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Ghibli's Suzuki: Hayao Miyazaki Is Drawing Samurai Manga
posted on by Egan Loo
Studio Ghibli's 65-year-old producer Toshio Suzuki appeared on NTV's variety program Sekai-ichi Uketai Jugyō on Saturday and discussed Hayao Miyazaki's September announcement that he is retiring from feature films.
When asked about what Miyazaki will do after retirement, Suzuki replied, "I think he will serialize a manga. From the beginning, he likes drawing about his favorite things. That's his stress relief."
Program host Masaaki Sakai asked, "Does he like sengoku jidai no chanbara (samurai swordfighting stories set in Japan's Warring States Period)?" Suzuki responded, "That's what he is drawing now. He'll get angry if I talk too much. Let's stop talking about this."
Isao Takahata — another director, Studio Ghibli co-founder, and friend of Miyazaki — also commented on Miyazaki's retirement on Thursday, "[Miyazaki] said, 'This time, I am serious,' but I think there is a decent chance that may change. I think so, since I've known him a long time. Don't be at all surprised if that happens."
Suzuki revealed in a 2012 television special that Hayao Miyazaki's son, Goro Miyazaki (Tales from Earthsea, From Up On Poppy Hill), is planning a samurai period work that combines fact and fiction. Suzuki told filmmaker Shunji Iwai that Goro Miyazaki's project is set in the northeastern Tohoku region of Japan during the Middle Ages.
Hayao Miyazaki's last feature film, The Wind Rises, is playing now in Japan and will open in North America on February 21 (after playing this week in limited engagements in Los Angeles and New York City). Takahata's The Tale of Princess Kaguya anime film will open in Japan on November 23. Yume to Kyōki no Ōkoku (The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness), Mami Sunada's documentary about Studio Ghibli, will open on November 16.
Source: Daily Sports
