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The anime industry has a lot of popular creators who have earned recognition, but none of them compare to Hayao Miyazaki, anime director and co-founder of Studio Ghibli. Miyazaki is a legend in Japan and an inspiration for practically everyone who is trying to make it big in the anime industry, as he has helped shape the community on a global scale.
But with the passage of time, Miyazaki’s opinion about anime has changed a lot. While he is the biggest contributor to the global success of the entertaining art form, he is also the one who, in a way, essentially pointed out that anime was actually a big mistake. It was one of his biggest controversial statements and, to this day, affects a lot of fans.
However, Miyazaki’s statement about anime being a mistake was proved wrong by another popular anime filmmaker. It was none other than Makoto Shinkai, the creator of widely popular anime films likeSuzume, Your Name, 5 Centimeters per Second, etc.
Hayao Miyazaki’s Opinion of the Anime Industry
A few years ago, Miyazaki gave a special interview where he talked about the problems he had with the anime industry.Golden Timesposted some glimpses of the interview where the popular director was seen explaining how people cannot create a story without experiencing some essence of it from the real world. But now this aspect has been totally ignored by creators.
Before Leaving us Speechless With ‘Your Name’ and ‘Suzume’, Makoto Shinkai Honored His One Movie as “My best film so far”
He stated:
If you don’t spend time watching real people, you can’t do this, because you’ve never seen it. Some people spend their lives interested only in themselves. Almost all Japanese animation is produced with hardly any basis taken from observing real people, you know. It’s produced by humans who can’t stand looking at other humans.
According toHayao Miyazaki, creating something without observing it with your own eyes does not make it real enough for the viewers. This in a way degrades the quality of the movie or series.
In spite of that, there are many creators who are moving forward anyway without following this approach and releasing content that does not seem realistic. This is why he feels thatanime is moving away from its reality.
Makoto Shinkai Proved Hayao Miyazaki Wrong
In 2022, Shinkai’sSuzumewas released and he was interviewed bySlashfilmregarding his depiction of natural disasters within his different works. Shinkai pointed out that although he had not experienced these disasters firsthand, he felt like he should portray them through his art to explain the situation of the people who were actually affected by them.
Shinkai stated:
I think for me personally, I needed to make this film in some ways because after the disaster struck, there was a certain amount of kind of regret or lingering feelings that I had and that I don’t consider myself a direct victim of it, but I was still affected.
In doing so, the three films I made over the next 10 years, “Your Name,” “Weathering With You” and “Suzume,” was perhaps myself trying to understand what an animation director can do in a time when it didn’t seem like a necessary good or service. So that resolution and understanding, I think, shaped in the form of these three films.
Shinkai wanted to create something that could add value and somehowexplain the pain and sufferingof the people who were directly and indirectly affected by it. And evidently, he did a great job as his works were very much appreciated by the viewers.
Makoto Shinkai Based Suzume on a Natural Disaster That Rocked Japan 13 Years Ago: “It has been some time since the incident”
Thus, in a way by not experiencing the disasters firsthand and still making their aftereffects look real for fans,Makoto Shinkaiproved Miyazaki wrong, in thinking that something should only be created after experiencing it.
Tarun Kohli
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2959
Tarun Kohli is the Senior Anime Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,900 published articles. He currently specializes in critiquing One Piece and other Shonen anime. A passionate fan of the genre, his love for thoughtful analysis reflects his genuine appreciation for the art of anime. His deep understanding of anime culture has earned recognition from industry figures such as Adi Shankar and the creators of Blood of Zeus.
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Hayao MiyazakiMakoto ShinkaiSuzume
