Hayao Miyazaki’s creative journey, from Ponyo on the Cliff in 2006 to The Wind Rises in 2013, is a testament to his dedication to nature and a structured approach to creativity. His humble lifestyle, dedication to his art, and the effort to create by hand are all evident in the documentary. Miyazaki’s approach to creation offers valuable lessons for artists, storytellers, and creatives across all mediums. He emphasizes the importance of being true to one’s heart and the hassle of filmmaking, as logical storylines often sacrifice creativity. Miyazaki believes that a person only performs their best work when faced with the possibility of failure and its consequences.
Despite his incredible work, Miyazaki is a flawed person with weaknesses, such as losing focus and moving slowly. His ability to inspire others with self-confidence and a tenacious desire to realize one’s imagination is a testament to his individualism. His unique values and beliefs are developed from his own knowledge and life experiences. Miyazaki’s work serves as a guiding light for aspiring filmmakers and artists, offering valuable lessons for those looking to make a meaningful impact.
📹 Hayao Miyazaki’s Thoughts on Creativity & Imagination
Hayao Miyazaki is the mastermind behind Studio Ghibli films. His animated films became home to millions of people, due to the …
How would you describe Studio Ghibli art style?
Studio Ghibli’s visual style is characterized by lush environments, intricate character designs, and a sense of fluidity and grace. The films explore themes of nature, environment, coming-of-age, and human connections, blending fantasy elements with relatable narratives. They celebrate imagination and adventure while grappling with philosophical questions and social commentary. Studio Ghibli’s films feature strong, complex characters, particularly young protagonists, who embark on transformative journeys of self-discovery and personal growth. These characters face challenges and conflicts, allowing them to explore universal themes such as identity, love, loss, and the duality of human nature.
What is Hayao Miyazaki’s goal?
Miyazaki’s works explore themes like environmentalism, social justice, and feminism, and the challenges individuals face in their world. His films blur the line between good and evil, often painting bleak futures. However, teachers believe that Miyazaki created masterpieces for the youth, reminding them that the world can be ugly and confusing, and that they have no other choice but to face it.
Students are tasked with creating their own fantasy worlds and stories that pay homage to Miyazaki and his work. They can create a song or dance with a complementary written component, write and illustrate their own graphic novel, conceptualize their own two-hour movie, or create a storyboard and accompanying essay.
Edison Kao ’21, a student, finds the course not your typical English course, but offers new and creative approaches to concepts and goals. She learns about Japanese culture, animation, filmmaking, and the process of creating visual narratives like Miyazaki’s. Ayako, a teacher, finds the course fun because it allows her to share a window into her own culture with her students and expose them to the beauty of Japanese words.
What art style is Hayao Miyazaki?
Hayao Miyazaki is a renowned Japanese director, animator, and manga artist known for his successful animated films like Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. His style blends soft, painterly backgrounds with simplified yet expressive characters. Miyazaki is a firm proponent of hand-drawn animation, stating that if it were to decline, it would be impossible to change the world. Born in Tokyo in 1941, Miyazaki studied political science and economics at Gakushuin University before working at Toei Animation in 1963. In 1985, he and three others founded Studio Ghibli, focusing on creating intermediary frames for animated shows and films. Miyazaki currently lives and works in Tokyo, Japan.
What artists influenced Miyazaki?
Miyazaki began his education as an evacuee in 1947 and completed elementary school in Utsunomiya. After moving to Suginami-ku in 1950, he attended Ōmiya Elementary School and later Ōmiya Junior High School. He aspired to become a manga artist but found it difficult to draw people and instead drew planes, tanks, and battleships for several years. He was influenced by manga artists like Tetsuji Fukushima, Soji Yamakawa, and Osamu Tezuka. Miyazaki destroyed much of his early work, believing it was “bad form” to copy Tezuka’s style as it hindered his own development as an artist.
Miyazaki often saw movies with his father, who was an avid moviegoer. His interest in animation was sparked by Panda and the Magic Serpent, Japan’s first feature-length animated film in color. He fell in love with its heroine and wrote the film’s “pure, earnest world”, promoting a side of him that “yearned desperately to affirm the world rather than negate it”.
