Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator and director known for animated feature length films. He started his career in 1963 with the Tokyo based film studio Tōei Company, which produced content for children and had moved into production for television. Miyazaki worked for the animation division until 1971, during which time he met fellow animators Isao Takahata (a life-long friend and collaborator) and Akemi Ota (who Miyazaki married in 1965). Tōei Company became a leading distributor of Japanese animation (anime) and produced titles such as Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball. Later, Miyazaki worked for other animation studios including Nippon Animation and TMS Entertainment.

Miyazaki developed as a director and became involved in collaborative projects with his friend Takahata, and started an association with musician Joe Hisaishi for the musical element. A small studio called Topcraft handled early productions. The result was a fantasy-adventure production entitled Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984). The film was a success and established Miyazaki's name as an animator and director. As a result, Miyazaki opened his own studio Nibariki in 1984 and went on to partner with Takahata and a producer of amime, Toshio Suzuki, with the launch of the production company Studio Ghibli in 1985.

Miyazaki preferred his animations to be drawn by hand, or initially drawn by hand and then aided by computer generation. The two dimensional animation style is solid and retains a hand-drawn quality with imaginative characters and rich scenes that include an incredible amount of detail. His storytelling style features fantasy, drama, and environmental themes and often follow quests or inspirational life stories rather than a focus on hero/villain scenarios. Strange creatures often feature along with complex machines and a theme of flying.

Productions from Studio Ghibli typically feature scenes that are long and atmospheric allowing the imagery space and time to relay the intended ambience to the viewer. Characters are animated with careful consideration and feature realistic interactions and attention to detail with the addition of natural sounds and minimal intrusion from music. Ambient sounds effects (created by a Foley artist) were often provided by Mika Yamaguchi along with voice artist Koji Kasamatsu, and sound director Shigeharu Shiba. Background painter Kazuo Oga was responsible for some of the super-realistic and highly detailed locations that were populated with realistic people and cartoonish characters animated by the large studio team.

Early attempts to distribute his work globally were marred by poor translation and editing, which resulted in releases that were primarily aimed at the Japanese audience. Later, Studio Ghibli was briefly merged with Tokuma Shoten Publishing (1999 to 2005) who arranged distribution deals with The Walt Disney Company and Buena Vista Pictures on an understanding there were no edits to the original films and the over-dubs and translations were at acceptable standards. Studio Ghibli subsequently continued independently with new deals after 2005.

The films were a huge success at the box office and included titles such as Laputa: Castle in the Sky (about a magic crystal and a floating castle - 1986), My Neighbour Totoro (a story about a move from city to the country - 1988), and Princess Mononoke (a fantasy about Gods and the preservation of a forest - 1997). Later commercial successes included Spirited Away (about a journey to rescue parents - 2001), Howl's Moving Castle (2004) which was based on a book by British author Diana Wynne Jones, and the historical drama The Wind Rises (2013).

Miyazaki's work provides great examples of animation created outside the mainstream American market. Animators, directors (including the likes of Steven Speilberg), and audiences of both adults and children have been captivated by the superbly depicted stories. Storytelling, depiction of social values and the overall atmosphere are handled in a way that is more related to folklore than the more action-packed or sugary and musical productions often offered for the mainstream markets, where an emphasis on visual effects sometimes overpowers the storytelling, or external marketing considerations shift the original intentions.

Miyazaki has been in the animation business since the early sixties and has announced retirement a couple of times, but still continues to work on projects including short animations, new film projects, and a museum in Tokyo containing displays and examples from the studio. A new feature under the title How Do You Live? has been in the works since 2016. Online there is little in terms of social media, but there are many websites referencing Hayao Miyazaki's work, and film trailers can be found on video sharing platforms.

If you have an interest in animation, the industry offers a wide variety of departments and positions - including non-production posts dealing with the business side and distribution. If you are creative, Hayao Miyazaki's work is a reminder of how important relatable characters and storytelling are in providing the emotional power that can drive the visual bells and whistles of the modern animation process.

By Matt Sheen September MMXX - See video playlist for references

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