. By moving to a new place, meeting Nanny, Kanta, and Totoro, and by developing a relationship with their community, the two girls Satsuki and May go through a process of losing naïveté. It's not as sinister as you purport it to be.
The rumor says that Totoro is the God of Death, so the persons that can see Totoro are actually close to death, or already dead. What that means for the story is that when Mei goes missing and a sandal is found in the pond, Mei actually drowned. When Satsuki is asked about the sandal she cannot face the truth and lies about it not being Mei’s sandal. So Satsuki goes on a desperate search for Totoro, calling for him and actually opens up the door the realm of the dead herself. With Totoro’s help she finds her dead sister and they together go to their mother’s hospital. There, the only one who actually noticed that the sisters were there, was the mother, who also soon is going to die. And in the ending scene, Satsuki and Mei don’t have any shadows
also Im pretty sure the reason totoro helps is kind of like nature and the life energy of the things around them giving thanks because of the positive and sustainable relationship they all have, and that because totoro is a giant tree spirit he can manifest himself bigger and more solid than other spirits because of all the life energy he has. also he chooses to help the kids because their father and mother is absent technically and spirits have a weak spots for kids in need I guess and not adults probably because of their ability to handle themselves
He's a forest spirit guardian. It's referenced in the show. He helps look after the forest and make it grow, which is where his tree growing powers come from.
Yup he is a forest spirit. The word "sprite" is derived from the Latin "spiritus", meaning spirit. They're referenced a lot in old pagan myths, both in the west and Japan.
Hayao Miyazaki said the movie about his live living in the country growing up and his own mother being in the hospital for a long period of time, he changed the child to female cuz he said it would be to hard from to do male. Original one female character which he later split into two characters each sharing the same name, a play on the name May. So this theory complete false.
Cool theory, but its absolutely made false by one detail. Mei's sandals are not the same sandals found in the water. They clearly show a close up of her sandals. The criss cross pattern on Mei's sandals in that close up do not match the pattern as shown on the sandals in the water. I think its a cool theory, but it was always made false by that one detail.
Didn't notice that, cheers for clearing it up! My old theory was that Satsuki was so distraught about her sister's death that she couldn't bring herself to admitting it was in fact Mei's sandal. So then she finds Totoro and requests that she can be taken to the realm of death to be with her sister once more, and this is why her mother can see them in the distance- she, too, is close to death from her illness, and can faintly hear/see them. I'm really glad the ending isn't as grim as I thought it was.
ChannelFrederator can u plz do an episode on Spirited Away and how it may lead to something to do with the girl being dead, sense in the movie holding your breath makes in invisible to spirits, and how she had her hands show that she was fading away, and how eating food there could keep her alive, or how she found out qhat happened to her parrents and starved herself so she sees herself fade away, so it may also prove why eating food kept her from fading
Don't forget, Totoro lives in a Camphor tree. Camphor tree oil is widely used all over asia including Arab countries to prepare the dead before burying them. oil is applied for its strong perfume and other properties to preserve the body as well as keep the shroud from smelling.
Totoro is a forest spirit , not some demon. This is a beautiful story of two sisters and their adventures in a new place with a new house and all the excitement that comes with it. Of course dealing with some very adult issues like the possibility of loosing their mother but all in all a wonderful movie.
3 reasons this theory doesn't work... 1. the studio had said flat out that this is not the case 2. shadows or not, in the final scene Granny and Kanta aknowledge Sasuke and Mei 3. the first image during the credits shows them, with their father, greeting their mother coming home
It's hard to say. The creator may be 100% truthful or 100% dishonest. Or he could be somewhere in between. He could have left references there on purpose to get attention and then "covering it up" to get more attention. The conspiracy helps make it a cult classic. After all, it was made in 1988 and it is STILL getting attention!
yeah but it's japan, they don't think about death the same way we do. it's more like a passing from one world to the next... i mean Spirited Away was all about death. And a ton of people in Princess Mononoke died too.
Also the sandal in the pound had a X design and a sun flower patch in the middle while mei's sandal design was like I.also if mei fell in the pound,dirt wouldn't appear on her face cos it would washed out and her spirit would of been wet from the drown and face cleaned
Actually I heard that totoro is a type of mythical being called a pukka which take on forms of giant animal like things and they only reveal them selves to people they want to, that would explain why the boy coldnt see totoro
Fun Fact Totoro was shown as a double feature along with Grave of the Fireflies. At the end of Fireflies the children are ghosts and are sitting together, similar to the scene near the end of Totoro with the girls in the tree. They don't go in to visit their mom who is in hospice care despite being right outside. The mom says she can hear them laughing, the dad can't but he smiles knowingly. Some believe that this means the mother is close to death and her daughters are dead.
I never heard about it being synonymous with any real life deaths, but I heard about Totoro being an angel of death that took the children on Cat Bus to their deaths, and the movie was a cute and subtle way to introduce death to children. It all made sense to me, as this movie premiered as a double feature with Grave of the Fireflies, and I just thought that My Neighbor Totoro was to prepare children to understand the second movie.