After graduating from Toyotama High School, Miyazaki attended Gakushuin University in the department of political economy, majoring in Japanese Industrial Theory. He joined the “Children’s Literature Research Club” and visited his art teacher from middle school to sketch in his studio. In his free time, he drew manga and approached manga publishers to rent their stories.
In 1960, Miyazaki was a bystander during the Anpo protests and graduated from Gakushuin in 1963 with degrees in political science and economics. In 1963, he was employed at Toei Doga, where he worked as an inbetween artist on theatrical feature films Doggie March and Gulliver’s Travels Beyond the Moon and the television anime Wolf Boy Ken.
Miyazaki was a leader in a labor dispute and became chief secretary of its labor union in 1964. His lifelong collaboration with Isao Takahata led him to continue working with renewed determination. A screening of The Snow Queen in 1964 moved him to continue working in the industry, proving that a career choice can be made with determination and dedication.
Why is Studio Ghibli so unique?
Studio Ghibli films are known for their romanticized depictions of everyday life in Japan, including Japanese food, customs, and locations. These films are often incorporated with hand-drawn real-life elements, allowing the audience to relate to the main characters’ experiences and imagine their own lives through the Ghibli lens. Studio Ghibli’s films are an immersive, spiritual world that appeals to both children and adults, with children enjoying the imaginative worldbuilding and children enjoying the immersive adventures. Adults appreciate the films for their layered themes and stunning visuals, while children enjoy the imaginative worldbuilding and imaginative worldbuilding.
What is Studio Ghibli most known for?
Studio Ghibli, a renowned Japanese animation film studio, was founded in 1985 by Miyazaki Hayao, Takahata Isao, and Suzuki Toshio. The studio is known for its high-quality filmmaking and artistry, with its feature films winning critical and popular praise. The studio’s headquarters are in Tokyo. In 1984, Miyazaki made his second feature film, Kaze no tani no Naushika, based on his manga strip. The first official release was Tenkū no shiro Rapyuta. Most of the films produced by Studio Ghibli were written and directed by Miyazaki, including Tonari no Totoro, Majo no takkyūbin, and Kurenai no buta.
After Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was poorly edited for release in the United States, Miyazaki did not allow his films to be released in the West for many years. In 1996, a deal was reached to allow Walt Disney Studios to distribute Studio Ghibli’s movies, with the caveat that no film editing would take place.
What is Studio Ghibli’s aesthetic?
Ghibli films are known for their magical realism, blending ordinary settings and characters with extraordinary elements. These films transport viewers to mesmerizing worlds where the line between the mundane and magical blurs. Japanese animation and the art of Miyazaki are a testament to the beauty of Japanese cinema. Japan has captivated millions with its rich culture, history, aesthetics, and cinematic marvels for generations. While movies hold a special place in the heart of many, literature and fine arts are also essential in understanding the brilliance of Japanese cinema.
How does Hayao Miyazaki come up with ideas?
Miyazaki, a renowned animation artist, draws inspiration from Japanese folklore, particularly in character design. His work, particularly in My Neighbor Totoro, is based on the Koropokkuru community in Northern Japan. Miyazaki’s art has inspired artists like Takashi Murakami, Pippa Dyrlaga, and Wes Anderson, and he continues to be at the forefront of animation magic, even six decades into his career.
What are common themes in Hayao Miyazaki films?
Hayao Miyazaki is a master storyteller who has directed movies focusing on various themes such as environmentalism, friendship, love, family, culture, Japanese history, war, and human emotions. His movies often have anti-war themes and are based on popular manga or topics close to his heart, such as nature. Studio Ghibli movies are mostly hand drawn using rich water and acrylic colors, with less than 10% use of modern technology like CAD. Despite technological advancements, the studio still believes in using traditional methods of making animated movies.
The movies are rich in color, vivid greens, and attention to detail, with a focus on emotions and characters’ strength and flaws. The characters are young and restless, eager to prove the world, and their lives are beautifully shown through the use of subtle strokes of brush. The movies also showcase the human emotions that come into play when dealing with life’s problems. Overall, Studio Ghibli movies are a testament to the power of human emotions and authenticity in creating captivating and engaging storytelling.
