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.

I don’t know. How many people visited Disneyland this year?

I certainly don't want Ghibli to become Japan's Disneyland.

Good news is Japan already has a Disneyland.

There’s always room for another.

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.

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.

It's more of a problem for families with children.

Took my kids to Japan this year. They are already clamoring to go back. Yes, we did Ghibli Park, but that was just one day of 15.

@dfxm12

What did your itinerary look like?

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.

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.

Tons of rural land no one wants to live in.

Too far from the airport.

That depends. Narita and Hiroshima airports are both in rural areas - the farmers are still mad about Narita.

So where would one go where there are lots of things to do?

For instance, NYC has more museums, things open late at night, and no tourists are bored enough to try something called a "robot restaurant" or illegal Mario themed street karts.

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-09-05/tokyo-...

I feel like rather than being something people do because they're desperately bored that's the kind of thing people go to Japan specifically to seek. People in New York go to axe-throwing bars and other stuff that sounds somewhere between boring and ridiculous to me but I'm not casting aspersions on the city over it.

> Japan is actually relatively short on things to do considering how many tourists they get.

Weird, I felt the opposite vibe. When I spent 3 weeks during spring over there, as a tourist, it seemed like there was endless stuff to do, see and enjoy. "Touristy" Japan feels like a theme park in itself. And for "proper" theme things, we only did Ghibli Museum.

TeamLab Borderless is a must see in Tokyo.

Don't forget there's also a Ghibli Museum and you have to book in advance.

TeamLab Borderless closed down and the building demolished last year. It's supposed to re-open somewhere else next year, I think.

Maybe you're thinking of TeamLab Planets in Toyosu. It's a must-see too.

They also already have a Ghibli Park. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Do your parents turn into pig monsters if they eat the food?

"This must be an abandoned theme park. They built so many in the early '90s, but they all went down with the economy. This must be one of them."

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.

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).

My Neighbors The Yamadas is always the first thing that I recommend to adults who have never seen anime before.

Only Yesterday was a lovely movie and really touching. (Would recommend it in Japanese with subtitles)

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.

Grave of the Fireflies was arguably one of their best, and not a Miyazaki. The Tale of Princess Kaguya as well!

Grace of the fireflies still gives me goosebumps. Not prepared to ever watch it again. Was too much to handle

LOL they abridged it?

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-nausicaä-became...

Seems to cover it.