Studio Ghibli: discussion, speculation, and whatnot.

[NoemiChan]

Originally Posted by Irenicus

Your first post up there somewhere referred to moe, and I inferred from it that you seem to suggest that the moe aesthetic is potentially the cause of why recent Ghibli films seem to have less, shall we say, involving plot compared to earlier ones (that may or may not be true depending on opinion, but let's assume that's true for now). I suggested otherwise, that the moe aesthetic is largely an otaku phenomenon (it has links to the more general kawaii aesthetic, but let's skip that), that Ghibli is not really influenced by it whatsoever, and therefore the moe aesthetic has nothing to do with why Ghibli films have evolved in the direction of...whatever your opinion is about that.

Hey, I didn't say Ghibli's latest movies are moe and saying that's the cause of its decline... I think the viewers taste has evolve but I think Ghibli has no obligation to change its style to just cater "those" disappointed group.

I think accepting the new animation techniques while keeping the old style of story telling is a good idea if Ghibli wants to improve. Adding Moe and too much cuteness to gain audience isn't Ghibli..

[totoum]

Originally Posted by GenjiChan

I think the viewers taste has evolve but I think Ghibli has no obligation to change its style to just cater "those" disappointed group

From what I understand what Irenicus has been trying to say is that no,ghibli's audience taste hasn't evolved and that such a group doesn't exist (or is really really tiny).

[Warm Mist]

Whether or not Ghibli is okay now, it's true that not many people are up to the task of helming the studio once the two big guys pass away. Yoshiyuki Momose would seem like the perfect guy, but he would have directed a feature film already if he wanted to, I'm sure.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Princess Mononoke adapted for stage by UK theatre company

YouTube

https://youtu.be/nV3wkBoBDD0

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

[aohige]

..........................what the hell!?

http://www.sanspo.com/geino/news/201...040012-n1.html

Miyazaki hired Anno for his next movie.


....

....... except....

They um

Hired Anno to voice the main character.


...... wait what? The hell?

[Guardian Enzo]

Don't forget that Anno has already proved his chops in voicing one of the vital characters in the Gainax masterpiece FLCL.

Miyu Miyu.

[Archon_Wing]

lmao an anime staring Hideki Anno.

But he shouldn't be a whiny character, would he?

[kuroishinigami]

Speaking of voice acting, I aways wonder, is there any reason why Miyazaki never used more well-known voice actor for his movie? I mean, I can understand if he used a well-known actor as voice actor in line with what Disney does, but that doesn't seem to be the case either.

[karice67]

Originally Posted by kuroishinigami

Speaking of voice acting, I aways wonder, is there any reason why Miyazaki never used more well-known voice actor for his movie? I mean, I can understand if he used a well-known actor as voice actor in line with what Disney does, but that doesn't seem to be the case either.

But he does sometimes use famous actors. If you look through the casts of Ghibli shows, you'll find names like Kimura Takuya and Nagasawa Masami...though you may not know who they are unless you follow the Japanese drama and/or idol scenes...

I've read somewhere that it's because he doesn't like the industry and what it means for what's regarded as popular. To a certain extent, I understand what he means, especially when it comes to women voicing children, adolescent boys, and even young men. The voice acting that a lot of industry fans love doesn't always sound all that natural...

There's an old interview on Nausicaa that may provide a little more insight into Miyazaki's feelings about it.

[kuroishinigami]

I know that he used Kimura Takuya once, but that's the exception rather than the norm. It's not unique to Miyazaki either. Mamoru Hosoda for example, also prefer using newcomers rather than popular actor/voice actor. I'm not saying that it's bad, I'm just curious about it. Budget shoukdn't be the issue either, considering how popular Ghibli movie usually is.

[Guardian Enzo]

If you use famous people with well-known voices, when people hear the character they see the face of the actor. For Disney, that's a plus. For Miyazaki and Hosoda, it's generally something they avoid. And they also prefer not to use professional seiyuu for most roles because they want a performance more in the mold of a traditional actor.

That's also part of the reason they use actual children for most children's roles, including not using women as boys. Another part of that is simple budgetary concerns - hiring child actors is more complicated than hiring adults, but a theatrical film with a Ghibli or even Hosoda budget can carry that more easily.

[Guardian Enzo]

It's probably belongs in its own thread, but Mayazaki Hayao has retired from directing feature films.

[MeoTwister5]

I hope his last film leaves a worthy final mark to his legacy.

[Triple_R]

The thing with famous voice actors (or famous actors in general) is that they can cause counterproductive mental associations, unless they have impressive voice range or acting range.

For example, I know that Patrick Stewart has done some voice acting for animated works in the past (including an English dub of Nausicaa, IIRC, so that makes him a particularly on-topic example here). Whenever I hear Patrick Stewart's voice for an animated character, I instantly think "Captain Picard". And not long after, all of the feelings and impressions and sentiments I have for the character Captain Picard ends up getting spilled over unto the character with Patrick Stewart's voice. This isn't so bad if the character being voiced by Stewart does in fact share some similarities with Picard (which partly explains why I was fine with Stewart as Charles Xavier and felt he was great for the role). But if Stewart is playing a very different character (such as a villain, for example), then that can cause painful cognitive dissonance.

So famous voice actors and seiyus can cut both ways. They can make a character more popular but they can also consume a character through counterproductive mental associations.

[Sister Princess]

Spoiler for Um... okay:

He will just come back because he didn't like how "awkward" the industry has become.

[Warm Mist]

I don't think he'll actually come back again. This was an official announcement by Ghibli's president, and there will be a press conference by Miyazaki himself on the 6, I think.

He's too old to be devoting himself to feature film direction. Maybe producing, scriptwriting, doing some shorts, hell, even animating one or two cuts for something. But his production cycles were getting longer and longer, and Kaze Tachinu actually feels like it was going to be his last film.

[kuroishinigami]

Best wish to Miyazaki and his family after his retirement. The man deserves it after directing so many amazing anime movie(Ghibli's animator ability to make stunning visual scenery plays a big part too I guess). Hopefully, his retirement will lead to more producer to blossom instead of leading the genre(family friendly anime) to wither.

[Rias]

Younger people might not remember, but this is the 5th time that he has come out saying that he will retire.

[Sheba]

This is exactly why I have not commented about his "retirement", he have done that in the past so I really can't believe it.

[Sister Princess]

Originally Posted by Rias

Older people might not remember, but this is the 5th time that he has come out saying that he will retire.

Fixed for you. They will never aware of it anyways.

I always thought Howling's moving Castle is the first ever time he want to retire. Perhaps he still want to have "total control" in this department just because he find Makoto Shinkai a threat.