Scan barcode
moviesnob04's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Both of these books add a lot of much-needed insight into the genius works of Hayao Miyazaki. While Turning Point may not equal the previous book Starting Point, (due to it being a lot more square-focused on specific works rather than the larger philosophies that the first book explored so well), I still very much appreciate the discussions on Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle and especially Spirited Away. Discussions on nature and an amazing roundtable discussion with Nick Park of Aardman are huge highlights of the book. I hope we get one more volume in the future, although if you want to track the trajectory of Miyazaki's career following the material discussed in this book; here are some visual projects:
. The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (excellent look into the production of The Wind Rises)
. Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki (look into the initial retirement of Miyazaki following The Wind Rises and the production of his first CG short film: Boro The Caterpillar
. 10 years with Hayao Miyazaki (covers Ponyo, From Up On Poppy Hill, Tales from Earthsea, The Wind Rises etc.)
. The upcoming NHK documentary about the production of The Boy and The Heron (should be distributed outside of Japan through their YouTube channel, I'll update in the future when I know for sure that there is access for English audiences)
. And this last one is more broad but the art books of Studio Ghibli give you way more of the little snippets of production pics and artwork for specific productions (all Miyaziki Ghibli films but also ones for Secret World of Arrietty and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya)
. The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (excellent look into the production of The Wind Rises)
. Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki (look into the initial retirement of Miyazaki following The Wind Rises and the production of his first CG short film: Boro The Caterpillar
. 10 years with Hayao Miyazaki (covers Ponyo, From Up On Poppy Hill, Tales from Earthsea, The Wind Rises etc.)
. The upcoming NHK documentary about the production of The Boy and The Heron (should be distributed outside of Japan through their YouTube channel, I'll update in the future when I know for sure that there is access for English audiences)
. And this last one is more broad but the art books of Studio Ghibli give you way more of the little snippets of production pics and artwork for specific productions (all Miyaziki Ghibli films but also ones for Secret World of Arrietty and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya)
corymojojojo's review against another edition
5.0
These Miyazaki “memoirs” are really funny to me because I genuinely can’t imagine who besides a Miyazaki fanatic like myself would actually bother reading them. This is not an autobiography or even very informational, and it’s hardly even about his movies. Instead, it’s a collection of pretty much anything and everything Miyazaki has publicly said in interviews, speeches, essays, seminars, etc. in chronological order, regardless of what the topic was. This means that there is basically zero cohesion or focus, it’s just whatever he was saying at the time whether it be about his upcoming film, his thoughts on a random movie he watched, or maybe the history of some prehistorical village. This is kind of odd and I think severely limits the potential audience who might only be familiar with him through his films. This is especially odd because the book is organized in sections labeled after his films—Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, etc.—however you’re lucky if you get even one interview in each of those sections that’s actually about that film. Don’t expect to learn anything at all about the making of Ponyo or Howl’s Moving Castle aside from a few sprinkled thoughts.
This is all culminates in a bad, boring book for most people, but hey, I’m not most people! I gotta know it all! 5 stars!
This is all culminates in a bad, boring book for most people, but hey, I’m not most people! I gotta know it all! 5 stars!
toloveisdestroy's review against another edition
3.0
For over half of my life, Miyazaki's films (and the films of Ghibli) have impacted my life. They taught me extremely valuable lessons behind their enjoyably detailed scenes. This novel took you through some of those films through in-depth analysis and portrayed many of the lessons Miyazaki intended the viewer to learn and understand. From expressing how the films were meant to break molds, to how characters were purposefully imbued with certain personality traits. If you asked me, I think this book is great for any fan of Ghibli, and I learned a lot from it.
Nonetheless, while it did convince me to check out it's prequel of his earlier films, I do not see this as a novel I would re-read, as enjoyable as it was.
Nonetheless, while it did convince me to check out it's prequel of his earlier films, I do not see this as a novel I would re-read, as enjoyable as it was.
veiledmountainfury's review against another edition
4.0
I received an ARC of this title via NetGalley (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review.
This book reminded me a lot of Neil Gaiman’s A View From The Cheap Seats. It is a wonderful compilation of Miyazaki’s interviews and some various other writings over the listed years. The topics are varied so you can get a great idea of some of his views on the world and a bit about his movies. If you are looking for something going into depth about each movie, this is not for you. While it really went into details about Princess Mononoke it mentioned Howls Moving Castle only in passing. So in conclusion, looking for learning about the man himself this is a great companion book for research.
This book reminded me a lot of Neil Gaiman’s A View From The Cheap Seats. It is a wonderful compilation of Miyazaki’s interviews and some various other writings over the listed years. The topics are varied so you can get a great idea of some of his views on the world and a bit about his movies. If you are looking for something going into depth about each movie, this is not for you. While it really went into details about Princess Mononoke it mentioned Howls Moving Castle only in passing. So in conclusion, looking for learning about the man himself this is a great companion book for research.
originstorytoloveisdestroy's review against another edition
3.0
For over half of my life, Miyazaki's films (and the films of Ghibli) have impacted my life. They taught me extremely valuable lessons behind their enjoyably detailed scenes. This novel took you through some of those films through in-depth analysis and portrayed many of the lessons Miyazaki intended the viewer to learn and understand. From expressing how the films were meant to break molds, to how characters were purposefully imbued with certain personality traits. If you asked me, I think this book is great for any fan of Ghibli, and I learned a lot from it.
Nonetheless, while it did convince me to check out it's prequel of his earlier films, I do not see this as a novel I would re-read, as enjoyable as it was.
Nonetheless, while it did convince me to check out it's prequel of his earlier films, I do not see this as a novel I would re-read, as enjoyable as it was.