In what is at surprise at best, a shock at worst, Studio Ghibli announced that their next feature Kokuriko-Zaka Kara will be directed by Goro Miyazaki, whose debut movie Tales of Earth-Sea did not exactly receive critical acclaim.
I must admit, I am shaking my head a bit over this choice, I just hope he can pull it off this time. I fear if they sink this one as well, Studio Ghibli may indeed be shrunk to a pure licensing company, as Hayao Miyazaki hinted at earlier.
I’ve yet to see Tales From Earthsea, and hearing the critical reaction made me afraid to. However, this film from that one piece of concept art on the website’s page has piqued my interest, and I hope they can pull of a successful film. I think Goro deserves another shot.
I hope this is good. I’m not going to lie, I’m getting pretty sucked into these animes.
(Leirin, nice avatar!!)
That doesn’t seem like the best decision to me, if Goro hasn’t already shown that he has a natural ability to direct. I’m still waiting to see The Borrower Arrietty to determine how I feel about the other new director. Sometimes I imagine what Ghibli’s films would be like now if Kondo Yoshifumi was still alive, and it saddens me a little.