Hayao Miyazaki's Airships

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[JoshuaFagan]

I still get chills whenever I watch that "stream of planes" scene in Porco Rosso. So haunting.

[Antifearn]

Miyazaki’s Three Favorite Things:
1. Airplanes
2. The sky
3. Pigs

[blurqeqoherds]

Funny. I've always found the "brutish, hulking" airships in his work struck me as, in their own way, the most fantastic and beautiful of all. The weight, the grandeur of them is what makes that wondrousness of flight seem all the more magical, at least to me.

[billyjoelfan]

In my humble opinion, "The Wind Rises" is Miyazaki's most personal film. You can draw many parallels (most likely intentional) between Jiro and Miyazaki. They both spent years honing their craft and "just wanted to make something beautiful". The way the film ends in such a perfect moving on manner seemed to reflect Miyazaki's own (temporary) retirement.

Also the English dub is REALLY good (obviously), but I recommend any anime fan watching the sub. Hideaki Anno (the creator of Evangelion/Gunbuster) voices the main character Jiro!

[patrickhassomethingtosay]

Even without context, Naoko's "You must live" made me cry all over again

[vincewood]

I love how in "The wind rises" all of the ariplaines sounds are made using only the mouth.

[homiespirit]

Remember when Frozen beat out The Wind Rises at the Oscars for Best Animated Feature Film? Good Lord, what were they thinking?

[IdanShir]

Given the inflation of cinema video essays on Youtube, it's expected that the majority would be mediocre. This channel is quite frankly at the very top. The subject matter is always treated with original insight backed by genuine and profound understanding. There is never a juvenile attempt at justifying a pop culture flick, giving it an undeserved air of cinematic importance for the sake of views or self validation. There are no overkill edit. Every cut is precise and seamless which never distracts from the essay. Essays like the one on Terry Gilliam, also offer a unique and ambitious presentation at which few attempt and fewer succeed. When the essays tend to be more personal, like the fantastic one about 500 Days of Summer, it never feels narcissistic.

You, my friend, are very good at what you do.

[NathanRiediger]

I’ll never forget finding Porco Rosso in the DVD section of a public library as a kid, and wondering what the heck this flying pig movie was even about. One of the best gems I’ve ever stumbled upon.

[qwertyman]

"The dream of flight is cursed" is something that is explicitly said in "the wind rises" by the italian designer in the shared dream scené.

The user types, before he reaches 9:40 in the video

[JakeHGuy]

Man seeing all these ships cut together really showed how much he makes the way the aircraft work and the way they look are an exemplification of the character themself, as well as the fitting machine for the scene in each specific part of the plot. It's almost impossible to see a lot of his machines as separate from his characters, just like the characters clothes. Great video.

[poweroffriendship.]

_"Saying 'anime was a mistake' that one time was a mistake."_

*~ Hayao Miyazaki*

[christianbjorck]

This is why I love Spirited Away so much - Miyazaki goes away from the planes, tech and focus on the sky (even though it has a flight scene with the dragon it’s minor compared to his other works) to make something truly out of his comfort-zone, and in turn truly amazing.

[JQJayson]

I'm currently teaching a class on Miyazaki, so, of course, I had to immediately share this video with my students! Thanks for crafting such a stunning, thoughtful essay!

[THPLANPLT]

I really liked Porco Rosso, as someone who adores aviation, I watched it countless times

[mukullataroy]

i really love how his aircrafts seem to breathe when the engines turn on. that movement really adds to their charm.

[Boxy_boye]

Can we also just appreciate the sounds his airships make. I am never going to get that sound out of my head from the scenes when a Airship passes by, I remember it the most from Castle in the sky. That sound is so satisfying.

[funzioneanimazione]

Also others really important themes brought by Miyazaki are the women and, my favorite, the wind.

Miyazaki creates incredible strong female characters, inpired by his mother, who was a clear and strong role model in the author's childhood and died of tubercolosis; finally elevated in the character of Nahoko, in "The Wind Rises".
The wind is the invisible force that is present in all movies of Miyazaki; it means magic, force, power, freedom, joy, love.

And, of course, the planes, the corrupted dream. Thanks for the beautiful video ^v^

[brianpeterson]

I come back to this video at least once a week. You summarize Miyazaki's philosophy on aircraft so beautifully, and Caproni's lines resonate hard with me. As someone who is a refugee of war, but in love with flying and aircraft, it's an internal struggle I think anyone in the business or hobby has, and to me, I choose to let it elevate the joy and wonder of flying, in anything from Pipers to Raptors.
"For once you have tasted of flight, you shall forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you shall always long to return."

[VintageRubyFilms]

One of most personal and favorite memories involves a Miyazaki film. Well, several do, actually, but the most powerful of them was when I watched The Secret World of Arrietti with my grandmother, shortly before her dementia had really taken hold.

She'd never seen one of his movies, and I'd never seen that particular one before. After it was over, and about ten seconds after the credits had begun rolling, she turned to me on my couch, smiled, and in the most wholesome, kind voice, said, "That was so...refreshing. Thank you."

Miss you Memaw. ❤️