[HN Gopher] Studio Ghibli set to become subsidiary of Nippon TV
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Studio Ghibli set to become subsidiary of Nippon TV
        
       Author : sohkamyung
       Score  : 516 points
       Date   : 2023-09-21 12:44 UTC (10 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.japantimes.co.jp)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.japantimes.co.jp)
        
       | zzzbra wrote:
       | lol Hayao _hates_ his son...
        
         | peoplefromibiza wrote:
         | [flagged]
        
           | hotdogscout wrote:
           | >No, Japanese are just not as greedy and arrogant as
           | westerners (especially Americans)
           | 
           | My family is japanese and having lived in a Japan as a child
           | I'd say Japanese culture is a lot more greedy and arrogant
           | than western culture, look at Japan's approach to sexuality
           | (censor it), work (kill your individuality, nepotism).
           | 
           | I think people unfairly criticize Americans because of their
           | visibility.
           | 
           | Miyazaki is an old fool full of reactionary opinions much
           | like Roald Dahl. He's not a god, he's a movie director.
        
             | peoplefromibiza wrote:
             | > Japan's approach to sexuality (censor it)
             | 
             | IMO it's cover it, not really censor it.
             | 
             | it's literally sold everywhere and published in countless
             | magazines, I wouldn't call that "censorship".
             | 
             | it's frankly just a style at this point and it's not
             | different from what west does everyday with women bodies,
             | they cover it just enough to profit from it.
             | 
             | When Hokusai painted "the dream of the fisherman's wife"
             | [1], in Europe we still had the Spanish inquisition that
             | covered renaissance nude paintings and statues...
             | 
             | In 1815 they summoned Goya for his "Naked Maja".
             | 
             | These things always fluctuated throughout history
             | 
             | We also know what happened to japan after the occupation by
             | the allies
             | 
             |  _Not only did Occupation censorship forbid criticism of
             | the United States or other Allied nations, but the mention
             | of censorship itself was forbidden. This means, as Donald
             | Keene observes, that for some producers of texts "the
             | Occupation censorship was even more exasperating than
             | Japanese military censorship had been because it insisted
             | that all traces of censorship be concealed. This meant that
             | articles had to be rewritten in full, rather than merely
             | submitting XXs for the offending phrases"._
             | --Dawn to the West, Donald Kleen
             | 
             | [1] NSFW! https://m.media-
             | amazon.com/images/I/61Uh6ydvJFL._AC_UF894,10...
             | 
             | > kill your individuality, nepotism
             | 
             | There's truth in there, but I also respect the way they
             | always push themselves to improve their craftsmanship and
             | be better than they were yesterday. Of course it's not
             | perfect, it has dark sides and it's mostly incomprehensible
             | to outsiders, just wanting to have a better life, without
             | sacrificing too much. It resonates to me, it probably
             | doesn't for most of the western culture that has become too
             | hedonistic for my taste.
             | 
             | But Miyazaki did not abuse of nepotist and he did not force
             | his son to work as hard as he he did.
             | 
             | Also, too much individualism is bad for society, USA has
             | vastly more deaths at birth than Estonia, but at the same
             | time they want to abolish abortion, on religious grounds,
             | _in 2023!_ They still swear on the bible for fuck sake, I
             | don 't think Miyazaki is the reactionary one here.
             | 
             | > I think people unfairly criticize Americans because of
             | their visibility.
             | 
             | They are not more visible, they simply make themselves too
             | visible.
             | 
             | No Japanese ever done something like this in my Country.
             | 
             | Because they are respectful or at least they fake it very
             | well.
             | 
             | https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/08/us-tourist-
             | sco...
             | 
             | > Miyazaki is an old fool full of reactionary opinions much
             | like Roald Dahl. He's not a god, he's a movie director.
             | 
             | You said God, I said genius. Like Roald Dahl. They are
             | geniuses, I admire their work, not their persona.
             | 
             | BTW God is no genius, God, the god of the Jews and
             | Christians at least, killed billions of people, he should
             | be in jail for eternity!
             | 
             | I would much more gladly move to Japan than to the US
             | (where I lived) now that I am older.
        
         | marricks wrote:
         | I don't think so...?
         | 
         | From the Nikkei article:
         | 
         | > The older Miyazaki, 82, and Suzuki, 75, have been discussing
         | the succession process for a long time, according to the two
         | companies. Miyazaki's son had rejected the role, saying it was
         | difficult to operate Ghibli alone and that the company's future
         | would be better left to others. Nippon TV, with which Ghibli
         | had deep ties, became the natural candidate.
        
           | Macha wrote:
           | My impression is both Miyazakis are conservative people even
           | from the perspective of the already conservative Japanese
           | culture of their generations. If it was known that Hayao did
           | not want Goro to take over Ghibli, there's no way Goro would
           | make public statements to the opposite regardless of his own
           | opinion, even as someone in his 50s.
        
             | marricks wrote:
             | Perhaps, but Goro still has power and it clearly states he
             | wanted this. If you have backstory to provide that'd help,
             | otherwise it's just gossip.
             | 
             | Additionally, conservative is loaded term it's not really
             | helpful in getting across what they feel without additional
             | description. They're possible _old school_ conservatives
             | but even that probably comes across wrong as how they
             | themselves would want to be described.
        
               | radicaldreamer wrote:
               | I mean, based on Goro's movies, it's clear he just isn't
               | as talented as a filmmaker as his father. Besides, Suzuki
               | Toshio is the Tim Cook of Ghibli.
               | 
               | I have no doubt that Goro wanted to be his father's
               | successor (why would he have made multiple films under
               | the Ghibli umbrella), but his father clearly recognizes
               | that Ghibli has a potentially larger future than becoming
               | a lesser studio under his son.
        
               | bradleyishungry wrote:
               | Poppy Hill is very good and comparable with Wind Rises.
               | Just because Earthsea was bad, people view him as someone
               | who is not up to the task. It's for sure fair to say he's
               | not a good writer like his father, but he has the ability
               | to make great films.
        
         | peoplefromibiza wrote:
         | please.
         | 
         | his son is simply not good enough to replace him (them,
         | including Takahata, actually).
         | 
         | Let's be honest, dynasties are such an abhorrent thing that we
         | should rejoice Studio Ghibli did not end as one.
        
         | ZeWaka wrote:
         | Not really, he's just not nearly as skilled as a director. The
         | best of his prior films have been collabs.
        
           | radicaldreamer wrote:
           | Exactly, they've all been rare missteps from Ghibli (but
           | interesting as experimental works -- particularly Earwig and
           | the Witch).
        
       | 0ct4via wrote:
       | NTV Press Release (JP):
       | https://www.ntv.co.jp/info/pressrelease/docs/20230921.pdf
       | 
       | Ghibli Press Release (JP): https://www.ghibli.jp/info/013778/
        
       | Andrew018 wrote:
       | [dead]
        
       | belugacat wrote:
       | Hayao Miyazaki, in the documentary "The Kingdom of Dreams and
       | Madness" (2013):
       | 
       | Interviewer: "Aren't you worried about [Studio Ghibli]'s future?"
       | 
       | HM: "The future is clear. It's gonna fall apart. I can already
       | see it. What's the use worrying? It's inevitable. "Ghibli" is
       | just a random name I got from an airplane. It's only a name."
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | EGreg wrote:
         | Ironically - the expression "studio ghibli" in Russian actually
         | embodies that fate for the studio LOL
        
         | astrod wrote:
         | Sounds perfect, like the embodiment of the cherry blossom and
         | its inevitability death after a beautiful short life.
        
           | tmtvl wrote:
           | Only to then be hit by Resurrection Butterfly, which looks
           | scary as anything. It isn't quite as bad as it looks, though.
        
         | GuB-42 wrote:
         | It is even more evident that it is just a name if you consider
         | that Nausicaa is not a Studio Ghibli film. It is the film that
         | lead to the creation of the studio and my personal favorite,
         | but technically, it wasn't part of it.
        
           | pcdoodle wrote:
           | Nausicaa is by far one of the best films I've ever seen. That
           | reminds me, I have a projector to hook up...
        
             | kibwen wrote:
             | Highly recommend the manga. Masterfully illustrated by
             | Miyazaki himself, and the story is more complete than the
             | film.
        
         | bluerooibos wrote:
         | What's also hilarious is his reaction to some creepy looking
         | computer generated art/animation which for some reason they
         | chose to make look like it had a disability.
         | 
         | "I am utterly disgusted," he says. If you really want to make
         | creepy stuff, you can go ahead and do it, but I would never
         | wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all. I
         | strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself."
         | 
         | Worth a watch if you want a laugh -
         | https://youtu.be/ngZ0K3lWKRc?si=JuIRf79ac5X3FogI
        
         | fidotron wrote:
         | Yep. This is near the better end of possible outcomes given at
         | least they have a track record of respecting legacy and showing
         | the value of archives.
         | 
         | The idea that Ghibli as a major production concern would
         | outlast Hayao Miyazaki was obvious nonsense, and you can almost
         | feel the relief of Goro.
        
           | hinkley wrote:
           | There are adults now that grew up with Ghibli films. And not
           | just from HBO playing an abridged Nausicaa on a loop as
           | filler.
           | 
           | Certainly Miyazaki has succeeded in keeping the wheels on
           | long enough that there's a cadre of people out there that
           | have a deep psychological investment in preserving the
           | legacy.
           | 
           | It won't be Miyazaki's Ghibli, but it could be something.
        
