From LISTSERV@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU Sun Jan 1 23:01:45 1995 Return-Path: Received: from mx5.u.washington.edu by redms.cac.washington.edu (5.65+UW94.10/UW-NDC Revision: 2.32 ) id AA04097; Sun, 1 Jan 95 23:01:44 -0800 Received: from mx1.cac.washington.edu by mx5.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW94.10/UW-NDC Revision: 2.31 ) id AA22447; Sun, 1 Jan 95 23:01:43 -0800 Received: from brownvm.brown.edu by mx1.cac.washington.edu (5.65+UW94.10/UW-NDC Revision: 2.31 ) id AA11629; Sun, 1 Jan 95 23:01:24 -0800 Message-Id: <9501020701.AA11629@mx1.cac.washington.edu> Received: from BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU by BROWNVM.brown.edu (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 2761; Mon, 02 Jan 95 02:00:38 EST Received: from BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU (NJE origin LISTSERV@BROWNVM) by BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 3083; Mon, 2 Jan 1995 02:00:35 -0500 Date: Mon, 2 Jan 1995 02:00:34 -0500 From: BITNET list server at BROWNVM (1.8a) Subject: File: "MIYAZAKI NTRVIEWS" To: "Michael S. Johnson" Status: O MIYAZAKI NTRVIEWS Subject: 1.) Interview re animating TOTORO (ANIME-CLUB #19, 6/10/87) L#00277 2.) Miyazaki and SF [interview snippet] (COMIC BOX, 11/82) L#00310 3.) "Why I don't Make Slapstick . . . Now" (COMIC BOX, 10/89) L#00525 4.) "Money Can't Buy Creativity" (PACIFIC FRIEND, January 1991) L#00646 5.) Foreword to THE ART OF KIKI'S [by Hayao Miyazaki] (1989) L#00738 6.) "Imoto He" [graphic Miyazaki poem] (Yohei Honda, 10/25/92) L#01000 7.) Moebius Comments on Miyazaki (AnimeLand #1, 4/13/91) L#01170 8.) Isao Takahata Interview (AnimeLand #6, July/August 1992) L#01495 9.) MONONOKE-HIME book synopsis (Brad J. Lucido, Jan. 26, 1994) L#01808 10.) MONONOKE-HIME book "making of article" (Lucidos, 1/31/94) ========================================================================= Subject: 1.) Interview re animating TOTORO (ANIME-CLUB #19, 6/10/87) This is a translation of a copyrighted work. It may be distributed freely as long as this header remains intact. PUBLISHED June 10, 1987 in the Hong Kong magazine, ANIME-CLUB (in #19). TRANSLATED March 26, 1989 by Na Choon Piaw. POSTED to Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group Sept. 19, 1991 by David Moisan. EDITED AND REFORMATTED by Steven Feldman September 26, 1991. This is an interview by Hong Kong's Anime-Club's magazine stuff of Miyazaki during his visit to Hong Kong from the 12th to the 14th of June in 1987. While it is dated by now, it is still relevant as he talks about Nausicaa, Laputa, and Totoro (then in the making). The magazine is printed in Chinese, and I have made this as accurate a translation as I can (I am a native speaker of Chinese, though my Chinese has deteriorated somewhat since I've moved to the states.) The translator takes responsibility for all errors and/or misrepresentations in translation, and apologises in advance for any mistakes made during this translation. June 13th, morning. The four of us, the movie company's manager Miss Lee, a translator, and Miyazaki (making up seven of us) spent several hours talking in the Tai Tong restaurant. During the interview, he talked about his new work, [My neighbour Totoro]. Below is an excerpt from the interview. (In the following, A refers to Anime-Club's staff, M refers to Miyazaki) A: Mr. Miyazaki, could you tell us when you started [Laputa] and how you came by the idea? M: Honestly, it was because I had to make a movie, so I sat down by myself and finally decided on [Laputa]. I had always wanted to make a picture about a flying city in the sky, perhaps because of the books I've read while I was young. As for [Laputa] the city, this was from [Gulliver's Travels]. By now, most people believe that there are no longer deserted islands in the world, so I wanted to do a movie with Treasure Hunting as the main plot. At first, I thought about a European palace that suddenly floated up in the sky, but didn't like the idea. I then drew a picture of [Laputa] following the description in [Gulliver's Travels], but it was just an ordinary island and too boring, so I eventually came up with the design right here. A: Of all the scenes, which did you like the best? M: Because this film was my personal effort, so all the good and bad parts got mixed together. As a result, there's no particular area which I prefer. After the movie, I thought for half a year: Maybe there are certain areas where I have not reached the ideal. A: What did you feel were the hardest parts about making the movie? M: The most inconvenient thing was that my mental and physical energy were at an ebb, and time was running out. In that half year, I was working fourteen hours a day without rest. This is really not a very good way to make a movie, but I didn't have a choice. A: Why didn't you have a choice? M: Because what my staff came up with did not totally satisfy me, so I had to touch up everything. This made my job harder. A: Was [Laputa]'s theme [Depending on you] your first attempt at writing lyrics? How long did it take? M: Yes. It took five minutes. At first, I wanted to write a raw manuscript, but after giving it to a professional writer, he gave it back to me after only a few slight changes. However, I still don't think that I have a talent for writing lyrics. A: As far as we know, this movie took half a year, and was very well done. M: It still needs a bit more time to work with. Usually, making animation means finishing the story-board, then giving it to the staff to do the rest, but because the schedule was so tight, I could do only half of each scene before it was time to give it to my staff. On the one hand, I had to touch-up my staff's drawings. On the other hand I had to do the remaining scenes. It was a mess. My daily schedule went like this: once I got up in the morning, I drew the remaing scenes' story-boards, after which, I returned to the office. At the office, I touched-up my staff's material. At night, I returned home to do some more story-boards. After that, then I slept. In Japan, I'm afraid the only one who does animation this way is me, since no one else could take it. I think this is something I feel proud of. A: You didn't seem to use any special animation techniques in [Laputa], but we saw some of those in [Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind]. M: Having new techniques does not necessarily mean I must use them. The only requirement is that one must be drawing diligently. It is only when traditional methods cannot depict a situation and/or mood that one uses the special techniques. For instance, the Ohmu's movement couldn't not be done using traditional techniques, so we had to come up with a new one. This does not mean that we have to use a new technique for every picture. A: [Nausicaa]'s and [Laputa]'s staff were different. Were you responsible for hiring the staff? M: In this movie [Laputa --- NCP], all the production staff was voluntary and not hired by the company but was there because of personal reasons. Because there were people who refused to help me, a few others stepped forward to help. If I were to depend only on the staff hired by the company, it would have been impossible. As a result, I not only handled the cel production, I had to take care of personnel relations. I cannot say that this was the best staff around, since there were some who were better who did not join, but as far as Japan goes, I'd say that this is a first class production staff. There were those who could draw very well but cannot cooperate; there were some animators whom I've always wanted to collaborate with (but because of the lack of time we could never do so); and there are those whom I never want to meet but have to work with anyway. In addition, there were quite a few new people in the business, but introducing new people to the work wasn't our main project. A: As for 1988's production [My Neighbour Totoro], who or what is Totoro? M: [Totoro] is a kind of animal, but is also a kind of growing spirit [growing spirit as in you pray to it when you grow things --- NCP]. But it is not a normal spirit as no one can understand what it is that it says. Japan has a nature religion, and Totoro is the same kind of spirit as in that religion, but this movie has absolutely nothing to do with that or any other religion. A: In [Totoro], there was a creature like a cat and like a bus. What was that? M: That was the [Cat bus]! (laughter) I am thinking that what this [Cat bus] does in the ending scene is this: the main characters ride the [Cat bus] at high speed. Because this isn't really a bus but a living creature, it has lots of fur on the inside, and has many legs. It can run very fast, and all most people feel is a gust of wind and can see nothing. A: How do you intend to portray the relationships between the lead characters and Totoro? M: Normal people cannot talk with Totoro, only children can. They do not need to use speech between each other. If Man is not afraid of Totoro, Totoro will not be afraid of Man. Because Man's change in spirit will also affect Totoro's spirit, if everyone's friendly, things will go well. At the beginning of the story, it is a four year old girl who finds Totoro. Totoro didn't have any reason to believe that people would be able to see him, but that girl really could. Totoro wished to escape, but the girl pursued, and Totoro could not escape the eyes of the girl. A: In all three works, were you expressing your wish for a natural world? M: Yes. [Totoro] is a story about Man caring about nature. Totoro is a personification of Japan's nature. Both the Cat bus and Totoro can become enraged at times, and they will come as earthquakes and hurricanes to express their anger. But they can also smile and laugh, and my purpose in making this movie is to tell people that Japan should be more beautiful. To warn people that to be more careful, or to say that Japan was originally very beautiful. A: How far has the production on this movie gone? M: It is already a quarter done. In fact, I shouldn't be sitting here, since I am wasting time by sitting here. A: What are your views on nature? M: Only if nature exists can Man exist, so only nature makes it possible for wars and all those other moving stories. As a result, I don't feel interested in outer space movies, since all that is in space is darkness and not much else. Because of this, all my animation and manga [comics --- NCP] involve the land, the seas and the skies. They all revolve around what happens on Earth. A: Do you wish that your movies would inspire men to protect nature? M: Don't mistake my intention in making movies. I do not make movies with the intention of presenting any messages to humanity. My main aim in a movie is to make the audience come away from it happy. A: Do you travel often? M: Whenever I am free I do so, but because of work, I am not often able to. I feel that the best thinking I do about my work is done when I am driving to work, because I've become so used to the scenery on the way there, I can do some real thinking. A: Most people think that animation is for kids. What do you think? M: In Japan, a lot of adults watch movies, but I feel that animation is better when its audience is composed of children. This is because children lack a medium that they can watch. For instance, adults can read literature or watch other movies. There are companies in Japan which do animation for adults, but everyone thinks that adult means nude bodies, so most animation produced for adults fail badly. A: Of all your works, which do you like best? M: I don't particularly have any I like or hate, since each movie will always contain sections which I am not totally happy with. TRANSLATION NOTES: The names of the interviewers are available, but unfortunately I cannot really translate them except phonetically, and I do not currently have access to a phonetic dictionary. When I said excerpt, it could also be a summary. The phonetic translation of the restaurant's name