We're just speculating about how Miyazaki came up with the story. That's not what conspiracy means. If he knew about the incident it's hard to imagine him not being aware of the similarities. And if the story was meant to have a hidden murder/death theme, why would he openly admit it. It's better when hidden.
It's the sweetest movie ever. i would pay money for someone with knowledge of Japanese language/culture to narrate Miyazaki movies rifftrax style and let me know what what stuff is going on that an American might miss.
omg my cousins live in Sayama. I've been there many times. There is actually a house that was modeled after Satsuki and Mei's house in the movie that isn't far from Sayama
I think the theory is true. The film based on Sayama Incident. However, let's look at different view. What the Director tried to say was, the world should be like this. We should live the life like one in the movies, not in real life (related to the incident). Many other Ghibli movies are actually the same. Each movie address different kinds of social problems, and life is so hard. But we should be positive and be like those cheerful children.
It's more like 1/5. I can debunk this theory easily. After they come back together, grandma holds May and cries because she was scared that May might've been dead. Then they all hold their hands to go to their home. Are those theory makers saying that Grandma and boy is dead too? Highly unlikely and that would be desparate stretch to fit their theory to the story. And in the end credit there's an image showing their mom is coming back from hospital with their dad by the taxi. So are those theory makers saying taxi driver and their dad is dead too? Now it's getting ridiculous.
I THINK IT'S TRUE BECAUSE MOSTLY ALL ANIME IS BASED ON SOMETHING REAL HOW DO YOU THINK THEY MAKE ANIME ANIME IS BASED ON TRUE STORYS SO YOU GET THE POINT
Dude the creator of the movie denied this theory being true, but was more than willing to admit that spirited away was based and a metaphor for prostitution. That should already tell you this theory is bogus, because he was more than willing to admit to the actual dark themes in his movies
Dude, we are talking about the Japanese cartoons anime, right?? If you're going off of that theory then how do you explain DBZ, Cowboy bebop, blue exorcist, Angel beats, wolf children Ame and Yuki and Pokemon!?! I suppose it could apply to ouran high school host club and clannad (the first part not the after story)
This was a good episode Emily. Yes, it is a bit dark; it was kind of you to put in the jump link if anyone wanted it. Must have been a lot of material to work with, 'cause 3-4min vid really has an optimal feel for length.
I kind of have two ideas why the old ladies grandson can't see the spirits, 1. Totoro might only choose to visit girls or 2. It has to do with how many children try to act like they are adults and also distance themselves from the culture and folklore of family members and the past generation. I think that Totoro might lean towards choosing who seems him seeing as how the girls were upset with their mother being sick in the hospital and might die.
I really wanted to point out about the shadow thing. So they said there were no shadows at the end part? Oh, okay. What did I do next? I watched the movie again and at the part where the dad is with the mom, both Mei and Satsuki HAD shadows. So, slash that out. Just wanted to point out, I thought the no shadows was ridiculous. What if the sun was 90 degrees on top of the characters? The shadow would have been less obvious. And seeing things means you are going to die? Um, so people who smoke weed or I don't know see a lot of things. Did they died within a week or so? Nah, if that happened, nobody would dare to touch it. So, to still think Totoro is the god of death, I call bullshit. Even the sandal theory is false. The patterns are different. In addition, at the end scene, Mei still has both sandals. Why didn't the theory of a girl accidentally dropping her own sandal come out then? 0_0; I love the world, everyone is super curious and wants to look cool and smart and show how awesome they are.
yeah, i guess you're also one of those people trying to seem cool and smart then? No one said hallucinating from drugs means you're going to die. She meant that it's like an urban legend in japan that before people die they begin to see spirits and such. The argument for the theory was that by being able to see totoro and that it was a sign that she had reached that stage.
Maybe the old lady was able to see the totoro when she was younger because she was suicidal as well and almost committed, but eventually recovered and never saw the totoros again
The worst part of this theory was including the cat bus. The character itself doesn't actually have to be a bus. In Japanese folklore, there is a cat like creature called the Bakeneko or Nekomata (these two often get confused) which can turn into nearly anything, including a Yokai, or Ghost. Also, obake are a class of ghost, which can be considered as the connection to ghosts or Obake's that the cat bus is, because obake can transform. Also, obake is synonymous with another word that's more commonly known to language learners of Japanese, Bakemono, which can be either ghost or monster, so it's entirely possible that the cat bus is a monster. Or least it would have been possible, until a certain interview with Hayao Miyazaki. When Miyazaki was asked several different times if the cat bus was based off of the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland (an idea that was because of the similar faces and fur styles) Miyazaki confirmed that the cat bus was indeed based of a Bakeneko which means the cat bus in an obake cat, which has the ability to transform. While bakeneko's tend to transform into a Hitosume-kozo which is a small bald child that does not harm anyone or Onyudo, which is a creature that causes physical harm or makes people ill by seeing it, or Noppera-bo which often does little more than frighten people, it's entirely possible that Miyazaki just wanted to use the basic idea of a bakeneko to introduce a cute, transforming cat into his story. It doesn't help, that none of these creatures, or at least so far as I know, have ever taken anyone to heaven or dragged anyone to hell. To anyone who reads this, I hope you found it interesting. If you know anything more about anything I said, please let me know, because that's really about the extent of my knowledge on the cat bus and I'd like to know more if there's more to learn.