How has Miyazaki influenced animation?
Hayao Miyazaki, a master storyteller and visionary artist, has left an indelible impact on the animation industry. His dedication to hand-drawn animation in the era of digitalization showcases his artistic integrity. His meticulous attention to detail and storytelling prowess have influenced a generation of animators and filmmakers globally. Miyazaki’s legacy is not only marked by his exceptional films but also by his commitment to preserving the essence of storytelling through animation. His films transcend cultural boundaries, resonating with audiences worldwide and leaving an enduring legacy.
What is so special about Hayao Miyazaki?
Hayao Miyazaki, a renowned Japanese animator, is known for his iconic animated features such as My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away. His work has been a source of inspiration for animators in Disney, Pixar, and other global studios. Studio Ghibli, led by Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, is one of the most celebrated Japanese animation studios, attracting a global audience for over 30 years. However, Miyazaki’s early work has been less explored by scholars outside of Japan. Raz Greenberg’s new book, Hayao Miyazaki: Exploring the Early Work of Japan’s Greatest Animator, fills this gap in literature in English.
The book explores Miyazaki’s early life, including his childhood dream of becoming a manga artist and his encounter with Tōei Animation’s first animated film Panda and the Magic Serpent. It also discusses how Miyazaki was profoundly influenced by Paul Grimault’s The Adventures of Mr. Wonderbird and Lev Atamanov’s The Snow Queen in terms of conceptual, visual, and narrative styles.
The second chapter examines Miyazaki’s role in the animated adaptations of classic children’s literature in the 1970s, including Heidi, Girl of the Alps, 3, 000 Leagues in Search of Mother, and Anne of Green Gables. Miyazaki’s first trip abroad was an important source of inspiration, and his love for European landscapes were integrated into these shows. Linking these early television series and short films to Miyazaki’s later films with Studio Ghibli, Greenberg argues that Miyazaki started practicing new forms of narratives, styles, and themes through these projects.
The third chapter focuses on Miyazaki’s directorial debut feature film The Castle of Cagliostro and the preceding animated television series Lupin the Third (1971, 1972), which are based on the popular action manga by Monkey Punch.
📹 I tried Hayao Miyazaki’s creative routine☁️🖋️
Welcome to another writing (or, creative) routine! In this one, i’m trying the routine of Hayao Miyazaki, the famously chaotic and …
I’ve lived in Japan for 15 years now, and sadly it’s become quite apparent to me that while Japan is definitely a collective culture as you mentioned at the end of your article, this culture of overwork has led to an insanely high rate of suicides due to overwork. So much so that they have a word in their language specifically for that type. That work/life balance just doesn’t seem to exist out here, unfortunately, and after speaking to many people I’ve learned that this isn’t usually by their own volition. Companies tend to impose this routine on their employees, from forcing them to go out after work to drink or pressuring them to stay long hours until the boss leaves, it’s almost as if they’re held prisoner. Miyazaki has even admitted that his routine caused massive rifts between him and his wife and sons. I will say though, planning a 12-hour session in advance, maybe just once a week, just to really focus and get in that flow, might be a great idea. Especially if you schedule it ahead of time with your family so they know that’s your time to work, you can shut the door, and turn off notifications. I might start doing this…
i worked in the japanese anime industry and the problem with miyazakis routine (which is rather common in anime industry) is, it’s one thing when you choose for yourself and your own lifestyle & worksyle, you do you. but not only enforces he his own work culture on his entire staff, (simplest example. making unhealthy ramen for staff, because it’s cheaper, easier & faster to get down in the few minutres in between drawing, instead of giving them proper lunch break, or even proper nutritions even though they are working 12h everyzday while he is a freaking millionaire, and his staff is NOT) it’s a staple of why the japanese anime industry is sooooooooooo toxic and SO MANY talented animators and artists burn out, leave art forever and tackle really bad health issues. so i’ll never understand how people (not this article) romanticize his work style and claim that has anything to do with artistic values or quality. again, it’s one thing to chose your own lifestyle, but when you are responsible for the health of dozens or hundreds, it’s NOT the way
I find it so refreshing and it’s inspiring that you are open-minded and curious enough to try all these routines! I feel like most freelancers get so used to working in a certain way and there is nothing wrong with that, it just adds even more value to these articles! And also I am so proud that you are respecting your work-life boundaries and being mindful of overwork!! ❤️
1:48 – one of Miyazaki’s Italian consultants even confirmed in a documentary for Nausicaa that the studio’s supposed to be pronounced with a soft g even though the original Italian word is a hard g. Fun fact – Ghibli means “hot wind”. Considering practically almost every Ghibli film has a flight sequence and Miyazaki’s father was a plane engineer (referenced in the Wind Rises), the name’s quite fitting! If anyone’s curious about how I found that info, if you have any of the Buena Vista versions of the DVDs (they mostly came out around 2005), they often come with translated documentaries that are on the bonus features or on the second disc. I‘ve also seen a few of them on YouTube so I recommend doing a search! The best ones I’ve found IMO were Nausicaa, Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Princess Mononoke. The English voice acting BTS articles are great too because they cover how they navigate the cultural differences and subtitling.
