Turning Point: 1997-2008

When the editors of Animage encouraged me to create a manga, I got all excited and, as fate would have it, decided to create my own version of Nausicaä. I am now forced to reflect yet again on why, years ago, I once gave up drawing manga because I felt I lacked talent. At this point, I hope that I can somehow bring this young heroine into a world o

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My personal dilemma over this has become increasingly pointed. I’ve turned my back on the flood of visual material being produced, but I’m struggling desperately in the hope of creating something a little better. In order to do so, I’ve even had to rationalize the art of navigating this world. I tell people I hate professionals, but I know that in

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As I developed into a youth and young adult, I came to realize that I shouldn’t be just a good kid, that I should look at things with my own eyes and have independent ideas. This led me to attempt to turn my back on even my fundamental purity as a child and, combined with the dark time of studying for entrance exams, I came to draw nihilistic gekig

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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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Recently, Miyazaki-san finished drawing Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Reading it, I was moved to tears. This makes me want to ask Miyazaki-san about his views on the environment. People find it very difficult to understand environmental problems from discussions about the ways in which the environment is being destroyed or the fact that the e

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