             | sp332 wrote:
             | LOL they abridged it?
        
               | hinkley wrote:
               | Oh yeah. They changed the tone a bit too. I don't think I
               | can tell you the differences since it was at least 10-15
               | years between Valley of the Wind going away and the
               | rereleases.
               | 
               | https://cinema.wisc.edu/blog/2016/09/06/when-nausicaa-
               | became...
               | 
               | Seems to cover it.
        
             | jonhohle wrote:
             | But why can't it be something else? Does the name matter
             | apart from the creators?
             | 
             | If I see Miyazaki on a poster, I'm going to be interested.
             | There's been enough Ghibli without him that I know the
             | studio isn't magic, it's him. Not saying the non-Miyazaki
             | stuff is terrible, but certainly not the same quality.
        
               | busterarm wrote:
               | A large number of the fans, myself included, prefer Isao
               | Takahata's work.
               | 
               | Either way. It wasn't "him". It was "them". Their rivalry
               | drew out their best work.
        
               | the_af wrote:
               | Agreed that Takahata was a master in his own right.
               | 
               | Everybody knows about _Grave of the Fireflies_ , but a
               | few years ago I discovered the more subdued _Only
               | Yesterday_ and found it impressive. It stirred emotions,
               | a true animated movie for adults.
               | 
               | I also enjoyed _Princess Kaguya_ a lot. The art style
               | alone is very different from Miyazaki 's style (which I
               | love, of course).
        
               | busterarm wrote:
               | My Neighbors The Yamadas is always the first thing that I
               | recommend to adults who have never seen anime before.
        
               | gedy wrote:
               | Only Yesterday was a lovely movie and really touching.
               | (Would recommend it in Japanese with subtitles)
        
               | hinkley wrote:
               | Miyazaki is reportedly not a great father. They seem not
               | to have connected yery well and as such the few things
               | his son have done don't feel inspired by him. Actually
               | they don't feel inspired at all.
               | 
               | I don't think there will be a Ghibli analog to Farscape
               | by Henson Productions - quite different in tone and story
               | but still somehow just a bit similar to The Dark Crystal.
        
               | emodendroket wrote:
               | I don't know. How many people visited Disneyland this
               | year?
        
               | the_af wrote:
               | I certainly don't want Ghibli to become Japan's
               | Disneyland.
        
               | mnky9800n wrote:
               | Good news is Japan already has a Disneyland.
        
               | dfxm12 wrote:
               | They also already have a Ghibli Park. -\\_(tsu)_/-
        
               | emodendroket wrote:
               | There's always room for another.
        
               | astrange wrote:
               | Japan is actually relatively short on things to do
               | considering how many tourists they get. There's some
               | proposals to build another large theme park in Yokohama
               | IIRC.
        
               | ghaff wrote:
               | Eh. Zero interest in theme parks. Maybe they would. Keep
               | some population of tourists away from everything else
               | though. I've spent a week just in zTokyo in the dog days
               | of summer and have spent a bunch of time elsewhere in the
               | country without going to Disney even being on my radar.
        
               | emodendroket wrote:
               | Yeah but there are lots of other tourists they want to
               | attract with theme parks and water parks and if that
               | means bulldozing some parts of Kyoto with more
               | distinctive charms they'll do it.
        
               | ghaff wrote:
               | Tons of rural land no one wants to live in.
        
               | emodendroket wrote:
               | Too far from the airport.
        
               | chemmail wrote:
               | So where would one go where there are lots of things to
               | do?
        
               | dfxm12 wrote:
               | You can spend 2 weeks in Japan during a holiday season
               | where a bunch of stuff is closed and still completely
               | fill your days with stuff to do.
               | 
               | Source: I did just that this past New Year.
        
               | astrange wrote:
               | It's more of a problem for families with children.
        
               | alexandre_m wrote:
               | @dfxm12
               | 
               | What did your itinerary look like?
        
               | dwd wrote:
               | TeamLab Borderless is a must see in Tokyo.
               | 
               | Don't forget there's also a Ghibli Museum and you have to
               | book in advance.
        
               | StimDeck wrote:
               | [dead]
        
               | mark_up wrote:
               | [dead]
        
           | moomin wrote:
           | I want to see more from Hiromasa Yonebayashi, though.
        
             | tuna74 wrote:
             | He is at Studio Ponoc
             | (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_Ponoc) now.
        
               | moomin wrote:
               | Thankyou! I have stuff to check out.
        
           | imachine1980_ wrote:
           | i dont doubt they have bigger places trying to buy it but
           | decide local company whit good track record.
        
           | makeitdouble wrote:
           | Yes. I think this also comes less as a shock as the new
           | generation of directors have a number of studios willing to
           | give them a chance (including new studios beasically founded
           | for a single director, or even single piece).
           | 
           | Ghibli can stay an icon of a glorious past area, in good
           | hands.
        
             | HenryBemis wrote:
             | "We'll Always Have Paris" is the phrase that came to my
             | mind. If we are lucky, the Ghibli will be the empty shell
             | holding the royalties/rights/etc of the Miyazaki (and
             | other) produced movies.
             | 
             | If we are unlucky, someone will use the brand name to start
             | producing (en masse) garbage, selling it to Netflix, and
             | Netflix will be pushing garbage low-quality, hi-speed
             | cartoons.
        
               | moomin wrote:
               | Imagine if DC purchased it and started running plots with
               | Lady Eboshi having a smackdown with Ozymandias.
        
               | nordsieck wrote:
               | > If we are unlucky, someone will use the brand name to
               | start producing (en masse) garbage, selling it to
               | Netflix, and Netflix will be pushing garbage low-quality,
               | hi-speed cartoons.
               | 
               | I would really hate to see the Ghibli version of "rings
               | of power"
        
               | ryandrake wrote:
               | > I would really hate to see the Ghibli version of "rings
               | of power"
               | 
               | Then, don't see it.
               | 
               | Fans need to stop enabling these awful reboots: by
               | withholding their wallets. These IP vampires are only
               | motivated by money, and if we give them money as a reward
               | for milking past franchises, then they will continue to
               | do it.
        
               | smolder wrote:
               | I agree in principle, but it can be difficult in practice
               | to vote with your wallet.
               | 
               | In the case of movies, once you have a ticket or purchase
               | it or even rent it, they've got your money and have
               | learned the lesson that people will pay, regardless of
               | how you felt about what you watched or whether you intend
               | to boycott future productions.
               | 
               | In general, though, I do try to send the signal that I'm
               | not personally a garbage dump for low effort content, by
               | doing a few things:
               | 
               | - No "guilty pleasure" watching of things that I'd prefer
               | didn't exist, i.e. junk reality TV
               | 
               | - Actively avoiding clicking on things that have
               | clickbait titles, _especially_ if they 're part of an
               | algo-feed
               | 
               | - Read reviews / get reviews from friends first
               | 
               | - If a streaming show is bad, stop watching ASAP.
               | Stopping at episode 2/10 is a reliable signal for Netflix
               | et al.
        
               | nordsieck wrote:
               | Yeah; I've come to the point where I don't really want to
               | watch "fresh" content. There's so many great movies in
               | the back catalog, I'll probably never run out of great
               | stuff to watch.
               | 
               | And if there's something great that's come out, I'll
               | check it out after a couple of years when the reviews
               | have settled down and all of the parts (I'm looking at
               | you, Dune) have come out.
        
               | tetris11 wrote:
               | People don't vote with their wallets with clear minds
               | though. People vote with half-asleep notions of what's
               | good based on an onslaught of direct and viral marketing
               | combo that threatens to ostracize them from their various
               | social/support groups if they don't consume said product.
               | No one has the time and energy to fight that on every
               | front, nor has the know-how in every conceivable field to
               | understand what is a lie and what isn't.
        
               | Andrex wrote:
               | Prime is subsidized by a million other things. Cancelling
               | does not send a message, or rather, the message isn't
               | nearly specific enough to be interpreted by Amazon as "we
               | should make a better show and/or stop making this one."
               | 
               | The entire feedback loop for the media industry has been
               | perverted by tech companies and Venture Capital vampires,
               | and it wasn't in a great place before.
        
               | tetris11 wrote:
               | There's a Steven Universe version of Superman right now,
               | and as terrible as that sounds, its pretty good.
        
               | bee_rider wrote:
               | What's a Steven Universe of Superman mean?
               | 
               | Animation style--eh, it changes, cartoons have been
               | getting more stylized/less detailed since, like, the
               | 80's. It turns out characters don't need a million belts
               | and pockets to be compelling, haha.
               | 
               | Theme-wise, Steven Universe is pretty well received.
        
               | tetris11 wrote:
               | Oh I agree, its just that Superman has always been
               | painted as a wholesome softie only in contrast to his
               | more brooding teammates (JLA, anything that DC has
               | produced).
               | 
               | Yet, here he is in a cutesy setting where rarely anyone
               | is brooding, and somehow it just works. It even feels
               | more true to his character, as the lightness of his
               | personality and others is even more contrasted to the
               | seriousness of the situations they face (similar
               | thematically to old school Teen Titans perhaps), and also
               | makes the argument that Earth influenced him for the
               | better as a child much more compelling.
               | 
               | The stakes are high, but goodness and strength of
               | character prevails. Best animated version I've seen so
               | far.
        
               | autoexec wrote:
               | I'll be calling it that from here on, so thanks for that,
               | but I admit I was pleasantly surprised by how good it is.
               | Studio Mir rarely disappoints in terms of quality
               | (although I still think The Legend of Korra was their
               | best work), but I really wasn't expecting the rest of the
               | show to be worth watching.
        
