Hello, BookTube!
I promised this video quite a while ago, and
I am really sorry for the delay.
Thank you so much for your patience and understanding
with this hiatus.
So without further ado, I'm going to review
Starting Point by Hayao Miyazaki, which--
as of now-- is, by far, my favorite book on
animation.
So to start out, I used this book as a resource
for my final paper in graduate school, which
was about movement across multiple platforms
in animation, which Hayao Miyazaki talks a
lot about in this book in a very engaging
way.
For example, he talks about how some companies
like Walt Disney rely on stage acting and
live models in order to create a formula of
movement, while other companies like Studio
Ghibli rely on intuition, as opposed to live
models, and how movement feels instead of
how it looks.
So, I just wanted to mention that, that this
book is a really great resource for animation
papers.
For me, this was one of the most fascinating
parts of this book.
ONE of the most fascinating parts of this
book.
There are so many!
This book is one of my favorites!
I would definitely consider Starting Point
a form of creative nonfiction, but it's definitely
more of a collection than it is a memoir.
So it's made up of interviews, magazine articles,
film reviews, transcripts from speeches that
he gave at university lectures...
It also has a lot of planning notes and proposals
from Miyazaki's films, as well as a chronology
of Miyazaki's life.
A brief, a really brief chronology.
Because this book goes from 1979 to 1996,
it doesn't cover all of Miyazaki's works but
it covers a lot of his famous works.
These works include Panda!
Go, Panda!, Lupin III, Castle in the Sky,
My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaa of the Valley
of the Wind, Porco Rosso, Whisper of the Heart--
which he didn't direct, but he did produce--
and Kiki's Delivery Service.
Can't forget about that one.
The forward of this book is written by John
Lasseter, Chief Creative Director of Pixar
Animation Studios, and the afterword is written
by Isao Takahata, who is co-founder of Studio
Ghibli, and he also directed Only Yesterday,
which is a wonderful film, and Grave of the
Fireflies, which is also a really great film.
I want to point out that I'm not often impressed--
if ever-- by forwords and afterwords.
But I would definitely not skip over the forward
and afterword in Starting Point.
Both the forward and afterword are carefully
worded but also really fun to read.
John Lasseter talks a lot about Miyazaki's
film techniques and how these techniques influence
his works at Pixar Animation Studios.
And Isao Takahata's afterword takes a completely
different approach, and talks about Miyazaki's
works habits and personality traits.
Starting Point is almost 500 pages long.
I love it.
I've read it twice already.
I've sticky-noted it so much.
I have a huge list of concepts that Miyazaki
talks about that fascinate me, and I'll briefly
mention a few without going into spoilers.
One of my favorite concepts he talks about
is the concept of yearning for a lost world,
which I'll save for you guys to read about,
because I don't want to give it away.
He talks a lot about different forms of animation,
for example how Western animation differs
from Eastern animation.
He also talks about how to bring truth into
fiction while also realizing that fiction
is an illusion.
He goes into the animation production process,
and how it works, as well as how the role
of an animator has changed over time and how
the production process has changed over time,
as well as his opinions on that.
He also talks about how Studio Ghibli operates--
what they talk about during meetings and who
they bring into those meetings.
And he also talks about his interest in forests
as well as aviation, and he compares both
of those things to animation, which I loved.
He also talks about some real-life events
that snuck their way into some of his stories.
In addition to a few pages from Miyazaki's
sketchbook, you also get a short in-color
comic called Dining in Midair, which I loved.
It was about the history of in-flight meals.
In Starting Point, he also goes over some
of the changes that he wishes he could make
right now to some of his finished films.
For example, Nausicaa, which is a brilliant,
brilliant film.
I do have one critique of it, and finding
out that he has the same critique of it made
me appreciate the film more.
And if you are a storyteller of any kind,
Miyazaki gives you writing advice that actually
works.
It's not the kind of writing advice that you
hear a lot, which is, "Just do it.
Just write.
Just put your ideas out there."
While it is true that the only writing advice
you need is to just do it, it's really refreshing
to read writing advice that is actually inspiring
and makes you feel like you can finish a huge
project that might've seemed overwhelming
before.