it's too fuzzy to be a monster. D; …..Totoro is fuzzy to.. (& a mixed looking breed).. i see you're point. XD he looks like an owl in one scene… fly away… fly away… wha?!: dreaminfection.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/tumblr_lusrqpa7uR1qec5vno1_500.gif see he looks like an owl with those spots, you get down! XD
Totoro is actually a Chinchilla. Cuz in the chinese translated movie, they called Totoro a "龙猫" which is Chinchilla in chinese. And if I'm wrong, don't hate, because I am not so sure either.
I love cartoon conspiracy :D I still have my doubts of what studio Ghibli said, I think is loosley based on the murder... And that would actually make the movie even better . How you transform a creepy situation into the cutest thing ever! Cant wait to next weeks episode :D
My neighbor totoro takes place long before the Sayama incident. The Sayama incident took place in 1963 while my neighbor totoro takes place in the mid 1950's
This one was indeed very detailed and through, so we'll it needed the voice of its creators to give way to the truth, a conspiracy that powerful must be quite interesting. On a side note I was wondering if you could do an episode on mama Odie being the mother to the villain in the princess and the frog.
this one was very interesting I almost believed it, but i guess if the studio says it's not true then obviously it isn't!! keep on the amazing research Emily :)
A lot of creators explain the theories as false, yet it's too coincidental to be false... so. The catbus says Grave/Tomb Road? For no reason? No. They don't have shadows because they were lazy? No. People who create anime are VERY into detail. If they have shadows at first, they always continue their art. Shadows are easy. Why not do them? My neighbor Totoro? Sorry. But case closed. This is officially based on the incident.
Also the thing about the catbus saying something about “path to the grave.” If you remember when Satsuki found Mei, she was sitting on a set of statues which looked a lot to me like grave stones, so maybe that’s why the destination on the catbus said grave.
i've actually heard about this theory a year ago as i was chatting with my friends. they were like omg have you heard about this conspiracy theory that's been floating around the internet?! and literally, that was our childhood ruined. by the way 3:13 scared me like a silent pop-up. man i knew i shouldn't have started watching this video when it's nearly 2 am in the morning ._.
Now just think how comforting to know god of death is this friendly and cute. Even when you die u are greeted with this utter gem of a creature who only wants to bring happiness and comfort. I say thats not scary at all but heart warming
i watched my neighbor totoro after i had heard about this conspirisy. i dont really understand the movie but it did definitely creep me out. totoro is very creepy looking
Here’s an example. Somewhere Over The Rainbow and What A Wonderful World are both songs about death. Death doesn’t have to be so scary. It happens to everyone and it probably happens to everyone more than once. So many beautiful things are metaphors for death. It’s all good.
I don’t think the theory is true because the sandals Mai was wearing when she ran away where different from the one in the river and she was wearing both of them when satsuki found her and the end credits confirmed they survived and their mom came home, also they said only Mai and satsuki could see them when others couldn’t when they said clearly in the movie they can be seen when they want to be seen so they just wanted Mai and satsuki to see them, and before the credits after the hospital scene mai and satsuki meet up with Kanta and nanny.
let's be honest, everything makes sense. yes they confirmed it wasn't true, but i'm pretty sure that they did that because they were afraid of it being banned or something
Pretty sure those Buddhas Mei sit by are there for religious imagery more than anything else. Earlier in the movie, the older sister asks another Buddhist image to let her share his roof as it was raining. In general, the film has quite a good amount of religious imagery, with Totoro himself being found inside a Shintoist shrine.
Children: Totoro is so cute and funny (Enjoys the movie until the end) Adults: Do you know that Totoro is a Death God, etc. Just enjoy the movie and don't overanalyze things. Watched this for about 10x and this ranks up to my Top 3 of Studio Ghibli movies. My children loves this and Spirited Away. Let's all be thankful we have Studio Ghibli making these movies which will be remembered for all generations to come.
It doesn't actually mean anything if the company denies it. Do people really not realize that a PR team is not the animation team or the writing team? A PRs job is NOT to tell the truth...its to protect the companies image.
I need to get around to watching this. Also, if seeing things were to mean close to death I should have been dead long ago...or am I and just don't know; where's that 6th sense kid when you need him?
