Studio Ghibli has made some of the best animated films of all-time, and much of them came from Hayao Miyazaki. The director is known the world over for his charming animation and storytelling as seen in Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and so forth. Of course, Miyazaki’s visions come together because of his talent, and a new story has revealed just how attentive the director is at work.
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The anecdote comes from Masaki Endo, aa key animator who worked on My Neighbor Totoro way back when. During a recent interview, Endo was asked about his time working on the Studio Ghibli classic, and the artist said Miyazaki was extremely attentive to the most minute details.
This came to light when Endo said he submitted some art to Miyazaki, and the director called him over confused. Endo says his boss asked why the key art was distorted before Miyazaki suggested that his glasses prescription was wrong. And while Endo doubted such was the case, he went to get his eyes checked.
And what did he learn? Endo discovered that his eyesight had worsened! The animator was seen by a doctor who confirmed the vision in one of his eyes had deteriorated. This answer allowed Endo to fix his glasses, and the artist said he never had issues with distorted pieces again. And despite the wild suggestion, it turns out Miyazaki was spot-on with his amateur diagnosis.
Endo says this advice left an impression on him, and he took what Miyazaki shared about attentiveness to his next gigs. This was a godsend for fans given the number of hits Endo did work on. The artist provided animation for classics like Akira, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Sword Art Online the Movie, and many more. As for Miyazaki, his work on My Neighbor Totoro marked the beginning of his work as a Studio Ghibli co-creator. The director went on to tackle mang films like Spirited Away before retiring, but Miyazaki returned to work a couple years back to animate his final film titled How Do You Live.
What do you think of this story about Miyazaki? Can you believe how vigilant he is with his films? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.
