Studio Ghibli Part 1: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

[School of Movies 2023]

This has been a long time coming. You've all been so good and respectful when it comes to not bombarding us with requests for anime shows that we decided to treat you collectively, and finally push the button on the one studio whose body of work is the first thing most people think of when it comes to prestigious films in this medium.

Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985 and have produced two dozen movies to date. This is the first of a series of shows releasing over this year that will cover all of these. And to do that we have to go back to the source. Hayao Miyazaki was one of the founders, alongside Toshio Suzuki and Isao Takahata, and his is the most singular creative vision, informing upon the direction and philosophy of their art for forty years. 

Most of this first episode is spent discussing what repeating motifs show up across this body of work, and how much of that ties in with Hayao's worldview. We lightly cover Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro which he directed for Tokyo Movie Shinsha in 1979, and then move on to Nausicaa (1984) which was based on a manga book of his. These led up to the actual official formation of Ghibli in 1985. You will definitely pick up on themes that will be coming back around again and again, and we are honoured to be able to talk about these in lengthy depth, even if we do frequently strike an irreverent tone.