While I am watching this I am cuddling my Totoro plushie (ITS SUPER CUDDLY) am all I can think is "childhood ruined, childhood ruined, if it was not ruined before its ruined now."
I agree that Totoro is a guardian angle and not and angel of death totoro seems to be guiding the children to a good path of their life and yes like the last comment the only death is most likely the mother whom is fighting an illness I think that totoro is trying to distract the kids from the hard truth of their mother maybe dying taking their minds off of the thought of it and trying to become their friend or as I like calling him their fluffy bunny buddy and If in Japan seeing things your going to die as you say then I believe that Totoro is trying to lead them to heaven or he afterlife where they will be happy and maybe meet again with their mom and if not dying then also trying to comfort them during a hard time if the mom has died other than that trying to be come their friend
The character Totoro is more like a guardian angel, not an angel of death. Totoro protects the children emotionally as their mother is fighting an illness. I think the story is more about overcoming an emotional hardship and less about its connection with that awful criminal case as you suggest. The only element of death in the story is its relation to the thematic conundrum that their mother may not recover from an illness. By moving to a new place, meeting Nanny, Kanta, and Totoro, and by developing a relationship with their community, the two girls Satsuki and May go through a process of losing naïveté. It's not as sinister as you purport it to be.
Spot on, I always thought of Totoro as a coping mechanism for the girls.
The rumor says that Totoro is the God of Death, so the persons that can see Totoro are actually close to death, or already dead. What that means for the story is that when Mei goes missing and a sandal is found in the pond, Mei actually drowned. When Satsuki is asked about the sandal she cannot face the truth and lies about it not being Mei’s sandal. So Satsuki goes on a desperate search for Totoro, calling for him and actually opens up the door the realm of the dead herself. With Totoro’s help she finds her dead sister and they together go to their mother’s hospital. There, the only one who actually noticed that the sisters were there, was the mother, who also soon is going to die.
And in the ending scene, Satsuki and Mei don’t have any shadows
@@ExtremelyJewishPerson I googled what totoro meant and this came up for me too lol sad tbh :(
the truth is not like what you think
also Im pretty sure the reason totoro helps is kind of like nature and the life energy of the things around them giving thanks because of the positive and sustainable relationship they all have, and that because totoro is a giant tree spirit he can manifest himself bigger and more solid than other spirits because of all the life energy he has. also he chooses to help the kids because their father and mother is absent technically and spirits have a weak spots for kids in need I guess and not adults probably because of their ability to handle themselves
He's a forest spirit guardian. It's referenced in the show. He helps look after the forest and make it grow, which is where his tree growing powers come from.
Finally someone knows this why won't people understand he is a wood sprite or a forest guardian
Yup he is a forest spirit. The word "sprite" is derived from the Latin "spiritus", meaning spirit. They're referenced a lot in old pagan myths, both in the west and Japan.
also, in the ending, satsuki and mei go back to the old Lady and the boy so how could they be dead
Amineo that's what I said!!
@@marisknuut4269illusion
Hayao Miyazaki said the movie about his live living in the country growing up and his own mother being in the hospital for a long period of time, he changed the child to female cuz he said it would be to hard from to do male. Original one female character which he later split into two characters each sharing the same name, a play on the name May. So this theory complete false.
so glad it's false. had me scared for a second.
***** the bible isnt a factual source. im sorry, but it isnt. im not bashing your religion, but the bible isnt everything.
@@DrFrenchfries You're literally the only reply...what did the person say?
@@Teaquamarine someone deleted comment
grape whats the comment?
@@miki7566 we will never know.................
god I hate conspiracies like this, like why can't we just have nice things?
Leah's Channel this kind of conspiracies are made of dumb people
Leah's Channel Because, you know, if there's anything cute and happy, then it has to be dark!!
EVERY CONSPIRACY THEORISTS EVER
Ikr
True...
thats the point, its a theory? chill dude ffs
So if the granny could see them when she was their age why isn't she a ghost/dead.???
+Dani o.o The father, too.
I think someone close to her died when she was young?!?!
Also kanta doesn't have a shadow in the missing shadow scene... And he ain't dead.
People who are dead/ near to death can see him.
There are more people who met them. Not all of em could be dead.
The shoe they found in the river is very similar to the one Chihiro lost whem she was rescued by the dragon Kohaku after falling into the river.
Adrian Jacobsen That's the only part I find solidly supports the theory. It's never addressed again.
Lol the shoe chihiro lost was an actual "tennis" shoe not a sandal . But it would of been awesome if it would been her Actual shoe😭
+Adrian Jacobsen Well...that's an infinitely more interesting / plausible theory than the one on display here.
@@rubianimaz789 would have* been.
No. Chihiro lost a pink tennis shoe, not a sandal which was what they found in the pond. Mei was wearing sandals when she ran away
*Even if this was true it's still a beautiful way to commemorate the girls who died.*
Cool theory, but its absolutely made false by one detail. Mei's sandals are not the same sandals found in the water. They clearly show a close up of her sandals. The criss cross pattern on Mei's sandals in that close up do not match the pattern as shown on the sandals in the water.
