Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished filmmakers in the history of animation.
Hayao Miyazaki is among the most prominent artists who observe every
detail in his work in order to enhance the user’s experience. In his early
years, he enjoyed expressing his imagination through drawing with a deep
understanding of creating and bringing art to life. In his view,
characters are not static entities but a movement that takes place in time
and space, and therefore detailing their individual personalities makes
them come alive and relate better to the audience. He believes the
children should live joyfully and always there is hope for better. Working
with Hayao Miyazaki is an extremely unique experience for the artists. The
illustrations are detailed with sketches, observations, and watercolors,
and the narrative around them is crafted. A storyteller uses the visual
composition of images to create a narrative and adds details to make each
scene lively and engaging.
Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
Howl’s Moving Castle, released in 2004, is the Studio
Ghibli film directed by Hayao Miyazaki with the second highest box
office revenue in the Studio Ghibli movies. It is based on the British
novel titled Howl’s Moving Castle written by Diana Wynne Jones. The
heroine Sophie is transformed into a ninety-year-old woman by the
witch’s curse. Her adventure proceeds while she and the main character
wizard Howl help each other to overcome a war.
The Wind Rises (2013)
The Wind Rises, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, was
released in 2013 as the final work of him who announced to retire from
creating a full-length film. He has decided to come back to produce a
brand new movie of Studio Ghibli, though. The Wind Rises was inspired
by the biography of the aircraft engineer Jiro Horikoshi who existed
until 1982 and the Tastuo Hori’s novel The Wind Has Risen published
from 1936 to 1938. The story is set in Tokyo around the Great Kanto
earthquake that happened in 1923. The drama animation follows the main
character Jiro who works as a fighter aircraft designer and the
heroine Naoko. An aircraft is one of the themes that Hayao Miyazaki is
the most interested in, and the flying scenes are beautifully depicted
in the movie.