               | dwighttk wrote:
               | Don't have to watch it... we'll always have the books...
               | 
               |  _maybe one day I'll forget watching the first third of
               | The Hobbit in 3D_
        
               | hx8 wrote:
               | After Game of Thrones season 3 I've began ignoring film
               | adaptations of books I enjoy. I think the risk of
               | tarnishing my experience with a good book is much worse
               | than any possible film enhancement I've experienced.
               | 
               | The screenshots from Blade Runner 2 and Dune do look cool
               | though.
        
               | the_af wrote:
               | > _The screenshots from Blade Runner 2 and Dune do look
               | cool though._
               | 
               | Good news about Dune! It's actually a good movie. It's
               | both close to the book and makes the right calls in
               | changing what needs to be changed for the big screen. It
               | looks amazing, too. Give it a chance.
               | 
               | Bad news about Blade Runner 2: it's not good. It looks
               | good, but the movie is pointless and jarringly bad acted
               | at times (Jared Leto, enough said). And I say this as
               | someone who absolutely _loves_ Blade Runner, so I 'm not
               | one of the naysayers who found it "boring". It's not
               | boring -- it's bad and pointless. Someone here called it
               | "fanfiction", and that's what it is: fanfiction by a very
               | competent director who doesn't truly understand the
               | source material.
        
               | cmrdporcupine wrote:
               | Blade Runner 2 is basically .. fan fiction done by one of
               | the best directors ever.
               | 
               | The story is pointless. The movie aimless. The visuals
               | and acting and directing absolutely _stunning_. As lovely
               | as it was to _look_ at, I 'd just like my 3 hours back.
               | The original movie was a somewhat campy but beautiful
               | film-noir sci-fi detective thing that actually didn't
               | take itself that seriously, despite being aesthetically
               | quite serious. The new thing took itself _way way way too
               | seriously_.
               | 
               | But Dune 1 is amazing. Highly recommended, and I'm a deep
               | Dune nerd (... but not the Brian Herbert crap, that's not
               | Dune) for decades.
               | 
               | It's not the "same" as the book -- it lacks a lot of
               | what's there -- but it's _enough_ of the book and amazing
               | in its own right that it 's absolutely worth the
               | experience.
        
               | hvis wrote:
               | To be fair, the original Blade Runner was also basically
               | fan fiction to the source material.
               | 
               | The second one was too, and though it was quite different
               | in tone, I liked both.
        
               | ska wrote:
               | Blade Runner is less of an adaptation and more of a
               | "inspired by", I think. The book and the film(s) stand on
               | their own just fine.
        
               | ndsipa_pomu wrote:
               | A Scanner Darkly is probably the best PKD adaptation
        
               | jncfhnb wrote:
               | Blade Runner 2 was a great film. I think made slightly
               | worse by its connections to the original. But I would
               | recommend it. It's nice that it is far enough in the
               | future that it is a different world concept and there is
               | no inclination to care about the canon.
        
               | the_af wrote:
               | I'm a fan of Blade Runner and really disliked Blade
               | Runner 2.
               | 
               | To be honest, it didn't stand a chance with me: BR2 is a
               | movie that didn't need to get made. Someone else in this
               | thread called it "fanfiction", and that's what it is:
               | technically very well made, but pointless fanfiction
               | nonetheless.
               | 
               | But if I had a slightly open mind about it, the inclusion
               | of old Deckard, the chew-the-scenery overacting of Jared
               | Leto (and actor that is always hard to like), and that
               | ridiculous "I'm the best" Luv -- which is miles behind
               | the marvelously inspired Roy Batty -- were the final nail
               | (nails?) in the coffin of this trainwreck of a movie.
               | 
               | The only saving graces are set design, K and the
               | implications about Joi and her mass-produced but
               | convincing displays of affection. The rest of the story
               | is pointless and most of the characters are unlikable and
               | badly acted.
               | 
               | Again, no movie would have satisfied me. I think the very
               | concept of a Blade Runner sequel is wrong and a mistake;
               | but Hollywood must march on, I guess.
        
               | jncfhnb wrote:
               | Idk. I thought the hooker scene and the android test
               | scene were phenomenal and interesting. If the first one
               | asked if synthetic life could be human, this one seemed
               | to argue that it's arguably inevitable if the beings are
               | living real lives; and the ultimate meaningless of the
               | distinction. I thought that was great.
               | 
               | I agree Ford and Leto were distractions to the detriment
               | of the film. Would have been fine as an independent
               | original film and not blade runner although the
               | reflections of the original did help highlight the
               | themes.
        
               | the_af wrote:
               | The hooker scene did nothing for me, but the replicant
               | alignment test was interesting. I think K was an
               | interesting character.
               | 
               | I do agree there were some good questions asked by the
               | film (just not anything to do with Wallace's "vision" --
               | boy did this ruin the movie for me!).
               | 
               | > _Would have been fine as an independent original film
               | and not blade runner_
               | 
               | Yes. I would have received this way better had it been an
               | original film with echoes of Blade Runner (so I would
               | have been spared, for example, the ridiculous execution
               | of clone-Rachael) instead of an official sequel.
               | 
               | I can accept "I'm a director who admires Blade Runner and
               | want to do a film that is a homage to it", but cannot
               | accept "I want to do Blade Runner 2".
               | 
               | For the record, I think Villeneuve is a good director and
               | also think this was a genuine attempt at doing something
               | good. It just happens that it was a bad idea, doomed to
               | fail.
        
               | nordsieck wrote:
               | Sequels are particularly tough to pull off.
               | 
               | Aliens and Terminator 2 are beloved by fans, but most
               | sequels seem to be either overt cash grabs, or a director
               | trying and failing to recapture what made the first movie
               | special.
               | 
               | > Again, no movie would have satisfied me. I think the
               | very concept of a Blade Runner sequel is wrong and a
               | mistake; but Hollywood must march on, I guess.
               | 
               | I hope out hope that a very special directory/writer team
               | could pull off something wonderful, but in practice
               | you're probably right.
        
               | aftbit wrote:
               | I only read the first Dune book, but I feel like the
               | recent-ish movie did a pretty good job following what
               | happened in the book.
        
               | KineticLensman wrote:
               | The third Dune book (arguably the second) actually
               | illustrates this general point about decline as well. Run
               | screaming from the subsequent books
        
               | cmrdporcupine wrote:
               | No, not run scremaing! God Emperor and beyond are
               | awesome. But they're not the same thing, no. They're far
               | more philosophical, and kind of about something else.
               | 
               | The Brian Herbert books are very bad.
        
               | yongjik wrote:
               | I think the second and the third was okay, but the fourth
               | was... hmm maybe "decline" is not the right word, it was
               | as if I walked into my favorite coffee shop and they
               | decided to drop a bunch of bricks and PVC pipes on my
               | laps because that's what they do now. (Can't talk about
               | later books - I kinda stopped there and never picked up
               | again. Maybe I should.)
        
               | cmrdporcupine wrote:
               | God Emperor is a slog, but sets the groundwork for
               | Heretics and Chapterhouse, and they're in my opinion very
               | good. I've re-read Chapterhouse more than any of the
               | others.
               | 
               | But I think he meant for there to be a final one to
               | follow it, and so it closes off somewhat
               | unsatisfactorily.
        
               | dwighttk wrote:
               | I always tell people to read the first one and stop or
               | grit your teeth and read all of them...
               | 
               | (Possible spoiler:)
               | 
               | I was a little surprised in my last read through how
               | small a part Duncan Idaho played until I got to the
               | second book and remembered
        
               | toast0 wrote:
               | IMHO, Denis Villeneuve (and the rest of the crew) did a
               | wonderful job with the visuals in Dune; there's some
               | aspects of it I don't care for, but it definitely looks
               | cool. But then again, I also think David Lynch (and the
               | rest of the crew) did a wonderful job with the visuals in
               | Dune, although somethings were a bit over the top; OTOH,
               | I first watched this one when I was like 10 and got
               | sucked in, so I'm not unbiased. I think both films did a
               | great job of practical shooting that will continue to
               | look good well into the future unlike a lot of recent
               | films that are a lot of short takes in front of a green
               | screen ( _cough_ Star Wars after the first two; most of
               | Marvel _cough_ ). I'm looking forward to Dune: Part 2
               | this year, even if I'm pretty sure I'll dislike the same
               | things I dislike from Dune: Part 1, because the visuals
               | are likely to be going to be wonderful.
               | 
               | The SciFi channel had zero budget and it showed; but I
               | think they stuck to the book a lot better; but I don't
               | think I'll ever rewatch them, because the visuals are so
               | bad.
               | 
               | Anyway --- we can always treat adaptations as inspired by
               | rather than based on. I, Robot is a fun action film that
               | name drops the three laws, but is otherwise unconnected
               | to the book. The song retains the name, as they say.
        
               | dwighttk wrote:
               | (Dune has been delayed to early next year)
        
               | teawrecks wrote:
               | Waiting for them to train an AI on Miyazaki's art/writing
               | style and pump out a bunch of junk.
        
               | xwdv wrote:
               | Who cares? The past has happened, and nobody can change
               | it, nobody can go back and unmake those movies we saw.
               | Nobody can take the memories away.
               | 
               | The point is it doesn't matter anymore. Someone can take
               | the name and make mass produced garbage, you don't have
               | to watch it. Ghibli doesn't mean anything. Let it go.
               | People care too much about keeping everything exactly the
               | same.
        
