Neighbor Totoro Research Articles

Miyazaki's Hybrid Worlds and Their Riddle-Stories

<p>“Fairy tales begin with conflict because we all begin our lives with conflict,” famously states Jack Zipes. And yet, this statement does not always seem to apply to non-Western story structures, such as the Asian kishōtenketsu, which implies a story development that does not necessarily revolve around conflicts. In many of Hayao Miyazaki’s movies (e.g., My Neighbor Totoro; Spirited Away, The Secret World of Arietty), it is possible to detect, on the one hand, the kishōtenketsu-based plot, and,on the other hand, the widespread presence of Western fairy-tale tropes. Conflicts in traditional Western fairy tales may sometimes manifest in the form of riddles to solve. Although Miyazaki’s stories do not shun away from riddles, how do these riddles relate to conflicts? How are Western and Asian story structures bound together in Miyazaki’s narratives, and what effects does this hybridization generate in their audiences? This article argues that: 1.) Riddles based on Western fairy tales in Miyazaki’s work do not necessarily involve conflicts, and are recast and re-elaborated in highly unusual ways; and 2.) The employment of these unusual patterns, mixing up together Oriental and Occidental frames of reference, gives rise to stories that puzzle the mind of spectators, working as complex narrative riddles.</p>

Visual Analysis of Totoro's Character in The Film My Neighbor Totoro

Totoro in the film "My Neighbor Totoro" has become the most iconic character among other Studio Ghibli films. Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio that has produced many legendary animated films. The company, which was founded in 1985, is led by Hayao Miyazaki, whose name is already very famous thanks to the success of his films. One of the animated films produced by Studio Ghibli is "My Neighbor Totoro". With a refreshing story and full of fantasy, Totoro in the film "My Neighbor Totoro" managed to grab the attention of the audience. Her large body and overgrown with cat-like fur and has a big smile that reveals teeth makes her look very adorable. The focus of this research is on the design and visualization of character characters. The purpose of this study is to describe how to design a character and how the visual character of the character is using a qualitative descriptive method using a research procedure in the form of presenting data with research that will be converted into writing. The character characters studied will be presented with design strategies, descriptions and visual analysis that include character design and expression. With the results of the research that has been carried out, this research can be a source of the latest reference materials, comparison materials, and others for animators and illustrators in making a character design.

The Mythical Elements of “Tree” in Animation : Focusing on Japanese Mythology, My Neighbor Totoro, Another World Restaurant, The Piano Forest, and Miyori Forest

The Mythical Elements of “Tree” in Animation : Focusing on Japanese Mythology, My Neighbor Totoro, Another World Restaurant, The Piano Forest, and Miyori Forest

The Insertion of Cultural Identity and Ecological Recovery through a Critique of Materialism and Overconsumption in Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro

The Insertion of Cultural Identity and Ecological Recovery through a Critique of Materialism and Overconsumption in Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro

