Thanks for watching and commenting, I'm glad you liked it! As a Brit myself I loved researching this one. The smile on my face kept growing the more I found out about how Miyazaki's visits to the UK impacted him. So cool!
Tea ceremonies, islands that had oppressive empires, ridiculous etiquette, fried battered seafood - we share so much. I am so glad they appreciated the works of Diana Wynne Jones.
My dad tells a story from his days in the merchant navy, drinking with a Japanese veteran in Japan who said to him "Your Queen, my Emperor, we would have been unstoppable", and he was probably right
@@WalesTheTrueBritons Please define Anglo, Scoti and Cymric. I assume these are not the same as English, Scottish and Welsh as you use odd terms that are related but not identical. The Cornish would be offended by your leaving them out.
@@silverhawkscape2677 Ah lad, you conquered half the world and then got annoyed when people who came from your colonies to rebuild after ww2 didn't leave. c'mon now
Great to see the mention of the miners strike. My dad was a striking miner. These stories need to be told it’s exactly the kind of thing they want you to forget
On an unrelated note. The "Aliens" expanded universe there's an empire called the Three World Empire that was created by the British and the Japanese during the height of space exploration with other nations like India, south africa, and some european countries. Though I just watched why Miyazaki hate America, I'm kinda confused because Britain was the cause of the American nationalism in the first place because of the tea Taxes. I'm just saying.
That’s super interesting, I’m reading about it now -- I always wondered what that logo on Jones’ cat carrier was! The first Alien is one of my favourite films, an absolute classic.
As a Japanese who happens to stay in UK for one week vacation, Brits should know how much influence they have brought not only to us but the rest of the world, in terms of culture and values. Japanese language actually has a number of words in Katakana that originate from English.
Love Japan! Lived there (in Saitama) for some years - and even married a Japanese lady. (She refuses to go on holidays, outside Japan, except to England!)
Thx For the You work The Gihbli Motiv Inspiration's a Cross Europe The First Hayao Miyazaki work : Ich Crosstpath was Heidi: the Alpes Girl. Thx For You time and I Wish You a Nice day!
American returns from a trip to the British Isles What was the highlight of your trip? The old castles Japanese returns from a trip to the British Isles What was the highlight of your trip? The clouds
Despite things being so utterly miserable in the UK for the past decade or so its really comforting to know that a talented yet notoriously grumpy man really admires this country and its culture.
The UK isn't miserable at all, it's just that media and "entertainment" in this country choose to focus on the miserable parts. It is consistently voted as one of the best places in the world to live in. I think you need to go outside and touch some grass.
@@jamesg9468 From my experience of touching grass its incredibly frustrating seeing >40% of my income whisked away yet I see the constant dilapidation of many things in this country year on year.
@@jamesg9468 Depends where in the UK you are. There are some parts such as many seaside towns that are utterly crippled and destroyed shells of their former glory. If there's grass to touch you'll probably get a handful of dog crap if you're lucky... human crap if not. The UK has huge inequality and the range of infrastructure quality is staggering. Where I live in East Anglia for instance doesn't have a single motorway and is so severely hampered by poor road and rail links that it can take half a day to get to London. The local councils are utterly shocking, I've never seen such poor decision making taken to the absolute maximum and turned into a form of artistic expression. If these people had an @rse for a face they'd still be 10x more appealing than they are now and it would at least account for all the total sh!t they talk.
@@sneakyboy8 Yeah and it takes me 45 minutes to get to Norwich in the first place! I used to commute to Norwich a mere 25 miles or so would take me 1 hour 30 minutes to get home in the evening some days... If you've ever experienced the Acle straight at peak times you know what true life crushing misery is. The urge to abandon my car and walk the last mile nearly overtook me many a time.
So that is why as a brit these movies would feel so nostalgic and familiar, I was looking a Britain through someone else's eyes. I mean laputa always felt very welsh but i never had realised
Emperor Naruhito is also a bit of an Anglophile from his days at Oxford, he had an obsession with salt and vinegar crisps which he would consume in the local pubs.
@@ArchieTalksAnime I can only conclude that prawn cocktail is very much an acquired taste. Salt and vinegar I can understand, but the prawn cocktail flavour makes me wanna vomit.
