57 Best Hayao Miyazaki Quotes and Sayings

Hayao Miyazaki Quotes: Hayao Miyazaki born 5 January 1941 is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist (Comic Artist). A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, a film and animation studio, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and as a maker of animated feature films, and is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished filmmakers in the history of animation. Born in Tokyo, Miyazaki expressed interest in manga and animation from an early age.

These Hayao Miyazaki quotes are filled with his professional insight into animated films and his wisdom on life in general. Another reason for the popularity of his films is that they often feature protagonists that are strong girls or young women. He has won other awards for the inspirational quality of his words

Hayao Miyazaki Quotes on Making Films

1. “When you watch the subtitled version you are probably missing just as many things. There’s a layer and a nuance you’re not going to get. Film crosses so many borders these days. Of course, it is going to be distorted.” – Hayao Miyazaki.

2. “I believe that fantasy in the meaning of imagination is very important. We shouldn’t stick too close to everyday reality but give room to the reality of the heart, of the mind, and of the imagination.” – Hayao Miyazaki

3. “I find it pointless sitting in my house not working, though I like to go on extended vacations from time to time.” – Hayao Miyazaki.

4. “You must see with your eyes unclouded by hate. See the good in that which is evil, and the evil in that which is good. Pledge yourself to neither side, but vow instead to preserve the balance that exists between the two.” – Hayao Miyazaki

5. “You always have to appeal to your audience. You always have to consider how well your project will do in terms of admissions. I abandoned many stories because of that. But I don’t get too down about it. It’s something I accepted from the time I decided to work in films.”  – Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki Quotes on Film Making Passion

6. “Many of my movies have strong female leads – brave, self-sufficient girls that don’t think twice about fighting for what they believe in with all their heart. They’ll need a friend, or a supporter, but never a savior. Any woman is just as capable of being a hero as any man.” – Hayao Miyazaki 

7. “I managed to work for more than 50 years with just paper, pencils and film. My son’s generation and the one coming up after can’t work with just paper and pencils any more. I managed to avoid using a computer. I don’t even have a cellphone. I feel lucky I managed to live like that.” – Hayao Miyazaki

8. “The creation of a single world comes from a huge number of fragments and chaos.”  – Hayao Miyazaki.

9. “In our work, the question is, how much you absorb from others. So for me, creativity is really like a relay race. As children we are handed a baton. Rather than passing it onto the next generation as is, first we need to digest it and make it our own.” – Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki Quotes about Life

10. “I myself become terrified of death when I am in a negative state of mind. But the thought of death ceases to bother me once I become productive.”  – Hayao Miyazaki

11. “Do everything by hand, even when using the computer.”  – Hayao Miyazaki.

12. “Airplanes are the most beautiful when they are in the air.” – Hayao Miyazaki.

13. “The love of weaponry is often a manifestation of infantile traits in an adult.”  – Hayao Miyazaki

14. “Life is a winking light in the darkness.”  – Hayao Miyazaki.

Hayao Miyazaki Quote

15. “I am an animator. I feel like I’m the manager of an 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

16. “I make films as a business, not as a cultural endeavor.”  – Hayao Miyazaki.

17. “Engineers turn dreams into reality.”  – Hayao Miyazaki

18. “Nobody has the right to sit in judgment and decide what’s good or bad for you.”  – Hayao Miyazaki

19. “Rather than making that a good project, I like to make the kinds of films that children can understand in five minutes what the film is about.”  – Hayao Miyazaki

20. “When I say I get inspiration from my real life, I think of my real life as extending about 300 meters radius around me. So what I see in that area is what inspires me.”  – Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki Quotes Love

21. “We live in an age when it is cheaper to buy the rights to movies than to make them.”  – Hayao Miyazaki.

22. “There are so many ships in the animation sea that are computer driven, that I think we can have at least one that’s just a log raft that we can row by hand.”  – Hayao Miyazaki

23. “In the past, humans hesitated when they took lives, even non-human lives. But society had changed, and they no longer felt that way. As humans grew stronger, I think that we became quite arrogant, losing the sorrow of ‘we have no other choice.’ I think that in the essence of human civilization, we have the desire to become rich without limit, by taking the lives of other creatures.”  – Hayao Miyazaki

Quotes by Hayao Miyazaki

24. “Reality is for people that lack imagination.”  – Hayao Miyazaki.

