+31 Studio Ghibli's Storytelling Sucks, and Miyazaki's Attitude Doesn't Help, amirite?

by Objective-Sea7742 2 weeks ago

I can't say whether I agree or not because I fall asleep everytime I try to watch one of his movies. I can't say whether they're good or bad movies, but they're really pretty and definitely relaxing.

by Mysterious_Mouse 2 weeks ago

The only part of your take I agree with, is that Miyazaki is kind of an asshole/dick and people pretend like he's some super friendly and chill guy.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

I'm glad I've been seeing more memes about how Junji Ito and Miyazaki are opposites cause they really, truly are night and day to each other in personality

by emmett67 2 weeks ago

I'm guessing Junji Ito is a legitimately chill/friendly person lmao

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Honestly if you watched Spirited away and came away with "it's just capitalism" you either barely watching or have extremely poor media literacy. This is definitely an unpopular opinion so I'll give you that

by Ok_Bus_8584 2 weeks ago

Alright, fair enough you asked. Saying just capitalism was maybe too blunt, but c'mon.... Yubaba stealing names for forced labor contracts, Chihiro working off her parents' literal greedy consumption, and No-Face embodying empty consumerism felt like pretty central mechanics driving the plot. Yeah there's other stuff, but maybe my "poor media literacy" just zeroed in on the whole dehumanizing-work-structure vibe, idk

by Objective-Sea7742 2 weeks ago

There is a lot of interpersonal exploration and questions about the human experience which are central to the film's movement that you are glossing over. Plus, these Japanese films are technically for kids and teens so we shouldn't go in expecting Casablanca levels of depth.

by mina54 2 weeks ago

Yubaba stealing names for forced labor contracts That's just a magical version of serfdom using a class system with a hint of feudalism. Where because you exist in my world as a peasant/serf (the lord or king of a castle or in Yubabas case the spirits bath house) you are a recourse to stay in this land to the determent of my society. Capitalism at least allows for someone to exist in a world without the requirement of a class system. Capitalism would at least have some sort of slave trading system or Chihiro would need to find anyone to support her but the bath house is the the castle such all serfs must act under the authority of the bath house owner (the Queen). And you can have a capitalistic system in a Serfdom but its so far to the extremes that to call it capitalism would be like calling Sweden socialist or China communist.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

China is in the first phase of communist society, also sometimes called socialism.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Damn bro, I hope you find your whimsy soon.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

I think it's closed-minded to look at the relative simplicity in Ghibli's storytelling and dismiss the whole work as bad. Like, yeah, they don't have complex plots, and their messaging is simple... but they're also for children. They're simple intentionally so kids can get the point. It's also entirely valid to have a work of art that is entirely based on beautiful visuals. It's unusual in the industry we've constructed around films to make something that is entirely about being beautiful to look at, but unusual does not equal invalid. As for your point about Miyazaki being an asshole... I mean, that's just true. If that personally turns you off his work, that's fine, but it doesn't actually make what he's made any worse objectively.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Grave of the Fireflies wasn't by Miyazaki... That was Isao Takahata.

by Brittanystiedem 2 weeks ago

lol everyone entitled to a stupid opinion.

by Mohammed28 2 weeks ago

Was the work these particular animators making AI, perhaps.

by Inside_Tie_8969 2 weeks ago

Nope, not AI in the sense you are thinking.

by Objective-Sea7742 2 weeks ago

AI "not in the sense you are thinking" sounds like AI.

by Inside_Tie_8969 2 weeks ago

sounds like they're talking about the guy who made a cgi zombie with some cool algorithm that automatically controls the way it moves and was told that it was a disgrace to people with disabilities. hes not talking about chatgtp in the sense that you were probably thinking

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

yes.

by Objective-Sea7742 2 weeks ago

I get u. I find it so hard to finish any of the movies. Unpopular but damn I kinda agree.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

It's frustrating because I agree on this for the few Ghibli films I've seen. Nausica and Howls Moving Castle are vibrant, beautifully animated worlds, full of fantastic ideas… but the story/narrative/whatever is just very poor.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

I've sat through three or four Miyazaki films. I can't even tell you which ones, they were all just very fine. I agree with you completely. I want so badly to like these movies. I want to get the joy out of them that everyone else seems to get. Why can't I? What am I missing? So many people love them, and I just keep trying, and I just find them boring and kind of all over the place.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Yeah, it's called Kishotenketsu:. It's a thing.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

