he automatic impulse upon picking up Hayao Miyazaki: Master of
Japanese Animation is to flip to the color inset with the eight
pages of stills from Miyazaki's movies. The photos are printed on quality
glossy paper that brings out the rich, deep palette of key shots from
Laputa: Castle in the Sky and the Miyazaki-written Whisper
of the Heart. The immediate temptation is to cut these pages out and
put them on the wall.
His images are no less compelling in motion. Miyazaki's animated
movies, including the touching, tender My Neighbor Totoro, the
complex and emotional Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and the
visual extravaganza Princess Mononoke, arouse deep emotion in
serious animation buffs. Until recently, his films were hard to find in the
United States outside of "fansub" rings and the occasional film festival. But Disney's
purchase of the U.S. release rights to much of Miyazaki's studio's
theatrical output seems to be changing that. Kiki's Delivery Service
came out on video in 1998 to rave reviews and strong sales. Mononoke
is currently in theaters. Castle in the Sky is reportedly due on
video next year.
Amid the new wave of U.S. enthusiasm over a director Japan has known for
decades as a national treasure, Helen McCarthy's book provides a lot more
than some fantastic color shots. It's an essential guide to
Miyazaki's work. It provides a brisk, simple history of the man's career,
from his "war baby" childhood to an unnamed future film. A selective
bibliography details Miyazaki's works, including the various Studio Ghibli
anime releases and Miyazaki's manga. For each of the films Miyazaki
actually directed, McCarthy provides a history, a list of origins and
inspirations, a very detailed plot summary, brief bios on the major
characters, and a few pages of thematic and critical analysis. The book
winds up with a chapter on "the Miyazaki machine," mostly about Ghibli's
merchandising and spinoff deals.
Clean and clear, but quite comprehensive
Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation is mostly a useful reference book for new fans who have
seen one of the few U.S. releases and want to know more about the director
whose vision shaped them. For hardcore Miyazaki fans, a great deal of this
information will be redundant--the plot summaries, for instance, are
painstakingly thorough and somewhat repetitive with the character
summaries. Put together, they might substitute for a first viewing of the
film, if it's currently unavailable, or help a fan walk through one of the
Japanese-only copies circulating between local otaku, but for anyone
who's seen the films, it's all so much padding.
The critical analysis, while neither shallow nor uninformed, tends to
skid quickly from one aspect of a film to the next. McCarthy's insights are
often illuminating, and her observations apt, but she keeps the book short
by making her points briefly and moving on. This can be frustrating when
dealing with works as rich and tangled as Miyazaki's. The book has no index
and no interview; McCarthy has interviewed the director, but scatters his
commentary throughout the book in small nuggets.
But Master shines in the clear, crisp history and the "Origins"
sections for each movie, which provide everything from production trivia to
Miyazaki's own analysis of his themes. The entire book is light, breezy,
compelling to read and easy to understand. It's enthusiastic but not
entirely uncritical, informative but not bogged down in minutiae.
Black-and-white stills and photos are included on virtually every other page.
McCarthy has a good sense for the themes and tones that make Miyazaki's
work so compelling, and her analysis is usually right on target. While it
might be more satisfying for serious fans to see her put together a denser,
more involved work, this book at least is a polished, enjoyable Miyazaki
introduction, with enough intriguing detail to keep the addicts
entertained.
