Hayao Miyazaki

(NHK, n.d)

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, screenwriter, writer, and manga artist. He is co-founder of Studio Ghibli, a film and animation company, having won international recognition and acclaim for the quality of his various animated feature films, which he normally writes and directs, and is widely regarded as one of the leading names in the industry of Japanese animation. (Studio Ghibli, n.d.)

Miyazaki's works are characterized by the recurrence of several themes, such as the relationship of humanity with nature and technology, the integrity of natural and traditional living standards, the importance of art and expertise, and the difficulty of maintaining pacifist ethics in a violent world. His protagonists are often strong girls or young women, with many of her works presenting ambiguous antagonists who have redeeming qualities. His works have already been highly praised and awarded, with him even having received an Honorary Oscar in November 2014 for his contributions to animation. (Studio Ghibli, n.d.)

Miyazaki began his studies in 1947, entering a primary school in Utsunomiya, attending the first to the third grades. His family then returned to Tokyo and settled in Suginami, with him completing fourth grade at Omiya Primary School and fifth at Eifuku Primary School. After that, he attended Omiya Secondary School. Miyazaki wanted to become a manga artist, but found that he had a hard time drawing people; instead, for several years, he only designed airplanes, tanks, and warships. He was influenced by several manga artists, such as Tetsuji Fukushima, Soji Yamakawa, and Osamu Tezuka. He destroyed much of his early work, believing it was a "bad way" to copy Tezuka's style, as it was hampering his own development as an artist. (Studio Ghibli, n.d.)

Miyazaki left Nippon Animation in 1979, during the production of Anne of Green Gables (Akage no Na), in which he contributed to the scene design and organization of the first fifteen episodes. He went to work at Telecom Animation Film, a subsidiary of Tokyo Movie Shinsha, to direct his first feature film, The Castle of Cagliostro. He helped train Telecom's second light employee. In 1981, Miyazaki directed six episodes of Sherlock Hound (Meitantei Homuzu), until disputes with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's estate led to the suspension of production; Miyazaki was busy with other projects by the time the problems were resolved, with the rest of the episodes being directed by Koysuke Mikuriya. They were broadcast between November 1984 and May 1985. He also wrote the comic book Shuna’s Journey (Shuna no Tabi), inspired by the Tibetan folk tale “The Prince Who Became a Dog”. This was published by Tokuma Shoten in June 1983 and dramatized on the radio in 1987. Hayao Miyazaki's Daydream Notes (Miyazaki Hayao in Zasso noto) was also published irregularly in Model Graphix between November 1984 and October 1994; parts were broadcast on the radio in 1995. (Studio Ghibli, n.d.)

Miyazaki started working on ideas for an adaptation of Richard Corben's Rowlf comics after the debut of Cagliostro Castle, introducing the idea to Yutaka Fujioka of Tokyo Movie Shinsha. A proposal to acquire rights was made in November 1980. At the same time, Miyazaki was approached by Animage magazine about a possible series. He showed his sketches to editors Toshio Suzuki and Osamu Kameyama, discussing the basic points of the plots of possible animation projects; Suzuki and Kameyama saw the potential for collaboration in their progression to animation. Two projects were proposed: Sengoku ma-jo, which occurred in the Sengoku period; and an adaptation by Rowlf. Both were rejected, as the company was not willing to finance anime that were not based on the pre-existing manga and because Rowlf's rights were not acquired. An agreement was reached that stipulated that Miyazaki could begin to develop his sketches and ideas in a manga for the magazine on the condition that he would never be made into a film. The work was entitled Nausicaä do Vale do Vento and was published from February 1982 to March 1994. The story, reprinted in tankobon volumes, has seven volumes that accumulate 1,060 pages. Miyazaki designed the manga mainly in pencil, having been published in monochrome sepia ink. He resigned from Telecom in November 1982. (Studio Ghibli, n.d.)

Yasuyoshi Tokuma, the founder of Tokuma Shoten, encouraged Miyazaki to make an anime adaptation of Nausicaä in the Valley of the Wind. He initially declined but agreed to the condition of being the director. Miyazaki's imagination was stimulated by Minamata's mercury poisoning and how nature responded and flourished in a toxic environment, using it in the creation of the film's polluted world. Miyazaki and Takahata chose the small Topcraft studio to produce the film, as they believed their talent could translate the manga's sophisticated atmosphere into a film. Pre-production started on March 31, 1983; Miyazaki struggled to develop the script, as only sixteen chapters of the manga were ready. Takahata recruited minimalist and experimental composer Joe Hisaishi to create the soundtrack. Nausicaä do Vale do Vento was launched on March 11, 1984, and raised 1.48 billion yen at the Japanese box office, reaching another 742 million in other parts of the world. The film is considered one of the main works of Miyazaki, having consolidated his reputation as an animator. He was praised for the positive representation of women, mainly by the protagonist Nausicaä. Several critics considered that Nausicaä do Vale do Vento contained anti-war and feminist themes; Miyazaki disagrees, saying that his only goal is to entertain. The successful cooperation between the creation of manga and anime created the basis for future collaborations. Miyazaki opened his own office in April 1984 in Suginami, calling him Nibaraki. (Studio Ghibli, n.d.)

This artist is known to have one of the most interesting ways of making his films look the best. First is the process of the movie, he starts by drawing ideas that he has for the film, these being very colorful paintings that would give the animators the best idea of the movie.
In a documentary about him, he says that when he went to the UK to see the renascent paintings, he was shocked. He said that he never saw so much detail in his life, stating that his work was very bad compared to that. With that mentality, he wanted to make the movies as detailed as possible.
His latest movie was Ponyo, one of the movies where the artist said that he had to push himself to the limits to do the animation. (NHK, n.d.)

The majority of his movies were a success, each one having its unique design and dynamic to it. The most well-known movies from him are Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984), Ponyo (2008), The Castle of Cagliostro (1979), The Wind Rises (2013), Castle in the Sky (1986), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Porco Rosso (1992), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), Kiki’s, Delivery Service (1989), Princess Mononoke (1997), and Spirited Away (2001). (Britannica, n.d.)

I found that this artist doesn’t do any specific storyboarding, or the traditional way, instead he only draws main scenes that he thinks will be important for the movie. For this, I wanted to do the same for my animation. I would draw between 2 or 3 drawings with color to make important scenes that I think will be important for my animation. So, for next week, I will be working on that as well.


References:

Britannica (n.d.) Miyazaki Hayao [online] Available from: Miyazaki Hayao | Biography, Movies, & Facts | Britannica [accessed on: 07/05/21]
Studio Ghibli (n.d.) Miyazaki Hayao [online] Available from: Hayao Miyazaki | Studio Ghibli Brasil [accessed on: 07/05/21]
NHK (n.d.) 10 anos com Hayao Miyazaki [online video] Available from: 10 anos com Hayao Miyazaki | NHK WORLD-JAPAN On Demand [accessed on: 07/05/21]