For everyone in the comments proclaiming that Britain is irrevocably changed beyond recognition, I’d recommend going on a walk in the countryside, meeting some friends somewhere interesting, sitting in a park, visiting a castle - I think it’s healing to see a county like a tourist more often rather than getting stuck in seeing only it’s most ugly parts or what is boring and normalised (which every country, even the most revered, possesses)
Yeah, I want to move away for a few years, partly to see the world and other cultures, but also to have a proper appreciation of what we take for granted when I get back! It's easy to think our countryside and culture boring and focus on the negatives when we're all so used to it.
Britain is a beautiful beautiful place. The issue is, British society, the one I grew up with, has rotted away and a country isn't a country without its people.
@@queeniegreengrass3513 doesn’t stop you from appreciating beauty elsewhere. Turn of the news for a few hours (obviously I’m not saying to ignore it entirely, just don’t let it dominate your life). Go somewhere nice, sit in a sunny field, eat a picnic, visit a museum. Appreciate what you have.
It's easy to follow a crowd and follow others opinions to be popular or be "relevant". Many young people hate their own nation because someone told them to. Too many shepherds, not enough leaders and independent people because of the internet. It sounds silly reading this back, but I don't think it's entirely wrong.
Let's not forget armor clad warriors (knights and samurais) from their respective feudal periods. Funny enough there is also English samurai (William Adams).
japan and the uk are complete opposites; what are you talking about?! I guess both had empires which have infamous histories associated with them. But culturally? Absolutely not.
More Brits need to watch videos like this. There's a fairly pervasive sense of national shame in Britain nowadays, where we're encouraged to be ashamed of the country we're from, ignoring the many things we have to be proud of. And yes, if you focus exclusively on the endless bickering with Europe and the closing time drunks in central London, you do see an unflattering picture. But then you see a video like this which highlights some of the many great virtues of Britain and its people. Bravo, sir.
Thats just England Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland are all encouraged to be proud and independent less of Britain and more proud of its independent country and its culture
100% the modern cynicism especially post Iraq is one of the biggest issues in the UK at the moment. Many people in younger generations especially have a deep shame of our culture, our past and many other aspects of our society when there is so much to be proud of but patriotism has become taboo in British society being associated with extremism and bigotry hopefully this can change in the future.
I absolutely try to be more proudly British but it's hard to think positively of a country this poorly run, we went from *the* world superpower to only the 6th largest economy, our GDP is a billion dollars behind a country we won two world wars against, germany. If the government stopped thinking more Austerity will magically fix the economy and get the country back on track it'll be a lot more easy to be proudly British.
イギリス人 is what would normally be used today but they still use 英国人 in China I believe. I remember during the Tokyo Olympics the Brits came out with 英国 rather than イギリス on their sign and Japanese social media found it really funny
@@Graymondoable I can't read that, but I assume that is what I explained, I wish Japan would remember Britain and Japan were really good friends prior to ww2, it was Britain which helped Japan free themselves from the Shogunate, and it was Britain that helped them use aircraft carriers before ww2 (sorry the Americans for that one). We're very similar island nations that have been bullied by larger continental nations throughout history, with a few eccentric characters in history.
There's a book called 'Watching the English' by Kate Fox, which is mostly about British manners and social customs, but if I remember correctly it also touches on our similarities with Japan. Small, densely populated island nations developing similar manners to do with respecting space, quietness and so on.
This just proves that Miyazaki is not Anti-West, but what he hates is Western imperialism. Miyazaki admires not only traditional British culture, but traditional European cultures as a whole.
He's obviously opposed any form of imperialism and militarism, Japanese included. It's not a geopolitical or even cultural identity that's at work here, but the whole notion of creativity and spirituality vs thirst for power and ideology. Western culture is full of such examples as well: the whole Romanticism movement for example. Even Wagner was supported by Ludwig II of Bavaria (quite mad rebel of a king), not by "the iron chancellor" Otto von Bismark, who deemed all music except for marching one irrelevant. Miyazaki is on the same boat as any true artist, be it East or West.