is questionable. [Laputa] is a translation of [City in the Sky] or [City in the Sky: Laputa]. [Depending on you] is one of possible several translations for the song's titles. I defer to anyone who has knowledge of Japanese in this matter. [Nausicaa] is a translation of [The Valley of the Wind's Nausicaa] or just [The Valley of the Wind]. [Totoro] is a substitution for [The dragon cat next to me] (see below for complete explanation). Totoro is substitution of "Dragon cat" since that is the movie and creature that Miyazaki was refering to. I think that the Hong Kong industry translated it semantically, while in America, we refer to it phonetically. Note that in Chinese, a Panda is called a Bear cat, so it does not necessarily mean anything. Because of my lack of a technical background (in animation), I did the best I could when he talked about story-boards and other stuff like that. I can provide a literal translation for anyone who cares to wrestle with those. When I say company, I mean company as in a legal corporation, I couldn't name any names because no one mentioned the names throughout the interview. There are also many sections which were re-written to make the English flow more smoothly, but this was the best that I could do. This interview first appeared in issue 19 (June 10th, 1987) of Anime-Club in Hong Kong. By the way, does anyone out there have (or can get) a subscription to the magazine Anime-Club? All my issues are about two years old, and I found that they were talking about stuff I'm only getting exposure to now. And since it is in Chinese, I can read it! Thanks in advance for any info. 26th March 1989 Na Choon Piaw laba-2hd@[web | weaver].berkeley.edu + + + + + + + | David Moisan | /^\_/^\ | | 86 Essex St. Apt #204 | ( O ^ O ) | | Salem. MA 01970 | | | | | pro-angmar!dmoisan@alfalfa.com| | + + + + + + + -- Steven Feldman ======================================================================== Subject: 2.) Miyazaki and SF [interview snippet] (COMIC BOX, 11/82) Found in MANGA HIHYOU TAIKEI Vol.4 (First appeared in COMIC BOX, Nov. 1982): [translator's comments are in brackets] ---- [...omitted] Miyazaki: [...] I've read many so-called SF, but I couldn't appreciate them. There are various things, from "hard [SF]" to "sword and sorcery", but I couldn't enjoy them... rather, I liked non-fiction more... In my young days, I was a reader of "SF MAGAZINE", [...] Interviewer: What's your favorite SF from those days? Miyazaki: Do you know "NINGEN IJOU" [sorry, I don't know the original title]? [...] And that one I can't remember the title of..."YORU KITARU" [Nightfall, by Asimov], do you know it? [...] It's a short novel, though, it was awful, I think it's one of the most greatest works. Interviewer: How about the recent one? Miyazaki: "CHIKYUUNO NAGAI GOGO" [Hothouse, by Brian Aldiss] was interesting. I enjoyed that world of plant life. Translation quality was fine, too. But, plants were intersting, though on the other hand the human characters were not so good. I like "GEDO SENKI" [by Ursula LeGuin, I don't know original title], though I don't know whether it's an SF or not, I like it very much. I can't remember how many times I've read it. I like "YUBIWA MONOGATARI" [Tale of Ring] also. "Hornblower series", [...], is great as a reading. [...] [omitted...] ========================================================================= Subject: 3.) "Why I don't Make Slapstick . . . Now" (COMIC BOX, 10/89) MIYAZAKI HAYAO INTERVIEW, PART II: [PART I is not anime-related] Reasons Why I Don't Make Slapstick Action Films Now Originally appeared in the Japanese magazine COMIC BOX (October 1989). Original translations by Atsushi Fukumoto, September 13 & 18, 1991. Tone-up translation by Sheng-Te Tsao, November 20, 1991. Edited and colloquialized by Steven Feldman, Nov. 23-27 & Dec. 22, 1991. "TST" and parenthetical remarks indicate comments made by Sheng-Te Tsao. Bracketed remarks indicate comments made by Atsushi Fukumoto. Edits made by Steven Feldman are too extensive to be isolated. (The kanji for "Slapstick Action Film" literary means "Animated Action films purely for entertainment".) > Since "Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind," Mr. Miyazaki has often been compared to live-action film directors. On the other hand, there are also many people who voiced their support for the slapstick action films he made before "Nausicaa." In a direct manner, I asked him a question on many fans' minds. "Why aren't you making slapstick action films?" < --- I like silly and slapstick animations that one can watch and laugh at. But just because I like them doesn't mean I can make them. I want to see whether or not I can make a movie without any action. But films such as TOTORO or MAJO NO TAKKYUBIN (Kiki) are made because there were demands for them. Of course, the other reason is that they were what I wanted to make. I have some film ideas right now, including ideas that have not yet been released . . . and a cartoon sort of movie. I feel that I want to make something like BUTA NO SENSHA ["Pig's Tank"] or some such silly movie which will show my embarrassing side. On board a rundown bi-plane, with only one torpedo loaded, fighting a big task force for one's pride, while knowing all the while how foolish it is -- It will become a breathlessly exciting film, the kind of movie that make you want to say "Ah! that was amazing, I want to watch it again!" I can understand why the adolescent audience -- those who are responsible for the anime boom -- claim that my older works are more enjoyable. I am sorry that I am ignoring that audience. But that doesn't mean that my intent has changed, just that I've gotten old. I am not yet 50, but I am enough of an old man to feel what an old man would feel . Moreover, I wonder why there aren't young directors surfacing who want to make such entertaining, thrilling, enjoyable films. The truth is that I am happiest when I am writing about stupid airplanes and tanks in magazines like MODEL GRAPHIX [*1]. I have a burning desire to resume that serial . But I feel that it if it stops being a hobby, I should stop doing it, even if I think I can show my abilities better in it than in a story about a 13-year-old girl going to town. I could write the story all by myself, but animation requires an enormous amount of manpower. It has to be done by an organization, and it's difficult to make silly movies for a company. Therefore, sometimes I dream of making a silly movie with my own money, a videotape (OAV) that can't even recover the costs. I'd love to do a film that is frowned upon by the PTA. The ideas have been around in my head for a long time, and I have always been eager to make movies like "Charge! Ironpork". I've even imagined EKONTE [*2], thinking about required scenes. . . . Had I failed in every other way, I would have made such movies. Unfortunately, I was fortunate to have the chance to make other types of films that would "let me get more famous awards next time" . Moreover, I have to draw NAUSICAA, and I want to draw in MODEL GRAPHIX -- thus I have reached my full capacity. Animated films cannot be made as easily as live-action films. I can't be like John Ford, who made more than 100 films, sometimes without even participating in editing his own work. Imagine me directing at this studio for two or three hours, then moving on to another studio to direct a scene like "there, now the pig gets on the tank", and then moving on to draw NAUSICAA -- that's just not possible. I don't do things that way, and I don't want to. Animation just doesn't work that way by nature, and if we think it can work that way then we are finished. Nowadays, we cannot avoid the question of "motivation" when we make a slapstick action film. For example, breaking down an entire huge building is a form of motivation. Such motivation is like the reaction to suppressed impulses, or an objection that leads to destruction. I don't feel that I have to make films that are constructive. Destructive films and such are fine with me, too, because it's natural to destroy a huge thing. But, the constraints of living in a suppressed society aside, I'm hoping to single out motivations for dreams, desires, and hopes. (TST: I think he's referring to the desire to watch destructive film in a society that suppresses impulsive actions.) A film without these motivations becomes a mere fisticuff fest. "I will survive even if everyone dies," "I must have that," or "I'll grab all the treasures" -- putting aside the question of ideologies or righteousness, all these things have their root in our desire to have the best for ourselves, like a male sea-lion. But these are happy endings typical of an action film -- made to make you feel happy to have been born and to be alive -- regardless of whether the scale is large or small. In this age, there's no doubt that we can't go in such a crude manner on earth, right? The root that holds a slapstick action films together -- things like "I want to be big," "I want to be rich," "I want to have a girl" -- are crumbling. We just can't naively believe in these things anymore. In making a slapstick action film, one must employ a story structure in which there are initially various plot complications but, after a certain point, the action becomes the main thing. "Cagliostro", "DOUBUTSU TAKARAJIMA" (Animal Treasure Island), and "KONAN", are all like this. The most difficult part in making such a film is anticipating that point where all the audience wants to see are airplanes being shot down. If, after all that effort results in a convincing story, then the remaining action sequences will be satisfying. Action-oriented predicaments like falling, getting hurt, using guns, fist fights, running on the wing of an airplane, diving into water -- I can do anything with scenes like these. I have a huge stock of ideas like those. But it wouldn't be entertaining if there was only action, without spending the effort to introduce it to the story. Today's OAVs are negligent in that they fail to properly introduce their action, and are therefore not very entertaining. As an example of how they are negligent, say there is a God of Darkness and there is a God of Light, and when the light is to be covered with darkness, a Warrior of Light appears . Are OAVs like this convincing? No. Of course not. The reason they're not is, first of all, we don't have the religion of Light and Darkness, do we? They are using it for convenience's sake. Nobody believes in it. Do you think filmmakers believe in it? No, they don't. Do they believe in the god Ahura Mazda of Zoroastrianism? No, they don't. Another example would be, say, "Star Wars." It is, after all, a story about family. A story of selfhood and self-independence, where the enemy is the father, help comes from the grandfather, the princess is the younger sister, etc.; these are all formulas from the popularized version of classic Jungian theory. They cloak the interstellar action with the story of a child who gains autonomy by fighting against his parents. Such things aren't very convincing, now. (TST: I think Miyazaki is referring to the fact that today it's very hard for people to gain autonomy, so the theme of autonomy through rebellion has little relevance.) Another convenient way to avoid real conflicts is to idealize the enemy in the form of computers or machines. You can do anything if your opponent is a machine. I understand very well why Lupin III does not fit in this era. I was asked why I am not going to make another one, but I'm not making it because it's hard to make, but because it requires an enormous amount of labor and effort to make it in an orthodox manner. The kind of films I really want to make are ones where I can freely create action sequences. I have all sorts of ideas which I think can yield comedies and stupid war films. But I don't have any decisive idea on how to make the first half of the movie. (TST: he's referring to the part of the story that will introduce the action sequences.) There is talk