25. “The concept of portraying evil and then destroying it – I know this is considered mainstream, but I think it is rotten. This idea that whenever something evil happens someone particular can be blamed and punished for it, in life and in politics is hopeless.”  – Hayao Miyazaki

26. “You may not like what’s happening, but just accept it, and let’s try to live together. Even if you feel angry, let’s be patient and endure, let’s try to live together. I’ve realized that this is the only way forward.” ― Hayao Miyazaki 

27. “In our work, the question is, how much you absorb from others. So for me, creativity is really like a relay race. As children, we are handed a baton. Rather than passing it onto the next generation as is first, we need to digest it and make it our own.” ― Hayao Miyazaki

28. “First, don’t panic, second, don’t panic, and third, DID I MENTION NOT TO PANIC?” ― Hayao Miyazaki.

Quotes from Hayao Miyazaki

29. “In order to grow your audience, you must betray their expectations.”  – Hayao Miyazaki.

30. “Animators can only draw from their own experiences of pain and shock and emotions.”  – Hayao Miyazaki. 

31. “Is someone different at age 18 or 60? I believe one stays the same.”  – Hayao Miyazaki. 

32. “I’m not going to make movies that tell children, “You should despair and run away.” ― Hayao Miyazaki.

33. “We live in an age when it is cheaper to buy the rights to movies than to make them.” ― Hayao Miyazaki.

34. “I would like to make a film to tell children “it’s good to be alive.” ― Hayao Miyazaki.

35. “Is someone different at age 18 or 60? I believe one stays the same.” ― Hayao Miyazaki.

36. “Always believe in yourself. Do this, and no matter where you are, you will have nothing to fear.” ― Hayao Miyazaki.

Miyazaki Hayao Quotes

37. “The creation of a single world comes from a huge number of fragments and chaos.” ― Hayao Miyazaki

38. “Do everything by hand, even when using the computer.” ― Hayao Miyazaki

39. “The greatness of a mind is determined by the depth of its suffering.” ― Hayao Miyazaki

40. “Cut off a wolf’s head and it still has the power to bite.” ― Hayao Miyazaki 

41. “Once you have met someone, you never really forget them.” ― Hayao Miyazaki

42. “In this world of ours, the sparrow must live like a hawk if he is to fly at all.” ― Hayao Miyazaki

43. “Reality is for people that lack imagination.” ― Hayao Miyazaki

44. “The creation of a single world comes from a huge number of fragments and chaos.” ― Hayao Miyazaki

45. “Danger doesn’t always come from the enemy.” ― Hayao Miyazaki

46. “Whenever someone creates something with all of their heart, then that creation is given a soul.” ― Hayao Miyazaki

47. “Today, all of humanity’s dreams are cursed somehow. Beautiful yet cursed dreams.” ― Hayao Miyazaki

48. “I’d rather be a pig than a fascist.” ― Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki Quotes About His Beliefs and Pessimisum

49. “I’ve become skeptical of the unwritten rule that just because a boy and girl appear in the same feature, a romance must ensue. Rather, I want to portray a slightly different relationship, one where the two mutually inspire each other to live – if I’m able to, then perhaps I’ll be closer to portraying a true expression of love.” ― Hayao Miyazaki

50. “The villains are all parts of me. For years I’ve been wondering what it would be like if all those negative elements were forced onto the main character’s side. I can understand a character with that kind of anger.” ― Hayao Miyazaki

51. “People who design machines and airplanes {or buildings}, no matter how much they believe that what they do is good, the winds of time eventually turn them into tools of industrial civilization. They’re cursed dreams. Animation, too. Beautiful yet cursed dreams.” ― Hayao Miyazaki

52. “I believe that fantasy in the meaning of imagination is very important. We shouldn’t stick too close to everyday reality but give room to the reality of the heart, of the mind, and of the imagination.” ― Hayao Miyazaki

53. “My process is thinking, thinking, and thinking – thinking about my stories for a long time.” ― Hayao Miyazaki

Myazaki Quotes

54. “Personally, I am very pessimistic. But when, for instance, one of my staff has a baby, you can’t help but bless them for a good future. Because I can’t tell that child, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t have come into this life.” And yet I know the world is heading in a bad direction. So with those conflicting thoughts in mind, I think about what kind of films I should be making.” ― Hayao Miyazaki

55. “Maybe there was a time when you could make films that mattered, but now?” ― Hayao Miyazaki 

56. “I try to dig deep into the well of my subconscious. At a certain moment in that process, the lid is open and very different ideas and visions are liberated. With those, I can start making a film.” ― Hayao Miyazaki 

57. “I do believe in the power of a story. I believe that stories have an important role to play in the formation of human beings, that they can stimulate, amaze and inspire their listeners.” ― Hayao Miyazaki 

Hayao Miyazaki  focuses on humanity’s relationship between nature and technology. There is a wholesomeness to the way his characters live, honoring the importance of art in their lives. He also explores how difficult it is to maintain a sense of peace in a world that is so often violent. This is something that plenty of people have been able to relate to.

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