Anime fans long knew the name of Hayao Miyazaki has pretty much a genius and all around awesome guy. A few of his movies leaked into the United States, but the flood gate (in relative terms for anime) began when Princess Mononoke came state side. The visionary, mature, animated masterpiece was already the highest grossing film in Japan and garnered rave reviews from American critics, including Roger Ebert who named it one of the best movies of the year. Miyazaki’s next film, Spirited Away, went on to win the Academy Award for animated feature further legitimizing anime for mainstream western audiences.