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Hayao Miyazaki: Exploring the Early Work of Japan’S Greatest Animator

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Hayao Miyazaki: Exploring the Early Work of Japan’S Greatest Animator Greenberg, Raz. "A Guide to Further Research." Hayao Miyazaki: Exploring the Early Work of Japan’s Greatest Animator. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2018. 153–158. Animation: Key Films/Filmmakers. Bloomsbury Collections. Web. 23 Sep. 2021. <http:// dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781501335976.0006>. Downloaded from Bloomsbury Collections, www.bloomsburycollections.com, 23 September 2021, 18:12 UTC. Copyright © Raz Greenberg 2018. You may share this work for non-commercial purposes only, provided you give attribution to the copyright holder and the publisher, and provide a link to the Creative Commons licence. A G UIDE TO F URTHER R E S E A R C H Th ere are two major categories of books in English that examine Miyazaki’s works: one consists of books that examine these works in the context of a larger study of anime or Japanese popular culture, and the other consists of fewer books that are devoted to Miyazaki exclusively. You will fi nd more books from the fi rst category referred to in the chapters of this book; this is not because books from the second category are not good, but rather because they focus on a creative period diff erent from the one examined throughout most of this book—Miyazaki’s career as a feature- fi lm director, rather than his early days as an animator. Th is chapter off ers a brief review of recommended books from both categories, not necessarily related to the theme of this book, but providing a good starting point for any research about the director and his works. Books about Miyazaki D a i s u k e A k i m o n o , “War and Peace” in Studio Ghibli Films: Director Hayao Miyazaki’s Messages for World Peace (Saarbucken: Lambert Academic Publishing, 2014) Th is book off ers a political reading of Studio Ghibli’s fi lms, focusing on Miyazaki’s features. Author Akimono, a professor at the Soka University Peace Research Institute, demonstrates how the political themes of Miyazaki’s fi lms have evolved throughout the years in accordance with the shift in global politics, from the cold war to the war on terror. Th e stiff structure, which reads a bit too much like a thesis manuscript, can make reading a bit challenging, but Akimono’s analysis is well worth the eff ort. H e l e n M c C a r t h y , Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation: Films, Th emes, Artistry (Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press, 1999) Th e fi rst- ever book in the English language devoted entirely to Miyazaki and his fi lms. Published at a time when most of his works were still unavailable for the audience in the English- speaking world, the book 153 154 A Guide to Further Research served as an introduction to the director for many readers and scholars. Opening with a biography of Miyazaki, the book follows with seven chapters, each covering another feature directed by him (from Th e Castle of Cagliostro to Princess Mononoke ), providing information on production, a detailed synopsis, and an analysis of the fi lm’s themes. It’s an accessible, passionately written work by an admitted fan of the director and his works that nonetheless provides many in- depth conclusions. Sadly, an updated edition that covers Miyazaki’s twenty- fi rst-century work is yet to appear. Hayao Miyazaki, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind: Watercolor Impressions (San Francisco: Viz Media, 2007) Viz Media has published art books for all of Miyazaki’s fi lms (and several non-Miyazaki Ghibli fi lms as well), but this volume transcends the regular format of other books in the series, exploring the deeper roots of both the Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds original manga and fi lm adaptation, discussing original proposals, draft s, sketches, and the sources of inspiration for Miyazaki’s magnum- opus. H a y a o M i y a z a k i , Starting Point: 1979–1996 (San Francisco: Viz Media, 2009) H a y a o M i y a z a k i , Turning Point: 1997–2008 (San Francisco: Viz Media, 2014) Th ese two volumes off er a deep look into Miyazaki’s thoughts on a variety of subjects, mostly focusing on animation but also oft en wandering into the territory of political and social commentary. Fans and scholars of Miyazaki’s fi lms will fi nd a wealth of information here in the form of many diff erent production documents and reviews written by Miyazaki himself, along with lengthy interviews conducted with him throughout his career. Th e production documents and reviews are the most accessible materials in the two volumes