I wonder what movies you like because you can reduce the story of any movie like you did with mononoke. And I don't understand why howls would be straight up nonsense? I don't want to change your mind, not everybody likes the same movies, but this just feels a little werid. Like placing high literature expectation on movies that are still meant as family movies/ for minors (like totoro)

by Cartermaryse 2 weeks ago

... I don't want to agree with this, but I'll agree that sometimes vibes are prioritised over plot. Boy and Heron felt rushed in the second half. That said, a majority of his own stories prioritise the setting over 'plot' such as it is. Totoro works perfectly well, because the rules of the magical/spiritual setting are clearly whimsical and playful. The reasons are there, but you're usually puzzling it out rather than it being explicitly stated. It took me watching Mononoke as an adult before I figured out what was going on with forest deity after it was killed. But as a kid I just rolled with it, because it was a powerful scene. Disliking the lack of clarity is kind of like being unhappy with the explosions in a Michael Bay movie. Miyazaki is all about magical realism that hint at the causes behind the story.

by Leschflorence 2 weeks ago

I think Miyazaki made Lupin too nice in the Castle of Cagliostro. His version of Lupin didnt really seem like a thief other than at the beginning of the film. Yeah I know it was more personal because the girl saved him back in the day, but he still seemed too soft compared to other Lupin shows of the time.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

I'm not sure where I land on this, it'd be helpful if you provided a counter example of a movie with great storytelling, for comparison.

by Capital_Situation697 2 weeks ago

I think it basically just boils down to whether or not you buy into the particular fantasy of a given movie. I feel basically how you do about almost all the Ghibli movies, but I absolutely adore Laputa because I love the fantasy. People are calling this a bad take or that you have no media literacy, but I think those criticisms don't apply here at all. The Ghibli movies aren't hard to understand, in fact most of them are remarkably simple. But understanding isn't at all part of the function of enjoying, in my opinion. Since the plot is so absolutely unessential for some of these movies (Totoro, Kiki), if you don't buy into that particular fantasy aesthetic the whole thing is just gonna fall flat. Like I cannot tell you how utterly bland I found Totoro, which came as a shock because of how highly people speak of it. But I'll also say that I think Grave of the Fireflies is an exception to my generalization.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Something tells me you haven't actually watched any of their movies

by waldo41 2 weeks ago

Cope harder. You just can't handle the fact that there are people who don't find ghibli that great

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Tastes vary, but it's clear OP resents miyazakis unwavering decision to tell stories the way he does. That's the whole point. Conventional story telling with protagonist, antagonist, conflict, triumph is exactly what it is, conventional. Being unwilling or incapable of receiving the out of the box vibe of his movies is ok, no one's saying you must, it's just a movie. But some people yearn for wonder, and others get headaches thinking about what could be. Takes all types or else the people who wonder wouldn't have wicker baskets and the neat and easy folks would still be picking berries.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

My frustration comes from people being in disbelief that not everyone likes ghibli. I find it painfully average but people can't handle me calling their ‘works of art' average. Ghibli isn't bad in my eyes but it isn't good/godly either. I have no problem with people praising it which is why I think they should have no problem with me not particularly liking it.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

What makes you think I am a Superfan or anything like that? Some of their stuff I really like and some isn't for me at all. It's just that OP's specific criticisms of the movies he mentioned sound like he googled them, or possibly even wrote the whole thing with AI.

by waldo41 2 weeks ago

What makes you think I called you a super fan? Stick to reality

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

I literally don't know how you came to that conclusion based off of my first sentence. You're projecting that i'm calling you a super fan over the word ‘great'…? Thats just weird.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

The movies never leave act 1 and I am bored beyond words 30 minutes into every Ghibli movie ive seen

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

I love Ghibli movies, but even I can admit you're right for the most part. Lots of them don't really have a point or a coherent plot. As much as I love Howl's moving castle, it's carried by artistry and the score. Howl just wants to look like a perfect version of himself and charm women while avoiding war. The war started because the prince of a country went missing, turns out he's a sentient scarecrow! Sophie is just a random person that stuff happens to, she experiences the plot, but she doesn't really drive it. I think some of the better ones are those where there's a little more engagement, like Ponyo, Kiki's delivery service, or my personal favourite Arietty.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

It's OK if you don't get it

by turcottecorine 2 weeks ago

I haven't seen a take this bad in a while. Thumbs up. This was amusing.

by Critical_Insurance 2 weeks ago

Blah blah blah

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

I still don't know why people say they look visually stunning and stuff like that. They don't. Its average at best. Even the food people describe as something they want to eat. Nah, its just anime food. Before anyone says i'm being a hater because its popular, nah, I watched ghibli when I was 10, years before all the traction and I still found the animation average

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago