I have some questions regarding Miyazaki

[C.T.1290]

1) Just what is his problem with anime in general?

2) Is it true that he hates Americans for what happened during WWII, and other people living in the west?

3) Why is it that he thinks that every anime fans are the scum of the earth, including people who likes his works?

4) Why do people practically worship him despite the fact that he’s far from a saint, and not a very good person?

5) Why does he want Japan to go back to the old days instead of it progressing in the modern age?

6) Is it true that he hates humanity to a point where he thinks we should all be extinct?

[cyharding]

I can try to answer to the best of my ability based on what knowledge I have, though I fear they may be insufficent.

1. I think this is more of his disgust about anime being made as commercial product than as a work of art.

2. I know he is not a fan of American culture, but he has also been critical of the Japanese government of that time as well (see The Wind Rises).

3. I'm afraid I don't have a good answer about that one. I would have to assume he was complaining about people caring more about anime than the world around them.

4. I think this is due to nothing on Miyazaki's part but due to the actions of Disney, who was distributing Ghibli films in the West at the time, and John Lasseter especially ( he had known Miyazaki since the early 1980s). It was Lasseter who was advocating for Spirited Away to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2003 (as Disney themselves did not have anything on the slate that year). They were probably making comparisons between his work and Disney works of decades past giving him a sort of cultural legitimacy here in the West and showing that not all animation from Japan was tentacle rape hentai.

5. I don't think it's a return to some supposed cultural age as more of a being in communion with nature or something.

6. I don't think I heard that one. Where did you hear about that?

[C.T.1290]

2. I know he is not a fan of American culture, but he has also been critical of the Japanese government of that time as well (see The Wind Rises).

So, what does he not like about the American culture?

3. I'm afraid I don't have a good answer about that one. I would have to assume he was complaining about people caring more about anime than the world around them.

Well, I know that some people might be capable of doing both, so I don’t really think that that’s a problem.

6. I don't think I heard that one. Where did you hear about that?

I think it was pretty evident in some of his works, like how humanity is destroying nature and all that(Naussica being one example). I don’t think he really likes anybody.

[TehDonutKing]

3) Why is it that he thinks that every anime fans are the scum of the earth, including people who likes his works?

He doesn't. If you're referring to the "anime was a mistake" interview, those subtitles are fake and were intended as a parody, and he's actually talking about WWII fighter planes iirc.

I think it was pretty evident in some of his works, like how humanity is destroying nature and all that(Naussica being one example). I don’t think he really likes anybody.

Do you think environmentalism inherently requires misanthropy? Humans have abused the environment. This doesn't at all equate to a hatred for humanity or a belief in human extinction. This is stretchier than my butthole after an especially fun night.

[Evil Eye]

1) Just what is his problem with anime in general?

He's by his own admission a cranky old codger who's stuck in his ways. This is nothing new by the way, he grumbled about Project A-Ko back when it was new.

2) Is it true that he hates Americans for what happened during WWII, and other people living in the west?

Certainly not. He's a staunch pacifist and declined a visit to the US due to the ongoing Iraq War, and even then that's less "hating Americans" and more "having ethical concerns about being seen to support a country conducting a pointless war" (from his perspective at least).

3) Why is it that he thinks that every anime fans are the scum of the earth, including people who likes his works?

He doesn't. The commonly cited quote is taken totally out of context. He's actually rambling about Mitsubishi Zero fanboys and blaming anime for mythologizing it (his very next line is something along the lines of "Not that I'm a grumpy git who obsesses over this kinda crap or anything, lmao").

4) Why do people practically worship him despite the fact that he’s far from a saint, and not a very good person?

A lot of people can't comprehend someone they admire being a flawed/imperfect person; someone they like HAS to be utterly angelic, and someone they don't like is LITERALLY SATAN etc etc.

5) Why does he want Japan to go back to the old days instead of it progressing in the modern age?

See point #1, though let's be real, sentiments against "progress" for its own sake and that traditions are worth holding onto are far from exclusive to Miyazaki, or indeed old people for that matter.

6) Is it true that he hates humanity to a point where he thinks we should all be extinct?

Almost certainly not, unless he's been drinking too much.

[C.A.P.]

1. He does not have a problem with anime. To sum up best I can: it's the mindset and attitudes people have towards anime and how some people make anime that's a problem with him. Anno says he is an otaku at heart. If you hang around other otaku and see them complain about some topics, Miyazaki's grumbles is nothing special.
2. Not to my knowledge. If he hates America, he certainly never went into detail with it with his friends and co-workers.
3. Because he sees too much of himself in them.
4. Most likely Ghibli was a wake up call to some people or it was their spiritual awakening with anime. It's common in any fandom and any public figure.
5. Because he's too used to what he was comfortable with in his childhood. I'm sure he was thinking this back in the 1960s. It's too late with him.
6. Probably while he gave up Marxism. We have proof he was thinking these thoughts during the 90s. I doubt he thinks that now.