               | MangoCoffee wrote:
               | >Someone can take the name and make mass produced garbage
               | 
               | This hit hard. Disney bought Lucasfilm. Look at Indiana
               | Jones 5, I don't think anyone ask for it, but Disney made
               | it and it's a major flop.
        
               | [deleted]
        
               | mcpackieh wrote:
               | I agree, but it seems like many people are incapable of
               | thinking this way. See the number of people who say that
               | new star wars ruined old star wars, "ruined their
               | childhood" even. How? How can a new movie ruin an old
               | movie? Causality does not work in that direction. But
               | some people think it does and the illogicality of their
               | position doesn't change the fact of how they genuinely
               | feel.
        
               | autoexec wrote:
               | > How? How can a new movie ruin an old movie?
               | 
               | I think it must be kind of like desecrating a corpse.
               | Maybe watching someone dig up and do something prolonged
               | and unthinkable to the body of your dead grandmother
               | can't undo all the lovely years you had together, but if
               | witnessing that act enraged you, you might find that
               | suddenly every time you see her photo or visit her grave
               | you're reminded of what you saw and that it upsets you
               | all over again.
        
               | ryandrake wrote:
               | Not saying I fully buy it but I think the fans' point is
               | that what Disney is doing to Star Wars today is
               | _diminishing the entirety of Star Wars_ , the average of
               | past + present. Every new Transformers or Indiana Jones
               | or Ice Age makes the overall work worse, regardless of
               | whether you even see it.
        
               | toast0 wrote:
               | > I think the fans' point is that what Disney is doing to
               | Star Wars today is diminishing the entirety of Star Wars,
               | the average of past + present
               | 
               | Lucas was at the helm for Return of the Jedi, Star Tours,
               | and the three prequels. I think we can't lay the blame
               | for the Holiday Special on him, but that certainly
               | happened too. There's the Ewok tv movies too, which
               | thankfully I've never seen.
               | 
               | Even if all the Disney Star Wars films are crap, they're
               | just continuing the trend. I prefer to simply believe
               | there are two Star Wars films, and let others believe
               | what they want to believe.
        
               | [deleted]
        
               | mcphage wrote:
               | > I think the fans' point is that what Disney is doing to
               | Star Wars today is diminishing the entirety of Star Wars
               | 
               | They may believe that, but it's not true.
        
               | bee_rider wrote:
               | I think it is not just diluting the quality to get a
               | worse average. Fiction often involves the audience
               | filling in the gaps: Someone drops a hint that characters
               | have known each other a long time; you can imagine that
               | as you'd like. In the end, you get "and they lived
               | happily ever after," you decide what "happily ever after"
               | looks like.
               | 
               | Sequels and prequels need to add more drama and action,
               | so happily ever after never ends up being all that happy.
        
               | ndsipa_pomu wrote:
               | Andor is well worth a watch though
        
               | morelisp wrote:
               | Narrative causality _does_ work that way; a later-made
               | prequel can ruin a story element that was fine in an
               | earlier-made sequel. This is infohazards 101.
        
               | ndsipa_pomu wrote:
               | Prometheus would be an example of that
        
               | omoikane wrote:
               | Maybe it's because they re-released modified versions of
               | the original Star Wars trilogy[1]. Although timing wise,
               | some of the re-releases happened before the Star Wars
               | prequels, including the "Han shot first" controversy[2].
               | Some people's childhood might be ruined by the
               | altercations, but it seems unfair that the new Star Wars
               | are fully to blame.
               | 
               | [1]
               | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changes_in_Star_Wars_re-
               | releas...
               | 
               | [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_shot_first
        
               | bee_rider wrote:
               | People who claim a new movie ruined their childhood are
               | just being over-dramatic, are using it as a shorthand for
               | it destroyed a thing _from_ their childhood, or both.
               | 
               | I do think, though, that sequel can make a story worse
               | pretty easily. For example, the combined story of the
               | Star Wars sequels, prequels, and originals is simply
               | worse than the originals alone. When you just watched the
               | originals, you could imagine your own Clone Wars, they
               | could be whatever cool thing you want. Dropping neat-
               | sounding hints and letting the audience fill in the gaps
               | with whatever cool thing they imagine is a classic
               | storytelling technique get a free feeling of depth.
               | Replacing that cool thing the audience imagined with
               | trade negotiations makes the story worse.
               | 
               | Similarly, character arcs are a thing. The protagonists
               | usually win and end up in a happy place, at least in a
               | non-grimdark universe like Star Wars. Making a sequel
               | that says: Actually Luke Skywalker spent the rest of his
               | life failing and ended up as a miserable old grump makes
               | his story arc worse.
               | 
               | You can just watch the original movies and ignore the
               | rest of course, it is after all fiction so getting the
               | whole story doesn't _really_ matter. But these are huge
               | releases that get lots of press, and I think it is
               | unrealistic to expect fans to just ignore them.
        
               | mcpackieh wrote:
               | Maybe I'm making too much of it, perhaps it's just the
               | modern style to use hyperbolic rhetoric in movie reviews.
               | 
               | But for new movies to make old movies worse used to be an
               | uncommon attitude I think. I remember in the 90s and 00s,
               | lots of movies had really shitty sequels, often straight
               | to DVD, but nobody talked about these cash grabs ruining
               | the original movie. For instance Aliens 3, Alien
               | Resurrection and then all the AvP crap... some people
               | like these (I think Aliens 3 is defensible FWIW) but a
               | lot of people really don't. Still, nobody talks about
               | Alien or Aliens (e.g. 1 & 2) being ruined by the later
               | movies. Aliens 3 is frequently criticized for the way it
               | killed well-liked characters from Aliens, but that
               | doesn't stop people from still enjoying Aliens. People
               | just choose to ignore Aliens 3. And why shouldn't they,
               | because Aliens 3 is canon? That's just a legal IP
               | relationship, that doesn't matter.
               | 
               | And Disney has dozens of straight-to-vhs/dvd cashgrab
               | sequels of their classic animated movies, people who
               | don't care for them just ignore them and they aren't said
               | to ruin the originals. There used to be a general
               | understanding that sequels are very rarely good, people
               | were pleasantly surprised when it was otherwise and
               | nobody said their life was ruined by a bad sequel.
               | Because who cares about cannon in animated disney movies?
               | 
               | I've seen Lucas's Clone Wars, but if I watch the original
               | Star Wars I'm not compelled to relate it to the Clone
               | Wars movie. By simply choosing to ignore it because I
               | don't like it, I free myself to imagine my own clone
               | wars.
               | 
               | I think new movies ruining the originals is some
               | relatively recent cultural phenomena that was brought on
               | by internet culture's obsession with canon. The existence
               | of popular sites like wookiepedia both evidence it and
               | drive it. If I'm wrong and it's not an overabundance of
               | respect for IP laws that is the root of this, then why
               | isn't bad fanfic also said to ruin the original?
        
               | lancesells wrote:
               | I think some of the reason for the strong reaction is
               | Star Wars is for kids while Aliens is not. There are a
               | lot of people who were in an age of innocence when they
               | watched Star Wars and it gets them upset if the new
               | movies aren't entertaining to them as adults. Even if you
               | did watch Aliens as a kid it's a horror movie in space
               | with a giant bug in the shadows making it a lot less
               | relatable.
        
               | bee_rider wrote:
               | Of course, it is fiction, so if you want to have your own
               | version of the story and cut off the bad parts, that's
               | definitely not hurting anyone.
               | 
               | Nowadays studios really lean into the idea of
               | establishing an expanded universe and canon, since then
               | it becomes a recurring revenue stream and all that. So, I
               | wonder if this is an aspect of that trend, just a
               | different way people tell stories and, as a result,
               | consume them.
               | 
               | I think people ignore 90's disney cash grab sequels
               | mostly because they were so garbage that they didn't get
               | integrated into the cultural zeitgeist (and also, people
               | who loved Lion King when it came out were too old to care
               | about the sequel).
               | 
               | Stuff like the Star Wars prequels is not quite at that
               | level of badness, might be marketed toward everyone, so
               | it enters the general conversation about the movies. Of
               | course, it is possible to not engage in that stuff, but
               | then, I guess people who are talking about Star Wars in
               | 2023 are interested in the whole thing, right? You can
               | only think about 3 movies for so long, haha. So, I bet
               | lots of people saw them movies, have fond memories, and
               | then moved on, but they aren't talking about it anymore.
        
               | rightbyte wrote:
               | > How? How can a new movie ruin an old movie?
               | 
               | It is the age old problem of recognizing the canon.
        
               | reso wrote:
               | Spirited Away 2: Rise of the Bathhouse
        
           | micromacrofoot wrote:
           | Probably a bit of a double-edged sword because frankly Hayao
           | does not seem to care for Goro all that much.
        
             | the_af wrote:
             | I'm not sure I understand... this news indicates that Goro
             | will _not_ be leading Ghibli. So what would be the double-
             | edged sword?
        
               | Mistletoe wrote:
               | I'm also confused, does he not like his own son?
        
               | jd3 wrote:
               | He was a self-described absentee father, stated that
               | being around his son made him anxious, dissuaded Goro
               | from getting into animation, and was critical and
               | generally unsupportive of the three films that Goro
               | directed.
               | 
               | Goro even stated that he only got to know his father
               | through his films since Hayao was never around.
               | 
               | Goro was raised by his mother, who quit pursuing her
               | dream of working as an animator in order to raise him.
        