〈이웃집 토토로〉에 나타난 주인공 토토로 캐릭터의 샤먼적 성격 연구 : 일본 샤머니즘을 바탕으로 한 이야기 전개와 이미지를 중심으로

본 연구는 대중 친화적인 미야자키 하야오(宮崎駿)의 〈이웃집 토토로〉(1988)의 분석을 통해 주인공 토토로 캐릭터의 정체성에 새로운 시각을 제시하는 연구다. 이것은 기존의 정령인 오바케로서 토토로의 정체성에 대한 다양한 의심에서 출발하였고 본고는 이를 바탕으로 논의를 이끌게 되었다. 첫 번째 의심은 정령으로서 토토로의 능력에 대한 의심이며 두 번째 의심은 마을의 수호 정령으로서 토토로의 행위-태도에 대한 의심이고 마지막은 오바케 토토로와 작품의 특성과 수용 관계 안에서 일반적으로 통용되는 방식에 대한 문제를 제기하면서 본논의를 진행 시켰다.BR 위의 연구를 위해 작중 토토로의 샤먼적 행위가 중심이 되는 이야기 전개와 이미지를 주요 근거로 삼고 위에서 제기된 의심들과 문제의 답을 일본의 샤먼적 특징 안에서 찾기 시작했다. 첫 번째 의심은 일반적인 샤먼들의 행위 안에서 보조령의 존재와 활용되는 사례를 통해 토토로의 행위를 비교하여 토토로가 정령인 오바케 보다는 샤먼적 특성이 더 강함을 입증 할 수 있었다. 두 번째 의심은 마을의 수호신과 같은 역할을 담당하는 것처럼 보이는 토토로의 행위들의 근원을 일본 샤먼들의 행위와 기술에서 찾아 토토로의 정체성을 찾았다. 마지막의 의심은 토토로의 대중적 인기의 비결을 〈이웃집 토토로〉의 제목처럼 가족과 이웃애를 지키는 샤먼들의 특징 안에서 토토로의 행위를 읽어내면서 문제에 대한 답을 찾을 수 있었다. 보다 토토로의 샤먼적 특성을 찾는 과정은 작품에 대한 세밀한 분석을 통해 이루어졌는데, 우선 샤먼의 거주하는 성지인 우다키(御嶽)와 토토로의 거주 공간의 연관성을 통해 토토로가 샤먼으로서 사회적 위치를 만들어 주었고, 샤먼의 행위와 기술인 트랜스(trance), 빙의(ecstasy)와 탈혼(possession)을 적용하여 토토로의 샤먼적 정체성을 입증할 수 있는 틀을 만들었다. 이를 분석하는 과정에서 작중 같은 사건들이 중복적으로 분석의 대상이 되었는데 그만큼 새로운 토토로의 정체성에 확신을 주는 작업이 되었다고 생각한다. 이러한 과정 속에서 토토로는 주술성이 강한 일본의 ‘유타 ’와 ‘이타코’ 그리고 ‘노로’가 결합된 특징을 지닌 ‘마을의 안녕과 풍요를 주관하는 샤먼’으로 그의 또 다른 정체성을 발견할 수 있었다.BR 본 논문은 일본 애니메이션 텍스트를 일본 샤먼의 특성 안에서 연구한다는 점에서 지역성과 연구 접근성의 한계를 가져, 보다 전문적인 연구가 진행되기에 어려움을 가지고 있다. 물론 일본의 샤먼에 대한 진지한 고찰이 이루어지지 못했다는 점에서 아쉬움도 남지만, 본고가 기존의 〈이웃집 토토로〉에 대한 연구들과는 다른 시각으로 접근하고 이를 입증하는 실험적 연구였다는 점에서 의의를 찾을 수 있다. 나아가 본 논문을 통해 토토로에 대한 다양한 논의와 연구를 가져올 수 있는 초석 마련과 동시에 관련 후속 연구들의 양산 가능성을 열어 놓았다는 점에서 그 연구의 가치를 찾을 수 있겠다.

The ‘Totoro Meme’ and the politics of transfandom pleasure

Abstract This article is an exploration of the ‘Totoro meme’ as a site of affective, transfandom pleasure. In the Totoro meme, Japanese and non-Japanese fans alike appropriate the now-iconic image of Satsuki, Mei and an umbrella-toting Totoro at a bus stop from Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 film, Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro), to their own fannish ends, creating fan art that inserts favourite characters from other media into the scene in ways that often have a doubled semiotic resonance. I argue that this meme is characteristic not of the global appropriation of a broad ‘Japanese anime style’, per se, but a specific, affectively appealing ‘Ghibli style’, one that is fully part of non-Japanese fans’ own popular cultural repertoires. In its cross-border merging of globally circulating Studio Ghibli aesthetics with other fan-favourite media, I contend that the Totoro meme and its associated fanworks are in fact wholly congruent with, and representative of, what Matt Hills has termed ‘trans-fandom’ (2015), contemporary practices of ‘navigating across and combining and fusing fandoms’ (Hills 2015: 159). I conclude with a consideration of the implications of what might be termed ‘corporate transfandom’ in the context of transfannish citations of Kaze no tani no Naushika (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind) (Miyazaki, 1984) in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015).

Interpretation of the Forest of My Neighbor Totoro and Princess Mononoke based on “the laurel forest culture theory”

Interpretation of the Forest of My Neighbor Totoro and Princess Mononoke based on “the laurel forest culture theory”

Perfect Interpretation of the Influence of Color Background on Animation Art in My Neighbor Totoro Directed by Miyazaki Hayao

Depending on the strong sense of tableau, film can bring audiences huge visual impact and shock. Not only the story in animated films but also the application of color background, they are all of vital importance, both of which also plays a significant role in the structure of scene in animated films. Among animated films made by Miyazaki Hayao, there is a common characteristics—color application. Proper use of color can make film frame full of harmony and grace, and the theme of film can thus be reinforced. This paper, through analyzing the feature of color background in animated film My Neighbor Totoro by Miyazaki Hayao, provides a reference for better understanding of Miyazaki Hayao’s animated film.

