I can't wait to see "Howl's Moving Castle" either. I'm slightly hopeful it'll be the movie to convince my mother that anime can be a-ok. But I'm torn about seeing it dubbed in the theater versus waiting for the subtitled rental.
You have to go see it in theaters! Need to convince Dinsey, etc., that we'll pay for this stuff so we get more!
Steamboy also debuts in theaters in 3 weeks--can't wait!
Look on e-bay for Howl in Japanese when it is released to DVD. That's where we got our collection. It was only 50.00 for 10 movies of the original Ghibli collection and Spirited Away. I have rented Spirited Away in English (and saw it in the theater) but again I make them watch it as is.
When I watched "The Cat Returns" all I could think of is how much better it would be with Haru in Japanese. Although I have to admit that Cary Elwes made the Baron just HOT!
Have your mom watch "Grave of the Fireflies". She will know that anime is serious. Did you know that "My Neighbor Totoro" was released with "Grave" in Japan?!? Can you imagine a darling story about happy children shown with a depressing story of children in WWII Japan?