Studio Ghibli may just be the most famous Japanese animation studio in the world. The founder, Hayao Miyazaki, uses a unique style of visuals and storytelling in his films that stands out from the animation world. He was born in 1941 to a privileged household and aspired to be a manga artist in his warly childhood. His father was a director of an airplane parts company during the war. This influenced why aviation and war often shows up throughout his films. His mother, an affluent woman, spent most of Hayao's childhood fighting spinal tuberculosis in bed. This is reflected in his films as well. He attended Gakushuin University, a private school for the wealthy which also had connections to the imperial family, and graduated with degrees in Economics and Political Science. His first job was drawing in-betweens for Toei Animation in 1963. Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985 and produced Laputa:Castle in the Sky (Schilling). His storytelling does not follow the formulaic and shallow guidelines of most animated features, s. Many films are action packed, filled with cartoonish gags, have simple plots and are neatly ended in a “happily ever after” (Schilling). Instead, Miyazaki explores what is means to be human. This has a direct impact on the animation style. You will see a lot of secondary action. The use of secondary action is unlike Disney in that gestures are not as exaggerated or cartoon-like. The characters do not over perform, which makes them feel more real. It also gives us more insight into the characters, for example, when Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service clutches her broom close to her body, we can understand that she is nervous and insecure. Some of this action does not necessarily convey emotion, such as when Chihiro from Spirited Away takes the time to tap her shoes to ensure they were correctly on. Emphasis on a small human moments make the characters more believable. Ghibli films have very distinguishable visual factors as well. You can almost guarantee there is going to be a ship, some sort of aviation or heavy wind. The hair and clothing of the characters react strongly to this by blowing wildly and catching air. This animation style will always be present, even if the character is reacting to water instead of air, like in Ponyo. Character hair also reacts to emotion, emulating how the fur of a startled animal will stick up. For example, when Satsuki almost breaks a porch column on her new house in My Neighbor Totoro, her hair stood up on it's own. In the picture above, you can see this exaggerated even more with Chihiro. Characters across different films tend to resemble each other. It is as if Miyazaki has his own cast of actors that he uses to play certain roles. A Ghibli film is easily distinguishable by the character design character design. Below are a few examples. They are visually distinct from many of his contemporaries in anime. They do not follow the conventional look with overlarge eyes (Margarget). The lines are softer as he avoids strait lines and sharp angles. When lines come to a point, such as with hair and fur, there is a still softness to it. Even hard metal mechanisms, such as airships, have a pleasant roundness to them. The screenshot from Laputa: Castle in the Sky demonstrates this. His style is also not as flat as other artists. The art style sometimes changes drastically between real animals and spirits. The animals tend to be more realistic and detailed with more lines. Things that are not animals, however, stick to the simplified style. According to leading cartoon theorist Scott McCloud, when a character is abstracted down into a simplified style, we see ourselves in it. The more detailed and specific a drawing gets, the more we read it as a face of another (McCloud). This may be a device to separate animals from the animal-like creatures that need to be understood as characters. The picture below shows a normal frog from My Neighbor Totoro compared to a “spirit” frog from Spirited Away. Miyazaki uses solid drawing for his characters in order to reinforce his audience's belief in them. They are realistically portrayed from every angle with the right perspective and foreshortening. Characters are often changing angles and moving freely along the z-axis. This give them the impression of being fully 3D. Common themes also contribute to shaping the aesthetics of the films. The contrast between humans/technology and nature/animism is a big one. Of course, he does not define either as good or evil. Miyazaki considers his work above the over simplistic and shallow plot lines (Schilling). Nature is romanticized in the the beautiful and high detailed backgrounds. Most of the backgrounds are painted in watercolor by Kazuo Oga (McCarthy). The natural world is also highlighted in the slow pacing. There are many wide shots of camera pans across huge landscapes, as well as close up shots to branches, rocks and plants. For example, in My Neighbor Totoro, there is an iconic scene of the characters standing in the rain and waiting for the bus. It contained close ups of puddles, frogs, and raindrops falling on branches. Only a Ghibli film would dare to use so much screen time with shots that emphasize the beauty of raindrops. Contrary to the emphasis that Western animation studio placed on action, Miyazaki's films tend towards subtlety and an even pacing that complimented his storytelling. The characters do not race from plot point to plot point, but instead go through periods of quiet contemplation. Studio Ghibli uses cel animation. In this process, drawings are traced onto a sheet of celluloid, called an animation cel. These cels are thin and transparent so they can be layered. Usually contour lines will be drawn with ink on the front, while the back will be painted with color. A multi plane camera is used to build a believable environment with depth. (Lamarre) Although Princess Mononoke used over 144,000 hand painted animation cells, it was the first Ghibli film to use computer graphics. This allowed for more opportunities to explore cinematography. During the first fight scene between San and Lady Iboshi, a simulated camera uses a dolly shot to zoom in fast on Lady Iboshi. This communicates the feral intensity in which San is targeting her foe. While they are fighting, a moving camera is combined with close ups and high angle shots gives a a sense of frantic disorientation. When Ashitaka enters the frame, the camera becomes static and calm. Ghibli, however, went back to using only hand drawn animation before beginning production on Ponyo (Computer Graphics World). Works Cited Lamarre, Thomas. “From Animation To Anime: Drawing Movements And Moving Drawings.”Japan Forum14.2 (2002): 329-367. Academic Search complete. Web. 27 Nov. 2016. McCarthy, Helen, and Hayao Miyazaki. Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation. Berkeley, Calif: Stone Bridge, 1999. Print. McCloud, Scott. "Chapter Two."Understanding Comics:. New York: HarperPerennial, 1994. 24-37. Print. “Princess Mononoke.”Computer Graphics World 23.3 (2000): 34.Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Nov.2016. Schilling, Mark. “Miyazaki Hayao And Studio Ghibli, The Animation Hit Factory.” Japan Quarterly 44.1 (1997): 30. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Talbot, Margarget. "The New Yorker: Online Only: Content."The New Yorker: Online Only: Content. N.p., 2005. Web. 25 Nov. 2016. .