Welcome to Litsy!

This is a combination of biography of Hayao Miyazaki & analysis of the movies he produced by a professor of the Japanese Program at Tufts University.

This was a fascinating exploration of Miyazaki‘s life & the influences it had on his creative process. It was fun listening to the author read her own work. This book was much better when it was about his life. The film analysis ended up feeling repetitive & a little reductive. 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

This book was really good. Have been a fan of His movies ever since I saw Kiki‘s Delivery Service. Very informative about his work and his life. Also gos over all of his movies letting you know what inspired them or what aspect of his life he was adding to it. Would recommend this one to any one who is a Miyazaki fan.

Hayao Miyazaki is one of our greatest living directors and every single one of his 11 films is spectacular and beautiful in its own unique way.

The best parts of Professor Susan Napier‘s book were the biographical glimpses into Miyazaki‘s life as he survived WWII and came of age in tumultuous post-war Japan. Her individual breakdowns of his films were just okay. I found them surprisingly shallow and full of supposition.

Fun Fact That I Just Learned From This Book:

Before becoming arguably the greatest director of animated films ever, Hayao Miyazaki worked on an Anne of Green Gables anime that was so popular in Japan in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s that Prince Edward Island still gets a considerable amount of tourism from Japanese fans of the show.

Check out that image I found. You can even see Anne smashing the slate on Gilbert‘s head!

#Starting this exploration of the life and works of one of the world‘s greatest living filmmakers, Hayao Miyazaki.