The women behind Ghibli !

The women behind Ghibli 220http://www.pelleas.net/aniTOP/pics/tanakasen.jpg Key of Yubaba by Atsuko Tanaka Animators like Yoshinori Kanada or Shinji Otsuka often seem to receive most of the attention for the animation in the Ghibli movies but behind the scenes a handful of women animators have been there helping to maintain the high level of quality of the studios animation over the years. Several of these animators also happen to be among the few figures who have seen it all at the studio theyve been there since the very beginning and remain there today working on every film. Despite not receiving much recognition for their work they were responsible for many of the more memorable scenes in the various films. I thought I would throw together a short overview of some of the scenes done by four of the main Ghibli women animators: Megumi Kagawa Makiko Futaki Atsuko Tanaka and Masako Shinohara. Megumi Kagawahttps://anilist.co/staff/134888/MegumiKagawa 220https://cdn.animenewsnetwork.com/thumbnails/crop150x150gH7/encyc/P17122571384267.1517555115.jpg I just started to add her on Anilist One of the only animators who has been in virtually every Ghibli movies Megumi Kagawa began her career as an animator at studio Doga Kobo in the early 80s. When she heard they were looking for staff for Nausicaa she asked someone at Doga Kobo who had connections to get her in because she was a big Miyazaki fan and the rest is history. Shes been one of the lead animators in almost every Ghibli film since right down to Gedo. In addition she was coanimation director of Porco Rosso Pompoko and Spirited Away. For her first job Nausicaa she drew the scene of Nausicaa listening to Yupa in Jirus room and also Nausicaa trying to save the old men in barge and Nausicaa pushing the gunship to its limit near the end. In Kiki she drew the 5060 shots of Kiki encountering Ursula at her log house. In Mononoke she drew the scene where the wolf is rescued from under the boars. In Whisper of the Heart she drew the scene that takes place in the rain. In Spirited Away she wanted to participate more as an animator but was forced to help out AD Masashi Ando after only having drawn a little animation namely the scene at the beginning where Sen walks out of the tunnel. The subtle change in her expression when the wind blows past her expresses her feelings well. In Howl she was able to come back full force as an animator and indeed she is listed second only to Tanaka in both Howl and the more recent film having done numerous big chunks. In Howl she animated the part at the beginning where Sophie is making hats the part where Howl gets all green goopy and the part where Sophie is running while crying towards that door near the end. Makiko Futakihttps://anilist.co/staff/133911/MakikoFutaki 220https://cdn.animenewsnetwork.com/thumbnails/crop124x124gH7/encyc/P17221538844280.1517554738.jpg need to add some of her work check her works therehttps://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=1722 Perhaps my favorite of Ghiblis women animators Makiko Futaki tends to be given scenes that demand an eye for intricate and delicate motion and she packs tremendous nuance into her scenes with lush and fluid animation. Futakis history with animation predates her professional debut. She was in fact famous for cinecalligraph films she made for the amateur PAF Animation Festival. Cinecalligraph was a technique pioneered by Norman McLaren in which the animator scratches directly onto a small strip of 8mm film my favorite McLaren film Blinkity Blank is a cinecalligraph film. Her films were considered to have surpassed the limitations of the form due to their incredible craftsmanship bespoken by reports that she damaged her eyesight making the films. She began her professional career at Telecom as an inbetweener on Lupin Part 2 153 in 1979 but soon went freelance in which capacity she went on to work on virtually every Ghibli film as well as other classic films like Angels Egg and Night on the Galactic Railroad. She is one of the major feature animators of the last few decades. Futaki loves birds and is famous for drawing scenes involving birds. The most famous of these is perhaps the scene in Laputa where Pazu sets free and feeds the doves. Theres also the scene in Kiki with Kiki flying alongside the geese and falling into the crows nest. In Kiki she also drew the opening scene where Kiki makes the decision to leave. Here you can see her skill at minutely detailed animation in the grass that sways gorgeously in the wind at the beginning. In Totoro she also animated detailed natural scenes including the scene with the tadpoles and the scene where the giant tree spurts up. In Mononoke she drew the scene where San enters the forest with Ashitaka on Yakkuru all the way until the Shishigami walks up to Ashitaka lying on the ground. Here her characteristic skill for minutely detailed natural animation shines through in those incredible shots of the vegetation sprouting and withering. Most recently Futaki was assistant animation director of the latest film. Atsuko Tanaka 220https://cdn.animenewsnetwork.com/thumbnails/crop150x150gH7/encyc/P132291848946149.1514853551.jpg need to be add here check her works therehttps://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=13229 This Telecom animator and action specialist has created some of the most memorable action sequences in anime in recent decades. A prime example of Atsuko Tanakas unique genius for action can be seen in the famous car chase of Plot of the Fuma Clan which clocking in at more than 5 minutes is surely of the most exhilarating and ideapacked chase sequences ever animated. She conceived storyboarded and animated the sequence herself. Tanaka started out at Telecom working with Miyazaki alongside