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manglitter's review against another edition
5.0
An amazing biography about Miyazaki through his greatest movies. A book that I might get back to from time to time for I have always been fascinated by Miyazaki's genius mind and vision of the world while creating his movies.
I loved how the author used Miyazaki's movies to made us discover his life and what inspired or influenced him at that time for each one. I have watched these movies several times since the first time but there were some elements in the tales told by Miyazaki that I haven't noticed or understood their hidden meanings because to do so you have to understand who is Miyazaki.
I loved how the author used Miyazaki's movies to made us discover his life and what inspired or influenced him at that time for each one. I have watched these movies several times since the first time but there were some elements in the tales told by Miyazaki that I haven't noticed or understood their hidden meanings because to do so you have to understand who is Miyazaki.
strawberrie_jam's review against another edition
3.0
Spoils the plot of like 40 pieces of media...does a hell of a lot of describing shit without adding anything. But at times does provide some very thought-provoking analysis as well as insightful context about Miyazaki's life & history and how that manifests in his art. I will never see certain films the same way again (especially Spirited Away, which apparently is about eating disorders??). This book made me want to read/watch everything Miyazaki and his contemporaries have ever created :')
drjohnbrown's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
2.75
While the writing is excellent, and the information about Miyazaki illuminating, this was nothing I didn’t already know.
zachmarti's review against another edition
5.0
I started watching Studio Ghibli movies by Miyazaki somewhere back in 2016 when my brother started becoming interested in Japanese film. I was mesmerized by Nausicaa, in tears from The Wind Rises, and laughing at Ponyo over the last 8 years or so. I have slowly watched almost all of his movies, and by some miracle saw that this book was written. I read it over a month, but feel like I will keep looking back on it every time I re-watch another one of these masterpieces. For any Miyazaki fan who likes to read, this book is such a fun and whole hearted analysis for you to keep in mind next time you say you are a fan of animated movies.
crypticpsych's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
mitskacir's review against another edition
4.0
The beginning of this book was slow and took me awhile to get through: it covered Miyazaki's childhood and his early attempts at animation. While mildly interesting background, being unfamiliar with the majority of his pre-Studio Ghibli work, it was hard to stay focused. However, once the book started focusing on Lupin III and proceeding through his work chronologically to The Wind Rises, I was captivated. My complaints are along the same lines as other reviewer's here, including sections that felt like too much unfounded psycho analysis and an over emphasis on which characters are "representations" of the artist himself. However, I actually enjoyed the in-depth summaries and descriptions of the movies, even though I have seen some of them dozens of times, and they actually inspired me to start re-watching his oeuvre in chronological order. Napier did include some sections of literary analysis that I found particularly interesting, like the feminist themes in Kiki's Delivery Service. Although sometimes veering into psycho analysis, I also found Napier's connections between Miyazaki's movies and his life at different stages interesting and mostly compelling. I would only recommend this book to someone deeply invested in Miyazaki's movies, who has seen each at least once. I think this would be uninteresting and very spoiler-y for anyone who is only a casual fan or is just getting interested in Miyazaki's work.
thechanelmuse's review against another edition
5.0
Miyazakiworld is a scholarly overview of the life and art of creative genius and esteemed Japanese animator, Hayao Miyazaki, who garnered an international stage and carved a unique lane in cinema with hybrid (magical realism, fantasy, adventure, science fiction, historical fiction) animated films, most of them being female-centered coming-of-age tales.
After the first few chapters about his childhood, family and early years in animation as an inbetween artist, the ones thereafter are dedicated to his manga series, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and his eleven feature films, unveiling their central themes, motifs, references, and interpretations, as well as real world events in the midst of their creation and the happenings at Studio Ghibli.
One thing I really enjoyed about author Susan Napier's research is that while exploring the inner and outer journeys of the characters, she explores Miyazaki's as well. There's pieces of him in many of his characters, whether from his childhood or adulthood. I'm sure this will be the case with his forthcoming film, How Do You Live? too.
SN: I finished this book on Jan. 4th, which was actually Jan. 5th in Japan, Miyazaki's 81st bornday
After the first few chapters about his childhood, family and early years in animation as an inbetween artist, the ones thereafter are dedicated to his manga series, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and his eleven feature films, unveiling their central themes, motifs, references, and interpretations, as well as real world events in the midst of their creation and the happenings at Studio Ghibli.
One thing I really enjoyed about author Susan Napier's research is that while exploring the inner and outer journeys of the characters, she explores Miyazaki's as well. There's pieces of him in many of his characters, whether from his childhood or adulthood. I'm sure this will be the case with his forthcoming film, How Do You Live? too.
SN: I finished this book on Jan. 4th, which was actually Jan. 5th in Japan, Miyazaki's 81st bornday