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Poll: Who is your Favorite Director?


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kamidai



Joined: 19 Jan 2006
Posts: 83
Location: California
PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 11:35 am Reply with quote
I was one of the Miyazaki vote drones. And it's not because I haven't heard of the others or haven't seen enough of it. It's because I am a total Ghibli fan. Everything Miyazaki has done, I've enjoyed very much. Nobody else whose work I enjoy has had that kind of track record for me.
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Splitter



Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 1276
Location: Knockin' on Heaven's Door
PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 11:46 am Reply with quote
I changed my vote to Tatsuya Ishihara, but I am still incredibly perturbed with the lack of Akiyuki Shinbo.

Directed
-- Le Portrait de Petite Cosette
-- Tsukuyomi Moon Phase
-- Pani Poni Dash!
-- Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
-- Negima!?
-- Soul Taker

Honestly! You'll list Yuu Kou, but not him?!
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larinon



Joined: 27 Jul 2003
Posts: 992
Location: Midland, TX
PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 11:59 am Reply with quote
I think it would make a much more interesting poll if it were split into movie directors and television directors. That way Miyazaki and Kon and a few others could duke it out on the movie side, and we would end up with much more interesting results on the television side. Was there any serious doubt that Miyazaki would be leading a poll such as this one?

On the TV side, I really like Koichi Mashimo (Noir, Madlax, .hack//SIGN), Shinichiro Watanabe (Bebop, Champloo), and Ryutaro Nakamura (Lain). Ultimately I ended up picking Mashimo.
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MorwenLaicoriel



Joined: 26 Feb 2006
Posts: 1617
Location: Colorado
PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 12:14 pm Reply with quote
Area88 wrote:
Why does Takahata always do so badly?

He's just as important as Miyazaki when it comes to making films for Studio Ghibli.

Pom Poko, Grave of the Fireglies, Gauche the Cellist, Little Norse Prince. These are all A grade movies.


I didn't like Grave of the Fireflies as much. But I'm not a huge 'war movie" person, so I believe that's why....
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Iritscen



Joined: 25 Apr 2006
Posts: 793
PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 12:24 pm Reply with quote
And Pom Poko was really not very good.

Anyway, in response to MorwenLacoriel, I agree that it's sometimes hard to know exactly how much of a work is thanks to the director and how much is thanks to his staff. But that's why I looked at some Encyclopedia entries before voting. That way, I could say that I was voting for Oshii based on his direction, not his writing of the screenplay or script, which he didn't do on Ghost in the Shell or Patlabor movies 1 and 2, movies which I was thinking of when I voted.

In other words, the director may have managed the storyboards, and he definitely decided on the timing of shots and choice of angles. But you don't give him credit for story when the story was originally a manga by someone else, or for art direction or mecha design, even though he ultimately presided over those.

Anyway, that's my way of looking at it. There's also administrative duties in being a director, of course, and deciding on music, but it's mainly the timing/angle thing that I'm thinking of when I say to think "directorially".
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hikaru004



Joined: 15 Mar 2004
Posts: 2306
PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 1:05 pm Reply with quote
I agree with larinon. Splitting the polls is the best for the next one. Let Miyazaki duke it out with the other movie directors and have a more balanced running for the TV directors. That way more TV directors, like Shinbo, can be allowed to run.
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DKL



Joined: 08 May 2005
Posts: 1933
Location: California, USA
PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 1:30 pm Reply with quote
Well... it'd be a little hard given that some directors (Miyazaki included) have done BOTH. I mean... how would we go about it then?

Though, yeah... I would have different votes had there been a split poll.

It'd be Masayuki Kojima for TV, then... uhh... well, Mamoru Oshii for movies, even though Morio Asaka's end for the CCS anime is technically my favorite anime movie (which is actually a part of the series).

...

Wait, it's confusing... but yeah, a split poll would be nice... we could just say that "even though this dude has done a TV series, he primarily does movies," but then... it'd be hard to do all the research and setting up and stuff.

I dunno.
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jsyxx





PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 2:19 pm Reply with quote
Quote:

Oddly enough, none of his movies are in the top 50, so he doesn't qualify. You can select "My favorite director isn't in the list."

How could Captain Harlock, Galaxy Express 999, or Metropolis not make the top 50?
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Reno-chan



Joined: 23 Jun 2006
Posts: 67
PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 2:22 pm Reply with quote
I voted for Masayuki Kojima, since I consider Monster to be the best anime I've ever seen.
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khryoleoz



Joined: 21 Apr 2005
Posts: 158
PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 2:28 pm Reply with quote
My favorite isn't listed. And I'm among the few who names Junichi Sato.
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DKL



Joined: 08 May 2005
Posts: 1933
Location: California, USA
PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 2:53 pm Reply with quote
Oh yeah, I totally love Junichi Sato too!

That guy is so badass with his heartwarming atmosphere and unified messages/storytelling and crap...

Can't wait to see Aria and his new production of Romeo and Juliet with Gonzo (though, I'm actually not a big gonzo fan).

But yes... I guess some of the popular directors didn't make the cut given the criteria thingy, so people could just vote "he/she's not on the list" and just discuss why they like him/her in here...

Though... come to think of it... I don't seem to know any female anime directors...

That was a weird realization.

