Report: Studio Ghibli May Be Shutting Down - Update

[Ishigami]

Okay listen Ghibli I know what you need to do to secure your survival in today?s anime market: Hentai and Ecchi.
There fixed it.
The last glimpse of a silver linen is dead and every responsible adult can close the chapter of Anime while the people stuck in adolescence get some quality porn on top of their shitty porn.
Everybody wins.

 

[Someone Depressing]

...What? Seriously? I never watched many of their movies, but I thought their work was absoloutely gorgeous.

Even so, I imagine the biggest splash will be in the general anime fandom. It will not be pretty.

 

[Barciad]

Now would be a good time for Disney to swoop...

Anyway, this is quite sad, but for a single production company Ghibli has had an astounding run. Miyazaki and some of the senior people in the company have been working since the sixties, they had to get old sooner or later.

I don't think there's anyone in Japan (or the world for that matter) that can replace them, this might be the end of the last major 2-d animated movie makers, which is extremely sad.

I think it was a case that Miyazaki was essentially Ghibli, and nothing they do without him really is as good as when he's there. I feel them dying now right before the likely fall from grace they'd have is less painful then it would be. What was that Batman quote that is so awesome to use "Die a hero or live long enough to become the villain"?

I fear that you are right. My suggestion would have been for Miyazaki to have groomed a successor. Initially, I believe that was what he was planning. I read somewhere that he had hoped to set up Yoshifumi Kondō ('Whisper of the Heart' director) in that position. Tragically, this never came to pass, owing to Kondo's death in 1998. As for promising young directors. Yasuhiro Yoshiura remains unproven, whilst Makoto Shinkai (after an excellent start) has descended very swiftly into Ghibli parody act.

 

[omega 616]

Ni No Kuni... indie? I don't think you understand what Indie means. Level 5 developed this in conjunction with Ghibli and it was published by Namco Bandai. This is the opposite of indie.

Also, maybe you should give Ghibli a try. FMA isn't Ghibli, heck most anime isn't Ghibli. Fair enough if you don't like the stuff, but don't completely dismiss something before you try it.

Try "Princess Mononoke"

Ok, I goofed ... it just has that indie vibe to it.

I've seen Princess Mononoke, it's total crap. It was just bizzare crap, like somebody had just gotten sky high on illegal drugs, knocked out the frame work for a story, come down off the high and then wrote in the detail. Admittedly, I did miss a lot of the start but I did see a fight near a lake and a giant, talking white warthog that dies in a disgusting way ... I can only remember little fragments but it was bizzare!

 

[omega 616]

Ok, I goofed ... it just has that indie vibe to it.

I've seen Princess Mononoke, it's total crap. It was just bizzare crap, like somebody had just gotten sky high on illegal drugs, knocked out the frame work for a story, come down off the high and then wrote in the detail. Admittedly, I did miss a lot of the start but I did see a fight near a lake and a giant, talking white warthog that dies in a disgusting way ... I can only remember little fragments but it was bizzare!

I had more or less the same reaction to Princess Mononoke the first time I saw it, because it was so very different from all other anime I'd seen up to that point. Maybe it's because I was an actual adult when I rewatched it, that the quality and story sunk in.

Anyway, you owe it to yourself to watch it again or a different movie. I don't fault anyone for not liking them, most of them are slow-paced and there's definitely a kids vibe to them, but for me their work is not only some of the best stuff out there, they're a genuine cultural treasure that Japan has shared with the world. I do not say that lightly.

I was 24 when I watched it, if I am not getting it now, I am never getting it. Just another one of the many things I think it crap but the general consensus is that it's great. Other notable examples are, Braid, Flower, journey, bastion, fez and just about any 2D side scroller.

 

[AtomChicken]

Well, with Miyazaki parting, they weren't able to find someone or enough impetus to justify continuing their animation studio. Pity we're losing a good powerhouse, but the writing was on the wall for some time. And yeah, good animation is expensive, time consuming and a lot of dedication required. As for the few hitting on Animu, I say peace on thee, Miyazaki created some good stuff and I recommend to watch it.

At least the dubbing is half-decent, and you won't be grinding your brain-cells with terrible dub quality that sounds like it came straight from Elder Scrolls: Oblivion or Fallout 3.