I also have a similar feeling about Britain. I'm definitely not from Europe or any english-speaking country, but I had a cabled tv with a lot channels from different countries growing up. Despite the many channels there, I always liked the english channels more and would watch so much documentaries about the UK that I ended up growing a liking towards the country ever since. I'd say living in 2000's to early 2010's Britain was a big childhood dream of mine, glad I'm not alone on this!!
I've always thought of pre-1960s Britain and Japan as somewhat similar. Both seemed like quite settled communities with a strict implicit code of conduct. A love of gardening. A martial tradition. A long standing Monarchy & a deep cultural history. I think the Japanese have maintained a more coherant culture though I am no expert. Obviously mass immigration and the 60s "counter culture" did a lot to deconstruct the ethnic coherance of British culture
I appreciate that you didn't fall prey to the maddening Spirited Away hype. In Japan, when Laputa is aired, people of all ages and genders eagerly wait for the moment when they will all sing "Balse" on the Internet.
He grew up reading children’s literature and pursued the study of it in university as a hobby. Many of the children’s literature novels widely read in Japan are from Britain. While children’s literature by other Western authors like Saint-Exupéry, Ende, Kästner, and Laura Ingalls Wilder is also popular, I believe the number of British.
Thanks a lot, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I had a blast making this one! I had no idea that Miyazaki made a manga about Tynemouth, I visited there myself a bunch of times as a kid so to think that he was just wandering around taking it all in blows my mind 🤯
God, there’s way too many people (probably yanks) who can’t understand you can like one thing and not another. Plus it’s easy to dislike a country, who during your own life time has done some questionable things, eg overturning democratic governments in South America in favour of dictatorships more sympathetic to your wants. Plus, and I’ve said this for years, the British empire wasn’t a force for good or bad, it was a force for British interests, just like America today isn’t a force for good or bad, but it’s interests. EVERY country had good and bad parts of its history, and it’s okay to prefer some countries over others if you enjoy and find interesting that history and/or culture.
That is utter nonsense. If he enjoys British culture and has good experiences from his visits, that has NOTHING to do with britains history. If you constantly judge modern countries on their past, no one should like any country, and would be a hypocrite if they did. The problems he has with America come from what America has done in present day. And I’m not stating democracies are intrinsically good, however if a country has elected a government, then a foreign power doesn’t like that government, so instead installs a dictator, just because it suits their interests, not the people of that country, that’s a bad thing, and it happened in his life time. Plus he didn’t even mention britains past when giving his reasons for liking it. So Britains past is completely irrelevant.
You're not wrong. I met the parents of a Japanese friend of mine and when I said I was from England they immediately showed me loads of pictures they had taken of English clouds from a holiday they'd had here
I always knew Miyazaki was an amazing artist but to hear that he wrote a manga about Tynemouth is awesome as someone who comes from the North East of England. Great video.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! Yeah I know what you mean, I love the fact that Miyazaki was inspired by our corner of the UK. Imagine strolling through Tynemouth and bumping into him, that would have been surreal! The manga is beautiful too, I ordered a copy from Japan and it just arrived recently, so cool.
to all the Brits: Be the British Japan thinks you are 🍵🕵🏻💂🏻♀🎸🧙🏻👔🧐🎩🎓 🐉🦁👩🏻⚕👷🏻🧑🏻🔧🧑🏻🌾🧑🏻💼👨🏻💻🧑🏻🔬🧑🏻🚀🧚🏻♀and NOT the British EU thinks you are🍺🍺🍺 ⚽🍺🥴🤮🗣💢🤬🤜🏻🤼♂🚓
("I like the upper class Brits, not the lower class ones" in emojis) Unfortunately that top line is ashamed to be British, so you won't be seeing much of them going forward.
UK: Hey, I'm an influential english speaking country! Miyazaki: Awww, how sweet! US: Hey, I'm an influential english speaking country! Miyazaki: Hello, security?!
I am absolutely adding "England is delicious" a bestseller in Japan all about how great our food is into my repertoire of responses to "british/white food is bad" stupid arguments. Thanks!!
Britain and Japan. The two most beautiful, mysterious countries on Earth. No wonder Hayao-San enjoys the UK so much. And know this Japan... we admire you right back.