I can’t imagine just sitting down at a desk and working 12 hours straight. I love working from home on my art because that means I can work untill I feel I’ve hit a bump or am being less productive and switch gears to doing house chores or making dinner and then come back. I often do put in long days but I space it out in my whole day depending on my creativity and motivation. The chopping wood story feels like something I would do during one of my breaks 😆this was a joy to watch Also I think you adiquitly described the work culture here in Japan. What’s one food you miss the most?
It’s best to start the day slow if you’re going to have a long day. Taking the time to get yourself in the mindset is good so I understand him waking early, but taking his time and starting at 9. Also I think he’s more of a plantser. He seems to always have the beginnings of his work ready so he can give his people something to work with even if he doesn’t have the ending yet. It’s a bit of both which honestly, is the best way to work creatively while on a deadline: to plot and pants.
Respectfully I’ll skip the 9-to-9 workday, but getting myself moving in the morning is definitely something I would be better off incorporating into my life! I like the sense of easing into the day that’s present at the start of this, and it’s certainly one of the healthier parts of an otherwise startling workload that Miyazaki seems to put on himself. This is a fascinating series, thank you for doing these!
By observing others, it is challenging to know which actions trigger a creative person’s brain to go into a creative state. Small things can be important, if the space does not allow these, the brain may not go into a creative state. Explaining everything consciously can also be a burden on fluent thinking. When you get into the right space, things just seem to happen and progress. Motivation may only come after starting to work, which is why small actions before doing are important – they start the action.
I have had this article open in a tab since you posted it, and I’m FINALLY perusal it while I do some office work. In terms of my creative influences, the biggest ones who are filmmakers are George Lucas and Hayao Miyazaki. I love how he plunges right into the story with no idea how it ends, that speaks to me SO deeply. This is a great article…and as luck would have it, for Christmas I got a Totoro-themed ramen bowl! Best wishes, and I love your website! Happy new year!
Long time watcher, don’t know how I wasn’t subscribed! I love perusal your articles, you’re a huge inspiration! Wondering: since you write primarily on your computer, do you have a particular keyboard? I work mostly off of a laptop, but miss the satisfaction of more “clickety” keys, always satisfied by your keyboard-typing shots!
I understand not wanting lunch at noon because you get extremely tired when you get back from lunch and are falling asleep at the computer. So you work real hard all morning and into the afternoon. I’m sure his work includes many meetings, going from one to the next, and managing the artists working below him. So there is probably no time to eat even if he wanted to. I also understand needing energy after getting up super early to eat and feeling depleted by noon. You do what works for you. Everyone is different.
To hell with cultural bias. 12 hour work days are unsuitable for everyone. Human beings are only able to do concentrated work for a number of hours a day before it starts to decline and this happens well before 12 hours a day, it even happens before a ”normal” 8 hours a day. It’s for a reason that su1cide is one of the main causes of death for a lot of often young people in asian cultures, especially china and japan and korea. ”It’s just how things work around here”, or ”it’s the culture” is a horrible argument.