I think its a cool theory, but it was always made false by that one detail.
Didn't notice that, cheers for clearing it up!
My old theory was that Satsuki was so distraught about her sister's death that she couldn't bring herself to admitting it was in fact Mei's sandal. So then she finds Totoro and requests that she can be taken to the realm of death to be with her sister once more, and this is why her mother can see them in the distance- she, too, is close to death from her illness, and can faintly hear/see them. I'm really glad the ending isn't as grim as I thought it was.
Mac *gasp*…. but wait they meet her coming home: hedgefairy.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/totoropic.jpg?w=700 & the dad can see them to?….
yeah, people skip over details like that just to prove stuff like this
@@xxczerxx bro you are taking it wrong. Compare the shoes before and after. And then see, you can also see it😂
Then why r they the exact same color?
Conspiracies creep me out 0.o
gabstarohthree why o.O
ChannelFrederator can u plz do an episode on Spirited Away and how it may lead to something to do with the girl being dead, sense in the movie holding your breath makes in invisible to spirits, and how she had her hands show that she was fading away, and how eating food there could keep her alive, or how she found out qhat happened to her parrents and starved herself so she sees herself fade away, so it may also prove why eating food kept her from fading
Christopher Castillo I was just about to search if a Spirited Away theory had been done, clearly there needs to be one. I love that movie so much.
especially if your eating, which I am XD
+Christopher Castillo I love souled away, who cares about conspiracies if I like it I don't care I will watch the movie X3
Don't forget, Totoro lives in a Camphor tree. Camphor tree oil is widely used all over asia including Arab countries to prepare the dead before burying them. oil is applied for its strong perfume and other properties to preserve the body as well as keep the shroud from smelling.
Totoro is a forest spirit , not some demon. This is a beautiful story of two sisters and their adventures in a new place with a new house and all the excitement that comes with it.
Of course dealing with some very adult issues like the possibility of loosing their mother but all in all a wonderful movie.
3 reasons this theory doesn't work...
1. the studio had said flat out that this is not the case
2. shadows or not, in the final scene Granny and Kanta aknowledge Sasuke and Mei
3. the first image during the credits shows them, with their father, greeting their mother coming home
so the conspiracy is "false" because the creator says it's false? that sounds more like a coverup.
It's hard to say. The creator may be 100% truthful or 100% dishonest. Or he could be somewhere in between. He could have left references there on purpose to get attention and then "covering it up" to get more attention. The conspiracy helps make it a cult classic. After all, it was made in 1988 and it is STILL getting attention!
yeah but it's japan, they don't think about death the same way we do. it's more like a passing from one world to the next... i mean Spirited Away was all about death. And a ton of people in Princess Mononoke died too.
IT'S A CONSPIRACY! ILLUMINATE CONFIRMED!
Also the sandal in the pound had a X design and a sun flower patch in the middle while mei's sandal design was like I.also if mei fell in the pound,dirt wouldn't appear on her face cos it would washed out and her spirit would of been wet from the drown and face cleaned
nintendo101ish Oh, COME ON! Does Iluminati havee to do with everything in the UNIVERSE???
“Seeing things usually means you’re going to die”
Welp, better close my eyes then!
Yammie Yammerson lol
Actually I heard that totoro is a type of mythical being called a pukka which take on forms of giant animal like things and they only reveal them selves to people they want to, that would explain why the boy coldnt see totoro
Thanks for ruining my childhood
frfr😂
My life*
running my childhood
_running my childhood_
Running?
Ah yes, i too had my childhood run by a corporation.
Fun Fact Totoro was shown as a double feature along with Grave of the Fireflies. At the end of Fireflies the children are ghosts and are sitting together, similar to the scene near the end of Totoro with the girls in the tree. They don't go in to visit their mom who is in hospice care despite being right outside. The mom says she can hear them laughing, the dad can't but he smiles knowingly. Some believe that this means the mother is close to death and her daughters are dead.
I never heard about it being synonymous with any real life deaths, but I heard about Totoro being an angel of death that took the children on Cat Bus to their deaths, and the movie was a cute and subtle way to introduce death to children. It all made sense to me, as this movie premiered as a double feature with Grave of the Fireflies, and I just thought that My Neighbor Totoro was to prepare children to understand the second movie.
We're just speculating about how Miyazaki came up with the story. That's not what conspiracy means. If he knew about the incident it's hard to imagine him not being aware of the similarities. And if the story was meant to have a hidden murder/death theme, why would he openly admit it. It's better when hidden.
It's the sweetest movie ever. i would pay money for someone with knowledge of Japanese language/culture to narrate Miyazaki movies rifftrax style and let me know what what stuff is going on that an American might miss.
omg my cousins live in Sayama. I've been there many times. There is actually a house that was modeled after Satsuki and Mei's house in the movie that isn't far from Sayama
I think the theory is true. The film based on Sayama Incident.
