Hayao Miyazaki Quotes

Powerful Hayao Miyazaki for Daily Growth

About Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki is a renowned Japanese animator, manga artist, and film director, best known as a mastermind behind some of the most captivating and influential animated films in the history of cinema. Born on January 5, 1941, in Tokyo, Japan, Miyazaki spent his childhood largely sheltered from Western culture due to wartime restrictions. This seclusion played a significant role in shaping his unique creative vision. Miyazaki began his professional career in the late 1960s when he joined Toei Animation. His work during this period included adaptation of manga for television, such as Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion. However, Miyazaki's true passion lay in creating original stories and characters, which led him to co-found Studio Ghibli in 1985 with Isao Takahata. Studio Ghibli quickly became a global powerhouse of animated storytelling, and Miyazaki's works are some of its most celebrated productions. His films, such as "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (1984), "My Neighbor Totoro" (1988), "Kiki's Delivery Service" (1989), "Princess Mononoke" (1997), and "Spirited Away" (2001), are cherished for their breathtaking visuals, compelling narratives, and deeply humanistic themes. Miyazaki's works often depict complex female characters, enchanting worlds, and thoughtful explorations of nature and technology. His stories frequently reflect his environmentalist views and criticism of modern society's impact on the natural world. In 2013, he announced his retirement from feature film directing but remains active as a manga artist and occasional advisor for Studio Ghibli productions. Hayao Miyazaki's contributions to animation and cinema have earned him numerous accolades worldwide, including an Academy Honorary Award in 2014. His timeless tales continue to enchant audiences of all ages and have left an indelible mark on animated storytelling.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"If you must blow something up, then please, for the love of all that's holy, blow up a watermelon."

This quote emphasizes the importance of maintaining a sense of proportion and respect for life, even in moments of excitement or play. In other words, if one feels compelled to cause destruction, it should be minimal and harmless, like blowing up a watermelon rather than a building or person. It's a call for harmony between human actions and the natural world.


"The real world is always much more complex and mysterious than what we see on the surface."

This quote by Hayao Miyazaki emphasizes the profound intricacies and secrets that lie beneath the apparent simplicity of our everyday world. It encourages us to delve deeper, beyond the superficial layers, to uncover the hidden complexities and mysteries that make up the essence of life. In other words, it's a call to explore, understand, and appreciate the rich tapestry of experiences that exists beyond our initial perceptions.


"I have a theory about dreams. Dreams are actually ability tests... They let you know how you would behave in certain situations."

This quote suggests that dreams function as simulations or hypothetical scenarios, designed to assess an individual's behavior, reactions, and coping mechanisms in various situations. By experiencing these dream-world events, individuals can gain insights into their strengths, weaknesses, fears, and potential responses in real life. This self-discovery can facilitate personal growth and development.


"People without hope are easy to control. And where I come from, control is the everything."

This quote by Hayao Miyazaki underscores the importance of hope in the struggle for freedom and self-determination. When individuals lack hope, they become more susceptible to control and manipulation, as they may feel disillusioned or powerless. Conversely, when people have hope, they are more likely to resist control, seek change, and work towards a better future. The quote highlights the significant role of hope in promoting autonomy, creativity, and resilience, making it an essential element for societal progress and personal fulfillment.


"Sometimes even to live is an act of courage."

Hayao Miyazaki's quote, "Sometimes even to live is an act of courage," conveys the idea that merely existing in a challenging world requires bravery. Life can present difficulties, obstacles, and hardships, which require us to persevere and maintain hope despite adversity. This statement highlights the strength and resilience needed just to survive and thrive in our daily lives.


I think we should stop using nuclear power plants because it's an old system that we can't control.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Think, I Think, Using, Nuclear Power

I do all my work by storyboard, so as I draw the storyboard, the world gets more and more complex, and as a result, my North, South, East, West directions kind of shift and go off base, but it seems like my staff as well as the audience, doesn't quite realize that this has happened. Don't tell them about it.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Shift, South, North, All My Work

People in Japan have experienced many tsunamis and various earthquakes throughout the ages.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Japan, Various, Throughout, Earthquakes

I never read reviews. I'm not interested. But I value a lot the reactions of the spectators.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Never, Lot, Read, Spectators

Plants exist in the weather and light rays that surround them - waving in the wind, shimmering in the sunlight. I am always puzzling over how to draw such things.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Always, Over, Waving, Wind

I am an animator. I feel like I'm the manager of a animation cinema factory. I am not an executive. I'm rather like a foreman, like the boss of a team of craftsmen. That is the spirit of how I work.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Boss, Factory, Craftsmen, Animation

I can't stand modern movies. The images are too weird and eccentric for me.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Weird, Movies, Images, Eccentric

I get inspiration from my everyday life.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Life, Inspiration, Get, Everyday

It seems like everything that we see perceived in the brain before we actually use our own eyes, that everything we see is coming through computers or machines and then is being input in our brain cells. So that really worries me.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Through, Before, Use, Machines

I think Tokyo is going to sink under water soon. All those stupid high-rise buildings will sink and maybe all the traffic will be gone. And everything will be peaceful and quiet.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Stupid, Think, I Think, Traffic

Currently computer graphics are used a great deal, but it can be excessive.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Computer, Deal, Currently, Excessive

We get strength and encouragement from watching children.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Strength, Children, Get, Encouragement

I like underwater life.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Life, Like, Underwater

If you're going to retire, retire early.

- Hayao Miyazaki

You, Early, Going, Retire

When a man is shooting a handgun, it's just like he is shooting because that's his job, and he has no other choice. It's no good. When a girl is shooting a handgun, it's really something.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Shooting, Other, Like, Handgun

I can't do a film after having debated it. I am unable to do a film while discussing it with my team. I issue directives. I do not achieve it otherwise.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Otherwise, Discussing, Issue, Debated

It would be wonderful if I could see the end of civilization during my lifetime.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Civilization, See, Would, If I Could

I wish I was better at art. I love some of the great artists of the 19th century and, compared to them, I just feel I lack this technique that they had. They have so much skill.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Love, Art, Some, Compared

I create women characters by watching the female staff at my studio. Half the staff are women.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Studio, Characters, Half, Female

I don't intentionally make deep movies.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Deep, Movies, Make, Intentionally

I'd like more of the world go back to being wild.

- Hayao Miyazaki

World, More, Like, Wild

Animators can only draw from their own experiences of pain and shock and emotions.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Pain, Emotions, Own, Animators

Humans have both the urge to create and destroy.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Create, Destroy, Urge, Humans

I don't like games. You're robbing the precious time of children to be children. They need to be in touch with the real world more.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Precious, Precious Time, Robbing

Is someone different at age 18 or 60? I believe one stays the same.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Believe, Someone, Same, Stays

To have a film where there's an evil figure and a good person fights against the evil figure and everything becomes a happy ending, that's one way to make a film. But then that means you have to draw, as an animator, the evil figure. And it's not very pleasant to draw evil figures.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Against, Very, Figures, Animator

I think it's really good for a family or children to have a dog, cat, bird or whatever to grow up with.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Grow, Think, I Think, Grow Up

I've never studied psychology.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Never, Psychology, Studied

My process is thinking, thinking and thinking - thinking about my stories for a long time.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Process, Stories, About, Long Time

Watching John Lasseter's films, I think I can understand better than anyone that what he's doing, is going straight ahead with his vision and working really hard to get that vision into film form. And I feel that my understanding this of him is my friendship towards him.

- Hayao Miyazaki

Friendship, Doing, I Think, John

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