To be fair all the cigarettes Miyazaki smokes must suppress his appetite, so having an extra meal makes up for it XD The routines of most animators and manga artists are insane. I’m a comic book artist, but a lazy one. I follow an Eisner award-winning comic book artist, her work load is crazy – she says she takes either Christmas or New Year off work, but not both! It’s frustrating that drawings take so long to complete, especially when you write your own comic script; a sentence that takes minutes to write can take hours and days if not weeks to draw
Great article! Just to bring up this curiosity: In the book Shigoto Douraku (Mixing work with pleasure: my life at Studio Ghibli) by Toshio Suzuki, current producer and co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he admits that it was Hayao Miyazaki’s mistake in choosing the “ji”, but as the brand and studio were already consolidated, it didn’t make sense to make the change. On the other hand, as a kind of example of recognition of this mistake years later, after the repercussion and international contact of the studio, when it came time to make animated shorts about the production team and the day-to-day lives of the employees From the studio, they were called Ghiblies, read as “Guiburiizu”, with the sound “gui”. ^^
I found your website by chance, interested in what Hayao Miyazaki’s creative process was like. Yet, I enjoyed the entire length of the article. The way you edit your articles and the way you talk is delightful. The amount of work you put into this shows you are genuinely excited to share your insights. I loved it!
This is the first time I watched your article, and it was rather interesting. Thank you! The work routine was quite interesting for me as well. As it happens, about a decade ago I read an article about some medical researchers stating that walking is good to get your brain functioning since it forces the arteries to supply more oxygen to brain cells to guarantee survival on a high metabolism state. I do not have scientific proof of this, but I find it to work well for me as I often find solutions or resolutions to work related problems while I am on the move rather than sitting still on a chair. Radio calisthenics is actually an American invention, it fell out of public taste and radio stations stopped broadcasting them long time ago. However in Japan, especially in Miyazaki’s childhood, it not only became a fever, but the Japanese education system turned it into a public awareness tool to exercise themselves and be mindful of health. So much so, children would receive “point cards” stamped by teachers to prove they practiced radio calisthenics everyday in the morning to receive some kind of prize at school. That in turn became tradition, and I think Mr. Miyazaki is just honing on a tradition-routine like so many other things he does. Which brings me to the third point of this comment. I believe Mr. Miyazaki is a traditionalist with a lot of Japanese baby-boomer mentality. I am not writing this in a derogatory way, but he comes from a generation that saw the misery at the end of World War 2, and did not have the luxuries we take for granted in our generation (I myself a gen-X).
He can retire and come back as many times as he likes if you ask me! I’m here for ANYTHING he makes! He is by far my all time favorite creator. His stories are so beautifully written they touch my very soul. And omg he has such an amazing gift of storytelling! No other creator can compare in my eyes. There’s a reason his creations are so beloved! My first movie of his was Totoro I was introduced to his movies when I was about 19. First one I saw in theatre was spirited away back when it first came out! I love being able to brag about that one! Every child I’ve taken care of has been introduced to his movies by me. Always starting as I did with Totoro. Each child has had a different favorite and I love that so much! I spent years building up my collection of his movies and now they are so easily accessible on Disney and max it makes me just so happy for kids out there!! How lucky they are to grow up able to watch them!!
Ohhh that’s explain why we italians say Ghibli with the strong g. I mean, it comes a bit natural but I do thing Gibli is way smoother. Anyway, respectfully I’ll skip the overachiever crazy japanese routine, they are way too strong poor people. I think japanese culture is too much. I heard about Oda’s work (One Piece creator) and I understand now why they all get sick at some point.
I love that you do the radio taiso exercise. I’ve been doing it on and off since I saw it in Only Yesterday and The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness ❤️ In the documentary, Miyazaki seems to buy Yakult once a week which I used to drink as a kid growing up and I started drinking it again a few years ago sometimes 🥰
Hi Christy, enjoyed the article and have one question that I haven’t been able to find a good solution. Near the beginning there was the Kotaku note about the movies having Part A through E. Are the five parts a modification of kishotenketsu or does Miyazaki’s storytelling actually have a different setup?