Thank you for making this. I'm from the UK and I love Ghibli, and I had no idea about any of this. The power of stories to connect cultures is incredible.
I just got this video recommended to me. I thought it would have hundreds of thousands of views and be from a popular RU-vidr, but apparently not. You deserve way more subs/views for such a well made video
Yes, great idea! Love this book. I bet Miyazaki would enjoy it too, given the Welsh setting. Also isn’t the dad in the RAF? Definitely ticks a lot of boxes for him.
When I arrived in England the first thing I noticed was the sky, but no one else seemed to get it. The sky really was different. Over a decade later there's still nowhere else I'd rather live.
The few months I spent studying in Wales, I could see how the clouds kept on rolling over the hills. Compared to Norway, the clouds are indeed different. Doesn't beat driving through massive mountain passes and feel like a tiny, insignificant speck though. Norwegian clouds don't move as much (probably due to altitude difference and other factors), but in some of those mountain passes when clouds are thick and heavy, it can feel like a thick fog that consumes the mountains. Looks like the mountains would keep going far beyond the clouds. Images don't do the scale of it justice.
There are a few stories by one of Britain's best children's novelists, Michael Morpurgo, that I think would suit the Ghibli style really well. Toro! Toro! - A story about a boy and the black bull he raises on a farm in 1930's Spain, before and during the civil war. Escape from Shangri-La - A story about a girl, her grandad, and his experiences of rescuing troops from the beaches of Dunkirk. The Wreck of the Zanzibar - A story of a girl, growing up on a beautiful but remote British island, and her bravery and struggle to prove herself and her bravery. Why the Whales Came - set on the same island as the previous book, a story of superstition, compassion, family.
Yes! This is a great call, you’re so right, much of Morpurgo’s work (at least the stuff that I know) would definitely tick a lot of boxes for Miyazaki. I love the idea of a Studio Ghibli version of The Wreck of the Zanzibar. Miyazaki likes a strong-willed girl as his protagonist and it would be great to see him make another sea-centric movie, particularly with a period setting. I also always loved Little Foxes when I was a kid, I think he could turn that into something really special.
@@Fallen_Ra1n I wasn’t familiar with this one but I just read up on it and wow, you’re so right - this would make an incredible Ghibli movie!! I would love to know if Miyazaki has read it because it sounds like it would be right up his street. Such a great suggestion!
My wife is Japanese and I have spent a lot of time there, it is generally an anglophilic nation, certainly a lot of UK influence there. However... if they knew the truth of Arthur Scargill, the gret majority of Japanese would think it a very good thing that he failed in his aims. 👍
Yeah I dare say you’re right about that, Scargill certainly wasn’t perfect. In the video, I try to simply present the facts as Miyazaki saw them at the time rather than taking a side myself. Like most situations of this nature, there’s a lot nuance. At the end of the day, there was never going to be solution that pleased everyone. I think for a lot of people the issue was a lack of communication and consideration rather than the decisions that were ultimately reached.
@@ArchieTalksAnime Fair comment; what doomed UK coal was its geology; seams 18 inches thick & 500 feet underground simply couldn't compete with seams twenty feet thick near or on the surface as in e.g. Australia. The NUM couldn't be allowed to change an elected government & Thatcher was right to defeat them. But she showed no magnanimity in victory...
Laputa is technically the first Studio Ghibli film, but Miyazaki and other members of Studio Ghibli did do another film before the "studio" was formally named "Studio Ghibli", so I wouldn't really call Laputa the first one. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is the first movie they made, and if you've ever seen it, you'd know that it has every hallmark of being a Miyazaki or Studio Ghibli film.
I can't believe America butchered Nausicaa by editing the movie so much until it was a stupid 80s action movie. No wonder Miyazaki was annoyed at Weinstein and the US, rightfully so. It was downright disrespectful because he asked not to do that but they went ahead anyways 😢
@@j377yb33n I used to commute into Dublin from Enniskerry (Ireland). Same bus 5 days a week. Anyway, it was not uncommon for tourists to get off at Enniskerry and from there get another bus ride to Glendalough or whatever. I remember some American family sitting at the front one time and one of the kids gushes "mom, can we stay here? its so green!" In 10 years I don't think I ever noticed. Not even once. But after that kid mentioned it, you know what. Holy shit it really is the most absurdly beautiful shade of every kind of green. I miss living there tbh.
