alt Hacker NewsI love that Miyazaki's real arc didn't start until he was older. Within this arc there are huge jumps in ability. There are two books that are compilations of interviews Miyazaki did in Japan around the times of each movie releasing. A few things stuck out to me:
1. The Japanese entertainment press is/was FAR more sophisticated than anything we have in the states. 2. Miyazaki is all about the details. There is no aspect of his films where there isn't a compelling 'why'. 3. I wish I understood Japanese so that I could experience these films in his own voice.
The books are Turning Point and Starting Point. Honorable mention is Sharing a House with the Never Ending Man, which was written by the only American who worked at Ghibli for a stretch. That one is less about creativity and more about the movie industry/how hard it is to translate Japanese into English
Even if you're not a native speaker it's worth watching the subbed versions versus the dubbed, mostly because the US distributors (cough Disney cough) demanded thematic motif music stuffed in every single goddamn semi-contemplative break in the action.
The subbed original audio features absolutely top class environmental sound design, and a more sparse musical landscape, when it is even present.
That's not to disparage the US scoring, which is fantastic, but the presence of music in scenes- versus the sound of distant fighting, the chittering winds, roaring water- changes them quite utterly.