about skipping that part and going straight to the action, but I must not do that. There is an idea that I've been fermenting for a long time called ANKAA (Anchor). It would be very difficult to make, but I feel that the opportunity exists for its being made. When I talked with TAKEDA Tetsuya [*3] recently, we concluded that the most difficult part about making a film set in Tokyo is deciding who should be the villain. With OAVs, it's all right if we have something that's an enemy to the whole world, such as Afghanistan, or someone who is just plain evil, like Teng Hsiao-ping. (TST: Den Xia-Ping, the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, this interview is probably conducted soon after the June 6 Tienanmen massacre.) I can see making animated action slapstick films rife with all manner of esoteric computer and military stuff as a hobby, but it must remain a hobby. Most people would say that entertainment must be enjoyable outside the purview of critical analysis, and yet entertainment, like everything else, is contingent upon an enormous amount of interdependent theories that together create a logical system which must be adhered to if anything worthwhile is to be produced. To make it so that a film is enjoyable without overt theorizing, the initial problems of motivation and identification -- such as sympathizing with the villain or the hero's hesitance at firing a gun -- must be solved, or the ensuing action just becomes pointless. But the evil problems we face today are the results of our everyday lives, the sum of which is polluting earth and making Japan do stupid things. Some OAVs and movies set their villains up as secret leaders -- blotchy old men who pull the strings of Japanese politicians -- but this is just a fantasy. In reality, Japan's government is being led by very timid and cautious people. Without funding, they will be betrayed by their own factions -- so their secretaries busy themselves with collecting as much money as possible -- while they inadvertently run down blind alleys to suicide. This perspective is all wrong and misses the point entirely. The thing which confounds and hurts us the most is that which we can't identify -- the root of the problem itself. This is most elusive. But trying to tackle this problem head-on doesn't exactly result in popular entertainment, does it? So, I tried to tap into the root, but there are young people who complain that they liked the slapstick movies more. I don't want to spend the little time I have left just for the benefit of those particular young people. How should I use my remaining energy effectively in a way which will gratifying to me, personally -- or rather, how should I use it in a way which will gratify the people concerned? The most important thing that Japanese animations should not do is define the fans as a certain kind of people, and to make movies only for those dilettantes. How can we make films that will gain the acceptance of those people who have never seen animation? We need to get near to that universality when making a movie, or it will fail after all. > Interviewed at Studio Ghibli, July 12 < [Translator's notes:] [*1] MODEL GRAPHIX is a monthly magazine for model hobbyists. Miyazaki had a manga serialized in it -- which is currently on hiatus. Each installment consisted of either a self-contained episode or movie- idea illustrations. The pig appears in some episodes of the serial. [*2] EKONTE is a combination of continuity and storyboarding. Literally, it translates as "picture continuity." [*3] TAKEDA Tetsuya is an actor who has directed a few movies. The talk referred to here is in the MAJO NO TAKKYUBIN GUIDEBOOK. ========================================================================= Subject: 4.) "Money Can't Buy Creativity" (PACIFIC FRIEND, January 1991) MONEY CAN'T BUY CREATIVITY: HAYAO MIYAZAKI [by unknown interviewer/editor] ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED in PACIFIC FRIEND in January 1991. ORIGINALLY POSTED to Anime-l/RAA by Robert Gutierrez on June 29, 1991. REFORMATTED AND EDITED by Steven Feldman on March 19, 1992. The following article is from PACIFIC FRIEND (an American-language Japanese newspaper published by Jiji Gaho Sha, Inc.) Vol. 18, No. 9 (January 1991), pages 7-8: MONEY CAN'T BUY CREATIVITY: HAYAO MIYAZAKI [Unknown Interviewer:] (Born in 1941. In his high school days, Hayao Miyazaki aspired to be a cartoonist, and upon graduating from college, joined an animation cartoon production company. With his 1984 production of NAUSICAA IN THE VALLEY OF THE WIND, Miyazaki set a long-run record for an animal cartoon program, and his 1988 production of MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO swept nearly all the prizes for his category that year, including the Minister of Education Prize. Miyazaki is known for his background elaborations based on minute and careful observations, as well as for his ecological style. He is a big drawing card these days.) [Hayao Miyazaki:] "We live in an age when it is cheaper to buy the rights to movies than to make them. Rather than suffer all the problems of making movies, it often seems more expedient to buy them from abroad. In fact, movie producers in Japan have the impression they can buy what they want as easily as if from a vending machine. People often come to me and say point-blank: 'Make a film for us as you can see fit. We'll pay whatever you ask.' I think Japan today is in an age unsuited to creativity. "The Japanese today have nothing to rely on in their minds. They've even alienated themselves from their own natural and spiritual environment. But does that mean that their modern sense of individualism is now strong enough to enable them to lead independent, self-initiated lives like Americans and Europeans do? I think not. The Japanese people cling together accepting each other's sad state. They don't seem to be able to grapple firsthand with the problems afflicting them. Under such circumstances, we shouldn't expect works of high artistic value to be created. "I don't blame anyone for this situation. Rather I consider it a problem I have to deal with myself . . . so I keep striving, convinced that even in this situation there are movies worth making. Children sense the nature of the age we're living in almost instinctively. Can we honestly expect to make persuasive movies by merely exhorting these children to entertain hope? So I think about a lot of things, but I'm not making movies just to make appeals on particular problems, say, environmental protection. The close relationship between nature and mankind, including spiritual ties, is something we should be aware of as common sense of people living in the present-day world, regardless of whether or not we make movies. "In my movies for children, I want to express before anything else the themes: 'The world is profound, manifold and beautiful' and 'You children are fortunate to have been born into this world. . . . Although the world's beset with lots of seemingly intractable problems, such as population explosion and environmental disruptions, making it difficult to entertain hope, it's nevertheless a wonderful thing to live.' This is more easily said than done. It's adults rather than children that are seeing their hopes dashed. So making movies also amounts to struggling with myself. "But regrettably, others making animated cartoons seem to be different. They insist, 'This is the trend. . . . This is likely to be a hit . . .' I can't engage myself in such an inhuman task as making animated cartoons just to produce such things. To produce a decent animated cartoon requires anywhere from a year to a year and a half, and our private lives go out the window during this period. Of course, we could make cartoons while still taking our vacations, but that would be reflected in their quality. Works of art are created by those who are prepared to go the limit. We're not interested in anything else. "This is the reason that, even though Japanese animated cartoons for television are distributed all over the world, this doesn't constitute a particular source of pride for us. It's just that no other country has wanted to make animated cartoons as 'brutal' and 'provocative' as those made in Japan. If we make an animated cartoon that Japanese children find really enjoyable, and that cartoon is also recognized and accepted in foreign countries, then we can say that its images have been elevated to a universal level. We were glad to hear that Korean animators, who had seen MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, were quite pleased with it. They said South Korea has its share of imaginary creatures like Totoro. In fact, they asked if we had used one of the Korean imaginary creatures as a model. "There are two other things we have to bear in mind when we make movies. First, in the case of action films, we are in control of the destiny--even the birth and death--of the principal characters. And if we make our arbitrary decisions in order to attract audiences, we end up becoming God. This can spell disaster for the filmmaker. Second, since there are so many things in the real world that do not go quite the way people would have them go, they want to see their heroes in movies live comfortably and free from all cares. Today, whatever 'issue' one might consider, it cannot be resolved by a single person. One may ask why people don't get together and tackle problems as a group. But we know that in this day and age tackling problems as a group is often even less effective than tackling them as individuals. Under the circumstances, the urge to create a world where human efforts and physical strength are effective in solving problems is surely understandable. At least, that's how we feel when we make entertaining pieces. In the real world, it's easier to find discouraging than encouraging things. We would like to find good things. "We're only doing what comes natural to us. I really don't know why my works are so highly regarded. But, then, there's no guarantee that I will continue to enjoy acclaim. Many times I've waited for younger filmmakers of great promise to come along, and I've even tried fostering them--but to no avail. I myself intend to continue making films. I have no idea how long I can go on, or what the next generation holds." [End] ======================================================================== Subject: 5.) Foreword to THE ART OF KIKI'S [by Hayao Miyazaki] (1989) ORIGINALLY PRINTED in THE ART OF KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE in 1989. POSTED to the Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group by David Moisan on 4/4/92. EDITED AND REFORMATTED by Steven Feldman on April 8, 1992. [Transcriber's notes: Here is Hayao Miyazaki's foreword to "The Art of Kiki's Delivery Service." It's in English, don't ask me why. It's not the smoothest writing around, but it sums up the purpose of the film better than anything else I've read. ---DCM] "The Hopes and Spirit of Contemporary Japanese Girls" Eiko Kadono's "Majo no Takkyubin" (Kiki's Delivery Service), published by Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers Ltd., is a fine work of children's literature warmly depicting the gulf that exists between independence and reliance in the hopes and spirit of contemporary Japanese girls. At one time, the main characters of stories for young people gained financial independence, which was then equal to spiritual independence, after struggling through difficulties. In today's society, however, where anyone can earn money going from one temporary job to another, there is no connection between financial independence and spiritual independence. In this era, poverty is not so much material as spiritual. In an era when leaving the security of one's home is no longer anything special, and living among strangers means nothing more than going to a convenience store for anything you need, it might be more difficult than ever to achieve a real sense of independence, since you must go through