This was a great article, really loved it, BUT, it’s worth adding that the entire film industry worldwide does similar or longer hours. Television production also averages 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week, and though gruelling, these are work hours spent with teams, sometimes hundreds of people. Writing is a solitary experience, and therefore very different. You can certainly write 12 hours a day (I’ve done it too) but it’s not hard to maintain 12 hours when all your friends, peers and colleagues are at your side. You’re bouncing ideas off each other, or simply chatting about the project. The variety and people around you makes it easier to mainstain doing it daily. Despite that, this was awesome. You wrote close to 7,000 words AND filmed a high quality 25 minute vid. Fantastic stuff 🙂
I would be more impressed had you seen some thing during your walk – a child crying, a woman hurrying along the street and disappearing into a doorway like a magic trick – there in one eye blink and gone the next, – or anything that caused your imagination to ask “why that?”, then coming back and in the next 12 hours producing a finished story of what and why and the outcome of their actions. I find the best ideas for my stories occur like that. There is a famous street photographer who says a worthwhile photograph never occurs when you go out looking for it, it happens as you are going somewhere for some other reason – and there it is in front of you. Always have your camera (minds eye) with you.
So very happy you did this person, and I”m devastated at spending fifteen years of my life using a hard “g” to pronounce Ghibli. Not sure if I can change!!!! Also I’m a relatively new subscriber to your website, found it one month ago. Hello from Perth! And hello fellow aspiring writer. It’s wonderful and I’m so excited to follow along on your journey and really appreciate your honesty and openness in sharing 🙂
I have never written or illustrated anything. I am self taught drawing growing up as a kid. After 15 years of never drawing again I have recently started agar and found out I haven’t lost the talent of drawing, but writing I’ve never done and have a really hard time with writing. Do you have any advise on a beginner writing. I want to make manga . And I am inspired by Ghibli since I was a kid.
PLEEEAAAAAASE do the article essay on Studio Ghibli soon!!!! I cannot wait to watch that! Also, I’m so glad you pointed out the difference in Japanese work culture to the western style work culture. They really are extremely different, and it’s really important to understand! I loved the radio calisthenics by the way haha!
I’m torn lol. In the middle of figuring out a couple dozen stray animals I’m bringing up, low funds, but also want to do creative stuff. Create animations, games, etc. Also trying to better the diet, no need for exercise though, the floofs keep me walking a minimum 5-6 hours a day, at least 3-4 of those hours brisk walking even. Also a lot of cleaning up involved, so no idleness around. Hectic as it can get.
12 hours a day, 6 days a week, might work for Miyazaki, but for us mere mortals, it is probably unsustainable! I’d have to agree with your conclusion – it’s not a work routine to be emulated by anyone but the most ardently aristic with no other responsbilities or obligations to worry about, and even Miyazaki himself didn’t entirely fit this bill given his wife and children, who he’s probably seen less of in his entire life than his true partner in crime, Toshio Suzuki! I think it’s fairly clear Miyazaki has sacrificed a lot in his personal life to achieve the artistic works he has, but that’s not necessarily something to admire, even if the work remains outstanding. He’s certainly a contradictory figure then, one whose work I adore and believe to be amongst the greatest told stories of our times, but such greatness has come at a personal cost to him, and anyone hoping to replicate such success in their own creative endeavours needs be wary.
The seemingly distracting process of getting away from the work to chop wood is actually not true procrastination. Physical activity can really fuel creativity. I notice when im in the middle of a work out i have some of my best creative ideas. Not when i just stare at a blank canvas. Physical movement and flow state have some undeniable connection.
This is such an interesting article to me as a fellow creative (illustrator) and a lifelong Ghibli and Miyazaki fan, while I love his work and the movies from this studio, I know from secondhand accounts how ruthless and exhausting the animation industry is known to be, especially in japan with their work culture, so I always hope people do not romanticize this lifestyle just because the movies are beautiful, I think you did a good job of that. I definitely would not be able to sustain a 12 hour work day cycle for more than a week good lord, you gotta refill your creative and mental batteries! Guess that’s why he’s gone in and out of retirement so much haha
About the whole Japanese radio calisthenics, this form of exercise was developed 90 years back or almost a centuries ago when radio was first brought from overseas to Japan. Since elderly and both the kids below the age of 5 were getting inadequate exercise due to the luxurious life brought from us westerners and injuries were very frequent at the time. So a group of elders thought about hosting radio calisthenics and it has been a part of all the Japanese people(s) morning ritual since.
