When Hayao Miyazaki speaks, the world listens. And when he's angry, you better listen twice. In an interview that was widely circulated on Japanese websites, the Spirited Away maestro honestly stated: modern anime is created by people who don't see anything but their own screens. And that's the genre's biggest problem.
What does Miyazaki think about anime?
Despite the fact that Hayao Miyazaki is a true anime legend, he himself is clearly critical of what his colleagues have been doing in recent years.
"Almost all Japanese animation is created without regard for real people. It's done by people who can't look at other people. That's why the industry is full of otaku."
Miyazaki is not against loving anime. He is against it becoming the only thing a person lives by.
"If you don't observe reality, you can't create a reflection of it," he explains.
And here it becomes especially clear why the heroes of his films are always so alive: Miyazaki does not draw fantasy, he draws life, he just makes it more beautiful. Otaku are not just fans. These are those who have lost touch with the present. Who reproduce cliches instead of feeling. Who know everything about mecha, but nothing about people.
This is not the first time he criticizes the industry. But this time it is especially painful. Because he is right. The viewers themselves feel it: more and more anime is the same face, the same look, the same phrases. As if the heroes are molded according to a template, forgetting that a person has not only big eyes, but also a soul.
Miyazaki does not demand a revolution. He simply reminds: to draw something alive, you need to live. Go outside. Look. Notice. Understand.
And if you want to create something truly worthwhile, put down the manga, take the album and leave the room.