whereas the interviews tend to be somewhat repetitive and can sometimes be a chore to work through; the fi rst volume, covering the fi rst part of Miyazaki’s career from 1979 to 1996, contains mostly the fi rst kind of content while the second volume, covering Miyazaki’s career from 1997 to 2008, contains mostly the second kind. A Guide to Further Research 155 A n d r e w O s m o n d , Spirited Away (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008) Th is slim book, published as part of the British Film Institute’s series on fi lm and television classics, packs an impressive amount of insights on Miyazaki’s Academy Award- winning fi lm, exploring its themes, stylistic choices, and their cultural meanings, and most importantly in the context of the book you are currently reading—Miyazaki’s career, going as far back as his early days at T ō ei to trace the roots of Spirited Away ’s success. Eric Reinders, Th e Moral Narratives of Hayao Miyazaki ( J e ff erson: McFarland & Company, 2016) Th is book off ers a study of the moral perception expressed by Miyazaki’s fi lms through the analysis of religious elements in his fi lms, covering all the fi lms that he has directed except Th e Castle of Cagliostro . Th e book is very contradictive in terms of quality: while off ering a rich analysis based on themes from Christianity, Buddhism, Shinto, Greek mythology, and even J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Reinders strangely insists on ignoring the production context of the fi lms he analyzes, and seems to be embarrassed by their classifi cation as anime. Coupled with a sometimes overtly personal tone that’s a little hard to take seriously, Th e Moral Narratives of Hayao Miyazaki is an interesting but fl awed book. Books that Discuss Miyazaki J o n a t h a n C l e m e n t s , Anime: A History (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) Th e defi nitive book on the history of Japanese animation, Clements’ research details the rise of the anime industry as we know it, from the independent animators of the early twentieth century to the foundation of the post- war anime studios, showing how key productions have responded to the rise of new technologies starting with cinema, followed by television and video and the digital age. Miyazaki and his fi lms are discussed extensively in the book, and rich background on the diff erent studios and production companies that employed him is provided. 156 A Guide to Further Research S u s a n N a p i e r , Anime from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005) Off ering an analysis of diff erent elements in Japanese culture through a variety of examples from popular anime works, Napier devotes two chapters in her book to a discussion of Miyazaki: one examines female characters in his fi lms, their uniqueness in comparison with other anime heroines and their refl ection of the director’s nostalgia to a past that may have never existed; another analyzes the concept of femininity through the historical aspect of Princess Mononoke . Although not referring to the production background or Miyazaki’s earlier career, the analysis in both chapters is deep and thought- provoking, and its conclusions easily apply to the works discussed in this book as well. A l i s t a i r S w a l e , Anime Aesthetics: Japanese Animation and the “Post- Cinematic” Imagination (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) What makes animation so diff erent from any other form of cinema, and what makes anime in particular so diff erent in its own right? Swale attempts to answer this question by examining case- studies of popular anime works from diff erent perspectives. Miyazaki’s work is oft en referred to as part of a larger discussion in Swale’s book rather than on its own merits, but his observations—notably on the tension between Miyazaki’s attempts to entertain and his wish to deliver a serious commentary—are sharp and thoughtful. J a c k Z i p e s , Th e Enchanted Screen: Th e Unknown History of Fairy-Tale Films (New York: Routledge, 2011) In this book, fairy- tale scholar Jack Zipes off ers a highly critical examination of the genre in its cinematic form, including a discussion of Spirited Away that also refers to Miyazaki’s early career. Th e high- brow style may be off - putting to some readers—at times, the book gives the impression that Zipes is dismissive toward Hollywood genre fi lms simply because they are Hollywood (and praises non-Hollywood fi lms— such as Miyazaki’s—because they’re not), but the book is well worth reading, not just for Zipes’ commentary on Miyazaki but also for his commentary on his sources of inspiration, as he discusses the Fleischer brothers and Paul Grimault as well.
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