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There are several Mamoru Oshii book lists on the Internet, but they do not provide detailed descriptions of the contents. My collection of Mamoru Oshii books is not yet complete, but I would like to write a short summary for each of those books.
I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors or incorrect information.
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title: アニメージュ増刊 風の谷のナウシカ GUIDE BOOK
(Animage Extra, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, GUIDE BOOK)
release: 03/30/1984 (reprinted in 2001)
publisher: Tokuma Shoten
[contents]
making-of manga by Katsushi Katsukawa
screen captures
poster art gallery
report: Sumi Shimamoto visits Topcraft
interview with Sumi Shimamoto
production diary
film analysis by Kensho Ikeda
Hayao Miyazaki's filmography
interview: Hayao Miyazaki talks about his works
Hayao Miyazaki's speeches
11 people talk about Hayao Miyazaki
[review]
Right after "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" Tokuma Shoten published an extra issue for Nausicaa fans and Miyazaki fans. It contains interviews, speeches, behind-the-scenes essays, and much more.
The focus here is on the last content, "11 People Talk about Hayao Miyazaki".
In that two-page interview, Oshii talks about the differences between himself and Miyazaki. The title is "Miyazaki-san believes in community, but we don't."
This interview took place after the release of Beautiful Dreamer. In the previous (first) interview, they talked about Oshii's first film, Urusei Yatsura: Only You. At that time,
Miyazaki harshly criticized Only You. Oshii knew that it was not a good film, so he could not say anything back. Oshii said, "I have to have a return match." He fulfilled that promise in Beautiful Dreamer and this interview.
Oshii's criticism can be summarized as follows:
Miyazaki expresses a good old-fashioned sense of community through "Valley of the Winds" and "High Harbor," but that theme is doubtful. In reality, Miyazaki demands that his staff serves him. Miyazaki is a self-centered man who controls other staff members to visualize his imagination. On the other hand, Oshii devotes himself to the other staff members and accepts their styles, but the characters in his films seem to be individualistic. In other words, Oshii does not believe in community.
Miyazaki is an individualist who believes in community. Oshii is a communitarian who believes in individualism. Both of their stances contradict their films.
He also says that the story of Nausicaa is not realistic. Nausicaa's reckless behavior would naturally lead the community to ostracize her, but the kind-hearted people of the Valley of the Wind tolerate her. It feels highly artificial. The audience wants to be fooled by the film, but Nausicaa doesn't fool them. People notice the lies in her story.
However, Oshii respects Miyazaki's creativity and energy. He says, "We are different types of people, so we have to start from other points.
