Studio Ghibli: The Films of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata

I love Hayao Miyazaki and studio ghibli. This book however, is a disappointment. While the prose is interesting and informative, half of what makes the movies so beautiful ava wondrous - is the art. So where are the illustrations? Non existent. And that's why it gets 3 stars.

People looking for beautiful spreads of cels, film captures, and pre-production sketches and paintings should go for Viz Graphics “Art of” books. But if you’re looking for behind the scenes facts about Studio Ghibli from its people and movies to more obscure works, this is the place to go. This second edition covers all the movies up through 2014 (which is all of them as of this review, with the exception of the new documentary “Never-Ending Man”).I don’t consider myself a hardcore fan, but I’m fairly knowledgeable and this book had new information for me.

Great

Great review of the work of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli up to the release of "Howl's Moving Castle." Good critical appraisal of the various works put out by Team Ghibli. Enjoyed reading about the history and background of Studio Ghibli.

This was a very well researched and well written overview of the films of Studio Ghibli, and also the earlier films of the two premier directors, Miyazaki Hayao and Takahata Isao. I have been a fan of their animated films for years, and I learned a great deal from this book. For instance, I didn't know that Gauche the Cellist was a story by Miyazawa Kenji, author of Night on the Galactic Railroad. I found out quite a bit of information on the background of many of their films, which makes watching them much more interesting.It is not an in-depth study, but is a great overview of their works. It kind of paved the way for me to read Miyazaki's "Starting Point."

Short but very comprehensive accont of the story. I bought it as a gift for my wife. She loved it so much she has booked us a visit to the Ghibli museum.

I received the wrong book it did not look like the item because its the older version.

Not great, but good info, It was helpful and informative. I would prefer a bit more of content, but It's Ok.

While this is an enjoyable read, covering the principal Studio Ghibli films and describing their primary themes, it doesn’t go into much detail about the actual Studio. There are very brief descriptions of how it was set up, but no in-depth detail of how the partners trained, how they polished their skills, why they decided they needed artistic independence, why they travelled abroad, what support they received from family and/or colleagues and so on. It’s a useful but relatively superficial introduction to Studio Ghibli. In view of the gushing reviews, I was rather disappointed – you won’t find any deep analysis or more than a few interesting tidbits of information.

I found this book really disappointing. I wasn't even convinced it was the same book that others have reviewed. One reviewer wrote about the illustrations.. This book is NOT illustrated. It has a couple of pages in the centre with some pictures but that's it. The book is very small. The size of a standard paperback and it could easily be read in an afternoon.The content of the book is interesting enough, but given the price, I do think buyers will be left disappointed. I am returning this book.

This is a overall fairly good review of the formation and films of Studio Ghibili. What can be hard is following some aspects if it is a film that one has not seen, and the pre-studio formation works are not easy to find in my experience. There is clear enthusiasm for the Studio outputs, which sometimes gives a sense of a lack of objectivity, especially for Tales from Earthsea for example where it was clear the author is rather trying too hard to get a positive perspective. That said it was an enjoyable and fairly informative read.

This is exactly what we were looking for. My daughter completed a year 8 school project on Studio Ghibli using this as her main reference point. It is really well written in an accessible style.

Two great film makers and a really interesting book to read.

This book is great for the readers it was meant to attract. For general fans of Ghibli it is a gateway into appreciating the films even more and for film studies students it gives you enough info for any essay or presentation. However if you're expecting a truck load of information about specific things then this won't satisfy you (For example: it tells you that Miyazaki and Takahata worked on the first Lupin III TV series; It doesn't tell you that the first director was fired after being asked to change some things).

Since thee Channel 4 Studio Ghibli season the studio has gained so much more recognition in the UK

Bought this for my other half who is a huge fan of Studio Ghibli. Lovely illustrated book and a real nice collector's piece.

Haven't finished reading it yet. So probably I'll be writing another review later on too, but so far I love it.Great insight to the Ghibli world. 😊

Present for 10yr old daughter - loved it

Lots of information on Studio Ghibli, very good for referencing.

Very Prompt Delivery and Great Product.

A succinct history of Studio Ghibli and it's roots, coupled with an insightful look into both the studio's movies and it's founder's early works. Written by a fan, to be read by fans, this is an interesting read for anyone close to the works of Studio Ghibli and is certainly worth reading.

Perfect

perfect condition, nice book