[Music] there's something about Studio jbl's animation that just feels different no other Studio Pixar Disney Dreamworks can quite replicate it but why how does a small studio in Japan with just a fraction of the resources of Hollywood's Giants consistently create some of the most breathtaking emotionally resonant animation ever made the answer goes Way Beyond just handdrawn animation it's things the big studios just don't want to do and once I share it with you you'll never look at ji's movies the same way again I say small because ji really is a small company compared to everyone
they're competing against consider this the boy in the Heron which won the Oscar last year was crafted by just 60 animators in contrast major Hollywood Productions often involve hundreds if not thousands of artists over 800 people including 108 animators were involved in the production of Encanto for example 150 were needed for inside out too and for Mufasa around 1,700 people worked on the VFX alone the scale of these Productions are orders of magnitude indifference the entire jibli company alone is around 200 people yet ji's movies smoke all of these out of the water how's that
possible well sometimes bigger isn't better and Miyazaki has always been involved in the entire process of his films smaller teams make it much easier to maintain a cohesive Vision that doesn't get diluted by layers upon layers of bureaucracy and inefficiency this has been a huge factor in every jibli movie being incredible it's this control that's often actually been quite restrictive for employees that is truly key but art also takes time which is something that jibli has always respected in an AR where Studios churn out multiple films a year jbl's pace is almost defiant since its
founding in 1985 the studio has released just 22 films in nearly 40 years averaging one every 2 years this deliberate pacing allows each film to be meticulously crafted unlike other Studios releasing up to three entire movies in a year I'm looking at you dream works or anime Studios releasing dozens of episodes of different Animes in a single year and causing outrage for the ridiculous state of burnout the employees deal with ji's approach ensures quality over quantity this patience isn't just about time it's about care dedication and an unwavering commitment to Artistic integrity that seems to
be lacking everywhere else except for you cartoon Saloon the care and dedication is so obvious when it comes to Miyazaki despite having a full team of talented animators for princess monoke for example Miyazaki personally redrew parts of over 80,000 frames that's more than half of the film's total frames his obsession with detail didn't just push the boundaries of quality it redefined what was possible in handdrawn animation but Miyazaki isn't the only Visionary behind jbl's Unique Style Isa takahata co-founder of Studio ji also played a Monumental role in shaping the Studio's artistic Direction I actually have
a video about him on this channel Channel his influence brought a more grounded realistic aesthetic to many of ji's films contrasting with miyazaki's fantastic worlds if you've ever watched grave of the fireflies you know exactly what I'm talking about the raw heartbreaking nature of the movie has lowkey destroyed every single one of us that's watched it there's nothing to compare to SATA holding setsuko in his arms when she draws her last breaths it's this dichotomy between Miaki Fantastical stories and takahata's reality that adds even more Beauty to ji's entire catalog while not sacrificing quality because
takahata was also known for his painstaking attention to detail often taking even longer than Miyazaki to complete his films the tale of Princess kaguya for example took 8 years to make with takahata insisting on a unique handdrawn style that mimicked traditional Japanese brush painting this dedication resulted in probably one of the most visually distinct films in ji's catalog showcasing how the Studio's commitment to Artistry often completely defied industry norms and that's the thing being a studio entirely dedicated to 2D handrawn animation requires that level of commitment in an industry increasingly reliant on CGI jii has
never wavered they might have used some technology to a the process but every movie they make apart from one that we're not going to mention is completely handdrawn Pono alone consists of 170,000 handdrawn frames 170,000 that's insane this dedication to traditional techniques isn't about resisting change it's about preserving an art form that prioritizes human touch over digital Perfection and when you watch Bono the level of care and attention is so obvious no detail was left unattended and that's the real secret no one talks about enough it was even reported that during the production of Pono
Miyazaki insisted on handrawing the waves himself because he felt that no one else could capture the emotion and life of the sea the way he envisioned the result some of the most fluid Dynamic and gorgeous water animation ever put on screen in the history history of film ji's attention to detail is legendary every frame is masterfully designed contributing to the immersive World building we've all fallen in love with the boy in the Heron was animated at a rate of just 1 minute per month a 4C crowd scene in The Wind Rises took over a year
and 3 months to complete let me say that again a 4C scene took 15 months months to finish that's what it takes to make a masterpiece in traditional handdrawn animation this painstaking dedication isn't just about perfectionism it's about authenticity too just for context let me show you what it takes to animate just one single frame in a jibli film first we get the storyboarding the process starts with storyboards translating the script into visual form usually these sketches map out key scenes and character movements then we have the key animation animators draw the key frames the