the process of discovering your own talents and expressing yourself. The only unusual thing that the heroine, 13-year old Kiki, can do is fly through the sky. Moreover, in this world, witches are not much more talented than normal girls. She has the duty to live for a year in an unfamiliar town, and exercise her talents to make people acknowledge her as a proper witch. This is like someone who wants to be a cartoonist coming alone to Tokyo. Today, there are said to be around 300,000 young men and women who are hoping to make it as cartoonists. Being a cartoonist is not that unusual a job. It is comparatively easy to get started and to make some sort of living. But a characteristic of modern life is that once the needs of daily life are taken care of, the real problem of self- realization begins. Kiki is protected by Mother's old but well-looked- after broom, she has the radio that was a gift from Father, and the black cat that she is so close to it is almost like a part of herself. But Kiki's heart wavers between isolation and longing for human company. In Kiki's life we see reflected the lives of so many young Japanese girls today who are loved and supported economically by their parents, but who long for the bright lights of the city, and are about to go there and become independent. The weakness of her determination and shallowness of her understanding are also reflected in the world of today's young people. In the original, Kiki solves difficult problems with her naturally good heart. At the same time her circle of allies increases. In filming this, we have had to make a few changes. The process of her developing her talent is surely pleasant, but the spirit of your young girls living in the capital today is not so simple. The biggest problem for many young girls is the fight to break through the barrier of independence, and there are too many people who feel they have not received a single blessing. We feel, therefore, in this movie, that we must give serious treatment to the problem of independence. As movies always create a more realistic feeling, Kiki will suffer stronger setbacks and loneliness than in the original. Our first image of Kiki when we meet her is of the form of a small girl flying through the night sky over the capital. Many lights shine. But there is not a single light to warmly beckon her. She is isolated as she flies in the sky. It is usually felt that the power of flight would liberate one from the earth, but freedom is accompanied by anxiety and loneliness. Our heroine is a girl who has decided to identify herself by her ability to fly. Quite a few TV cartoons about little witches have been made before this, but the witchcraft has always been the means to fulfill the dreams of young girls. They have always become idols with no difficulty. The witch of Majo no Takkyubin (Kiki's Delivery Service) does not possess that kind of power. The talents of the witch in this film are really little more than those possessed by any real-life girl. We are planning a happy ending. As Kiki flies over the town, she feels a strong bond between herself and the people who live below. We are hoping to make the film persuasive enough that viewers will conclude that the ending is happy, rather than merely wish it to be so. I feel that this film will fulfill its goal of reaching out with a feeling of solidarity to our young viewers: The young girls living in today's world who do not deny the joy of youth nor are carried away by it, torn between freedom and dependence (because we were all young men and women once, and the young members of our staff have these very problems now). At the same time, I feel that the basic potential of this film as entertainment lies in this point and that it will inspire sympathy in the viewers. ---Hayao Miyazaki ======================================================================== Subject: 6.) "Imoto He" [graphic Miyazaki poem] (Yohei Honda, 10/25/92) ORIGINALLY PRINTED in THE BEST COUPLING COLLECTION: THE WORLDS OF HAYAO MIYAZAKI & YASUO OTSUKA, 1983 (?). TRANSLATED by Yohei Honda with Bryan C. Wilkinson in September of 1992. POSTED to the Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group by Bryan C. Wilkinson on October 25, 1992. An excerpt from "The Best Coupling Collection: The Worlds of Hayao Miyazaki & Yasuo Otsuka", 1983 (?) A translation by Yohei Honda with Bryan Wilkinson Special thanks to Nina V. Twersky for use of her copy of the book and enthusiasm. A short (six page) graphic poem by Hayao Miyazaki ---- p.1 To Little Sister (Imoto He) (panel #1: a small girl sits alone in a wheelchair outdoors, her attire appears early 20th century European) I have A little twin sister. (panel #2: nighttime: the girl lies in bed, her brother sits at a desk cluttered with model airplanes working on drawing plans) I shall, when bigger, For you who cannot walk, An aeroplane construct. (panel #3: the boy is building a plane inside a shed; the girl is just outside the doors in her wheelchair and both are noticably older) The garden shed is...my factory. -- pg. 2 (panel #1: the girl is sitting next to a window thru which the boy is discreetly passing a note) A secret invitation: "Tomorrow...Dawn...Flight" (panel #2: the girl is sitting up in bed with her things ready and has just put on her hat--the boy has just opened the bedroom door. ) You, Already finished with getting dressed, Surprised me. The sun is shining; Just right.... (panel #3: in the plane, the two take off from a city street, a surprised bicyclist looking on) While the world is still asleep, We take leave of it. Electric wires endeavor to confine, As we graze the rooftops. -- pg. 3 (panel #1: the two in the plane above a school and a large chimney in a field, the boy is pointing) At first, a little bit Frightened you may be, But you quickly adjust. The school you should have attended, As well as the field with that chimney, I shall show to you. (panel #2: The plane in the clouds) Higher, higher. As high up as we can go, I shall take you. (panel #3: at sea, they fly above a great whale, easily visible in its entirety from this height) Greatest in the world, Even this creature You can see. -- pg. 4 (panel #1: the plane beached on a small island) An uninhabited coral reef. Here...you legs Will not be subjected to laughter. (panel #2: the two snorkeling underwater among the reef life) Oh fish-- We too, Slightly less skilled swimmers, are fish. (panel #3: the boy is holding the girl, standing in the water as they watch the sunset) Into this world, We both were born. -- pg. 5 (panel #1: the plane in a rainstorm) There could even be a storm, But, You would no longer be afraid. (panel #2 : the plane against a beautiful night sky, with a shooting star--it looks like it is in space) Oh yes, This space is...what I Have desired to give to you. -- pg. 6 (panel #1: outside, the girl sits in her wheelchair--with a bundle of roses in her arms--with a young, well-dressed gentleman. The boy is bringing a tea-tray. Both appear older yet again.) Then, of my fellows, The best, finest person I shall bring to you. (panel #2: above a church, the boy in his plane throws a wreath; below, the couple are leaving the church) And on that day, from above the church, A wreath of flowers I shall leave you. (panel #3: the plane flying into the distance) Thereafter, I shall Travel to...the ends of the earth. --Hayao Miyazaki ------ Translator's note: This brief little piece presented a couple of interesting challenges when we put it in english. First was the unusual, poetic structure. This structure made impossible to simply translate it direct, as the english grammar would upset the word orders to much. Therefore, it was necessary for me to take Yohei's straight translations and then compare them with the original word order, and then see how I could twist and stretch the english grammar to fit the original groupings. Second, the language, not being just straight prose, was extremely streamlined, eliminating excess detail. Again, I had to find ways to keep the english from getting over- wordy and only express the points of the original, no more, no less. Another problem was the tense--there is seldom clear difference between present and future tenses in Japanese, which created some minor headaches with both Yohei and I in this piece with the different points in relative time it occurs (or is promised to occur, often the case). Lastly, there was an almost complete absence of punctuation, which nonetheless remained suggested very heavily, due to Japanese grammar rules. While I toyed with a similar approach in English, both Yohei and I felt it was too awkward and failed to convey his intent. Also, I took the liberty of substituting his use of gaps to seperate ideas within a line with a "..." instead, which delivers the effect in english closer to his in Japanese. However, the two of us are quite satisfied with the end result. I feel particularly rewarded, because I didn't notice the line about the fish was meant as a metaphor until after I put it back into Miyazaki's word order. Interesting to cross-compare this with other works, notably the Model Graphix series and the Shuna story. --Bryan Wilkinson --------------------------------cut here-------------------------------- Subject: More Info on THE BEST COUPLING COLLECTION Requested Date: Tue, 27 Oct 1992 15:54:13 EST Source: Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group From: "Steven Feldman, Clueless Again" >Subject: Imoto He: a translation of a graphic poem by Miyazaki >Date: Sun, 25 Oct 1992 00:12:00 CDT >Source: Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group >From: Bryan C. Wilkinson > >An excerpt from "The Best Coupling Collection: The Worlds of Hayao >Miyazaki & Yasuo Otsuka", 1983 (?) > >A translation by Yohei Honda with Bryan Wilkinson > >Special thanks to Nina V. Twersky for use of her copy of the book and >enthusiasm. > >A short (six page) graphic poem by Hayao Miyazaki Time to parade my ignorance again. . . . What book is this? Was this an anime-related project? A mainstream poetry book? A children's special? How big is this book (dimensions, page count, thickness of pages)? Who is Yasuo Otsuka? Has he done anything else with which any of us might be familiar? Who did the illustrations? Miyazaki or Otsuka? Is this book hard to come by? Etc., etc., . . . 