Why Can’t 80 y/o ‘Spirited Away’ Director, Hayao Miyazaki Retire from Filmmaking? Here’s His Answer…

By Ameera Rosli  •  24 Nov 2021 in News

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Have you ever been in a relationship where you were deeply unhappy but you stayed because you just can’t bring yourself to leave?

Well, that’s Hayao Miyazaki’s relationship with creating art. Despite his numerous attempts at retirement, the prolific anime director just can’t bring himself to stop.

In case you weren’t aware, Hayao Miyazaki is synonymous to the anime studio giant, Studio Ghibli, which is known for cult classic anime such as Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro, Princess Mononoke and Howl’s Moving Castle amongst many others.

His most recent film The Wind Rises may not have accumulated much of a following as compared to his other works, but it was still considered a marvel on screen by critics and audiences alike.

Due to the dampening hype behind Miyazaki’s films, especially when Studio Ghibli released his son’s Earwig and The Witch which was met with lukewarm reviews, Miyazaki’s plan for retirement seemed to be coming into fruition.

But alas, he can never escape his art.

Now, the 80-year-old master is returning to helm his latest film titled, How Do You Live?, which borrows its name from a 1937 novel about a boy and his experiences with spiritual growth, poverty, and the overall experience as a human being.

In a lengthy interview with the New York Times, Miyazaki was asked why he decided to come off retirement – yet again.

His answer: Because he wanted to.

As for us anime fans, we can’t complain. We’ll continue to watch Miyazaki ping-pong between continuing his craft and retiring as long as we get to see his enigmatic personality in the headlines.