I know I feel a lot more inspired to write
now that I've finished this book.
And every time I read it, I always feel like
I can do these big projects that I have doubts
about sometimes.
In Starting Point, Miyazaki brings a lot of
attention and value to the very first step
in your storytelling process.
That very first idea, or string of ideas that
you have for a project.
I think initial ideas are often devalued and
looked down upon, which is really unfortunate.
There's this thought process that if you have
the idea, but not the project, it doesn't
mean very much.
But Miyazaki emphasizes the fact that these
ideas that you have for your story, these
very first ideas, they ARE monumental even
if they don't exist outside of your own head
yet.
They do exist somewhere, which means they
matter.
One of my favorite stories in this book is
about the finish inspector, who Miyazaki knew.
She dedicated so much of her time to her art.
But in the process, she also sacrificed sleep,
health, and free time.
I think this topic is important for creators
of any kind to consider because dedication
to one's passion is so important, but a line
should be drawn somewhere.
CAN a line be drawn somewhere?
In Starting Point, Miyazaki is honest about
what motivates and inspires him, and also
doesn't sugarcoat what disappoints and distresses
him.
He talks about problems in the animation industry,
the pros and cons of mass production, the
large demand for anime, as well as different
styles of animation that he dislikes, as well
as why he dislikes them.
He's also vulnerable but brief about his family
life and his role as a parent, and I can see
a lot of readers wanting to know much more
about that aspect of the book, but this book
is much more about his work than his personal
life.
And with creative nonfiction, you get to decide
what goes into your book, and how much of
that goes into your book.
I do have to point out the parts in this book
that didn't quite hit the mark for me, or
the parts that I was kind of confused about.
Basically, there are a few statements that
Miyazaki makes that remind me a lot of gender
stereotyping.
But at the same time, because the book is
written, and because I'm not hearing his voice,
because I don't know him personally... it
was difficult for me to understand if he really
meant that or if he was being sarcastic.
One of the reasons it was difficult for me
to decipher whether or not what he said meant
this, or what he said meant that, is because
I consider all of his films VERY feminist.
So if you've read this book, or if you're
planning on reading this book in the future,
I would love it if you could comment below--
let me know what you thought about that part
of the book, because I'm still trying to figure
out what he meant.
If you could help me out, I would love that.
So with all of that in mind, I am giving Starting
Point 4.5 out of 5 stars.
The only reason why I took .5 of a star away
is because in the middle, it slowed just a
little bit.
Not too much, but enough for me to be like,
"Okay.
Let's pick it up a little bit."
As far as content goes, it had everything
that I wished for and more.
And it exceeded every expectation I had on
a book about animation.
So much so, that I didn't even need any visuals
like cels, or character designs, or screenshots.
The text on its own covered everything that
I needed it to for a primarily visual medium,
and that's saying so much.
I highly, highly recommend this book to storytellers
of any kind, writers, animators, aspiring
animators, film enthusiasts and animation
buffs, anyone who's interested in learning
more about Japanese history, and of course,
of course, anybody who is a fan of Hayao Miyazaki's
films.
I don't know if it's available in stores,
but it is available on Amazon.
I'll leave a link in the description below.
The second book, Turning Point, is also available
on Amazon.
Link in the description below.
I am planning on reading that one-- I do have
it.
Thank you all so much for watching.
Please let me know if you've read this, what
you thought about it, or if you're planning
on reading it, as well as what your favorite
Miyazaki TV show or movie is.
My favorite Miyazaki movie changes from time
to time because they're all so wonderful.
Right now, I'd have to say my favorite is
Kiki's Delivery Service.
I'll see you guys again soon for some book
reviews, a room tour, a bookshelf tour, and
a lot of other videos coming your way that
will not be months and months and months from
now.
I promise you the next video will be uploaded
much, much, much, much sooner.
It's more than a promise-- it's a pinky promise!
But seriously.
Thank you again for your understanding while
I took a break from YouTube for a while.
It's great to be back and I will see you guys
soon.
Bye!
