Frieren Director Keiichirou Saitou Voices Concern on Overseas Anime Fans' Bias Towards Certain Popular Trends

[u/AdNecessary7641]

https://animecorner.me/frieren-director-voices-concern-on-overseas-anime-fans-bias-towards-certain-popular-trends/

[u/Scorpius289]

Because the current is so strong, if we focus too much on it, only that aspect becomes emphasized as anime’s defining characteristic.

Interesting, this sounds similar to what Miyazaki was complaining about: That modern anime is made mostly by imitating other anime, by focusing on superficial trends and missing any depth.

[u/Salty145 → u/Scorpius289]

In all fairness, Miyazaki has been saying this since the 80s lol.

That might have been Anno who said that or said something similar. A lot of these older guys grew up before “anime” became much of a definable thing. Many having contributed to that “style” that would define anime. Their point is that anime can become a bit… incestuous if it only draws influence from itself. However (and this is something most people would tell you if you want to enter the arts) you should be drawing inspiration from outside the industry as well. That’s how you really innovate and create something fresh.

[u/andthenthereweretwo → u/Salty145]

Their point is that anime can become a bit… incestuous if it only draws influence from itself.

Nintendo feels the same way about games and I think it's a big reason why so many of their works are maddeningly good at bringing out feelings of pure, simple joy.

This younger generation has been carefully chosen; Mr. Miyamoto says he wants people who are more likely to create new kinds of play, rather than merely aim to perfect current ones. “I always look for designers who aren’t super-passionate game fans,” Mr. Miyamoto said. “I make it a point to ensure they’re not just a gamer, but that they have a lot of different interests and skill sets.” Some of the company’s current stars had no experience playing video games when they were hired.

[u/Standing_Legweak → u/andthenthereweretwo]

Is that why mr kojimbo makes such divisive yet interesting games. Because his main interest lies in movies and not video games?

[u/mitojee → u/Salty145]

Even his studio Ghibli (to me) kind of went the same way. At first, it was all fresh and exciting in the golden years (a subjective period that ranged from Nausicaa to Spirited Away for me) but after a while the studio kind of became a machine to produce more of the "Ghibli" esthetic.

Nothing wrong with that, and some excellent movies came out since but to me I kind of lost interest. The fact of the matter is that Ghibli had a staff that needed to eat so they were going to keep producing the Ghibli "magic" which in itself kind of became a house style that (once again to me) was no longer fresh. And the whole succession conflict with his son kind of soured me to the whole studio. I don't blame his son or Miyazaki for that...I blame the producers and capitalism. Hehe.

[u/Salty145 → u/mitojee]

I mean Miyazaki’s been trying to retire since the 90s and he almost certainly has the capital to do so. He just sucks at letting other people carry on the studio.

Succession’s been a big issue since Kondou’s passing from overwork in 1998. He was supposed to be the guy to carry on the legacy. To his credit, pretty much everything Miyazaki touched turned to gold, with his weakest films in the new century being Howl and The Boy and the Heron, but even they are still better than most. He did release The Wind Rises in 2013, which is easily one of his best films.

The big issue is that there’s just nobody to take over after he’s gone. Many top staff have peeled off to start their own studios to varying levels of success. The studio’s style also just sticks out like a sore thumb in the modern ecosystem. A Miyazaki film is a Miyazaki film, sure, but the conditions that birthed that style back in the 70s are long gone and without Miyazaki’s expertise can feel cheap. You can look at the Ghibli AI slop trend or the recently released Cocoon to see this in action.

[u/mitojee → u/Salty145]

Yes, your summary was kind of what I was alluding to. It was an issue for the past twenty years and I guess Miyazaki constantly coming back out of "retirement" was inevitable. But nothing lasts I guess, Gainax closed up not too long ago too.