However, let's look at different view. What the Director tried to say was, the world should be like this. We should live the life like one in the movies, not in real life (related to the incident).
Many other Ghibli movies are actually the same. Each movie address different kinds of social problems, and life is so hard. But we should be positive and be like those cheerful children.
make indian noises?
It's more like 1/5.
I can debunk this theory easily.
After they come back together, grandma holds May and cries because she was scared that May might've been dead. Then they all hold their hands to go to their home.
Are those theory makers saying that Grandma and boy is dead too? Highly unlikely and that would be desparate stretch to fit their theory to the story.
And in the end credit there's an image showing their mom is coming back from hospital with their dad by the taxi. So are those theory makers saying taxi driver and their dad is dead too?
Now it's getting ridiculous.
For some reason, these conspiracy videos always give me chills.
Am I the only one who gets sad at the thought that are favourite childhood character is now being considered the " Angel of death"
I THINK IT'S TRUE BECAUSE MOSTLY ALL ANIME IS BASED ON SOMETHING REAL HOW DO YOU THINK THEY MAKE ANIME ANIME IS BASED ON TRUE STORYS SO YOU GET THE POINT
Or they just makes something up that works for a show
Dude the creator of the movie denied this theory being true, but was more than willing to admit that spirited away was based and a metaphor for prostitution. That should already tell you this theory is bogus, because he was more than willing to admit to the actual dark themes in his movies
OKAY
Dude, we are talking about the Japanese cartoons anime, right??
If you're going off of that theory then how do you explain DBZ, Cowboy bebop, blue exorcist, Angel beats, wolf children Ame and Yuki and Pokemon!?! I suppose it could apply to ouran high school host club and clannad (the first part not the after story)
WHAT NOW CAN'T YOU SEE I JO HARD JO IF YOU KNOW WHAT IY IS JO TO ANIME RIGHT NOW SO CAN'T SEE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY
Awesome video keep up the good work big fan!
Thanks for this interesting video Frederator guys and Emily n_n
Thank you!!
When Totoro smiles, I'm SO creeped out..
I thank of it as his rape face.
He scares me when he roars
"... for MURDER!"
OMG, How she said that was hilarious.
The last scene in the movie shows Granny hugging May and Kenta acknowledging Satsuki so unless they're all dead, this theory makes no sense.
This was a good episode Emily. Yes, it is a bit dark; it was kind of you to put in the jump link if anyone wanted it. Must have been a lot of material to work with, 'cause 3-4min vid really has an optimal feel for length.
Thank you!
The conspiracy actually gave me chills. D: wow it's just creepy...
horsegyrl02
Spoilers: They faked the moon landings, Santa Claus is real, and the Yeti the is current Speaker of the House.
G_Man steel beams can't melt jet fuel
you can only see them when they want you to
i dont know why but this conspiracy made me cry a little
Thank you for fixing my childhood :D I couldn't get this theory out of my mind :D
6 years. 6 YEARS!?!? It feels like it was yesterday that I discovered the second edition of Cartoon conspiracies.
I kind of have two ideas why the old ladies grandson can't see the spirits, 1. Totoro might only choose to visit girls or 2. It has to do with how many children try to act like they are adults and also distance themselves from the culture and folklore of family members and the past generation. I think that Totoro might lean towards choosing who seems him seeing as how the girls were upset with their mother being sick in the hospital and might die.
Good theory!
I really wanted to point out about the shadow thing.
So they said there were no shadows at the end part? Oh, okay. What did I do next?
I watched the movie again and at the part where the dad is with the mom, both Mei and Satsuki HAD shadows.
So, slash that out. Just wanted to point out, I thought the no shadows was ridiculous. What if the sun was 90 degrees on top of the characters? The shadow would have been less obvious. And seeing things means you are going to die? Um, so people who smoke weed or I don't know see a lot of things. Did they died within a week or so? Nah, if that happened, nobody would dare to touch it. So, to still think Totoro is the god of death, I call bullshit. Even the sandal theory is false. The patterns are different. In addition, at the end scene, Mei still has both sandals. Why didn't the theory of a girl accidentally dropping her own sandal come out then? 0_0; I love the world, everyone is super curious and wants to look cool and smart and show how awesome they are.
yeah, i guess you're also one of those people trying to seem cool and smart then? No one said hallucinating from drugs means you're going to die. She meant that it's like an urban legend in japan that before people die they begin to see spirits and such. The argument for the theory was that by being able to see totoro and that it was a sign that she had reached that stage.
fictionmachine.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/totoro28.jpg there is the ending photo where do you see shadows?
