 | |
| Author | Susan J. Napier |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reference |
| Publisher | Yale University Press |
Publication date | September 4, 2018 |
| Pages | xviii, 305 |
| ISBN | 978-0-300-22685-0 |
| OCLC | 1050871101 |
Miyazakiworld: A Life in Art is a 2018reference work by the American animation scholarSusan J. Napier. The book is abiography of the Japanese animator and directorHayao Miyazaki and analyzesseveral of his works. After encountering Miyazaki's films while writing a book onanime, Napier decided to create a work focused on him. She spent eight years researching and writing it and interviewed Miyazaki in the process.Miyazakiworld was published byYale University Press and was reviewed in a number of journals and magazines. Most reviewers praised Napier's writing style and detailed research, but felt that there were some aspects the book could have expanded upon.
Miyazakiworld is a chronological account of the life and career ofHayao Miyazaki,[1] and is a blend between abiography and a critical analysis of his works.[2] It contains sixteen chapters;[3] the first three detail Miyazaki's childhood and early career until the production ofThe Castle of Cagliostro (1979), his first feature film. The subsequent thirteen analyze each of his films up toThe Wind Rises (2013), with one more focusing on his mangaNausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1982–1994).[4]Susan J. Napier introduces the title,Miyazakiworld, as "the immersive animated realm that varies delightfully from film to film but is always marked by the director's unique imagination."[5] She previously used the term to refer to the adherence to Miyazaki's political and philosophical viewpoints inStudio Ghibli fan discourse, which she studied within theMiyazaki Mailing List.[6]
Napier argues Miyazaki is anauteur, despite general skepticism that an animator can hold such a label,[7] and discusses recurring themes in his work such asenvironmentalism, nostalgia, andwomen's empowerment.[8] She often connects moments in Miyazaki's personal and professional life to aspects of his fictional works.[9] For example, Napier identifies a commonality in the settings of several films which she terms "Miyazaki's cherished Euroworld", a combination of fantastical elements and inspiration drawn from the director's travels to Europe.[10] At several points, she references one of Miyazaki's childhood memories of thePacific War – of leaving behind a woman and a child as his family escaped thefirebombing of Tokyo – which Napier argues strongly impacted his depictions of children as resilient and independent.[11] She frequently references Miyazaki's relationship with his mother – who was bedridden withtuberculosis for much of Miyazaki's childhood – particularly with regard toMy Neighbor Totoro (1989) andThe Wind Rises.[12] The book tracks the development of Miyazaki's political philosophies, such as his pacifist stances growing up in the aftermath of the Pacific War,[13] or the influence of his role in alabor union atToei Animation on hisleftist views.[14] She argues that Miyazaki's privileged upbringing informed these anti-authoritarian stances.[11] Napier also discusses severalnatural disasters in Japan that affected Miyazaki's portrayals of the natural world.[15]
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Napier, a professor of rhetoric andJapanese studies atTufts University,[11] is an establishedanime scholar[16] and has long been at the forefront of the academic examination of Hayao Miyazaki's works.[17] The animation scholarRayna Denison considered Napier's bookAnime from Akira to Princess Mononoke (2001) to be a foundational work in the field of anime studies.[18] Her earlier works analyzed Miyazaki's themes and style, and she later published examinations of his impact on fantasy media and the Americananime and manga fandom.[19]
She first met Miyazaki in 1992 during a visit to Studio Ghibli as part of the research for a book on anime.[20] She had discovered his work while researching for that book and felt a full study was overdue.[21] She later reflected that this encounter was what ultimately inspired her to write a book about him.[22] In the following years she met him twice more, the third being an interview conducted after he had announced his retirement in 2013.[23]
Napier developedMiyazakiworld over eight years,[16] building upon a large volume of scholarship, including untranslated Japanese primary and secondary sources.[24] She acknowledgesHelen McCarthy's bookHayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation (1999) – the first full-length critical analysis of Miyazaki's filmography[25] that laid the groundwork for the academic study of his work[26] – as an inspiration for her book.[27] She also expanded upon her previous writing which analyzed themes in Miyazaki's work.[28]