               | Der_Einzige wrote:
               | Goros films to be fair were pretty bad. Tales from the
               | earth sea in particular is shockingly bad.
        
               | rkuykendall-com wrote:
               | From Up on Poppy Hill is actually my favorite. But I
               | haven't seen his others.
        
               | elmomle wrote:
               | That one was still (co-)written by Hayao, and the writing
               | / story composition is definitely what makes that film so
               | strong.
        
               | hotdogscout wrote:
               | Kokuriko-zaka Kara was really good though. Better than
               | Miyazaki's earlier work (Sherlock Hound, Conan, Lupin). I
               | find them very simple and mediocre compared to anything
               | of that time or even 60's anime like 009.
        
               | Aeolun wrote:
               | I didn't really have issues with it. It certainly wasn't
               | stellar, but at least solidly average.
        
               | mandmandam wrote:
               | I liked it, as a huge Le Guin fan. It wasn't quite Ghibli
               | level, but it wasn't _that_ far off. It got the heart
               | right, and it was a lot better than the average movie
               | imo.
               | 
               | Adapting books to film is really, really hard, as is
               | animating, and directing, etc.
               | 
               | Le Guin was critical of the movie, for valid reasons, but
               | I don't think she hated it. Which, being fair, is an
               | accomplishment.
        
               | [deleted]
        
               | peoplefromibiza wrote:
               | > does he not like his own son?
               | 
               | in what way is it any of our business?
               | 
               | in what way what a father does or doesn't leave to his
               | son can be used to determine how much he loves or doesn't
               | love him?
               | 
               | Goro is a 56 years old man, he's beyond middle age, he
               | lived more than half of his life already, why are you
               | treating him like a small defenseless child?
        
               | Mistletoe wrote:
               | You seem a little too close to this haha. I know nothing
               | of their history I'm just asking a simple innocent
               | question. Yes I think it would be odd for someone to not
               | like their own son.
        
               | peoplefromibiza wrote:
               | a lot of people do not understand how the Japanese
               | culture works and they assume that helicopter parents are
               | the best of the best, but it's just US distorted
               | parenting percolating, it has nothing to do with what's
               | right or wrong.
               | 
               | If I created something and I wanted that thing to die
               | with me, the love for my children wouldn't in any way
               | stop me.
               | 
               | Legacy and honor are much more important than nepotism
               | for some.
               | 
               | Also, he's saving Goro from being "the son of Miyazaki
               | that was never good as the father" forever.
               | 
               | He's Goro. He's a different person. He made his own
               | choices regardless of who the father is and owes him
               | nothing.
               | 
               | That's a gift if you ask me.
        
               | dylan604 wrote:
               | And then there's the story of Jiro, the Japanese sushi
               | maker that was so highly praised, but it turned out that
               | it was his oldest son that was actually making the sushi.
               | 
               | Anecdotes of 1 are meaningless other than fun stories to
               | share.
        
               | peoplefromibiza wrote:
               | That's a good one.
               | 
               | I've never been a Jiro fan though, there are many sushi
               | makers in japan that can be considered artists in their
               | craft, but their cultural impact is mehh at best.
               | 
               | Studio Ghibli, both Miyazaki and Takahata, on the other
               | hand...
        
               | dylan604 wrote:
               | I guess? There was a time where Jiro's restaurant was
               | booked months in advance (as many uber famous locations
               | can be), and had people traveling internationally just to
               | eat there. That's a pretty big cultural impact whether
               | it's your cup of tea or not. There's other people that
               | shrug their shoulders at the Studio Ghibli content. I
               | recognize their work as being very good, but I'm not a
               | "fan". It's not my cup of tea, but I'm not going to claim
               | it as being meh at best. I can recognize talent even if I
               | don't like it.
        
               | micromacrofoot wrote:
               | the double-edged sword is the relief of not having to run
               | the studio, but the disappointment that you don't meet
               | your father's expectations
        
             | peoplefromibiza wrote:
             | > because frankly Hayao does not seem to care for Goro all
             | that much
             | 
             | or maybe he thinks that Ghibli should not survive him,
             | which is in his full rights.
             | 
             | Goro can open his own studio if he wants to.
        
               | micromacrofoot wrote:
               | sure maybe that too, but he's panned Goro's work very
               | publicly on multiple occasions
        
               | peoplefromibiza wrote:
               | I don't really (honestly) understand this critique.
               | 
               | What's wrong in being honest?
               | 
               | Goro works are clearly inferior to his father's works on
               | many levels.
               | 
               | He's no amateur, that's for sure, but he's no master
               | either.
               | 
               | Among the best Japanese animation artists, he's probably
               | average.
               | 
               | He's no Takahata, Oshii, Otomo, Anno, Watanabe, Hosoda by
               | a long shot.
               | 
               | Hayao worst rated works on Rotten Tomatoes are "The cat
               | returns" and "The wind rises" and I completely agree on
               | that, with a rating of 88%.
               | 
               | Goro worst is "Earwig and the Witch" that I have not
               | watched with a 28%, "Tales From Earthsea" that I've seen
               | and did not like much with 38% and the best is "From Up
               | on Poppy Hill" with 87%, which was good, but not
               | "Spirited Away", "Princess Mononoke" or "Nausicaa of the
               | Valley of the Wind" good.
               | 
               | And Nausicaa itself is not as good as a movie as the
               | manga, that is an order of magnitude better!
               | 
               | Have you ever read or heard about the 3 Wolfgang Amadeus
               | Mozart children that survived?
               | 
               | No?
               | 
               | You are not the only one.
        
               | micromacrofoot wrote:
               | It's just the way it was done, unsympathetically, in
               | front of the whole world. I wouldn't do that to an
               | employee, let alone my own child.
        
               | peoplefromibiza wrote:
               | That doesn't make Hayao a bad person.
               | 
               | I see him as a concerned father.
               | 
               | "Don't put yourself in the position of being judged in
               | the very competitive field of Japanese animation, because
               | your works are not as great as you think they are"
               | 
               | It's like being the son of Michelangelo.
               | 
               | Of course everyone of us tells kids that their terrible
               | drawings are sooooo goooood, but they are terrible.
               | 
               | Now, Goro was already 40 years old when his first movie
               | came out.
        
               | Shugarl wrote:
               | Isn't that a false dichotomy? I think there's more
               | possibilities than either walking out of the theater in
               | the middle of your son's first movie and tell to the
               | press how he's still far from being ready to make films,
               | or treating your son like a 5 year old.
        
         | omneity wrote:
         | The beauty of impermanence, masterfully illustrated.
         | 
         | Rest in peace mr. Miyazaki and thank you for making the world a
         | better place with your stories.
        
           | garg wrote:
           | Mr Miyazaki is alive and well.
        
             | omneity wrote:
             | Hah, my bad. I guess I confused with something else.
             | Apologies Mr. Miyazaki and wishing you a long and fruitful
             | life! :D
        
         | wodenokoto wrote:
         | Thank you for the quote. I think I've commented before
         | something to the point of "what's left for Ghibli?" Their most
         | promising young directors left to start their own studio, Goro
         | Miyazaki has his good and bad movies, but doesn't look like the
         | strength to carry on the legacy on his own. And then what?
         | 
         | Well, nothing. The buck ends with Miyazaki and maybe that is
         | okay.
         | 
         | Ghibli has managed to produce movies with an unrivaled charm,
         | but that is not to say other directors don't make absolutely
         | amazing animated movies in Japan.
        
           | coffeebeqn wrote:
           | It's already unusual that a small movie studio has survived
           | this long
        
         | amelius wrote:
         | > The future is clear. It's gonna fall apart. I can already see
         | it.
         | 
         | I wonder how he thinks of the future of animation now, after
         | the introduction of StableDiffusion and others.
        
           | lairv wrote:
           | https://youtu.be/7EvnKYOuvWo?si=KjIPP5LtZvab_Ls5
           | 
           | Well he didn't seem very fond of it even before it was
           | created
        
             | dylan604 wrote:
             | I loved this clip when I first saw it, and it's even more
             | pertinent now to me, as it reinforces my own sentiments to
             | what I'm seeing with AI generative imagery. Those guys at
             | the end that are the ones clearly involved in making
             | whatever that was, and are now just like WTF do we say now?
             | You could just see them trying to pivot right then and
             | there after that feedback. "It's something we'd never show
             | in public" Then why are you showing it in this
             | presentation? "what is your end goal" "We'd like a machine
             | to paint like a human" And that animation was an example of
             | that goal?
        
             | perihelions wrote:
             | That's disturbingly brutal for a professional interaction.
             | I wouldn't want to work in an office where that's a thing
             | that happens-whether it happens to me or watching it happen
             | to someone else.
             | 
             | ("Then you would never get to work for a genius like the
             | great Miyazaki, haha!" Sure, I understand that. That isn't
             | a novel observation: he's far from the only celebrity
             | genius in the world who gets away with abusing their
             | underlings, who's so great and amazing that people are
             | willing to turn a blind eye to their personality issues.
             | They say "never meet your heroes").
        
               | yakubin wrote:
               | I watched the video and the only brutality I saw was the
               | animation.
        
               | debacle wrote:
               | Respectfully, I've sat in meetings with 100s of VCs and
               | most of them were far more "disturbingly brutal" than
               | this.
               | 
               | There are serious people and unserious people.
        