critical poses that Define the motion then there's the inbetweening other animators will fill in the frames between key poses creating smooth and fluid movement then we got the background which is one of the most important part in ji movies backgrounds are drawn separately often as detailed paintings that set the scene's mood this moves us on to coloring where each frame is hand painted with colors carefully chosen to reflect the story's tone and atmosphere and finally the final composition the characters are layered over the backgrounds and each frame is meticulously checked for consistency and Perfection now
imagine doing that for hundreds of thousands of frames what's fascinating though is how wildly different Miyazaki and takahata approached this process Miyazaki is known for his meticulous storyboarding often drawing the entire story board himself treating it almost like a living breathing manuscript that evolves visually as the film develops his story boards are works of art in themselves packed with details that guide animators down to the smallest Nuance in contrast takah had often skipped traditional storyboarding completely for films like grave of the fireflies he relied on detailed scripts and Direction notes focusing on emotional beats and
trusting his team of animators to interpret the vision I mean the man could barely even draw which is crazy given he's spent his entire career working in animation and it clearly didn't hinder him because his movies are just as spectacular as Miaki but it's this obsession with details that allows for one of the most important parts of jibli the sense of immersive realism hay Miaki once said Anime May depict fictional worlds but I nonetheless believe that at its core it must have a certain realism the animator must fabricate a lie that seems so real viewers
will think the world depicted might actually exist ji movies blend the Fantastical with the familiar creating worlds that feel lived in a floating Castle in the Sky feels as real as a quiet kitchen scene because they're both treated with the same level of care and attention to detail it's not just about what's happening it's about how it's happening the way dust floats in the sunlight the subtle rustle of leaves the gentle sway of a characters hair in the breeze these small moments breathe life into ji's Worlds and ground the Fantastical elements in reality they remind
us that even in magical worlds the mundane matters it's this blend of the extraordinary with the ordinary that makes ji's universes feel real animation is such a unique medium in that way because we're being tricked to believe that drawn frames have life to them without the animators being meticulous with every frame that illusion can easily vanish there's a great example of this in Spirited Away where there's a seemingly insignificant scene of chiito putting on her shoes before stepping outside Miyazaki insisted that the animators capture the exact natural motion of adjusting and tapping the shoes into
place it's such a small detail but it adds a layer of authenticity that grounds the fantasy and animation in actual real human behavior but ji's Brilliance isn't just just in the details it's also in the pauses one of ji's most distinctive features is its Romanticism of the ordinary a concept Miyazaki refers to as ma which means emptiness in Japanese it's a space between actions the moments of Stillness that allow tension to build and emotions to settle in many films silence or Stillness might be seen as a l in the action but for jibli these moments
are where magic happens it's something that I've talked about in previous videos but I really can't overstate how important it is to the way these movies make us feel these scenes devoid of dramatic conflict allow the audience to breathe reflect and become immersed in the world's Rhythm which is key to how the animation makes us feel this deliberate pacing creates emotional depth making ji's films feel both Grand and intimate these movies are a reminder that animation isn't just for spectacle it's for storytelling for capturing the fleeting beauty of a moment the depth of an emotion
The Wonder of a world it's the time love dedication and even sacrifice of miyazaki's vision and the countless animators who bring his dreams to life that make Studio jbl's animation so special ultimately though the through line in this entire video is Miyazaki as important as takahata is Miyazaki is the life and soul of jibi and without him it truly is hard to Envision the same standards being upheld in the future recently jibli actually got bought out by nepon TV which could signify a huge change in how the studio is operated only time will tell thankfully
nipon and jibli have had a long and storied relationship so hopefully they'll help uphold the values that ji's Founders worked for decades to instill all we can hope for though is that people just as passionate as him will be put in charge after his retirement because jibli is ultimately a crucial piece of all of our hearts and a Cornerstone of the entire animation industry in a world obsessed with faster cheaper and more ji stands as a testament to the power of patience passion and Artistry and maybe that's the real secret not just how they animate
but why they do it not to chase Trends or box office records but to create something truly Timeless that's the real secret to ji Magic
