Turning Point: 1997-2008

What I mean to say is that I didn’t start out writing and drawing Nausicaä because I specifically wanted to talk about ecosystems or the need to protect the environment. I started out intending to set the story in the desert, but when I drew some illustrations they weren’t very interesting, so then I came up with the idea of setting the story in a

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try as hard as possible to find the intent of what you imagine, the thing that seems to be floating around here [points above head]. Without this, you’ll never be able to make a film. When you do think of this—whether we call it your thoughts, ideas, philosophy, or even your feelings—in the midst of this thing that will be your foundation, you will

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It may sound trite when I say that I make animation to entertain children, but it is not trite at all. I certainly do not make animated films just so they will be popular with children. I try to create what I wanted to see when I was a child, or what I believe my own children want to see. We have all heard folktales. You can tell when you read them

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I felt so liberated and so pleased when I found out that what flowed inside me was connected to the broadleaf evergreen forest. My culture went far beyond the idiotic Japanese who started the war, beyond Hideyoshi Toyotomi who invaded Korea, and beyond The Tale of Genji that I detested. It was then that I realized how valuable plants are and how im

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