Maybe the old lady was able to see the totoro when she was younger because she was suicidal as well and almost committed, but eventually recovered and never saw the totoros again
The worst part of this theory was including the cat bus. The character itself doesn't actually have to be a bus. In Japanese folklore, there is a cat like creature called the Bakeneko or Nekomata (these two often get confused) which can turn into nearly anything, including a Yokai, or Ghost. Also, obake are a class of ghost, which can be considered as the connection to ghosts or Obake's that the cat bus is, because obake can transform. Also, obake is synonymous with another word that's more commonly known to language learners of Japanese, Bakemono, which can be either ghost or monster, so it's entirely possible that the cat bus is a monster. Or least it would have been possible, until a certain interview with Hayao Miyazaki. When Miyazaki was asked several different times if the cat bus was based off of the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland (an idea that was because of the similar faces and fur styles) Miyazaki confirmed that the cat bus was indeed based of a Bakeneko which means the cat bus in an obake cat, which has the ability to transform. While bakeneko's tend to transform into a Hitosume-kozo which is a small bald child that does not harm anyone or Onyudo, which is a creature that causes physical harm or makes people ill by seeing it, or Noppera-bo which often does little more than frighten people, it's entirely possible that Miyazaki just wanted to use the basic idea of a bakeneko to introduce a cute, transforming cat into his story. It doesn't help, that none of these creatures, or at least so far as I know, have ever taken anyone to heaven or dragged anyone to hell.
To anyone who reads this, I hope you found it interesting. If you know anything more about anything I said, please let me know, because that's really about the extent of my knowledge on the cat bus and I'd like to know more if there's more to learn.
it's too fuzzy to be a monster. D; …..Totoro is fuzzy to.. (& a mixed looking breed).. i see you're point. XD
he looks like an owl in one scene… fly away… fly away… wha?!: dreaminfection.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/tumblr_lusrqpa7uR1qec5vno1_500.gif see he looks like an owl with those spots, you get down! XD
Wow! I never thought of this but it's actually pretty creepy and I can see where it would make sense.
After the intro I started weeping like a 5 year old.
Totoro is actually a Chinchilla. Cuz in the chinese translated movie, they called Totoro a "龙猫" which is Chinchilla in chinese.
And if I'm wrong, don't hate, because I am not so sure either.
.......the movie is Japanese
spoiled bratt Its a Rabbit. :)
Kaito Vocaloid Totoro is Totoro. Totoro isn't a specific animal. He's just an adorable mythical being c:
But also in Japan totoro means troll, so I guess he's a chinchilla troll?
Michael Clemons *facepalm* HES A BUNNY TROLL SPIRIT and troll is actually similar, tororo not Totoro
and spirited away is about child prostitution... you can string anything together to make anything mean anything.
What a coincadence. Totoro is my computer wallpaper.
coincadence is my new favourite word
An Ano what about coincadink
I love cartoon conspiracy :D
I still have my doubts of what studio Ghibli said, I think is loosley based on the murder... And that would actually make the movie even better . How you transform a creepy situation into the cutest thing ever!
Cant wait to next weeks episode :D
My neighbor totoro takes place long before the Sayama incident.
The Sayama incident took place in 1963 while my neighbor totoro takes place in the mid 1950's
"Shadows are not necessary" what a great excuse
Thanks for debunking this theory- I've been paranoid about it ever since I found it.
At least I can look at Totoro normally again. :D
This one was indeed very detailed and through, so we'll it needed the voice of its creators to give way to the truth, a conspiracy that powerful must be quite interesting.
On a side note I was wondering if you could do an episode on mama Odie being the mother to the villain in the princess and the frog.
OH MAH GAWD....THANK YOU!
you saved my childhood :3
"the fact that cat-bus says tomb-road literally doesn't mean anything" why though?
The fact that it was "tomb" road wasn't intentional. Does that clarify it?
emilythebrave Oh ok. That makes sense. Thanks :)
My childhood is ruined-
this one was very interesting I almost believed it, but i guess if the studio says it's not true then obviously it isn't!! keep on the amazing research Emily :)
A lot of creators explain the theories as false, yet it's too coincidental to be false... so. The catbus says Grave/Tomb Road? For no reason? No. They don't have shadows because they were lazy? No. People who create anime are VERY into detail. If they have shadows at first, they always continue their art. Shadows are easy. Why not do them? My neighbor Totoro? Sorry. But case closed. This is officially based on the incident.
This is even sadder than the urban legend that Ed, Edd, and Eddy take place in purgatory.
Also the thing about the catbus saying something about “path to the grave.” If you remember when Satsuki found Mei, she was sitting on a set of statues which looked a lot to me like grave stones, so maybe that’s why the destination on the catbus said grave.
it was enough to get the animators to clarify and deny so i think that counts for something
My childhood is ruined forever until Christmas
When you said "Mythical beasts" I was like GOOD MYTHICAL MORNING!!??
Also the cat bus's location changed from 'grave road' to 'mei'...
