27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great, complex read, September 15, 2009
This review is from: Starting Point: 1979-1996 (Hardcover)
Starting Point: 1979-1996 is an amazing book. It's a heavy read, with essays covering everything from Miyazaki's works, to philosophy and religion, Japanese economy and the life of an animator and so much more. I found it a contradictory, frustrating and often pessimistic read but also to be incredibly fascinating and honest. It adds a whole new dimension to the man we know in Miyazaki. He's a genius as an animator but it seems he must be a terribly unfulfilled person in real life (he missed much of his children's lives due to his workaholic attitude). The book could do with some more pictures and maybe more information on his Nausicaa manga but otherwise it's a brilliant, if not always a happy read. I hope Viz Media release the sequel - Turning Point: 1997-2008, sometime in the near future. Highly recommended for Miyazaki fans. 5/5
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The vision of a genius, January 29, 2010
This review is from: Starting Point: 1979-1996 (Hardcover)
Hayao Miyazaki is considered one of the best directors of animation history.
That easily is the best reason of why to buy this book. Covering the sursprisingly amount of 500 pages, Starting Point (in a beatiful edition by Viz Media) icludes not only all the essays and commentaries written by Miyazaki between 1979 and 1996, but also integrates a lot of skecthes, cartoons and rare drawings of the famous director. Not only that, but the biggest catch of the book is discovering that Miyazaki, as what it is (a genius), it's also a complex individual and a likeable writer. His opinions included in this book, cover a wide variety of topics: the history of Japan, animation principles, evolution of the anime industry, his personal life, opinions of society, ecology, war and even life.
Starting Point is a provoking and complex read. The opinions of Miyazaki may come as overly extreme or controversial, but in his broad vision of the world is clear that he makes his animated movies with passion and care for the children (which are his intended audience). Viz Media deserves a price for this hardcover edition, the design and quality is top-notch and includes a brief, but insightful introduction by John Lasseter and an Afterword, by the also amazing director, Isao Takahata -from Grave of the Fireflies fame-.
A recommended read by fans of anime, animation or Studio Ghibli and a must-buy by animation students.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Memoirs, Essays, and Interviews of Miyazaki, December 1, 2009
This review is from: Starting Point: 1979-1996 (Hardcover)
If you are a fan of HM and Studio Ghibli you will be interested. It includes his past writings and memories, and his opinions on his work, anime, Japan and the world. He is opinionated and uninhibited, and some may find it repetitious, or some parts less interesting. But it gives a fine picture of his thinking and where his work comes from.
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