I don’t think anyone has commented on it as far as I’ve scrolled, but either nīhil and nēhil are technically correct because of the Latin roots and pronunciation disagreements there, but the most common English pronunciation seems to be “nai.” (Google’s suggestion) In the States I am fairly certain I’ve heard my educators in person use both, and internet presenters equally not decide.
You give us so much great advice and clarifying information. It’s so reassuring and validating to learn from someone with experience that it is okay to just be mainly one or two of these world builder types, instead of feeling the pressure to deliver all of them. Love you rchannel so far, so glad I found it!
What is good for the goose is NOT always good for the gander. What works for one person can never work exactly for someone else. Best we can do is extrapolate parts of someone’s routine and try it out. Instead of 6am everyday, pick what a time that works and do it everyday… the routine may be the helpful part not the time.
I normally hate vlogs, but the theme of copying one of my favourite storytellers is too intriguing! Also I wish you lots of writing flow for your book! I’m getting back into the habit of writing again, and figured out I’m an intuitive, emotional writer, so I need to focus on how the emotions will lead my story. ❤ Also your accent & aesthetics is so lovely! (If the gnat stopper doesn’t work, a bit of hydrogen peroxide mixed with water might!)
You will often hear him refer to himself as “still a kid.” This metaphor reflects his belief in maintaining a sense of imagination and youthful spirit. His films frequently feature teenage protagonists, as he feels this age best captures the qualities of innocence, purity, and authenticity that he cherishes and wishes to highlight through his storytelling.
Listen. I have always pronounced Ghibli with a ‘J’ sound since I was younger because that’s how they, Miyazaki-san and the people at the studio pronounced it because that’s what I learned studying languages, however the natives say it is how you say it, but then somewhere along the way, people online were like you’re pronouncing it wrong because of what you said with the plane but I’m going back to my original pronunciation. I am reclaiming the J sound!
Well, I’m italian so I’m gonna keep calling the studio Ghibli as spelled in Italian because that is the right pronunciation. It’s actually a libian word and it’s pronounced in the same way. It’s always better to respect the original sound of a foreign word or name, or it feels quite disrespectful to the culture those words belong to, also because they usually have a lot of history attached to.
people commenting “he should know his employees have lives/family etc” as an animation artist, if Hayao miyazaki wanted me to work at this routine, i would definitely do it why?? passion! passion is all you need to start and continue doing something, when you love to do something, hours feels like minutes while doing it, while the youngsters nowadays are avoiding their family, they don’t have any friends, they ARE unconsciously following this routine the difference is just that, they aint working, they are either studying, exposing themselves with a plenty of screen time and etc., so why not work at this pace???? what is wrong with it?
Just discovered your website on my timliene today, As I’m perusal this article I love how dedicated you are going to go through Miyazakis routine. Also love the vibes of your website as well. Defently gonna catchup on older articles. I cold definitely learn from this experiment on coming up with a routine for if I wanna make my own animation someday. 🙂
Hi, it is so nice to discover your articles! 🙂 I think one of the many reasons for this very long working routine is also the fact that Miyazaki’s work is animation. Animation studios in general tend to work long very hours, often even nights, because the labour of work is just immense. Animators usually spend most of their time in the studios, it is their life. It is a huge dedication to the craft and not everyone can do that. It is also considered team effort, the animation movie would never have been finished if not for the team effort of every single person in the studio working as long as him. The animation industry is like that not only in Japan but also in America etc. because it is just so consuming. I believe though that in these long hours they also have times where they just don’t know what to do next, or where it is basically figuring out a lot of things, so it is mixed with intense flow states of work and more loose states of work. Nevertheless, I always thought it was really intense to do that kind of work. Great article!