8) -- Steven Feldman ======================================================================= Subject: Re: Yasuo Ohtsuka Date: Wed, 28 Oct 1992 08:27:00 CST Source: Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group From: Carl_Horn@LIBRARY.TMC.EDU Yasuo Ohtsuka was for many years the head of the illustrious animation studio, Tokyo-Movie Shinsha, and oversaw the historical development of the "Lupin III" series ever since the 1960s. He is also a longtime partner and friend of Hayao Miyazaki. An accomplished illustrator and animator, he's fan of classic cars in the samw way that Miyazaki is of classic airplanes (he drives a W.W. II jeep to work). He's also a really great guy in person. Wears a black beret, like Matsumoto and Tezuka. --Carl Horn ======================================================================= Subject: Yasuo Otsuka, etc. Date: Sat, 31 Oct 1992 01:43:00 CST Source: Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group From: "(Bryan C. Wilkinson)" This book is a 1983 (?) publication, hardcover, hard to come by. Crooks nippan carried it for a while, don't know if they still do. It focuses on early Miyazaki work, such as Panda Kopanda, Puss N Boots, Horus, Cagliostro, and the two Lupin episodes (Albatross and Farewell). It contains many storyboards and layout drawings. This is the book I sent you the photocopies from--I guess you didn't read my message at the end of the copy I sent to you personally, Steve. Sigh. It is certainly a must-have collector's item for Miyazaki buffs. -bry ======================================================================== Subject: 7.) Moebius Comments on Miyazaki (AnimeLand #1, 4/13/91) ORIGINAL ARTICLE WRITTEN BY: Yvan West Laurence ORIGINALLY PRINTED IN: the French anime fanzine, AnimeLand, issue #1; April 13, 1991; pages 6-7. TRANSLATED FROM FRENCH TO ENGLISH BY: Ken Elescor on November 3, 1993. ROUGH-EDITED & RE-FORMATTED BY: Steven Feldman on November 30, 1993. OKAYED & AUGMENTED BY: Ken Elescor on November 24, 1993. TWEAKED BY: Steven Feldman on December 3, 1993. Interview: Moebius [*1] ["NFK" is an abbreviation for "Note from Ken" (Elescor). --S.F.] Jean Giraud -- Moebius -- professional illustrator, confided to the AnimeLand staff -- Pascal Lafine, Vincent Osee Vu and Yvan West Laurence -- his feelings about Japanese animation at the present time. AnimeLand: What do think about the French version of Hayao Miyazaki's movie, _Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa_ [Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind]? Moebius: I've got one friend who lent me it, but I do not want to watch it. I don't even want to put it into my VCR, since a half-hour is missing. AnimeLand: What does Japanese animation represent, for your part? Moebius: For my part, it's a revolution similar to the one there was when we saw the premiere of _Metal Hurlant_. [*2] That is to say that anime is similar to what comics [NFK: he is talking about French-Belgian comic strips; I don't know if there's a specific word for them in the USA] were in the 50s: a cultural ghetto, magnificent, golden, but a jail nonetheless, and that it is Walt Disney who did its walls. Creative freedom asks that all these limits be pushed away. Japanese people created a production system which was so dynamic that it caused an animation explosion. They put such force into the building of an anime world that, little by little, it took on a life of its own. And, with time, a cultural autonomy led it to its coming of age. The first author to initiate this coming of age was Osamu Tezuka. We mustn't forget that he is the creator of anime in Japan. He created the primitive anime, but he continued to carry it further -- till the end of his life -- and remained topical. But the break was created with Miyazaki, who is a narrative and graphic genius. He began his career in TMS. He became very successful after his break with Mr. Fujioka on the set of _Little Nemo_. AnimeLand: So, it is correct that Mr. Miyazaki had participated in the creation of _Little Nemo_? Moebius: He did the preview, and the pilot which runs four minutes -- from which we see a little sequence in the movie. [*3] The boss of TMS, Yutaka Fujioka, is very dictatorial in his company, which is difficult to understand. And Miyazaki is a strong personality. And that could not work eternally. Miyazaki had gotten fed up. It took Fujioka six years to finish the movie. He took on and threw out directors, scenarists, illustrators, and Miyazaki doesn't like that. Instead, Miyazaki did a movie in nine months. _Nausicaa_ was done in nine months. It cost barely one million dollars. AnimeLand: But what are, for you, the best Miyazaki works? Moebius: _Nausicaa_. I love _Nausicaa_. Though, in _Laputa_, there were sequences with the robot that nailed me to my armchair. Miyazaki took his autonomy with _Nausicaa_, which is a great movie, a masterpiece. The work he did after is still in the continuity, in the fineness, in the beauty. There also was the coming of Ohtomo who is a phenomenon, a genius, who expressed himself first in manga, and who saw in anime a continuation of his genius in color, sound, and music. The result, _Akira_, was a special moment in cinema. AnimeLand: And what about comics? Moebius: I knew about his comics through the first strips which were circulated in New York and Japan: the little albums with the whale lying across Manhattan [*4], and so on -- stories I didn't understand, of course, since they were in Japanese. I dreamt, at this time, about seeing these comics done in this format in Europe one day, with this freedom, this fertility, this generosity in image and in page-count. There are also many authors, notably in erotism, who are incredible: illustrators of great talent with stories of great quality and an approach which, for me, has no equivalent. I think that the Japanese are an erotic people. We don't grasp the Japanese erotism when it is too linked to the ethnic specificity, because the kimono and all that stuff are codes which act on the Japanese subconscious, but not on ours. AnimeLand: Returing to _Akira_, Jodorowski [*5] said, "It's violent, it breaks everything." Aren't these arguments which are contrary to Japanese animation? Moebius: Not at all. He said well that, as for him, art is violent. Art is the forcing of the bolts, the exploding of internal limits. It can't but be violent. AnimeLand: Do you think that in France, comics should have its continuation in anime? ["Anime," originally, is a French word. --S.F.] Moebius: I personally think that in France, people should stop considering anime as a means of expression intended only for children or infants, and agree to get into using this incredible system of expression to tell stories which please us, and that this isn't grasped by people who are in a cultural depression to express their ego at great length: in insipid, obscure short-length films, in disastrous allegories of the human condition. It's not funny. What we want is pleasure, and this pleasure leads to knowledge. AnimeLand: In conclusion, you worked hard to get _Akira_ into France. What are your objectives? Moebius: My objective is that Japanese anime become well-known and that the idea of an anime as a way of free expression exists, that we watch real movies, that we make in France real anime movies, that Godard [*6] does anime, that Rappeneau does anime -- that anyone who wishes to express ideas is not afraid about joining together with an author -- not with anonymous studios which make impersonal graphisms. With Ohtomo, it is his drawing, with Miyazaki, it is his drawing. I'm sure that in France, there are comic authors who can be wonderful narration's vectors, may it be Tardi or whoever else. AnimeLand: Did you participate in any animation with the Japanese people? Moebius: Oh yes, I'd like to. Presently, we have a scenario, an adaptation of the _Garage Hermetique_ [The Airtight Garage] that we almost did with the Russians. At present, we try to connect ourselves with the Japanese to see what this can resulit in, because the Japanese don't care about Moebius: they have all they need. AnimeLand: It is rumored that Jodorowski is preparing a story with Ohtomo. Moebius: That's right. AnimeLand: And what about you? Moebius: No, no. Alexandro is a creator, a world conceptor. He's got his own world, his morality, his philosophy. And if he's doing that, it's because he devotes his whole life to it. AnimeLand: Does technology scare you? Moebius: No, no. At present, I'm making an anime movie in synthesis images. I'm working with wonderful computers and technicians. -- Footnotes: [*1] Jean "Moebius" Giraud -- or Girault -- is a famous French comic artist. He started out in _Metal Hurlant_ (the English incarnation is _Heavy Metal_). His credits include work on _Little Nemo_ with Miyazaki and Takahata. In American comics, he contributed to the _Concrete 1990 Earth Day Special_ and did art for the Stan Lee/Moebius _Silver Surfer_ limited series. He also did the fold-out in Viz's _Nausicaa_ #1 comic and the designs for the aliens in the James Cameron film, _The Abyss_. Moebius has a very cinematic style, often using little dialogue and relying heavily on atmosphere. This style parallels manga and anime. The OAV _Dragon's Heaven_ has animation that is an homage to Moebius' style. Epic Comics has collected much of Moebius' work into graphic novels for the American market -- including _Arzach_, _The Airtight Garage_, and _The Goddess_. -- Rafael Brown [*2] "Metal Hurlant" translates literally as "Screaming Metal." It was the name of a French graphic science fiction magazine that was the inspiration for and frequent source of the American magazine, _Heavy Metal_. --S.F. [*3] He's referring to the pilot film for _Little Nemo_. 4 minutes long, included in the Japanese Box Set for the movie. It's not in the American version. It seems that Bryan Wilkinson was right about Miyazaki directing it. To my defense, Bryan agrees the characters have a definite Isao Takahata look to them. -- Enrique Conty [*4] An Otomo drawing featuring a whale beached in the center of Manhattan appeared in a coffee table Otomo art book that was published in Japan but made available (via Books Nippan?) in the USA via comic book specialty shops in 1989. --S.F. [*5] Alexander Jodorowski, the controversial French comic artist/ writer, and film director of the X-rated cult film, _El Topo_, who was Italian film producer Dino De Laurentiis's first choice to direct _Dune_ (which, ultimately, was filmed by David Lynch, instead). --S.F. [*6] Jean-Luc Godard, film director/theorist who directed the original version of _Breathless_ (with Jean-Paul Belmondo, not Richard Gere), _Alphaville_, and _Hail Mary_). --S.F. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Ken Elescor | "Among all wines, passion is the one which makes you | | "The Postman" | the most drunk; but unlike other wines, once you get | | cao_o@epita.fr | drunk by passion, you can never recover your mind." | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Ken Elescor , for those in the USA. --S.F.] ======================================================================== Subject: 8.) Isao Takahata Interview (AnimeLand #6, July/August 1992) ORIGINAL ARTICLE WRITTEN BY: Cedric Littardi ORIGINALLY PRINTED IN: the French anime fanzine, AnimeLand, issue #6; July/August 1992; pages 27-29. TRANSLATED FROM FRENCH TO ENGLISH AND POSTED TO NAUSICAA@BROWNVM BY: Ken Elescor on Thursday; October 14, 1993; 13:47:18 +0000 ROUGH-EDITED & RE-FORMATTED BY: Steven Feldman on October 24, 1993. OKAYED & AUGMENTED BY: Ken Elescor on November 3, 1993. TWEAKED BY: Steven Feldman on November 12, 1993. Nausicaa was first shown in France at the 13th cinema festival, at Corbeil-Essonnes (in 1992), along with Totoro, Grave of the Fireflies, Kiki, OPP, Laputa and Goshu the Cellist (Serohiki no Gooshu). Takahata- san was even there! So, this is a translation of Takahata-san's interview. There may be some grammatical errors, so please e-mail any comments or corrections to me (Ken Elescor) at . Perhaps there should even be a whole re-writing (in correct English) of this.... In any way, thanks. This is done without the explicit authorization of the article's author; however I think there is no problem since my friend Cao Olivier (the real owner of this account) is a member of the staff of the magazine AnimeLand. ------------------------------ cut here -------------------------------- Mr. ISAO TAKAHATA Mr. Isao Takahata was without a doubt the main personality at the Corbeil-Essonnes festival. Our meeting was quite surprising (in fact, I think I was the one who was really surprised). I met him in the second evening during the official days of the festival, at the dinner. He showed such an interest for everything which surrounds him, such a sensibility and such a curiosity that I don't know if I could call these pages an interview. As far as I'm concerned, I rather felt it as a situation of confrontation between two cultures, each one giving proof of a very deep curiosity towards the other. I don't know if, writing it down, I could give you this feeling which expresses itself in his whole behaviour and not only in his speech. For instance, he recorded some of our talks with a beautiful miniaturized Sony radio set, perhaps to study French language when he'd be back in Japan (come to that, this gave me the occasion to be quoted in ANIMAGE). Doing that, he showed the extreme relativity of our respective parts. In a way, he was inverting the parts of the interviewer and the interviewee. Perhaps the first thing to do is to describe him to you. Physically, he looks like a standard 50-year-old -- maybe younger -- Japanese man, a little smaller