Is there such thing as loving your craft a little too much?
Former Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki – the man behind such groundbreaking films as Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro and The Wind Rises – certainly thinks so.
As he prepared to retire, Miyazaki sat down with Japanese news site Golden Times and discussed the future of the industry:
“You see, whether you can draw like this or not, being able to think up this kind of design, it depends on whether or not you can say to yourself, ‘Oh, yeah, girls like this exist in real life’. If you don’t spend time watching real people, you can’t do this, because you’ve never seen it. Some people spend their lives interested only in themselves. Almost all Japanese animation is produced with hardly any basis taken from observing real people, you know. It’s produced by humans who can’t stand looking at other humans. And that’s why the industry is full of otaku!”
In the West, otaku has been appropriated as a denomination of people with a passion for anime. In Japan, however, the term signifies someone with obsessive interest and is more often used in a negative context.
Initially, this variance in definition stirred a reaction from those who thought Miyazaki was dismissing his own fan base, when in fact he was lamenting the influx of artists who romanticise the notion of being a part of the industry, rather than entering it with a particular vision.
The idea of artistic obsession itself is usually portrayed in a positive light, but Miyazaki has a point, and it’s not only relevant to the anime industry.
Becoming an artist starts not by taking a pen, a paintbrush, or a camera in hand. It starts when the artist tunes in with the world and finds the inspiration that nurtures their story, no matter the form it takes. It’s not enough to sit in a dark room, staring at a screen, or reciting lines in front of a mirror. If you fail to face reality, you will fail to tell stories that audiences will embrace, understand, and love.