A Study on the Shinto Animism of Miyazaki Hayao: Focusing on My Neighbor Totoro, The Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away

A Study on the Shinto Animism of Miyazaki Hayao: Focusing on My Neighbor Totoro, The Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away

<em>My Neighbor Totoro</em>: The Healing of Nature, the Nature of Healing

Originally released in 1988, Hayao Miyazaki’s fourth feature film, My Neighbor Totoro , could, in retrospect, be viewed as heralding the prominence of healing in the popular culture of Japan in the 1990s. During that decade, healing charms and incenses that would purportedly soothe one’s weary spirit were popular among younger generations; racks of new age and easy- listening cds were recategorized as “healing music”; and vhs rental shops offered an assembly of “healing movies”— films that were set against bucolic provincial backdrops and carried an emotional storyline capable of producing a cathartic effect. Such films would include Powder (directed by Victor Salva in 1995) and Phenome non (directed by John Turteltaub in 1996)— both set in US small towns surrounded by woods and pastures— as well as Nabbie’s Love (directed by Yuji Nakae in 1999), a Japanese film that showcased the lavish natural beauty of an island in Okinawa, the southernmost archipelago in Japan. Those who could afford to do so also escaped from urban areas in order to indulge in the healing practices available at a growing for est of resort hotels overlooking gleaming subtropical seas that year by year are being depleted of their sustainable resources. Appearing at the zenith of Japanese people’s satisfaction and complacency with the country’s economic achievements and just prior to the collapsing of the bubble economy, My Neighbor Totoro offered a utopian portrayal of 1950s rural scenes that stirred the viewers’ imagination through the beauty, the power, and the simplicity of its representation of nature. The film appealed both to the young, who were unfamiliar with the film’s setting,

The art of anime: Freeze-frames and moving pictures in Miyazaki Hayao's Kiki's Delivery Service

ABSTRACTThis article analyses one of Miyazaki Hayao's (1941–) most loved but least scrutinized anime films, Kiki's Delivery Service (1989). In addition to placing the film within the context of Miyazaki's career, the article looks in particular at the ways in which the animation industry itself is one of the main subjects of the film. Attention is paid to intertextual references to earlier Miyazaki films such as My Neighbor Totoro (1988) as well as to Kiki's relationship with other filmic and literary traditions, specifically the Bildungsroman and Künstlerroman.

The Japanification of Children's Popular Culture: From Godzilla to Miyazaki (review)