This video genuinely made me look at my home Britain in a lot more favourable way thank you for making this video and making me appreciate the country thats my home much more deeply. It's brought back how i used to stare at the sky in wonder thinking something cool would happen as i felt like it was moving along with me as a kid. Despite the dreariness of it i still used to think of favourably back in the day and i lost that kind of wonder for it but this video reminded me off that feeling
@disarray_ Speaking as a dual UK US national, there are plenty of similarities, but also plenty of differences. Seems like he liked the things that made the UK different from the US, and disliked things about the US that the UK does not have in similarity.
@disarray_ You can't have travelled too much of the world then. If you had you'd know all the ways we're similar in contrast to countries we're truely different from. Though as I've already said, there are plenty of differences too.
Most interesting..I visited Japan twice last year (solo from UK) and loved it!..I was totally a fish out of water...But I had a feeling of nostalgia..a kind of longing..for a life I have never experienced or had in Japan...Like I was meant to there...The thing is I felt Japan had more of a obsession with the US than Britain...I truly hope to return to Japan...but it's highly unlikely due to circumstances...This saddens me greatly. ..I did get to visit some real life location for some of my favourite anime while there...Was surreal...Still hard to believe that when I watch these anime I have stood where the characters stand.
Studio Ghibli's "When Marnie Was There" was also based on a British Novel of the same name by author Joan G. Robinson, set in Norfolk.The postscript in the book by Deborah Sheppard even mentions Studio Ghibli's involvement. Great video!
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it! I didn’t know that about Ghibli being mentioned in a postscript by Robinson’s daughter, that’s cool! I bet that meant a lot to Miyazaki - he listed When Marnie Was There in his top 50 children’s books of all time.
@@ArchieTalksAnime Yeah I thought it was kinda heartwarming to read that in the postscript - which I imagine is from a later publication, probably around the time of the movies production, as the book I own has postscript copyrights for 2002 and 2014. Makes me wonder what other books Ghibli has stored away in their vaults, like Disney does.
I love being english and british. I love our country. The politics may not be something to brag about, but our culture, history and landscapes are incredible. Anyone who lives here and thinks we have nothing, I urge you to go out and explore. To research, to see and walk the villages and hills. Be proud. Forget the nonsense and watch the pearly clouds roll over the shimmering grasslands on a summer evening. We have a beautiful country
I think it is unfortunate that people often forget the great beauty of our small island nation. The news and social media can often be so depressing that we forget the small pleasures and simple things we take for granted. The British and Irish countryside is something so easily forgotten about but is truly striking. For instance we're one of the very rare places in the world with the environment for temperate rainforests. Unfortunately most of it has disappeared, but some still survives.
I've never seen any of your videos before, but this was incredible. Everything about it, your research, music choice, presentation style, narration and how emotive it was. Thank you for this. Who knew I would enjoy a video this much, despite not knowing anything about Studio Ghibli.
I'm a young man from Chile who loves and adores both Japan and the UK. And desires to become mangaka and getting involved in the anime industry. Plus; i really love and interested in the Japan and the UK B.C. periods. Greetings 🇨🇱🇯🇵🇬🇧
Rather stirred by this. We do have a natural affinity for each other as nations. It’s remarkable how many of my close friends love Japanese culture and I was honoured to host the Japanese Ambassadors to the UK to Alnwick Garden to celebrate 400 years of diplomatic relations. Great video, so happy to have found you. Consider my subscription a token of esteem. Well done.
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Wow that’s cool, what a great place to host them, I love Alnwick Garden. Did they enjoy it? Thanks for subbing, it’s much appreciated!
@@DanielGurney Aye that’s my neck of the woods, been there more times than I can remember! I live in Paris now but I was over at Christmas and went to the gardens, they look great all lit up. The north east is well underrated in terms of attractions and natural beauty.