than the average. He spends a lot of time smoking. (Philippe LHOSTE said: "I saw Mr. Takahata stand up to take an ashtray. I'll be able to tell it to my grandchildren!") [*1] Moreover, he has a deep voice, talks little, and thinks silently for a long time when asked a question before answering, which doesn't prevent him from asking for the question to be repeated as soon as his curiosity is awakened. Isao Takahata is the main lead of Studio Ghibli, along with his friend and colleague Hayao Miyazaki. He is the great author of _Serohiki no Goshu_ [Goshu the Cellist], _Hotaru no Haka_ [Grave of the Fireflies] and _Omohide Poro Poro_ [Falling Tears of Remembrance]. I met this exceptional man at table while he was coming back from the location from whence comes the famous rose of Versailles. After a few brief presentations during which I talked with him about European paronama, we began the present discussion. -- - Cedric Littardi: Mr. Takahata, I quite admire Japanese animation in general. It's why I'd first like to know what your favourite anime are, besides the ones you or Mr. Miyazaki produced. - Isao Takahata: To tell the truth, I don't really have time to watch my contemporaries' anime. My work keeps me very busy and allows me little time to do anything else. On the other hand, I'd like to know what you'd answer if you were in my place. - C.L.: I admit this is a delicate question. If I excepted Studio Ghibli's works, I'd pick the spectacular _Honneamise no Tsubasa_ [The Wings of Honneamise] produced by Gainax. Do you know this work? - I.T.: Yes, I know it. I've already had an occasion to watch it. - C.L.: And, did you enjoy it? - I.T.: (pause) No, not really. - C.L.: Oh?! And why? - I.T.: I'd like to get a better understanding of why you admire this work so much. - C.L.: It is not evident to explain. Perhaps, because it is a wonderful science-fiction work, produced in a exceptional way, with deep and expressive characters who experience a spectacular evolution. Moreover, there is this parallel world, created in a very accurate way, even in the very details. It is true that it is very different from your own works. Is that why you don't like it? - I.T.: I'd simply say that it is a matter of personal taste. - C.L.: Nonetheless, there should be some anime which had influenced you. Which ones induced you to do this job? - I.T.: I have to say that I'm very happy to be in France because it is a country I really like. (C.L.'s note: I aknowledge some time after that he reads French -- even if his conversation was a little limited -- and that he even translated some works on some French artists.) My career perhaps began thanks to my admiration for Paul Grimault. That's why I'm very glad to be able to show my movies here. - C.L.: How do you place yourself in comparison with the international reference in matter of anime, i.e. Walt Disney? - I.T.: I really enjoyed the first ones -- namely, _Fantasia_, _Pinocchio_ and _Snow White_. But my own sensibility gradually and naturally took me away from the Disney Studios' full length films. - C.L.: So, which are the works which influenced you the most? - I.T.: Well, I quite admire the Canadian, Frederick Back, and the Russian, Yuri Norstein. - C.L.: Then, why don't you try to use similar drawing techniques (i.e. cut pieces of paper or pastel drawings)? - I.T.: It's simply a question of money. Their techniques are much more expensive than ours, much more conventional. That's why they are not used in Japan; production costs would be too high. - C.L.: You said that you like European cinematography. Did it influence you? - I.T.: Yes, that's right, I watched many European films and especially French ones. They help me a lot to obtain such a result in my work. - C.L.: However, some of your full-length films, in particular the splendid _Omohide Poro Poro_, could have been done as live films. So you chose to make them anime films to convey visual expressions, to express emotions, feelings, that you'd never be able to reach with actors in the cinematographic reality. - I.T.: That is exactly what I intended to do in _Omohide Poro Poro_, and I'm very glad you realized that. - C.L.: Congratulations! You were really successful in doing it. - I.T.: This is possible. I'd have something else to say to you about what inspired me, as well as any other anime producer in Japan. But, for this, I need some documents. So, I'll tell you about it tomorrow. - C.L.: I really thank you for this. About the production, I'd like to know exactly which are the respective roles you and Mr. Miyazaki play, since in Europe, there is a tendency to confuse your two works and to accredit them to your colleague. - I.T.: Yet, there is a noticeable difference. You don't see it because you don't speak Japanese. - C.L.: Did you work on some series like _Shojo Alps no Heiji_ [Heidi, Girl of the Alps] or_Lupin III_, for instance? - I.T.: I was the editor for Heidi during the whole series. As for Lupin, I managed the production committee in which Miyazaki was working. - C.L.: I see. I'd also like to know why you suddenly began to produce full length films. - I.T.: Simply because I couldn't achieve any personal satisfaction with short length films. Besides, today, to produce a beautiful anime for TV is impossible, since the budget for one TV episode hasn't increased for the last ten years, in spite of the increase in price of production costs. - C.L.: How much is the budget of an anime in Japan? - I.T.: It depends a lot; between 100 and 800 million Yen. - C.L.: I seize this opportunity to ask you: to whom are your movies aimed? - I.T.: To everyone, in general. I wish, nonetheless, to make clear that _Omohide Poro Poro_ isn't suitable, of course, to the youngest; let's say you could watch it above 10 years. - C.L.: Are your movies extracted from novels? - I.T.: In general, I choose to produce adaptations of literary works. I often used to work on foreign works, already at the time when I was producing series. _Hotaru no Haka_ is the adaptation of an autobiographical Japanese novel written by Nosaka AKUYUKI; but the book became famous only after the movie was out. With regard to _Omohide Poro Poro_, only some parts of the storyline come from a novel -- which was already more than ten years old. - C.L.: Don't you think that _Hotaru no Haka_ is a little sad for a child? I have not met yet someone who was not reduced to tears after having watching it. - I.T.: I think that today we can hardly watch a natural death. For instance, people generally die in a hospital nowadays. I'd call it a scientific death. All I wished to find, beyond sadness, it is a straighter way to show things. - C.L.: And, what about grown-ups? For a European person, it seems impossible to see grown-ups watching anime. The cultural barrier which separate each one from the other seems quite incommensurable. Could it be because they grew up, watching anime? - I.T.: It is quite likely. In Japan, grown-ups very much like anime, especially since _Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa_ [Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind], and they often take their children to watch them on week-ends, thus allowing the two generations to bring themselves together through entertainment. The average public is between 15 and 20, but, as I said, there are still more grown-ups since 1984. - C.L.: Yes, I understand well the part that played the first big Miyazaki('s work) for every public. Of all Miyazaki's works, which one do the young Japanese like the most? - I.T.: I think I can state positively that it is _Tonari no Totoro_ [My Neighbor Totoro], a movie every child in Japan really loves. - C.L.: So do I. But I think I prefer the famous _Tenku no Shiro Laputa_ [Castle in the Sky Laputa]. What were your expectations in producing this movie? And where does its name come from? - I.T.: The name of the island comes from _Gulliver's Travels_, the famous Swift work. Laputa was an island which was floating in the air and wasn't receiving sunshine because it was too evil -- which explains the negative connotation of its name which is derived from the word "bitch" ("puta" in Spanish, and "pute" in French). But the storyline was modified considerably and now has nothing to do with the original Laputa. Miyazaki and I worked to make a real adventure movie. Yet, nowadays, there is no uneducated country, because they all know the world's secrets. We decided not to do like Spielberg, i.e. to locate the world's secret beyond the earth, in the universe. We wanted to make a movie whose action takes place on earth, because it is our earth. - C.L.: I also greatly admire Joe Hisaishi's music. His works are aknowledged outside the context of the movies for which he wrote the soundtracks. - I.T.: Indeed, he wrote magnificent pieces of music. Come to that, I was the one who was in charge of putting them in the full length films. Before Nausicaa, he was composing "minimal music" -- a very different kind of music. - C.L.: I never heard about it. What is it? - I.T.: It is modern music, composed with a limited number of sounds which are repeated continually, from which comes the name. I'd have liked to have had such a talented composer for my movies. - C.L.: But, at the beginning, all Studio Ghibli's movies were made profitable. It is very difficult to pay off such expensive anime in only one country. - I.T.: It has only been since _Majo no Takkyubin_ [Kiki's Delivery Service] that our productions have become profitable. None of the previous ones paid off, in spite of their great popularity -- unless we take into account the selling of derived products and rights, in which case, we can consider the balance positive. - C.L.: With such a budget, you nonetheless have never used computer means to make the animation, have you? - I.T.: No, everything was done manually. - C.L.: In France, our national pride circulates the rumor that there could be a collaboration between Mr. Miyazaki and Jean Giraud (Moebius). What is the truth? - I.T.: Surely, both men regard the other highly. However, at the present time, we have to exclude the hypothesis of any work in common for a simple reason: both have very strong personalities. - C.L.: I understand; but on the other hand, were your works issued in foreign countries? For instance, we watched tapes from the American version (with 30 minutes cut) of _Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa_. - I.T.: Yes, indeed. They showed me this version, as well. It is absolutely horrible! They did an enormous and aberrant censorship; they cut Hisaishi's pieces of music, without forgetting the changed dialogues. It was a great error of Studio Ghibli and we haven't given broadcast rights to foreign countries since; and we'll never again give such rights without an attentive examination of the condition beforehand. [Note from Ken: it seems like France has filled these conditions since we have the rights to broadcast (this will be done next year) both Porco Rosso and Totoro.] For that matter, the international rights for Nausicaa given to the U.S.A. will be over in 2 or 3 years. All these movies are grounded strongly in Japanese culture and are not conceived with an eye towards exportation. Censoring them is worse than betraying them. [Note from Ken: there is an Italian proverb that goes, "Translator, traitor" ("Traduttore, traditore," if my memory serves me). ;) ] This festival constitutes the first public broadcasting in a foreign country and I have to admit that I am very surprised by the public's reaction. Anyway, we're still very afraid of how our products will be used in foreign countries. - C.L.: Indeed, we know these problems. We try to obtain a better respect for Japanese anime, so as to maintain a level the nearest possible of the original work. Most certainly, this attempt is often hopeless, but we remain a dissenting voice. - I.T.: (here, Mr. Takahata begins to speak French) I... er... agree with what you're doing. Then we had to part company: he had to rest to prepare himself for the hard events