By age 22, however, Hayao joined the staff of Toei Animation, where he worked as an inbetweener, and his love for the fluidity of the animation medium began in earnest. I see my street burning.” This first-hand imagery of a world on fire would give Miyazaki’s work a level of relevance that stands the test of time, and would allow him to create the believable, imaginative settings that pervade his canon.īut before Miyazaki had any desire to animate his art, his chosen career path was that of a mangaka, or a manga artist and writer, spending much of his young years creating comic books, and this early pursuit would lead him to create, at the very least, two of his greatest works. The Director commented “I remember the air raids. There is little doubt that this period of warfare, even at such a young age, would heavily impact Miyazaki’s outlook on the world. But by age four, Japan would crumble beneath the might of the bombings and air raids in each and every city, aside from Kyoto. Hayao Miyazaki was born on January 5th, 1941, a year that marked the height of Japanese Imperialism and economy. My name is Dakota! Don’t forget to drop a like if you enjoy the video! This month, we’re highlighting the work of acclaimed animator, Hayao Miyazaki. Welcome to the Director Project, a collection of video essays dissecting the works of a new director each month. But while Hayao Miyazaki’s films were absolutely shaped by the world at war he was born into, what sets his work apart is the paradoxical beauty he finds at the heart of these cataclysms, and there is perhaps no greater example of this than his Odyssey, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. With that social consciousness, coupled with a culture that holds art, innovation, cuteness, and a nostalgia for pre-war Japan to the highest esteem, it’s not surprising that the greatest animator of our time would arise out of that generation. This is in no small part due to the horrors of war the country faced with the relentless American air raids on non-combatants in almost every Japanese city during 1944 and ‘45 and the subsequent atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Whether it be Akira, Godzilla, Neon Genesis Evangelion, even Dragon Ball Z, mass destruction via bombs, weaponry, or atomic power is heavily present in Japanese culture. Akira, while not a Miyazaki film, or even a Ghibli film, is an important thematic touchstone for us to consider, because the imagery here reaches the core of many of Japan’s most iconic pop culture landmarks. An atomic bomb destroys Tokyo in one of anime’s most iconic openings of all time.
To enjoy it fully, we suggest watching the video which collects archival, historical, and film clips to weave a narrative with the following text. This article transcribes the above video.
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