               | michaelt wrote:
               | They show him a 3D rendered animation of a deformed
               | humanoid struggling to move on the floor. Looks like
               | something out of a zombie horror PC game.
               | 
               | They say it has no sense of pain, and that it's a horror
               | beyond human imagination.
               | 
               | Miyazaki says whoever made it gives no thought to pain,
               | and it's very unpleasant.
               | 
               | That just seems like he was repeating back pretty much
               | what they said to him?
               | 
               | Also, I'm not familiar with Miyazaki's entire oeuvre, but
               | he doesn't seem to be into zombie horror, or 3D? So kinda
               | understandable that he wouldn't be interested in adopting
               | a product where their number 1 demo was zombie horror.
        
               | class4behavior wrote:
               | You need first to understand a perspective before you
               | judge it. That's what cultural difference is and a lot of
               | it is at play here. Good or bad, this is a different
               | style of life. Not to mention that it is not unusual for
               | executives or board members to have their personal
               | priorities, especially in the art industry.
               | 
               | But, even in that context, they did a horrible
               | presentation. At least from this clip they appear like
               | full-blown nerds with low EQ who didn't consider what
               | kind of person their senior they will present this to is
               | like. Any fan could have told them HM wouldn't like the
               | animation and it would not reveal what DL can do.
        
               | [deleted]
        
             | caust1c wrote:
             | Wow, thanks for sharing. Last line of that clip hits hard
             | :(
        
             | im3w1l wrote:
             | His comments seem to be more about the subject matter than
             | the technique they used.
        
               | morelisp wrote:
               | Except it's also telling that this is the subject matter
               | they thought worth relating to him. "Look, isn't it
               | amazing what we made the computer do?" To which
               | Miyazaki's reply is to (correctly) probe the content for
               | meaning, not materiality. He's not objecting to horror or
               | disgusting things per se, but pointing out there's no
               | point without the humanist part as well. Their project is
               | ultimately artless, regardless of topic, and they pick
               | this to show him because they're too dumb to see that in
               | the first place. It's a blatant transposition of
               | solutionism into the realm of aesthetics - they are
               | enamored with their magic box but have nothing to
               | actually say.
        
               | lairv wrote:
               | The "insult to life itself" indeed refers to the
               | particular demo that they showed this day, but they also
               | mention multiple times they want to make "computers that
               | paint like humans" and HM doesn't show much more
               | enthusiasm
        
             | frozenlettuce wrote:
             | I find it amusing given that in Princess Mononoke one of
             | the villians loses an arm - does he sees that a punishment?
             | Does he think that a bad person deserves that? Wasn't it
             | also "disrescpectful" to his disabled friend? IMO that is
             | just people making-up emotional arguments to trash the
             | younger generation to keep them in control.
        
               | morelisp wrote:
               | What a profound misreading of both his comments on the
               | animation and Princess Mononoke.
        
               | kbelder wrote:
               | Villain? Watch it again.
        
               | hotdogscout wrote:
               | >that is just people making-up emotional arguments to
               | trash the younger generation to keep them in control.
               | 
               | I think Miyazaki's just an old conservative emotional
               | man. He probably doesn't think very hard or rationally
               | about his taste.
        
               | [deleted]
        
               | peoplefromibiza wrote:
               | > does he sees that a punishment?
               | 
               | No, that's what happens in nature when two different
               | worlds collide. And you accept it, like Lady Eboshi does.
        
             | numpad0 wrote:
             | I just realized that very few at global context had gone
             | through the "insult to life" and crying Kawango meme moment
             | before GenAI came out. That was a giant spoiler in
             | hindsight, and tells how long forward Miyazaki just is in
             | animation(and how horrible he is as an individual)
        
             | bowsamic wrote:
             | They cut out the more brutal parts of his response
        
           | Hamuko wrote:
           | An insult to life itself.
           | 
           | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngZ0K3lWKRc
        
             | atentaten wrote:
             | Why would they present that type of animation to show CGI
             | capabilities when they could have presented something more
             | positive?
        
             | anononaut wrote:
             | I always thought this was a disingenuous moment to bring up
             | when discussing the topic in recent times. Your linked
             | video clearly shows what he was looking at -- how is that
             | remotely similar to anything like Dall-E or Midjourney?
             | Miyazaki would love Stable Diffusion. His statement does
             | not at all summarize his stance on AI generated animation
             | because he saw an ugly, miserable representation of what it
             | can do. Timelines regardless. It gets me worked up.
        
               | aeturnum wrote:
               | > _how is that remotely similar to anything like Dall-E
               | or Midjourney?_
               | 
               | Miyazaki did not say "I love this tech but it doesn't
               | look good enough yet."
               | 
               | He actually doesn't comment on the quality of the
               | animation at all. His comments are entirely focused on
               | how he feels the technique lacks a human-ness that he
               | thinks is important to art. An early effort you would
               | like to see improved does not "disgust" you or make you
               | feel the creators are "insult[ing] life itself."
               | 
               | Of course he could change his mind, but if you don't
               | think his comments reflect a belief at that moment in
               | time about machines creating art, I do not believe you've
               | understood what he is saying.
        
               | [deleted]
        
               | EatingWithForks wrote:
               | I think you misunderstand the joy and pride that is an
               | animator, which is in the nuances of the actual creation
               | process which Stable Diffusion removes. We can also
               | compare this to western shows like Arcane, where despite
               | 3d modeling the shading and lighting was done by hand, to
               | immense pride of the animators.
               | 
               | The problem with AI has been always that it removes from
               | the artist the act the artist finds joy in, the work to
               | create a beautiful final product, and leaves only the
               | most boring and meh parts: contract negotiation, right
               | fights, pay and attribution concerns, etc.
        
               | whymauri wrote:
               | >Miyazaki would love Stable Diffusion.
               | 
               | You don't know that.
        
               | nemothekid wrote:
               | > _Miyazaki would love Stable Diffusion_
               | 
               | Not sure how you could confidently say this. Given that
               | most artists and animators already have a disdain for
               | generative AI, it's difficult to believe that the guy
               | most unenthused about technology would love Stable
               | Diffusion. The guy didn't even like CGI.
        
         | gabereiser wrote:
         | The value is not in the ability to make stories, it's now the
         | aesthetic of "Ghibli" they covet. It's unique style of art that
         | told the greatest stories in a way that was relatable to
         | children and adults alike.
         | 
         | Knowing it will end, knowing one's own impermanence, is the
         | mark of a true master. sayounara
        
         | bitwize wrote:
         | I've felt the same way about Gainax, from whom all the good
         | original people departed, forming splinter studios while
         | Gainax's "loose management" ran it into the ground. These days
         | the company is known for tax fraud and embezzlement in its
         | history, as well as sexual misconduct against a minor committed
         | by its president. But Evangelion is a Studio Khara (Hideaki
         | Anno's studio) property now, so it's safe.
        
           | kridsdale3 wrote:
           | > sexual misconduct against a minor
           | 
           | I thought that Japan had some of the most permissive laws in
           | the world for that. (I'm making no moral judgement, only
           | legal)
           | 
           | If what happened was a violation of even that, then Jesus. (I
           | have not looked up this incident at all)
        
             | bitwize wrote:
             | Yeah, Japan is starting to crack down on that now. And
             | because nude photos were involved, child pornography laws
             | could be invoked anyway.
        
       | foxyv wrote:
       | Nothing gold can stay.
        
       | darklycan51 wrote:
       | I don't think there is any director in Japan right now capable of
       | directing Ghibli level movies, by that I mean movies that are
       | pure of heart, but interesting enough that you like them, all or
       | at least the vast vast majority.
       | 
       | It's no secret that 2d animation is very expensive and taxing,
       | and if you make failed movies you risk a studio like Ghibli.
       | 
       | Both Yasuhiro Yoshiura and Mamoru hosoda come to mind as
       | directors that could direct films like that if required, but I
       | don't know how consistent they would be if directing constant
       | movies like it.
       | 
       | Regarding Makoto Shinkai I think his movies are a bit too
       | sadistic, or at least his mentality to be do Ghibli films,
       | directing tragic/NTR movies when he was happily married to an
       | audience of mostly shutins always came to me a bit sadistic, even
       | though his movies are visually beautiful I don't think he matches
       | the style.
        
         | astrange wrote:
         | Shinkai makes the same movie every time[1], but for his last
         | one he actually wanted to make a yuri movie and the producers
         | made him instead do the same movie over again, which is why the
         | boyfriend gets turned into a chair and it becomes a women's
         | road trip for some of it.
         | 
         | [1] incel guy meets a girl once, he can never see her again
         | because she's on another planet/in a coma/in the past/in
         | Tochigi, he spends the rest of his life being sad about it even
         | though they weren't in an actual relationship
        
         | radicaldreamer wrote:
         | All of the directors you mentioned rely heavily on CG effects
         | and tons of digital layering for their films... there really is
         | no other Studio Ghibli at the moment for feature animation.
         | 
         | There are some French films that over the years have had that
         | touch, but they often lack the narrative component which make
         | Ghibli films magical.
        
       | pipeline_peak wrote:
       | HN is consistently stretching the definition of "anything that
       | gratifies one's intellectual curiosity"
        
         | dang wrote:
         | Stretching is probably good, no? That's part of curiosity.
         | 
         | It's impossible to gratify all curiosities equally because
         | people differ a lot. That means there will always be something
         | on the front page that you don't find interesting, but also
         | hopefully several things you do.
         | 
         | It's true that the better "stretches" have to do with topics
         | that are little-known and little-discussed, and Ghibli and
         | Miyazaki aren't that.
        
