Studio Ghibli: An Industrial History takes us deep into the production world of the animation studio co-founded by Oscar-winning director Hayao Miyazaki. It investigates the production culture at Studio Ghibli and considers how the studio has become one of the world’s most famous animation houses. The book breaks with the usual methods for studying Miyazaki and Ghibli’s films, going beyond textual analysis to unpack the myths that have grown up around the studio during its long history. It looks back at over 35 years of filmmaking by Miyazaki and other Ghibli directors, reconsidering the studio’s reputation for egalitarianism and feminism, re-examining its relationship to the art of cel and CG animation, investigating Studio Ghibli’s work outside of feature filmmaking from advertising to videogames and tackling the studio’s difficulties in finding new generations of directors to follow in the footsteps of Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. By reconstructing the history of Studio Ghibli through its own records, promotional documents and staff interviews, Studio Ghibli: An Industrial History offers a new perspective not just on Ghibli, but on the industrial history of Japanese animation.
Author(s): Rayna Denison
Series: Palgrave Animation
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 225
City: Cham
Acknowledgements
Contents
List of Images
Chapter 1: Introduction: The Industrial World of Studio Ghibli
The Anime Studio System
Staging an Industrial History of Studio Ghibli
References
Chapter 2: The Myth of Ghibli: The Foundation and Early Industrial History of Studio Ghibli
An Unimportant Studio?: Studio Ghibli’s (Lack of) Presence in the Promotion of Castle in the Sky
Bad Business?: The Founding of Studio Ghibli and Tokuma Publishing
Tōru Hara, the Closure of Topcraft Studios and the Formation of Ghibli
Takahata, Nibariki, Studio Ghibli and Yanagawa horiwari monogatari (The Story of Yanagawa’s Canals, 1987)
Conclusion
References
Chapter 3: Studio Ghibli from the Ground Up: Early Working Culture and Practices
Studio Ghibli and Anime from the Ground Up
Ghibli’s Studio System: War Stories and Animation Against the Odds at Studio Ghibli
“I Was Down for a While, but Now I’m Feeling Good”: The Challenges of Working at Studio Ghibli
Exhaustion, Exploitation and Animation at Studio Ghibli
Conclusion
References
Chapter 4: Ghibli’s Worlds of Women: From Women’s Films to the Women Who Shaped the Permanent Studio Ghibli
Women’s Work in Animation
Women Making Ghibli’s Worlds: Similarities and Differences to Women’s Work in Animation
A Women’s Trilogy: From Kiki’s Delivery Service to Porco Rosso
Miyazaki’s ‘Anime Factory’: Women, Porco Rosso and the New Studio Ghibli
Conclusion
References
Chapter 5: Rendered (In)Visible: Studio Ghibli at Anime’s CG Turning Point
Crossing the Intervals: Special Effects Animation at Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli at the Turning Point for Computer-Generated Animation in Japan
Expanding Worlds of CG Animation: Princess Mononoke
CG Animation from the Margins to the Centre: A New Kind of Animation?
Conclusion
References
Chapter 6: Studio Ghibli at the Art Museum: Exhibiting Animation as Art
Studio Ghibli’s Early Artistic Ambitions and Department Store Exhibitions
Making Meanings for the Anime Museum: The Mitaka no Mori Ghibli Art Museum
Animation as Art in the Ghibli Art Museum: Special Exhibitions and the Materialization and Display of Animation Art
Beyond the Ghibli Art Museum: Repackaging, Reimagining and Redeploying Studio Ghibli Films in the World’s Museums
Conclusion
References
Chapter 7: A Hidden History of Studio Ghibli: Short Films, Advertising and the Industrial Reality of Japanese Animation
Studio Ghibli’s Short Films, Branding and Authorial Centralization
Studio Ghibli’s Bespoke Advertising and Short Films: From Music Videos to Anniversary Celebrations
Conclusions
References
Chapter 8: The Long Shadow of Hayao Miyazaki: Studio Ghibli, Home Video and New Directors
Full of Ghibli: Studio Ghibli and Home Video
Studio Ghibli, Toshio Suzuki and the Production Committee’s Impact on Ghibli’s Home Videos
Gorō Miyazaki as Director: Manufacturing a Fantasy of Failure
A “New” Ghibli?: Hiromasa Yonebayashi as Ghibli’s Unlikely Star
Conclusion
References
Chapter 9: A Disappearing Kingdom: Studio Ghibli’s Legacy in the Ni no Kuni Franchise
Studio Ghibli, Franchising and Media Mix
Another World: Studio Ghibli, Level-5 and the Association Behind Ni No Kuni
Franchising Ni No Kuni: Level-5’s Media Mix Strategies and Studio Ghibli’s Exploration of “Other” Worlds of Animation
Building Other Worlds: The Ni No Kuni Sequels and Studio Ghibli as Legacy Brand
Collaboration and the Retention of Ghibli’s Legacy in Ni No Kuni
Conclusions
References
Index