 

[Dragonbums]

Maybe if Ghibli went with the times and made more almost naked, underage appearing, action anime with shallow ass tropes and god bosses and enemies all while trying to convince everyone outside the fandom that it's a lot more than just T&A first, Ghibli wouldn't be in that situation.

 

[Dragonbums]

Only a few more to go and the world will be free of this anime curse, I'm sure the "artists" will be fine. They can get careers producing their fetish material on Deviant Art for donations or something.

I find it sad that you think Studio Ghibli, one of the few anime studios in Japan that makes films that actually connect with and pander to a lot of people outside the anime fandom, should suffer for the shit low budget and mid budget studios shit out on a daily basis.

 

[omega 616]

I was 24 when I watched it, if I am not getting it now, I am never getting it. Just another one of the many things I think it crap but the general consensus is that it's great. Other notable examples are, Braid, Flower, journey, bastion, fez and just about any 2D side scroller.

Like I said, I don't fault people for not liking Ghibli movies.
If you think you've figured out the world by the age of 24 and developed your tastes to the point where you think they'll never change, then I sincerely envy you. I still find myself appreciating things that I never really gave a chance at the age of 30.

I know what you're saying and in all likely hood, my opinions will change over time ... I used to like the spice girls for fucks sake but I am fairly objective about things. I make quick pro and con lists in my head, then give an opinion, so I'm as close to an objective opinion as I can get. (I know that doesn't make sense but I hope you get what I mean).

For example, I am pretty good at remembering films and I can usually pick up plots if I miss the start of films but that animovie defeated me! I watched for a good while and I had no clue what was going on, why anything was happening and I can't remember exact details ... it's like my brain refused to remember it.

 

[Dragonbums]

I'm honestly sick with Miyazaki's attitude towards the whole anime industry.

Are you saying it isn't valid though? Whether you want to deny it or not, a fuck ton of the anime produced now is extremely fetishitic moe pandering that has no connection to anyone outside of the anime sphere. And even some anime fans within said sphere are put off about it.

He never tries to lead a change

Yet a lot of his movies are all time classics. Also...how does one "lead change?" You either follow the current trend (which isn't lead by one specific person/studio) or you go against it.


,

and just insults the anime industry while pandering his own market.

The anime industry in and of itself has a lot of fixing to do. One of them being, pandering to an extreme market that puts off anyone that isn't already part of the anime fandom.

Also...Studio Ghibli panders to...non anime fans. Which make up a whole lot more of the market than anime fans.

 

[Lizmichi]

I've seen Princess Mononoke, it's total crap. It was just bizzare crap, like somebody had just gotten sky high on illegal drugs, knocked out the frame work for a story, come down off the high and then wrote in the detail. Admittedly, I did miss a lot of the start but I did see a fight near a lake and a giant, talking white warthog that dies in a disgusting way ... I can only remember little fragments but it was bizzare!

Missing the beginning doesn't help that's for sure. I personally love Princess Mononoke, but I can see how someone like you could not like it. Miyazaki was a little heavy handed with his Shinto themes that he likes to use in a lot of his films ,Howl's Moving Castle is kind of an odd one because it's an adaption of a western book, and not his original idea. Anyway, he likes to use a lot of man vs nature themes, and it was presented in an odd way with Mononoke; I mean, a headless forest spirit for crap sake. It took me watching the film when I was older to better understand the film, writing a paper on Miyazaki also helps understand his themes. Yea, Princess Mononoke is bizarre, but that's part of the charm to me.

I remember in Japanese class watching it, and some of the girls thought it was gross, not that they have less of a right to dislike the film. To each their own in this case.

 

[FPLOON]

Well, I know what this calls for...

Spoiler: *sniffs*

http://mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw934_4ujP4.gif

And yes, I'm still metaphorically crying in that corner over there... (I think I need to buy myself some Miyazaki/Ghibli films before it's REALLY too late...)

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Miyazaki's own retirement makes this into one ugly non-coincidence.

 

[A.K.B.]

"suppressing tears and sadness with now overflowing anger ... "
so what's next, all the Japanese anime studios shift policy and focus solely on producing Hentai ?
Seriously, I'm losing faith in humanity here .....