           | pipeline_peak wrote:
           | > Stretching is probably good, no?
           | 
           | I don't believe so, HN should be a place where people talk
           | about tech and academia.
           | 
           | Once you expand the scope, it says "this is what this group
           | of people by majority have decided is Interesting, regardless
           | of the field". To me that reads as a cult mindset.
           | 
           | I think shrinking the scope allows people to challenge their
           | opinions. When you broaden it, discussions become nothing
           | more than "wow bird house building is really cool, thanks
           | HN!" "I'm glad I found out how to build a tandem bike"
        
             | dang wrote:
             | Perhaps some users who felt that it gratified theirs could
             | say why.
        
               | pipeline_peak wrote:
               | Idk if you noticed but, I edited my above comment
        
               | dang wrote:
               | Ah I see it now. Well, I'm afraid you're running against
               | the grain of HN tradition there. HN, since the day pg
               | renamed it from Startup News to Hacker News, has always
               | been for anything that gratifies intellectual curiosity--
               | specifically "anything that good hackers would find
               | interesting". As he wrote way back then (
               | https://news.ycombinator.com/hackernews.html), "That
               | includes a lot more than hacking and startups", and I'd
               | say it also includes a lot more than "tech and academia".
               | This is important.
               | 
               | More relevant links:
               | 
               | https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html
               | 
               | https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
        
       | not_your_vase wrote:
       | Is this good news?
       | 
       | I mean I am not too[0] familiar with Nippon Television. Are they
       | expected to be good stewards of the studio?
       | 
       | [0] read: not at all
        
         | agloe_dreams wrote:
         | Nippon is to Ghibli as Disney was to Pixar in the early 2000s.
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | astrange wrote:
         | They're something like Ghibli's publisher in Japan and already
         | owned other studios (Madhouse and Tatsunoko).
        
       | eatonphil wrote:
       | Other articles in English such as
       | https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2023/09/0ce7dd62559e-stud....
        
       | radicaldreamer wrote:
       | This is excellent news!
       | 
       | Nippon Television holds exclusive rights to shows Ghibli content
       | in Japan (which could go for a much higher value and viewership
       | elsewhere), but the important thing is the relationship between
       | Nippon's manager (Okuda) for their Ghibli relationship. For
       | years, he would visit the studio day after day, just to hang out
       | with the team and Miyazaki.
       | 
       | Okuda's family and Miyazaki's family went to a retreat together
       | (as they did every summer) and that experience became the basis
       | for Spirited Away. That is why Ghibli stuck with Nippon through
       | the years and likely resulted in this buyout.
       | 
       | From the Kingdom of Dreams and Madness Documentary:
       | 
       | "When producer Suzuki meets a group of new Nippon TV employees,
       | he tells them that they shared a long professional and private
       | relationship with Seiji Okuda from NTV. It was after a trip to
       | the mountains with Okuda and his daughter, that gave inspiration
       | to the movie Spirited Away."
       | 
       | This is basically Steve Jobs selling Pixar to Disney... this
       | relationship is about more than money, it's about trust and
       | stewardship.
        
       | Namari wrote:
       | > Nippon Television has just acquired Studio Ghibli, which will
       | become a subsidiary of their company. Producer Toshio Suzuki (75y
       | old) was looking for a successor, and proposed Goro Miyazaki, but
       | Hayao Miyazaki (82y old) refused (and so did Goro). Nippon
       | Television was already a long-standing partner of Ghibli ("Friday
       | Road Show").
        
       | RetiredRichard wrote:
       | As long Miyazaki have creative control, everything is going to be
       | fine and even after he's gone for a bit.
       | 
       | It took decades after Walt Disney's death for the end of
       | Traditional Disney Animation
        
       | diogenescynic wrote:
       | I'm glad it wasn't Disney!
        
         | racl101 wrote:
         | Or Microsoft lol.
        
         | webdoodle wrote:
         | They destroy everything they touch lately.
        
           | jahabrewer wrote:
           | Really? Sure Marvel's in a bit of a hole, but Filoni and
           | live-action Star Wars has turned me back into a fan.
        
           | robswc wrote:
           | Yea. Maybe not "destroy" but "bring down to the lowest common
           | denominator." To be sure, there's a market for media everyone
           | can enjoy... I just hate how they seemingly have to find
           | existing franchises to do it with.
           | 
           | But now that I'm thinking about it... seems to be every
           | single company these days. Soooo disappointed with the
           | Witcher. Huge fan of the books and games. The first episode I
           | knew it was gonna be bad. The color grading and general vibe
           | was that of _any_ generic fantasy show on netflix. It wasn't
           | gritty and I didn't get a "eastern european culture/lore"
           | feel more like a "how can we make this appeal to the most
           | people possible by turning all the dials to average."
           | Aggressively middle of the road fantasy from such great
           | source material, ugh.
        
         | kouteiheika wrote:
         | [comment deleted by author]
        
           | Arkhaine_kupo wrote:
           | Not gonna murder anyone but would recommend you check the
           | posting guidelines in HackerNews cause your comment breaks at
           | least two.
           | 
           | `Comments should get more thoughtful and substantive, not
           | less, as a topic gets more divisive. `
           | 
           | and
           | 
           | `Eschew flamebait. Avoid generic tangents. Omit internet
           | tropes.`
           | 
           | Be better.
        
             | kouteiheika wrote:
             | Right. Because rest of the comments in this subthread are
             | clearly much better, very thoughtful, substantive and non-
             | generic.
             | 
             | Sigh, fine, I get the point; I'll delete the comment.
             | Sorry. You're right, I shouldn't have done that. Even if it
             | was a joke it's always a bad idea to post anything even
             | remotely controversial on the Internet, _especially_ if it
             | can be in any way construed that you might disagree with
             | the hive mind of the site you 're posting to. Thank you for
             | the reminder before it turned into a potential flamewar.
        
             | dang wrote:
             | I appreciate your watching out for the HN guidelines! but
             | "Be better" is also a swipe, so it would be good to omit
             | that bit in the future.
        
         | huhtenberg wrote:
         | No kidding.
        
         | dawnerd wrote:
         | They almost had it there for a while too.
        
         | [deleted]
        
       | phantomathkg wrote:
       | Nikkei English version will be clearer
       | https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-deals/Japan-s-Stud...
        
       | iandanforth wrote:
       | I've been watching the 4 part documentary '10 Years with Hayao
       | Miyazaki' recently and found it interesting and enlightening.
       | (https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/program/video/10...)
       | 
       | The extent to which Studio Ghibli _is_ Hayao Miyazaki was not
       | clear to me. Despite the hundreds of people involved the degree
       | to which he is the origin of art, ideas, quality, and drive is
       | astounding.
        
         | rcme wrote:
         | Undoubtably the hundreds of artists and producers working on
         | Ghibli are extraordinarily talent. But talent isn't genius. But
         | I've come to realize talent isn't brilliance.
        
         | lenocinor wrote:
         | I think we should give Isao Takahata some credit too though.
         | Grave Of The Fireflies is quite famous and that's all Takahata.
         | And Miyazaki has said that Takahata was very influential on
         | him.
        
       | 0ct4via wrote:
       | English article:
       | https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2023/09/21/companies/n...
        
         | dang wrote:
         | Changed from https://www.catsuka.com/breves/2023-09-21/nippon-
         | television-.... Thanks!
         | 
         | Submitters: we have deep respect for other languages, but HN is
         | an English-language site, so please submit articles in English:
         | https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...
        
       | kouru225 wrote:
       | As long as they don't mess with it I'm fine. I recently
       | accidentally watched Castle In the Sky with the English dub and I
       | was so angry at the terrible changes they made to the sound
       | design.
       | 
       | The opening scene in the Japanese version is completely quiet
       | except for the sound of engines running, and in the English dub
       | they just added crappy music over the whole thing. In the
       | Japanese version they break the silence with this really
       | startling piano/electronic track. In the English dub they fade it
       | in.
       | 
       | I don't know who was responsible for that but there's nothing I
       | hate more than someone ruining something good for literally no
       | reason.
        
         | tarberiug34 wrote:
         | Americans cant stand silence in movies. Thats why every second
         | of almost all american movies has music
        
         | autoexec wrote:
         | English dubs are usually terrible in general. I'd mind them a
         | bit less if they were just faithful translations using
         | different voice actors, but so often they dumb the scripts down
         | and add a bunch of other changes as if no one in the English
         | speaking world could appreciate it otherwise.
         | 
         | It can make a huge difference. One example of this is the
         | animated Canadian/French film "Ballerina" which got good
         | reviews. The Weinstein Company got the rights to distribute it
         | in the US and they butchered the script adding a bunch of bad
         | jokes everywhere and making unnecessary changes and the
         | resulting film "Leap!" got terrible reviews.
        
           | JeremyNT wrote:
           | > English dubs are usually terrible in general. I'd mind them
           | a bit less if they were just faithful translations using
           | different voice actors, but so often they dumb the scripts
           | down and add a bunch of other changes as if no one in the
           | English speaking world could appreciate it otherwise.
           | 
           | The later Ghibli films (which received proper localization in
           | English) are mostly quite good. They aren't perfect, but
           | increased awareness of Miyazaki in the west (and from Disney
           | no less) meant that it was worth spending the money to do
           | them well. In general they have good writers and voice
           | actors, and demonstrate a respect for the source material.
           | 
           | The earlier Miyazaki stuff, before he was as well known here
           | (like _Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind_ or _Laputa: Castle
           | in the Sky_ ) ... well... not so much (I do think Nausicaa
           | was eventually redubbed, though I'm not sure how good it
           | was).
        