Like the background music at the start
I made the same video 2 years before this video, They blocked it world wide! & then removed it! Life is beautiful!
i've actually heard about this theory a year ago as i was chatting with my friends. they were like omg have you heard about this conspiracy theory that's been floating around the internet?! and literally, that was our childhood ruined.
by the way 3:13 scared me like a silent pop-up. man i knew i shouldn't have started watching this video when it's nearly 2 am in the morning ._.
I like how some ppl on here just spammed before they watched the video and how some spammed after the video
When you mention the theories they sound so true I cant understand why
OH YEAH THIS REMINDS OF ME OF SPIRITED AWAY, WHEN HAKU THE DRAGON GOT HIS NAME WHEN CHIHIRO REMEMBERED THAT SHE LOST HER SHOE IN THE KOHAKU RIVER.
I'm not getting rid of my totoro
This was one of my first animes I ever watched, so I just HAD to watch this video!
Totoro isn't real. He's a coping mechanism for the young girls who are having a hard time dealing with their mother being sick and near death.
Now just think how comforting to know god of death is this friendly and cute. Even when you die u are greeted with this utter gem of a creature who only wants to bring happiness and comfort. I say thats not scary at all but heart warming
i watched my neighbor totoro after i had heard about this conspirisy. i dont really understand the movie but it did definitely creep me out. totoro is very creepy looking
I gotta lay off psychedelics and watching these while tripping
Of course they wouldn't admit it to be true even if it was, people would stop watching it
If you look at the credits in the movie, it shows the characters afterwards. So either the entire village dies, or the girls didn't.
Here’s an example. Somewhere Over The Rainbow and What A Wonderful World are both songs about death. Death doesn’t have to be so scary. It happens to everyone and it probably happens to everyone more than once. So many beautiful things are metaphors for death. It’s all good.
I don’t think the theory is true because the sandals Mai was wearing when she ran away where different from the one in the river and she was wearing both of them when satsuki found her and the end credits confirmed they survived and their mom came home, also they said only Mai and satsuki could see them when others couldn’t when they said clearly in the movie they can be seen when they want to be seen so they just wanted Mai and satsuki to see them, and before the credits after the hospital scene mai and satsuki meet up with Kanta and nanny.
Well this just ruined my childhood .-.
let's be honest, everything makes sense. yes they confirmed it wasn't true, but i'm pretty sure that they did that because they were afraid of it being banned or something
I only just noticed that paper cut out in the back was a person
I've come here just to say that "My neighbor Totoro is the God of death" is metal as fuck!
Pretty sure those Buddhas Mei sit by are there for religious imagery more than anything else. Earlier in the movie, the older sister asks another Buddhist image to let her share his roof as it was raining. In general, the film has quite a good amount of religious imagery, with Totoro himself being found inside a Shintoist shrine.
Children: Totoro is so cute and funny (Enjoys the movie until the end)
Adults: Do you know that Totoro is a Death God, etc.
Just enjoy the movie and don't overanalyze things. Watched this for about 10x and this ranks up to my Top 3 of Studio Ghibli movies. My children loves this and Spirited Away. Let's all be thankful we have Studio Ghibli making these movies which will be remembered for all generations to come.
the cat bus is kinda terrifying
It doesn't actually mean anything if the company denies it. Do people really not realize that a PR team is not the animation team or the writing team? A PRs job is NOT to tell the truth...its to protect the companies image.
my neighbour totoro is my fav anime ever
I like the amount for work put into creepy pastas, because they push the limits of people's stomach, but I don't like how they mess with my head.
come on, dad! why can’t we just have a nice moment? -greg
OW! My....my heart! This was like my first miyazaki film...ugh....well I was curious
2:25 They do have shadows look near their feet the shadow is just hard to see because the "sun" is high in the air (around noon)
now for my birthday i'll be thinking of that murder...
I need to get around to watching this. Also, if seeing things were to mean close to death I should have been dead long ago...or am I and just don't know; where's that 6th sense kid when you need him?
I love your studio Ghibli theories
While I am watching this I am cuddling my Totoro plushie (ITS SUPER CUDDLY) am all I can think is "childhood ruined, childhood ruined, if it was not ruined before its ruined now."
This conspiracy gives me chills.
Thank you for summing this up. I doidnt watch it, I listened to it. But I was like, yay!
I agree that Totoro is a guardian angle and not and angel of death totoro seems to be guiding the children to a good path of their life and yes like the last comment the only death is most likely the mother whom is fighting an illness I think that totoro is trying to distract the kids from the hard truth of their mother maybe dying taking their minds off of the thought of it and trying to become their friend or as I like calling him their fluffy bunny buddy and If in Japan seeing things your going to die as you say then I believe that Totoro is trying to lead them to heaven or he afterlife where they will be happy and maybe meet again with their mom and if not dying then also trying to comfort them during a hard time if the mom has died other than that trying to be come their friend
3:16 made me laugh so hard for some reason xD I loved the part when Totoro made that face in the movie