This is bad.

This is bad.

When I started studying Japanese and prepared for a year of study in Japan, a few Senpai (older students, who had already been there) gave us a few directions. One said that we should not expect Japanese tv to be like the animation films we knew.

We had animation films in Europe too, different styles, but what we had seen from Japan was amazing. Unfortunately, those were the cream of anime, and we saw all the garbage when we finally arrived in Japan. And there was a lot of garbage.

I came across Ghibli/Miyazaki relatively late, in about 1992/93, when a Japanese exchange teacher showed a VHS tape of Laputa. I walked by, looked, and got stuck. And I am pretty sure I am not the only one who made that experience.

Ghibli/Miyazaki films were always special among anime, a little bit the way Doctor Who is special among SF: It is never about killing and destroying, but about life.

There are lots of films and series that are mainly about fighting, just think of all the mecha. There are also works that have much fighting, but still have a positive view, like Rina Inverse or Secret of Blue Water. Sometimes there are a few other gems, like Summer Wars. But I don't know of any other studio where I know I can go and buy each of their films and be happy about it.

Ghibli made a number of films for children of all ages that were simply great, not as terrifying as Chibi Marukochan and not as "simple" as Doraemon (which I still like to a certain degree). My daughter started to like Totoro when she was 1.5 years. She didn't understand Japanese and didn't understand the whole film, but part of it she did understand - and like.

When this era ends, there will be a void. I am not saying that there is no other good anime out there, but anime of this style may become hard to find.

Originally shared by Himitsu Animo

So sad. Following Hayao Miyazaki's retirement, Studio Ghibli may just stop making films altogether, according to some news going around ( http://goo.gl/KwccGa ). Could be an end to an era, as most animation now are CG. Image below is a still from their latest film, "When Marnie Was There" and the trailer is here: http://youtu.be/z1RzCN7G8F4

#miyazaki   #studioghibli   #animation