(either that, or I do like/know a female director, but then I don't know that she's... uhh... female, because of the Japanese names)


Last edited by DKL on Wed Oct 11, 2006 2:58 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Lix



Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Posts: 31
Location: All the wrong places...
PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 2:55 pm Reply with quote
I'll have to go with Junichi Sato. Who seems to be absent. Because Sailor Moon is surely not one of the most popular anime ever.

Did I miss something? D:

For that matter, where's Ikuhara by way of Sailor Moon as well or even Utena? Are people at this site really so biased towards average male tastes and/or unaware of significant (as well as popular) classics?
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tripperdan99



Joined: 14 Feb 2006
Posts: 136
PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 3:01 pm Reply with quote
MorwenLaicoriel wrote:
The reason why I voted Miyazaki is because I've enjoyed *everything* I've seen directed by him, although some more than others...there's got to be some reason for that, but I don't think I could point to a certain scene and say "that's because Miyazaki was directing the movie".


I actually was going to do the same and vote Miyazaki because I have enjoyed all the movies/series he has done. But as I looked at the list, it got to where I wanted to vote for others. I had to default to the "too many to choose from..."

I'd hate to have a profession that involved doing such voting, LOL, I like too many of them.
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Kouji



Joined: 01 Oct 2005
Posts: 978
PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 3:32 pm Reply with quote
At first I was going to vote for Kon Satoshi-san because Perfect Blue is my favorite anime film, but I didn't in the end because I hadn't seen any of his other films to properly judge how well I think he is at directing, so I ended up voting for Miyazaki-san simply because I've enjoyed all of his films so far and even his films that aren't so good are still highly entertaining. I also like how even though his films are family films, his stories never talk down to the audience. A lot of children's animation tend to be overly-preachy but Miyazaki-san tells his message through his stories and his characters' actions rather than through some forced message that doesn't really mean anything. Compare the pro-enviromentalist messages in an American children's cartoon like Captain Planet to the pro-enviromentalist messages in anime films like Nausicaa or Laputa and you'll notice a huge difference in the quality of them even though they're all children's cartoons with pro-enviromentalist messages. And you can put any of his '80s films up against any of today's anime to compare the quality of the animation and Miyazaki films will always still come up on top. I think that kind of timeless classicness to his movies that can be enjoyed by any age, gender, or race no matter how old the film is shows just how universally appealing his films really are and the kind of lasting power these movies will always have.
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Anime World Order



Joined: 05 May 2006
Posts: 389
Location: Florida
PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 3:43 pm Reply with quote
Unholy_Nny wrote:
Question!

Why isn't there a "I highly enjoy anime but don't really give a crap who the director is, let alone know any of them by name" option?


The answer to your question is extremely simple: it's the default answer.

Anime fandom is unique from other fandoms in that its members possess a near-total lack of interest in its creators. Certainly, people who read books know their favorite authors, people who consider themselves film fans know who directed their favorite films, and people who like music know the names of their favorite artists. But the only anime director that the vast and overwhelming majority of anime fans can even think of at all is Hayao Miyazaki, and many don't even know that. I recall one instance in which I was the only person in a crowded movie theater able to state that the director of the Ghost in the Shell movie--the film everyone was gathered to see because they could rewatch it in a theater--was Mamoru Oshii, and the beginning of that movie has "DIRECTED BY MAMORU OSHII" and nothing else on camera for several seconds. In English.

I've spent the better part of a year interviewing typical anime convention [non-staff] attendees at anime conventions. The mere act of attending a fan convention theoretically suggests a greater level of dedication to something than the average passive consumer; there is after all a difference between someone who watches Star Trek and someone who's a "Trekker." But when asked "other than Hayao Miyazaki, can you name three anime directors?" NOT A SINGLE PERSON has been able to successfully answer the question.

That's right. Zero.

For disclosure purposes, I've only attended conventions on the East Coast (Katsucon, Otakon, the Florida conventions), but I highly doubt this is a regional phenomenon. I'm just talking average convention attendees here. One person was able to do it, but he was con staff and in charge of video programming. But honestly? Most other con staffers can't do it either. I can only conclude that anime fans do not care a lick about directors, period.

Sometimes people mix up manga author names with directors when asked. Perhaps they put priority on them instead. "Who cares who directed the anime for Naruto, One Piece, or Bleach since they're basically like the manga anyway," right? An interesting argument which certainly has merit, but you'd be surprised how many people don't even know the manga author of the title they proclaim to be their favorite anime.

An answer I've heard in response to my question "how can you not know the author of your favorite manga, considering that the person's name is written in English on the front of the books that I've seen sold in bookstores?" "They don't really mention the author's name in the scans I download." Well, I guess they don't really mention the director's name in most fansubs people download either. But this isn't isolated to just the piracy contingent. It's across the board.

A lot of people also say "well, those Japanese names are hard to remember," but if this were true, then they wouldn't be able to remember the cast of Bleach to save their lives. Besides, it's not that information on directors is hard to find anymore. It's that fans by and large are completely uninterested in anime from a creator's standpoint. You might say that perhaps anime fandom overall has opted instead to worship the creations over the creators, and there's merit to that idea as well, but there's one problem with that, which is this: there is one aspect of anime's creative staff that anime convention attendees by and large can name three of with absolutely no problem whatsoever.

English dub voice actors.
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