The 344-page hardcover and thee-book were published byYale University Press on September 4, 2018,[29] and the paperback on November 19, 2019.[30] The book filled a gap in English-language biographical coverage about the director at the time,[7] and multiple reviewers felt the book would become foundational for future academic inquiry into Miyazaki's body of work.[31] Writing forThe Journal of Japanese Studies, Denison felt that the book was a compelling reading experience for both a general audience and scholars, and a "significant step forward in the nascent field of anime studies".[18] Years later, she consideredMiyazakiworld "Napier's most significant contribution" to the scholarship on the director,[19] and the scholars Dominic J. Nardi and Keli Fancher considered it a "seminal" work in the field.[32] InCINEJ Cinema Journal, Ayçin Ergin Akdaş felt Napier's development of ideas through each chapter made the book easier to read, and recommended that it be incorporated into educational programs.[33] The animation scholarJonathan Clements, in a review forScience Fiction Studies, said the work was "perfectly judged" as an introduction for undergraduate students,[34] andThe University Bookman's Titus Techera felt Napier's thorough research and neutral presentation were particular strengths to that end.[35] C. B. Cannon highly recommended the book for all audiences in their review forChoice, awarding it three stars.[8]
In a review forThe Journal of Asian Studies, the animation scholar Shiro Yoshioka appreciated the contextualization of Miyazaki's animation work within his personal life and the surrounding culture of the time.[36] Clements enjoyed the book's nuance and the diverse opportunities for further reading included in the bibliography, but wrote that it fell short of a comprehensive criticism of Miyazaki's body of work due to its focus being largely on his feature films.[34] Denison concurred,[37] but also felt that Napier often highlighted and analyzed aspects of Miyazaki's life not typically mentioned in other writing about him,[38] and commended her exploration of controversial elements in Miyazaki's works.[18] Reviewers appreciated the novel inclusion of certain written works, such asPrincess Mononoke: The First Story (1983)[a] and theNausicaä of the Valley of the Wind manga; the book is among the few in English to analyze them.[39] Clements felt that Napier's use of uncommon sources, especially the Japanese-language biographyThe Origin of Miyazaki Hayao: The Story of Mother and Son (2002)[b] byMitsunari Ōizumi [ja], led her to create "a more intimate and revealing" book compared with previous work in English.[40] InThe Times Literary Supplement,Claire Kohda also commended the incorporation of archival interviews with Miyazaki.[41]
A review inPublishers Weekly lauded the balance of biographical and analytical aspects, calling the book "the labor of both a consummate scholar and an avid fan".[42] Denison felt that the book differentiates itself from a conventional biography by, rather than focusing on "scandalous revelations", using details from the director's life to inform appraisal of his art.[43] She also appreciated the inclusion of relevant personal anecdotes, which she felt demonstrated Napier's passion and expertise.[44] Yoshioka found Napier's writing style to be approachable while simultaneously maintaining scholarly rigor.[45] Other reviewers agreed,[46] including Rhea Rollmann ofPopMatters, who wrote thatMiyazakiworld was an "excellent volume".[7] The animation scholar Mihaela Mihailova, writing inMonumenta Nipponica, felt the book offered a unique perspective on its subject despite two similar scholarly books being published in the same year.[16][c]Reactor's Leah Schnelbach called Napier's discussion of Miyazaki's politics and environmental themes the best in the book, and praised her analysis ofSpirited Away (2001) andHowl's Moving Castle (2004) "as meta-commentaries on Studio Ghibli itself".[11] Shane Healy of theTokyo Weekender found Napier's observations on Miyazaki's work illuminating and akin to "taking a peek inside his head".[47]
Both Clements and Mihailova felt that the third chapter, which focuses on Miyazaki's early career in television animation, covers too wide a period and felt rushed as a result.[48] AlthoughHyperallergic's Angelica Frey called the book "an essential work" for the field, she sought deeper discussion of Miyazaki's artistic influences.[2]The Washington Post's Mark Jenkins found some words overused,[49] and Mihailova noted Napier's arguments occasionally contradicted Miyazaki's statements.[50] Techera felt the book did not explain Miyazaki's reverence in Japan,[35] and Kohda also felt the omission of contextualizing his work's reception in the Western world was a "missed opportunity".[41] According to Clements, inclusion of further Japanese-language material written by Miyazaki's colleagues – such asMamoru Oshii andSteve Alpert – may have rendered the book more appealing for an academic audience.[40] He also felt that the book lacked references to some important English-language sources, such asAndrew Osmond's reference work onSpirited Away, and did not include several biographical details which may have helped support the book's thesis.[51]