@@fleonez6610 I fail to see how this has anything to do with liking people or colonialism... Miyazaki likes British culture and scenery, and the miner's movement andolonialism has absolutely no relevance to this topic. Ppl bringing it up are boorishly negative and critical, and can't stop them dredging up dark past simply to belittle Britain.
@@ArchieTalksAnime Very much so! I initially found it hard to put into words just why - but having pondered for a little more time, I suppose it's because there is something really satisfying about picking up something already quite exquisite, breaking it down and demonstrating how much passion and consideration was poured into even its smallest details, like the subtleties of an artist's brushstrokes or the machining of parts of a fine watch.
When you spend all your time in a place it starts to become boring and all you can see are the negatives, but there is a genuine beauty to Britain. Walk in any direction for an hour and you will pass a variety of landscapes that have inspired creatives for generations. Sure we have a lot of bad things going on, every country does, but we also have tiny rivers flowing down from ancient mountains and through villages that have been lived in for a hundred generations.
This gave me an idea. I would want him to adapt the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Douglas Adam's work has meant a lot to me. This would be my dream movie. Well, besides them adapting the manga Black Jack.
Such a fascinating video. My mum's British and my Dad's Japanese so I've always had an obvious connection with both countries. I'd love to see a Studio Ghibli adaptation of Danny Champion Of The World.
The UK is consistently voted as one of the best countries in the world to live in. The influence it has being 1st in the World for Finance & Services, 1st in Europe for Tech & Science, 5 out of the top 20 universities in the world are in England (0 are in the EU), countries all over the planet are speaking the English language, using the British-invented World Wide Web, playing British sports under parliamentary and law system created on these islands. The media and "entertainment" chooses to focus on the worst parts of our society (which do exist), and for some reason people love to watch them in a weird self-loathing kind of way. But if you go outside and touch some grass frequently (weather allowing!), we actually have it pretty damn good here. 🇬🇧
You should always strive to be better and right now we have an incompetent government that is destroying everything that people like about this country, because all they care about is money. They haven't invested in the country in over a decade. The previous time with Thatcher they asset stripped the country, destroyed our manufacturing and again failed to invest in the country. Due to being corrupt and both economically and politically illiterate.
Britain is also Japan's most culturally flirted with country in Europe with up to 40 different animes being based or partially based in the UK including 3 other animes that have also been set in the south west region of England being Little Which Academia and which was set in the tourist town of Glastonbury, Kiniro Mosaic which was partially set in the Cotswolds town of Cirencester ancient Magus Bride which was also set in the Cotswolds. The most notable anime overall probably being Black butler and k on (the movie). The Cotswolds also happens to be a beautiful tourist location with gets such a large concentration of Japanese tourists that even Japanese signs have been put up, several animes being based there. Both countries formed an alliance back in 1902, both countries have a lot in common such a their own tea and royal family (hence Japan's imperial family) and the UK also has Europe's largest Japanese community with 65,000 residing in the UK in total. The countries also do a bit of trade with each other furthering strengthening ties back in 2019 as well. So definitely a solid relationship between the two and which I couldn't be prouder of as a brit.
Er, apart from a few British things, most Japanese people I've met know very little about British food, apart from fish and chips, shortbread biscuits, Kitkats and scotch whiskey.
You forget to mention that one of the best Ghibli adaptations is of Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea! Although Irish or British I cannot remember it's still an inspiration for Miyazaki. I'd love to see a Ghibli Adaptation of the Eragon book series which although written by an American Draw heavily upon Arthurian and wider British Mythos.
I'd love my daughter to visit or stay a while (but eventually want her back, of course) in Japan. I think as an art student she would really benefit from it, and it's one of the few countries I'd feel much safer about her visiting. The thought of her staying in the USA or like Mexico (and no offence to all the ppl in those places, and I'm well aware how it's only ever a minority that ruins it for the rest of us)... but no, just no way. And I'm even blocking that runway to make sure that never happens. 'Hey why not visit a place who's hobby is guns, and serial killing, and being shot in a heartbeat by police for flinching'. No thank you. Plus, when you're way of life is queuing and manners I think that overcomes any languages barriers anyway.