             | autoexec wrote:
             | It's hard to complain too much when you've got someone like
             | Neil Gaiman rewriting the script. He fought hard to keep
             | what he could unchanged for Princess Mononoke. That's
             | probably the best case scenario when it comes to dubs.
             | Rewrites with highly skilled writers who care about the
             | material and who work with the creators to protect the
             | integrity of the work.
        
               | seanc wrote:
               | That story is crazy. The first part of it is here:
               | https://www.polygon.com/animation-
               | cartoons/2020/5/28/2127086...
               | 
               | In the book Alpert goes on to relate how he had to baby-
               | sit the entire process right down the final mix in order
               | to keep people from messing with it.
        
         | goosedragons wrote:
         | Disney. Disney did most of the English Ghibli dubs including
         | Castle in the Sky.
        
         | wand3r wrote:
         | Are you fluent in Japanese? I always find it odd when people
         | prefer a sub to a dub. Only in edge cases where the dub is
         | absolutely terrible would I ever consider this for an animated
         | work. In movies, sometimes the mouth moving is distracting but
         | for animation this is not a problem. For the 2 nits you picked
         | above, I don't think I would watch 90 minutes in a foreign
         | language. Is this a preference or something? To be clear, I am
         | genuinely curious about why people prefer subs
        
           | kps wrote:
           | > I don't think I would watch 90 minutes in a foreign
           | language.
           | 
           | In the past I watched quite a lot of non-English film (mostly
           | in European languages) and always prefer subtitles. For me,
           | there is a mental synthesis so that it's almost as if I
           | understand the voices directly. This might be a learned
           | skill.
        
           | otachack wrote:
           | I think it's having a general preference over the "original"
           | material. Subs do force you to read and watch so you need to
           | initially train yourself to deal with it, but now I always
           | prefer subs even with my native language because voice volume
           | can vary between media.
           | 
           | Adding dubs lays another layer onto the original artists
           | vision, such as Ghibli with Disney-produced dubs on top. Some
           | will hit right, others won't. Subs are definitely another
           | layer as now you need translators but it's a lighter one than
           | dubs.
           | 
           | I personally don't knock people who do dubs vs. subs. I grew
           | up watching Bruce Lee movies with terrible English dubs and
           | loved them, still.
           | 
           | Hope that makes sense!
        
           | projectazorian wrote:
           | > Are you fluent in Japanese? I always find it odd when
           | people prefer a sub to a dub.
           | 
           | You don't need to be fluent in Japanese to notice a lot of
           | context that (by necessity) gets left out in a dub. How
           | characters address one another, for example. Also, if you're
           | trying to learn Japanese then the more Japanese you hear, the
           | better - even if you don't understand it all.
           | 
           | Not to mention the usual arguments about the original voice
           | acting being a better reflection of the authors' intent, etc.
           | 
           | I'll still watch dubs if I don't want to give something my
           | undivided attention, though.
        
           | goosedragons wrote:
           | Why? It's the original intent and the original voice. The sub
           | tends to be closer to the original script because they aren't
           | constrained by mouths moving nor can they add lines, music
           | etc. I don't think voice acting is as well respected in North
           | America too and so lack of talent/desire to keep costs low
           | gets a worse result. I don't think it helps that English VAs
           | will sometimes try to mimic the Japanese VAs but it just
           | doesn't work and easily sounds really grating. I have turned
           | off voices in several JRPGs because of this.
        
             | Dalewyn wrote:
             | >I don't think voice acting is as well respected in North
             | America too and so lack of talent/desire to keep costs low
             | gets a worse result.
             | 
             | You've got it backwards: Voice acting in Japan is far more
             | respected (idolized, even) than the occupation is in every
             | other part of the world.
        
               | goosedragons wrote:
               | No you do...
        
               | astrange wrote:
               | They're still keeping costs low over there. The respect
               | and the side job as an idol is a tradeoff for not being
               | paid well.
               | 
               | Much of the better acting comes from everyone living in
               | Tokyo so they can more easily record as a group.
        
               | soperj wrote:
               | You're agreeing here.
        
           | unethical_ban wrote:
           | >Only in edge cases where the dub is absolutely terrible
           | 
           | Most of them. As someone else said, the actual script can
           | change. Attack on Titan had much more juvenile dialogue than
           | the English translation of the Japanese.
           | 
           | But it sounds like a personal preference for you to watch in
           | the language you can understand. I am fine watching foreign
           | films upon occasion.
        
           | lenocinor wrote:
           | I like Disney's dubs generally. Having watched Princess
           | Mononoke 5 times with the Disney sub and 5 times with the
           | Disney dub, I like them both for different reasons. Castle In
           | The Sky has had a bunch of dubs:
           | https://dubbing.fandom.com/wiki/Castle_in_the_Sky Maybe the
           | commenter would prefer a different dub.
           | 
           | EDIT: To answer your question specifically, I like the
           | original voice actors sometimes and find it makes a
           | difference to how I feel about a work sometimes. I also think
           | subs can convey some contexts that are difficult in speech,
           | especially culture-specific words like honorifics and food
           | that in my experience are often left more untranslated in
           | subs.
        
           | autoexec wrote:
           | The voice acting is almost always vastly better in the
           | original language. The creator of the work spent significant
           | time and money finding the right person for each role and
           | then spent even more time working with them to get the
           | performance they want in every scene. This is especially true
           | in Japan since voice actors are more of a big deal there than
           | in the US. For the dub, that kind of care isn't usually put
           | into it, and even when the company producing the dub does put
           | some effort into it that only reflects _their_ desires, not
           | those of the original creator.
           | 
           | That's why you so often get a very recognizable (and annoying
           | imho) "anime dub voice". It sounds extremely unnatural. I can
           | often tell if something has been dubbed from its original
           | language just by hearing a few spoken lines of dialog! That
           | shouldn't be possible, but it's obvious.
           | 
           | The other main problem I have with dubs is that they are not
           | faithful to the content of the original work. Sometimes they
           | rewrite parts of the script to avoid mouths not matching up
           | with English voices, or to limit the amount of work needed to
           | edit the mouths to match. Sometimes they rewrite the script
           | entirely!
           | 
           | They also tend to make all kinds of totally needless changes.
           | They'll often censor content and dumb down the script
           | (typically by over-explaining everything). They almost always
           | make changes to localize it by removing/replacing cultural
           | references. One of the things I enjoy about consuming media
           | made in other countries is that I get to learn things about
           | those cultures. I like to see artistic works that come from a
           | non-US perspective. I don't want that stripped away.
           | 
           | If you're looking at art made in another language, the ideal
           | situation would be to have mastery of the language it was
           | written/performed in, and that you'd have all the cultural
           | knowledge to fully appreciate the many careful and deliberate
           | choices the creator made. Most of the time, that's just not
           | possible. Translation itself is a lossy process. It means
           | that for you to enjoy it at all, you have to accept that some
           | things are lost. The goal then, should be to retain as much
           | of the original work as possible. That means subtitles and
           | original voice acting. If you watch a dub you are not getting
           | the work the creators envisioned and labored to bring into
           | the world. You're getting something very different and much
           | farther removed.
        
             | projectazorian wrote:
             | > They also tend to make all kinds of totally needless
             | changes. They'll often censor content and dumb down the
             | script (typically by over-explaining everything).
             | 
             | Excellent example of this is the Ghost in the Shell 4K
             | remaster, which has all new subtitles that are a much more
             | faithful translation of the original work - but you
             | wouldn't know that if you watched the dub, which wasn't
             | changed at all.
        
           | [deleted]
        
           | city41 wrote:
           | And to add to all the answers (that I agree with), when
           | watching with subs I almost always find it fades away. It
           | almost feels like I somehow know Japanese. Sure I'm reading
           | words, but once lost in the story it becomes much less
           | noticeable.
        
           | robswc wrote:
           | I'm the same way. I love subtitles _but_ they degrade some of
           | the experience. I had to turn them off because they will
           | spoil the moment. Good example is King of The Hill. The I'll
           | see the punchline before the delivery and I feel like it
           | spoils the scene/joke.
           | 
           | I'll run them on other things (and they're amazing
           | otherwise!) but when I sit down to watch something good, I
           | have to turn them off or I'll get distracted/spoiled.
           | 
           | More power to the people that enjoy the subbed version
           | though.
        
             | dfxm12 wrote:
             | I forget what I was watching. It might not have even been
             | anime, but the subtitles had blanks in them, until it was
             | time to reveal the word, when that key word would appear.
             | 
             | In this way, they _didn 't_ spoil the punchline, or who was
             | being talked to. It was a little bit jarring the first
             | time, but by the second time it happened, I had already
             | adapted and was thankful for it.
        
             | autoexec wrote:
             | > I'll see the punchline before the delivery and I feel
             | like it spoils the scene/joke.
             | 
             | This I'll agree is a major problem with subtitles. It's not
             | even just the jokes. I've seen the names of characters
             | shown in subtitles (because they were speaking off screen)
             | long before that character's name was revealed to the
             | audience by the script.
             | 
             | Another major distraction is the trend companies have these
             | days to refuse to provide subtitles and give only closed
             | captioning with all of its extraneous information about
             | sound effects or the highly subjective descriptions of
             | whatever music is playing. It's so obnoxious.
        
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