Prep work began with a bit of research into the history of anime. Any research into the history of anime in America quickly leads to the (non-Ghibli related) series, Robotech. I remembered that series from my childhood, and I could see that I was going to be prepping for the Ghibli series for a while, so I decided to review that series while working on this in the background.
I set a simple target: I would begin posting after I had finished my last Robotech review. That was August 2023 - just shy of three years. In that time, my concept for this Ghibli journey has greatly expanded.
EXPANDING SCOPE:
My original intent was to start with Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, whose success led to the studio's founding, and go from there.
Research led me to expand my scope, however. If I was including Nausicaä, then I was already including one title that predated Studio Ghibli. It made no sense to exclude so many of the titles that came before it, but that were equally critical to the careers of Ghibli's most prominent filmmakers.
I was also conscious of not wanting to make this just into a film series about Hayao Miyazaki. I was already of the opinion that Isao Takahata's Ghibli work was just as important to the studio's reputation. If Miyazaki is the marquee name, then Takahata is the arthouse auteur - and without his titles, I think Ghibli's output would lack a sense of substance and texture. Beyond that, many of both filmmakers' early works were made together, with Takahata frequently directing and Miyazaki working in animation.
So I kept pushing back in time to fold in their earliest titles. My new starting point became Takahata's first directed feature, The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun, on which Miyazaki worked as key animator. Then I moved further back, to pick up a couple of classic animes for which Takahata served as Assistant Director. And then I moved still further back, deciding to incorporate some of both filmmaker's early film inspirations.
Perhaps it's a pitfall of a lengthy prep time that the scope of this project expanded to such a degree - but at the same time, I think something would be lost if I had simply started with Nausicaä.
THE PHASES OF THIS REVIEW SERIES
This review series will be divided into four phases, which I'm currently titling: Inspirations & Early Works; The Road to Ghibli; Ghibli's Rise; and Ghibli's Later Years.
1. Before Ghibli - Inspirations & Early Works: This first phase will look at a handful of the works that inspired either Takahata, or Miyazaki, or in at least one instance, both. This will include both live action and animated movies. From here, I'll continue with films and series they worked on while at Toei Animation. The final entry in this section will be 1971's Animal Treasure Island, which credits Hayao Miyazaki for its adaptation.
2. The Road to Ghibli: This section will cover the works by Takahata and Miyazaki after they left Toei. This will include the various series on which they collaborated, as well as their individual works once they went their separate ways. At this stage, I will stop including works where neither was the driving force (for example, I will not include the anime series, A Dog of Flanders, even though Takahta directed individual episodes). The final entry here will be the movie that led to Ghibli's founding, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
3. Ghibli's Rise: This section will look at Ghibli's rise to prominence and its heyday, covering the studio's output through the 1980s and 1990s as their releases gained international recognition. The final entry will be 2001's Spirited Away, which is generally recognized as Ghibli's most widely popular release.
4. Ghibli's Later Years: The final section will cover the studio's later releases, starting with Hiroyuki Morida's 2002 film, The Cat Returns and moving forward through their 21st century output.
RATING SCALE:
I've tried to emphasize in past review series that I apply ratings within review series. It would be ridiculous to judge an episode of Robotech, or an entry in the Hellraiser or Rambo film franchises, against something like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or Casablanca, so those review series have enjoyed a more generous curve.
The films and series I'll be reviewing for this series are both diverse in nature and of generally high quality. As a result, the review curve is going to be a bit strict, more similar to my Best Picture reviews than to the average TV or film review series.
As a baseline, my scores for this review series will translate as follows:
9 - 10: Outstanding. Essential viewing. I regard the title as a masterpiece or at least very close to it.
7 - 8: Very Good. I can do some nit-picking, or maybe I see one fault that irritates me, but it's still a quality work.
5 - 6: Okay. Watchable, even entertaining, and likely has artistic merit, but with some notable flaws.
4: Below Average. Though not entirely without merit, this title falls well short of its ambitions.
2 - 3: Bad. This title misses the mark, though there may be some glimpses of potential in the final product.
1: Terrible. A waste of time and talent. I'll honestly be surprised if I award a "1" to any title in this review series.
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