of the day after. But the next day, once again, as he promised, he talked to all the magazine's staff (that was there this time) and to myself (we ate breakfast together) to explain some of the reasons of his inspiration, fundamentally based on Japanese culture. - I.T.: Here. This book contains the reproduction of a Twelth Century Japanese parchment. (He showed us a book containing the representation of a Japanese parchment which must be very long since each page represented a part of this parchment; thus, if they were torn out and placed side by side, we would have the entire linear parchment.) The original is made with two tubes around which are affixed the rolled parchment. Thus, the two tubes would be rolled by hand simultaneously so as to unthread the scenes. Thus, we have the first Japanese animated scene of history. On the other hand, the scenario is explained in ideograms at peculiar passages. So the story took place: of an incendiary who is eventually found and punished by the Emperor. Stylistic effects are plentiful: movement in the reading direction or in the opposite one, the presence of the same character several times in the same scene to show his movement, the characterization of faces, all expressing different emotions (for these, the work was focused solely on manipulations of the effects of light and shade which was very elaborate),... It would be very difficult to explain everything, since we'd have to show you these documents to explain their plastic meaning.... In a methodic way, thus revealing a pedagogical mind -- so much so that he took care to describe each scene and each detail which he talked with us about later -- he kept on turning the pages, helping us discover the document. His ostensible purpose was to make us understand that the style used nowadays in the anime industry did not date back to the discovery of Walt Disney, but longer ago. In this document, we recognized the strokes of the outlines which made the characters, cinematographic plans, and an idea of the (virtual) movements, thanks to only the reading direction. - I.T.: The basis of such works have to be understood. They are mere scenes of everyday life, expressed in the slightest detail. This is an integral part of the Japanese culture, this is a very old translation. Moreover, please note the very expressive features of every face. You see, when I wanted to produce these full length films, no one thought that the subjects chosen could be done as an anime. They were wrong. The culture, the one which comes from our culture, explains for the most part all that we can find in anime nowadays. And, try to remember one thing, which counts the most: it is not the real, nor even the relationship with the real; it is only the line and the way of drawing. -- FOOTNOTES: [*1] Philippe LHOSTE is "a head person among French otakus. A 'french.otaku.personality,' if you will. He wrote many articles in many anime French fanzines, and even one in a Canadian anime fanzine -- namely, Protoculture Addicts; it was an article about anime in France -- and founded an anime APA [Amateur Press Association club] in France." -- Olivier Cao -- Thanks to Cedric Littardi, Mr. Takahata and Mrs. Ueki, manager of the Ucore Company (which helped in bringing us the festival). And to Olivier Cao for lending me his magazine (and having helped in its translation). And to Steven for correcting my errors, and to everyone on the Nausicaa newsgroup who read my translation. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Ken Elescor | "Among all wines, passion is the one which makes you | | "The Postman" | the most drunk; but unlike other wines, once you get | | cao_o@epita.fr | drunk by passion, you can never recover your mind." | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Ken Elescor , for those in the USA. -- S.F.] ======================================================================== Subject: 9.) MONONOKE-HIME book synopsis (Brad J. Lucido, Jan. 26, 1994) ORIGINALLY WRITTEN BY: Hayao Miyazaki (in 1983?) WRITTEN BY: Brad Lucido, with help from Hana Lucido, January 25, 1994 TYPED-IN & POSTED TO BY: Brad Lucido, Jan. 26, 1994 EDITED & RE-FORMATTED BY: Steven Feldman, July 16, 1994 FINE-TUNED BY: Steven Feldman, October 30, 1994 The following is a rough synopsis of the "Mononoke-Hime" book. Errors in translation are highly likely, but I hope it is written well enough so that the reader can get a good idea of the story. If there seems to be a lack of transitions, it is because the book itself is written that way. The word "Mononoke"--approximately--means "monster," so "Mononokehime" means "Monster Princess." -- MONONOKEHIME ROUGH SYNOPSIS 1-25-94 by Brad Lucido (with some help from my wife, Hana) Being defeated in battle, a samurai becomes separated from his friends and lost in a forest. After awhile, the samurai sees firelight and goes towards it. He finds a large dwelling carved in the side of a mountain. Inside, no one is around, but food is piled high. Famished, he stuffs himself like there is no tomorrow, until suddenly, he gets the feeling that he is being watched. The master of the dwelling has returned. The house in the mountain belongs to the terrible Great Mountain Cat. In no time, the samurai is bound, immobile. The mountain cat says, "For you have eaten my food, this time it is you that will be eaten." Mononoke stops his dinner preparations and considers, "You are alone...? Ah, what does it matter?" Later, atop the mountain, Mononoke says to the samurai, "Make sure you don't forget your promise." With that, it was decided that Mononoke would take the samurai back to his house. Jumping off the mountain with a glider wing on his back, the mountain cat strains, "Shit, you're a heavy dude," and glides down the valley. Back at the samurai's residence, some of the soldiers have returned from the battle. Upon hearing the news of the defeat, the mistress of the house becomes angry. Arriving at the samurai's residence, Mononoke says, "I will come to retrieve my bride on the night of the full moon," and drops the samurai from the sky onto his house. He lands on the roof and becomes caught on the roof ornament. A servant witnesses the plummet of the samurai and calls out, "The lord has dropped from the sky." Upon re-entering his house, the samurai tells his story to his wife and children. "Not only did you loose the battle," cries the wife, "but you promised a daughter to a monster. You are pathetic." She proceeded to take the first and second daughters with her into safety to the countryside. Only the youngest, the kindhearted third princess, remained behind. The enemy force was approaching the samurai's residence rapidly. It was certain that he would be doomed to defeat. Seeing a great opportunity, a spirit came out of the gargoyle on the roof and approached the samurai. "If you let me in to your body, I will make you a strong man," it said. Without listening to the protests of the third princess, the samurai accepted, not realizing that the spirit was an evil devil. The samurai became a changed man. He began to consume incredible amounts of food, and donned the heaviest, and thickest armor. He took on the approaching enemy army single-handedly, and devastated the foe in one mighty attack. The surviving enemy soldiers fled for the mountains. The samurai's body had been changed into the form of the most fearsome warrior in the world. Because the third princess knew the secret of the samurai's power, she began to become a nuisance to him. But the samurai found it easy to put distance between her and himself. The evil spirit knew that Mononoke would come soon. Exactly as promised, on the night of the full moon, dressed in a disguise, Mononoke came to get his bride. Sending his daughter to the Great Cat, the samurai yells out to his daughter, "For you, being the wife of a monster is perfect." Worried for her father, the third princess climbs into the monster's basket and is lifted up on his back. Riding on a single wheel pulled by a team of mice, Mononoke takes his bride-to-be away into the forest. After arriving at Mononoke's lair, the princess became withdrawn. The big cat said, "Eat, drink. You are my wife-to-be." "Until my father once again becomes human," she said, "I cannot become your bride." Mononoke became enraged by her reply. "If you are not going to listen to me, I'll eat you." He puts her into a large kettle. "Don't come out until you are cooked," he says. Despite threats and sweet talk, he couldn't convince her to submit to his will. So, finally, the Great Cat gave up. "Argh! So what do you want me to do?" he says to her. "Please help me rid my father of the evil spirit. If he is saved, I will by all means be your bride." "Ah, what the heck . . . but don't forget your promise." A hard journey was begun to visit a wise turtle that knew the secret of helping the princess's father. The turtle lived over many mountains. Mononoke expected her to complain and give up, but she said nothing and endured the harsh journey. After awhile, they found themselves in a forest that was as old as the Japanese islands were. And suddenly, they met the Great Turtle. The Great Turtle told the third princess that her father's heart remained, even though he was possessed. He knew of a remedy, a special treasure that could work magic. She dived with the turtle into the deep waters, and found a treasure chest left in the bottom of the sea. The treasure was a mirror that shown brightly, even though it had been sitting under the sea for countless years and months. While they were preparing to leave, the Great Turtle said to her, "After this, the strength of your heart will determine all." The two travelers rapidly returned to her home town on a magic flying device. Far away, the evil spirit knew of the approach of the magic mirror. After her return, the princess was shocked to see the state of things back in her hometown. In only one year, her father's small mansion had been transformed into a giant castle. The power of the evil spirit had grown to a level of great strength. Many soldiers had gathered, and great cannons had been built. The peasant population suffered under the ungrateful lord. The third princess tried to give aid to the suffering people, but was stopped by soldiers. Mononoke rushed in to protect her, and gave a great battle. He yelled, "Don't you dare lay a hand on my bride!" and knocked down many a man. But Mononoke was shot in the back as he was jumping off the mountain for safety with the princess. Even though he was injured, Mononoke continued to protect the princess as they fled for safety in the mountainside below. "I am not going to ask you to be my bride if you think it is unreasonable. Will you return to my mountain home with me?" he asked. They had become good friends, and shared something together. While he fell into a deep sleep, she went out, taking the magic mirror with her. In the moonlight, she saw the face of a sleeping young man in the mirror. It was the true form of Mononoke. In the mirror, she saw the man running around catching chickens with the force of a wild beast. One day, while he was living like a beast, the young man suddenly awoke to find himself transformed into a beast. The third princess came to know his pain. "But, I cannot keep the promise with you," she said. "I must return to the side of my father. Please forgive me." And she left him in the night while he slept. She returned to her father's castle alone. The soldiers recognized who she was, and allowed her to pass into the castle. Mononoke woke up and realized that the princess was not there. He ran to the village and asked if they had seen her. Someone said that he had seen her going to the castle, alone. Mononoke charged towards the castle, forgetting to put on his disguise. Reaching the castle, he flew over the gate, not even pausing for the castle guards who were shooting at him. The third princess entered the castle, not being able to recognize anything because the place had been so warped and transformed. As she