LA Times discuss anime with Oshii

Paul

Paul

Ghost of Animes
Administrator
US newspaper the LA Times has posted a detailed article comparing (and in Oshii's case, interviewing) Mamoru Oshii and Hayao Miyazaki, two of the most highly regarded directors of Japanese animation.

"I think inside his head Miyazaki wants to destroy Japan," says Oshii, who had to work hard to prevent American distributors DreamWorks from altering his Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence script.

"Look," says Production IG head Mitsuhisa Ishikawa. "'Innocence' is even difficult for me to understand. But I trust Oshii's talent. And if you dilute it for an American audience, it wouldn't be cyberpunk anymore."

The article takes an unflinching look at anime, from its apparent creative stagnation in Japan to its relative success aboard. In attempting to explain the success of Miyazaki's top grossing films, Toshio Suzuki (Miyazaki's long-time collaborator) is quoted as saying, "Japan now has no hope in general,... It's the reason Miyazaki's films are so popular here: His films give the audience the energy to live."

Read the full, interesting article.
<span class=menu>Source: <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/">Anime News Network</a></span>
 
I thought this article was particularly interesting for the way it speaks with the people involved with anime. Though the article is obviously trying to cause conflict between Oshii and Miyazaki.

I found this contrast interesting:

Unlike his dark anime visions, Oshii is cheerful and easygoing in person, while "Miyazaki's personality, on the other hand, is very pessimistic," says Suzuki. "Miyazaki has to put a brake on his thinking" when making a movie to get those happy endings.
Click to expand...

So who thinks Miyazaki is habouring some seriously pent up rage? :)
 
i know Miyazaki goes to great lengths to make his animation realistic, but i think saying that he 'hates Japan' and wants to include more violence is taking things a little too far. comments like that are bound to happen if they insist on placing two animators with widly differing styles side-by-side and comparing them. it's a shame Miyazaki and Otomo themselves couldn't be interviewed directly though. that may have been the cause of some of what are, to put them bluntly, assumptions on the part of Oshii. Still, it's a revealing insight into anime's status in its home country.
 
yeah, i agree there. i was already aware that, as much as Miyazaki and Takahata respect each other professionally, they have always openkly admitted that they never got on well. personally, i've not looked into the industrial politics much - i've been too wrapped up in the films themselves. i suppose it's a cut-throat industry, and to quote John Lennon "you need to be a b*****d to get to the top." the strict working regime Miyazaki an Takahata organise is really a means to an end and as difficult as it is to work in (i don't envy them!), the results speak for themselves.
 
Hmm, interesting article. Personally, if (and I think it is somewhat unlikey) Miyazaki want to destroy Japan, then Oshii wants to bore it to death. Far from the action/violence format that the article seems to paint Oshii's work as, sheer dullness seems to me to be the overriding theme (for proof, watch the second Patlabor movie, and try not to fall asleep). At least Miyazaki's films are populated with interesting characters and there is always something happening. I find it difficult to become engaged with Oshii's characters (and yes, I am a Masamune Shirow fan, so it isn't the original material).
Japanese animation currently may seem to be in a bit of a slump. I feel that too much emphasis is placed on TV series to the detriment of OAV's and movies, and this is one area that could change.
However, pushing back boundaries isn't what a lot of the industry is aiming for. What sells best in Japan currently seems to be simple character based stories. This will change, as it has in the past, and long may it continue to do so.
 
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