The Conflicting Ideals of Hayao Miyazaki | Video Essay



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In this way-too-long and overdue 100k special, we discuss the masterful films directed by renowned animator Hayao Miyazaki. Through his decades of work, we try to gain a better understanding of his worldview and what makes his art so meaningful for his audiences as well as himself.

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Sources mentioned:
Starting Point / Turning Point – Hayao Miyazaki (interviews, essays, etc)

Miyazakiworld – Susan Napier

Documentaries: Never-Ending Man (2016), The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (2013)

Anime Landscapes as a Tool for Analyzing the Human–Environment Relationship
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/7/2/16

Miyazaki’s Animism Abroad
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Miyazaki_s_Animism_Abroad/Ty1TBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

The Toxic Heroine in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348208373_The_Toxic_Heroine_in_Nausicaa_of_the_Valley_of_the_Wind

Nature and Asian Pluralism in the Work of Miyazaki Hayao | Nippon.com
https://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/a03903/#top

My Neighbor Totoro: The Healing of Nature, the Nature of Healing
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/614508/pdf

Princess Mononoke and beyond: New nature narratives for children
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272147390_Princess_Mononoke_and_beyond_New_nature_narratives_for_children

The City Ascends: Laputa: Castle in the Sky as Critical Ecotopia
https://web.archive.org/web/20100531195652/http://www.english.ufl.edu/imagetext/archives/v5_2/lioi/

When Pigs Fly: Anime, Auteurism, and Miyazaki’s Porco Rosso
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240725677_When_Pigs_Fly_Anime_Auteurism_and_Miyazaki’s_Porco_Rosso

Howl’s Moving Castle examines war by focusing on its victims | Counteract
https://counteract.co/film-and-tv/feature-howls-moving-castle/

‘The Wind Rises’: the beauty and controversy of Miyazaki’s final film | The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/23/5337826/the-wind-rises-the-beauty-and-controversy-of-miyazakis-final-film

Animating grandma: the indices of age and agency in contemporary children
https://dro.deakin.edu.au/eserv/DU:30007845/parsons-animatinggrandma-post-2007.pdf

Hayao Miyazaki interview | Roger Ebert
https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/hayao-miyazaki-interview

Longing for the “Absolute Satoyama”: Reconsidering Nostalgia and Environmentalism in My Neighbor Totoro
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341799384_Longing_for_the_Absolute_Satoyama_Reconsidering_Nostalgia_and_Environmentalism_in_My_Neighbor_Totoro_Tonari_no_Totoro

0:00 Intro
2:35 1) Nature – Nausicaa
11:56 1) Nature – Totoro
21:32 1) Nature – Princess Mononoke
31:44 1) Nature – Ponyo
35:30 1) Nature – Laputa
39:12 2) War – Porco Rosso
44:58 2) War – Howl’s Moving Castle
50:15 2) War – The Wind Rises
1:00:22 3) Heroines
1:14:38 4) Present
1:23:23 5) Longing
1:31:05 6) Resilience
1:36:58 Conclusion

source

20 thoughts on “The Conflicting Ideals of Hayao Miyazaki | Video Essay”

  1. This video is long overdue (we’re way past 100k at this point lol) but we hope you enjoy our exploration of Miyazaki’s work! This was our most ambitious endeavor yet and we couldn’t have done it without the support of our subs and kind patrons. It was a lot of work but it was fun for both of us to finally collab and make such a comprehensive video. Thanks again for watching! Much love 😊 – Stef & Terrence

    Reply
  2. What an incredibly thoughtful and well-researched video! Thank you for this. I really hope you choose to do more animated works in the future because this was a phenomenal reading of the works and explaination of Miyazaki.

    Reply
  3. Outstanding analysis!
    I saw the length of the video and I didn't expect to watch it all in one go, but I did!
    I have a lot of thoughts, but essentially, I feel like many of the themes resonates with me and my way of thinking, in particular the rejection of the black vs. white/bad vs. good dichotomy. I think that it's important to keep in mind, especially in today's world.
    Great video!!

    Reply
  4. I would also say that the idea of animism is very similar to Shintoism. But also they don’t consider Shintoism to be religion or religious hence why you see it. It’s apart of the culture. It’s habit. Loved this video and the context

    Reply
  5. I haven’t seen anything written about this, but I think there’s something interesting in Buddhism’s treatment in princess mononoke. With Buddhists being well learned and very skilled in dealing with Shinto Gods. They don’t have a relationship with nature in the same way as the protagonists peoples and they serve whoever has power. It’s line with Buddhisms reception and history during that time period.

    Reply
  6. Thank you for making this video. It was excellent. I have no idea how you managed to upload it though as clips from Ghibli films get taken down very easily, even when fair use.

    Reply
  7. I know you don't mean it… I'm sure you don't mean to be mean…. But as a bug person
    These words are making me cry. Beetles are cute bro, look at those big dudes eyes :(( they are sweet they r precious they are just living life. Idk man, I genuinely think insects are adorable
    Crying over beetles

    Reply
  8. I rlly love the video and it's amazing and ur lovely I'm just really high and crying about panda over beetle advocation or something 😭😭😭 i WISH we had big bugs man 😭😭😭😭😭😭 it's not fair
    I want a big beetle friend
    I know like. If insects were giant again we'd have to deal w/ shit like "awh shucks, aunt em got ate by a dragonfly larvae://" but dang it! I want some truck sized dragonflies 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

    Reply

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