Futaki and Shinohara animating the famous leap and spaghetti eating in Cagliostro and a large chunk of the chase at the end of Blue Carbuncle among other things. She stayed on at Telecom and was involved primarily in Telecom coproductions throughout the 80s including a number of episodes of Batman. In the 90s she finally became a regular in the Ghibli films although she remains a Telecom animator. Recently she did storyboard and animation for the studios Secret of Cerulean Sand namely eps 12 22 and 26. In Mononoke Hime she animated the hairraising portion of the climactic sequence where Eboshis arm is torn off and the scene with Eboshi and Jikobo in Tataraba. In Spirited Away Tanaka was the Yubaba specialist animating an impressive 100+ shots of the character. She was largely responsible for giving her the fiery character and dynamic movement that makes her so memorable. In both of the more recent films Tanaka tops the list of animators meaning she again delivered the same level of volume. She is a true powerhouse of an animator. In Howl she animated the part where Howl is cooking eggs the part where Howl is moping in his room and the part at the end where Howls house is being bombed and Howl comes to rescue Sophie. The latter section in particular shows Tanaka at her best in creating exciting tricky dynamic movement. Tanaka occupies a special place at Ghibli even though shes not even an employee testified by the fact that she was turned to for some of the Museum films. In 2001 she created the lush animation that graces the set of six oneminute shorts entitled Film Guruguru. Most recently 2006 saw the release of a new a 15minute short animated by Tanaka for the Museum MonMon the Water Spider. Also Id long wondered who had animated the animated sequences of Isao Takahatas 1987 documentary The Story of the Yanagawa Canals. It turns out that the figures responsible were none other than Atsuko Tanaka and Makiko Futaki. Masako Shinohara 220https://cdn.animenewsnetwork.com/thumbnails/crop150x150gH7/encyc/P17101330196984.1548396665.jpg need to be add here check her works therehttps://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=1710 House animator who tends to focus on scenes of everyday life and crowd scenes rather than on action scenes Masako Shinohara is in fact one of the elder stateswomen animators of the studio. She is the only one of the four animators profiled here to have actually started out working on the classic Toei Doga films like Miyazaki. She began there in 1967 as an inbetweener in Jack and the Witch only a few years after Miyazaki and drew her first key animation in Puss n Boots II in 1972. After leaving Toei Doga in 1972 she worked as an inbetween checker in Heidi in 1974 and has been involved in virtually every Miyazaki project since first spending a period as a freelancer before finally settling down at Ghibli. In Laputa she drew the scene on the Tiger Moth giving her ample room to breathe life into everyday actions. In Kiki she drew the scene of Osono telling Kiki to deliver package to Tombo and Kiki laughing after she and Tombo are thrown off the bike after the exciting bike ride by Toshiyuki Inoue scenes that are exemplary perhaps for the delicate mix of emotions conveyed by the characters. She also worked on the laborious crowd scene at the end alongside Toshio Kawaguchi and Yoshinori Kanada animating the part where Kiki catches Tombo. In Mononoke she drew the scene where San discovers Ashitaka lying in the forest and feeds him and the section where Ashitaka catches the bow and arrow from Koroku. In Howl she animated the scene where Sophie is cleaning up Howls house. Source: The Women Behind Ghibli Benjamin Ettinger Anipages 28 March 2007 EDIT ADD: Michiyo Yasudahttps://anilist.co/staff/170081/MichiyoYasuda 220https://cdn.animenewsnetwork.com/thumbnails/max500x600/encyc/P17001732202372.1476241230.jpg Yasuda began her career at animation studio Toei Dega as a teenager where she met Ishao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki. She would continue to collaborate with them for the next 40 years quickly adapting to digital painting technology and creating some of the most strikingly vivid scenes in contemporary cinema. Its safe to say that without Yasuda Ghibli films would look and feel totally different. She was responsible for the dazzling delicately rendered colour palettes in some of the most acclaimed animated movies ever made including Spirited Away Princess Mononoke My Neighbour Totoro Howls Moving Castle Kikis Delivery Service and Ponyo. The prolific colour designerwho was working up until she succumbed to her illnesswas also responsible for short films animated television shows and music videos. In 2011 she received an Animation Lifetime Achievement Award from the Japanese Movie Critics Awards. Yasuda passed away on October 5 2016 Source: The Woman Behind Studio Ghiblis Vivid Colourshttps://www.vice.com/en/article/pgmyj8/restinpeacemichiyoyasuda Akemi ta 220https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/AkemiTakada20090703JapanExpo01.jpg need to be add here check her works therehttps://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=3309 or therehttps://ghibli.fandom.com/wiki/AkemiMiyazaki Akemi Miyazaki born Akemi ta is an animator married to Hayao Miyazaki since 1965. Her sons are Goro Miyazaki and Keisuke Miyazaki. She first met her husband on the work of Gullivers Travels Beyond the Moon. For Studio Ghibli she worked on Nausica of the Valley of the Wind and My Neighbor Totoro. Sources: The Women Behind Ghibli Benjamin Ettinger Anipages 28 March 2007 Japanese Women Behind the Sceneshttps://sites.google.com/site/japanesewomenbehindthescenes The Woman Behind Studio Ghiblis Vivid Colourshttps://www.vice.com/en/article/pgmyj8/restinpeacemichiyoyasuda