Reviewed by: The Japanification of Children's Popular Culture: From Godzilla to Miyazaki Jaimy Mann (bio) Mark I. West , ed. The Japanification of Children's Popular Culture: From Godzilla to Miyazaki. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow P, 2009. Mark West, editor of The Japanification of Children's Popular Culture: From Godzilla to Miyazaki, developed an interest in Japanese cultural production as a parent whose son was fascinated with My Neighbor Totoro, Pokémon, The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and other pervasive and uniquely Japanese mythologies. The Japanification of Children's Popular Culture, an edition of nineteen essays, grapples with this phenomenon and investigates why Japanese influence is omnipresent in children's popular culture. Its wide-ranging contributors provide critical reflections on cultural artifacts and contexts, and illuminate elements of Japanese culture not widely known in the United States. In "Invasion of the Japanese Monsters: A Home-Front Report," West notes that his son enjoys Japanese monsters because, though they are every bit as powerful as American monsters, they are not all bad—due in part, he suggests, to the influence of Shintoism. In these imported myths, humans and monsters can form "non-adversarial relationships" (22) in which difference is advantageous. By comparison, American monsters are not so nuanced. They are always a threat to society and therefore need to be destroyed or domesticated (21). Productive difference is a subtext throughout the book, and an inescapable, more general subject that each contributor deals with uniquely through style and strategy. In "North American Reactions to Yaoi," Antonia Levi examines the form of anime known as yaoi, or "gay male romances written by women for girls" (147). The Japanese audience for yaoi is primarily heterosexual, but its American fans are more often gay or bisexual. Levi contextualizes this difference in reception through a discussion of culturally accepted gay, lesbian, and cross-dressing episodes in Japanese history and linking these to the Japanese appreciation of yaoi. Embedded within her larger argument are multiple examples of recurring homosexual relationships in Japanese anime (including Sailor Moon and Robotech) that are routinely edited out of the American versions. Levi uses yaoi as a springboard to examine, for instance, North American audiences, feminism, and homo or queer sexuality. Several of the essays are personal reflections. Bill Davis sets himself up as the "ugly American" dad, with the likely intention to provoke, in "How the Rising Ubiquity of All Things Japanese Ruined the National Pastime for One American Father." In "Two Worlds, United by Anime," Elizabeth Flynn, an "Army brat" with a Japanese native mother and American father (185–86) evokes her early years in Japan, watching children's television shows in what was at the time her native and sole language—Japanese. [End Page 119] Brent Allison's autobiographical "Interviews with Adolescent Anime Fans" is situated within critical theory, yet tells a suspenseful story about a self-proclaimed stereotypical anime fan at conventions (Allison himself) chatting with various teenagers and wondering, "What do these conversations say about their correspondents' relationship to Japanese culture, U.S. mainstream culture, and to each other?" (130). The account is humorous, and the conclusion a poignant reflection on issues including gender, class, age, and homophobia. Two of the contributors are Japanese nationals, and their essays benefit from the disjunction between experiencing anime in Japan and re-experiencing the same films in the United States. Hiroaki Hatayama makes a case for "The Cross-Cultural Appeal of the Characters in Manga and Anime," which stems from his initial surprise at the popularity of anime in the United States. Rieko Okuhara answers her title question—"The Censorship of Japanese Anime in America: Do American Children Need to Be Protected from Dragon Ball?"—by detailing how the series Dragon Ball is re-inscribed for American television audiences. Editors for the American market delete instances of sex and violence, which eliminates the multigenerational appeal of the folkloric series. More important, editing out nudity leads to confusing, even sexist representations. For example, in the American version the urban teenager Bulma "suddenly appears hysterical . . . [and] frantic" toward her friend Goku, a kind of feral child-hero, while she is taking a bath. Viewers of the Japanese original know she is reacting to...

The anime art of Hayao Miyazaki

thought-provoking, aesthetically pleasing animated films of Hayao Miyazaki attract audiences well beyond the director's native Japan. Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away were critically acclaimed upon U.S. release, and the earlier My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service have found popularity with Americans on DVD. This critical study of Miyazaki's work begins with an analysis of the visual conventions of manga, Japanese comic books, and anime; an overview of Japanese animated films; and a consideration of the techniques deployed by both traditional cell and computer animation. This section also details Miyazaki's early forays into comic books and animation, and his output prior to his founding of Studio Ghibli. Part Two concentrates on the Studio Ghibli era, outlining the company's development and analyzing the director's productions between 1984 and 2004, including Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro and his newest film, Howl's Moving Castle. second section also discusses other productions involving Studio Ghibli, including Grave of the Fireflies and The Cat Returns. Appendices supply additional information about Studio Ghibli's merchandise production, Miyazaki's global fan base, and the output of other Ghibli directors.

Matter Out of Place: Carnival, Containment, and Cultural Recovery in Miyazaki's Spirited Away

This essay deals with the recent animated film Spirited Away by the foremost Japanese animator, Miyazaki Hayao. It examines Spirited Away as a representation of "cultural boundedness," a reaction to globalization in which cultural products are used to reinforce notions of local culture as a form of resistance to perceived outside threats. It goes on to query the success of this attempt, arguing that Spirited Away undermines its overt agenda, ultimately expressing a culture beset by polluting and transgressing forces.

Having It Both Ways: Making Children Films an Adult Matter in Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro

Miyazaki Hayao's fourth feature length film, My Neighbor Totoro (1988), became an instant popular and critical success which proved fundamental in establishing both Miyazaki's and the Studio Ghibli's reputation as producers of the finest Japanese animation of the last two decades, a position confirmed by Miyazaki's triumph at the Berlin Film Festival this year. My Neighbor Totoro, like most Miyazaki's films, is centered on the world of children, and usually is marketed and discussed as a children's film. However, the film has also proven extremely successful with the international audience for Japanese animation, one that is characterized by (and often denigrated for) its preference of more mature, or definitively adult, subject matter.