reached the demon's inner chamber, finally, father and daughter met. But it seemed that it was too late. The spirit had already eaten into the body of the samurai. With the intent of killing the evil spirit, the third princess stood and faced him. Mononoke was plowing through rows and rows of soldiers yelling, "Get out of my face!" as he made his way towards the father and daughter. The princess pulled out the mirror, and as she faced it towards her father, the evil spirit began to pause in fear. The princess ran forward and embraced her father and the evil spirit fled out of his body. The father snapped out of it, his body pale and weak. The evil spirit flew into the heavy armor. He faced the father and daughter, and blew flame from the mouth of the face plate. Then, Mononoke appeared from behind and flew into the flames, forming a shield for the father and daughter. Despite the fire, Mononoke pressed his attacker. In doing so, the devil-armor retreated out the window and onto the balcony. Mononoke made a leaping attack, hitting the devil-armor square in the chest, and the pair flew over the edge onto the roof. The princess went out onto the roof, to see the burning pair with her own eyes. The devil-armor was burned to a crisp, and Mononoke likewise received mortal wounds from the flame. The princess ran to the cat, tears streaming down upon his fallen form. Because of the magic of her love that the tears conveyed, Mononoke once again began to breathe. He was alive! "I am the best of the mountain cats. I survived to once again see my young bride. Wa ha ha ha ha!" The princess returned to the side of her fallen father. While she held him tight, he took his last breath as a human. The people of the village came out into the street, and watched as the huge castle burned to the ground. Mononoke took the princess up onto his back, and the two returned to the mountain. The End --------------------------------cut here-------------------------------- Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1993 19:47:25 +0900 Source: Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group Really-From: FUKUMOTO Atsushi Subject: Publication news MONONOKEHIME (Monster [and] Princess) 1993, Tokuma shoten, ISBN4-19-860040-6 2913yen Miyazaki's version of "Beauty and the Beast". Firstly published in MIYAZAKI HAYAO IMEEJI BOODO-SHUU (1983). It's huge print size (about A3), hardcovered, and a bit expensive. There's Kurosawa Akira's comment as the liner note. (I'm not sure he is recommending it or not, though.) Incidentally, YAMAMOTO NIZOU GASHUU --- FIRUMU KARA NO KOTOBA (Yamamoto Nizou Illustrations --- Words from Films) was published recently (I have not bought it (yet)). ISBN4-04-852462-3, Kadokawa shoten, 3204yen. For those who don't know, Yamamoto Nizou worked as the director of art for Conan the Future Boy, Great Detective Holmes, Laputa, Grave of the Fireflies, etc. (Pardon my ignorance, but, what was the original title of Beauty and the Beast? Belle et (something)???) FUKUMOTO Atsushi fukumoto@isl.rdc.toshiba.co.jp + + + + + + + Date: Mon, 20 Dec 1993 17:35:52 CET Source: Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group Really-From: Miho NISHIDA Subject: Heyheyhey! I guess most people know this fact by now, but since I don't have access to mailing lists any more, I just wanted to make sure people knew! Miyazaki's next new project will begin next year. It's called "Mononoke Hime". They were selling children picture book of it, all done by Miyazaki watercolor works, at the bookstore yesterday. The setting will be in ancient Japan (i.e. Warlords, etc.). Mononoke means monster (not quite; anyone with Japanese-English dictionary, please check out mononoke/obake/youma/bakemono/etc.). No no, the Princess (hime) is not a monster. She just gets wed to one. Sorry if this fact's a repeater. Miho aka Griff @ I can't wait! + + + + + + + Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 14:47:00 PST Source: Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group Really-From: Bill Wilkinson Subject: What is Mononoke Hime; What Batman references; Lion King; OPP [NOTE: this posting has been edited extensively. --S.F.] Mononoke Hime is by Miyazaki [. . .], the AM Juju book of which should be availble either soon or already. It is a period piece concerning a young princess married to a giant cat-creature that looks like Totoro in a Nekobus costume :). It looks REAL GOOD. That's all I know. --Bry + + + + + + + Date: Sun, 30 Jan 1994 12:51:46 GMT Source: Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group Really-From: Richard Poffley Subject: Mononokehime Synopsis Hello All, I'm a new (23 January) subscriber to this mailing list and I am intrigued by Mononoke-hime. I understand this is a new book by Miyazaki, is it also going to be a new film? Nothing I have read in the messages so far categorically states this. I did see a message on rec.arts.anime that *did* say that it *was* a new film due in 1995. Thanks to Brad for the synopsis. In my small collection of Miyazaki books I have something called "Hayao Miyazaki Image Board" with a copyright date of 1983. In it there is a complete breakdown of what appears to be Mononoke-hime in 83 small colour pictures and a small amount of Japanese text by each. Some of the pictures are not complete, they are not fully coloured. It would seem that the story is at least 10 years old. There is a full page colour picture of the cat with the princess on his back, on the one-wheeled bicycle being pulled by the mice! It does look weird! I look forward to an explanation, please. Regards, Richard + + + + + + + Date: Tue, 1 Feb 1994 14:02:33 -0500 Source: Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group Really-From: Rheault Sylvain Subject: Re: Miyazaki Mononoke-hime article In-Reply-To: <9401311433.AA14611@center.cc.kochi-u.ac.jp> from "Brad J. Lucido" at Jan 31, 94 11:33:07 pm > The idea is from "Beauty and the beast," by Madame Do Boeman. (sp?) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Madame Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. She was contemporaneous with Voltaire. She lived in England for a while. _La Belle et la Be^te_ become popular because of the feature movie by Jean Cocteau. But I think part of the inspiration for this new story by Miyazaki also come from _Le Chat botte'_ (Puss in Boots), where a smart cat helps his master improve his situation. But I suppose that any story featuring a cat can be regarded as a source of inspiration ^_^. Thanks for this interesting article. --- Sylvain rheault@ERE.UMontreal.CA ======================================================================== Subject: 10.) MONONOKE-HIME book "making of article" (Lucidos, 1/31/94) WRITTEN BY: Hayao Miyazaki in 1983. TRANSLATED BY: Brad Lucido, with help from Hana Lucido, January 31, 1994 TYPED-IN & POSTED TO BY: Brad Lucido, Jan. 31, 1994 EDITED & RE-FORMATTED BY: Steven Feldman, October 29, 1994 TWEAKED BY: Steven Feldman, ??, 1994 [Awaiting Brad's feedback] The following is a very loose translation of the "making of" article in the back of the book written by Miyazaki. It is called "Origins From the Endless Repetition," and yes, the title is strange until you read the article. Extreme thanks to my wife Hana, who helped a lot. Again, a disclaimer: this is not a professional translation, so errors are expected. -- The image boards date back from 1980, when I showed them around to various TV and movie companies as his "pitch." They are different from storyboards in that they are not made for the technical descriptions needed in film, but simply to tell the story in a few shots, so they should be called image boards and not storyboards. This strategy was not successful, so the image boards were published in 1983 in a book called "Image Board collection." I gave up my cinematic vision for the boards at this point. 1980 showed the direction for the next 10 years. I was working at Telecom Animation Film back then and drew a lot of my own stuff in my spare time. Back then, none of my ideas were realized. However, when I did start making my own films, all of the ideas came from those drawings. Among them, MH was one of the things that I drew really enthusiastically. It was organized the best of all my ideas, but back then it was ignored because it was considered too dark. The knack of continuing without stopping is not to try too hard when you find it doesn't work. In the same manner, "Tonari No Totoro" was rejected. I was depressed because I had no movie job. However, after I completed each scenario, I didn't look back because I was satisfied about expressing my ideas and hoped the ideas would be carried out some day. As for MH, I found lots of weak points. The biggest problem was that the setting of the story borrowed too much from ordinary movies and folklore. Also, recently the viewpoint of history and agriculture of Japan has been drastically changing in the last 10 years, and Mononoke didn't reflect this. The setting was not dynamic, as well. I wanted to make a Japanese period piece, so I decided to let go of Mononoke even though I wanted to work on it badly. This is why I printed the boards (in 1983). I had made up my mind. Now, More than 10 years have passed. I have always wanted to make a Japanese jidai gekki. I spared no opportunity to talk about it with the people around me. Sometimes, I felt like I found a way to make it, and I was excited for a week, but when I condensed the idea, it became chaotic. Many elements became mixed, and the story, unclear. The reason for the confusion is mainly due to the basic structure of MH. Even though I changed the setting, the main characters and story--that of the daughter unliked by their father so she is given to the nastiest and ugliest thing--continued to haunt me. It was so persistent, it was almost like being in psycho-therapy and discovering the constant subconscious element. After I repeated my story pattern so many times, I thought, "I must get it out of my system once and for all, or I cannot proceed." The idea is from "Beauty and the beast," by Madame de Beaumont. Some people said that it wouldn't go after Disney's success, but I can make it totally different. I can overcome several of the weak points I mentioned earlier. With all these reasons, all of a sudden, MH, came up as the next long movie project. Then, Mr. Suzuki, a producer from Ghibli, came up with the idea of publishing this book. He wants to see how readers react to something that is old enough to grow fungus. Hikari Yanagisara and Tamami Yamamoto, who work at Ghibli publishing (a new branch), worked very hard without complaint, so I didn't gripe about their boldness in saying, "Let's enlarge the pictures greater than the original size." At first, Mononoke is supposed to return to Human form, but it didn't feel right about it, so we left it that way and published. As for Cinema, I will reconstruct the story without being limited to what I have done with the image boards, but I will keep the ending the same. --------------------------------cut here-------------------------------- Date: Tue, 1 Feb 1994 14:02:33 -0500 Source: Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group Really-From: Rheault Sylvain Subject: Re: Miyazaki Mononoke-hime article In-Reply-To: <9401311433.AA14611@center.cc.kochi-u.ac.jp> from "Brad J. Lucido" at Jan 31, 94 11:33:07 pm > The idea is from "Beauty and the beast" by Madame Do Boeman. (sp?) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Madame Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. She was contemporaneous with Voltaire. She lived in England for a while. _La Belle et la Be^te_ become popular because of the feature movie by Jean Cocteau. But I think part of the inspiration for this new story by Miyazaki also come from _Le Chat botte'_ (Puss in Boots), where a smart cat helps his master improve his situation. But I suppose that any story featuring a cat can be regarded as a source of inspiration ^_^. Thanks for this interesting article. --- Sylvain rheault@ERE.UMontreal.CA