Hayao Miyazaki, the godfather of anime
 

there's a subject I wanted to get a lot of anime fans opinions on, and that is the opinion of whom I feel is the greatest anime director/creator of all time, Hayao Miyazaki. For me, to view his works is as viewing the Mona Lisa or the Pyramids, a true work of art and genius.

Hayao Miyazaki is simply the master of his genre. I got introduced to his works with Princess Mononoke and have been a devoted fan ever since. A japanese pen pal of mine once told me that in Japan, Miyazaki has the collective experience and renknown of Spielberg and Lucas combined. My personal favorite of his is Spirited Away.

I'd love to hear everyone's opinions on this master of anime masterpieces, and what's your favorite Miyazaki film

I like mononoke hime. Its one of the best movies ever. No stupid good/evil stuff, no stupid heroes, only a little clieche and great music.

Totoro for the win. I watched that SO many times when I was a kid.

Same here, Princess Mononoke was the first movie I saw from Hayao Miyazaki.

Was a hard decision, mostly between Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, Both of them are really really good but I didnt really like the ending of Princess Mononoke so I voted for Spirited Away.

All in all I think all of Miyazaki's movies are more or less Great *duh*

I voted Porco Rosso. I think it's one of his most imaginative films, I love the setting, also have a slight fascination with airplanes, and add to that the music; at least to me one of Hisaishi's more memorable scores. It makes me feel quite a bit a nostalgic as well.

Oh, and anyone who votes Howl's Moving Castle deserves a punch in the face.

Ohh Christ =/ So hard to pick... All of his animes are just fantastic. Guh... I really can't choose easily. But maybe Nausicaa?... The animation is stupendous despite how old it is! =o

Spirited Away is probably my least liked (not saying it's bad. Just my least favorite). Porco Rosso is a fantastic comedy, and Mononoke Hime is a kickass action flick.

mononoke for the win. It was the first of his films that I saw and it wasn't like any other anime I've watched back then and its still one of my favorites especially since its a bit more mature than his other films.

I've only seen Mononoke-hime, Spirited Away, and Howl's Moving Castle, but I was moved by the purely magical style present in the films. Especially in Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, being the newer ones. The worlds are always so mystical and done in such an indescribable way that no other has has reproduced successfully. You can just tell from the films that "it's a Miyazaki". I was literally paralyzed with awe after watching each movie, which no other director has ever managed to do to me. I am now on a mad dash to eventually buy and watch the rest of the masterpieces, knowing that they will all be good and fantastical.

Wow, I read the thread's title and I expected the worst. I thought the man was dead.

I've only seen Spirited Away, which is an UBERSHAMEONME, that's why I don't hang out here too often ;____;

Um, what? Hayao Miyazaki isn't the godfather of anime. That title belongs to Osamu Tezuka.

Also, there should clearly be more votes for Castle in the Sky.

Naw, his title is "God of manga".
Still, I wouldn't call Miyazaki a godfather of anime either.

As for films, Porco Rosso is without doubt Miyazaki's finest film. Laputa, however, will always remain a personal favorite of mine.

Nausicaä is easily his worst film, despite its obvious quality. Jumbled, short plot and curiously one dimensional characters compared to his later works.
Nausicaä manga on the other hand, now that's just godly. Massive, sweeping storyline, superbly fleshed out characters with plenty of depth and very thought-provoking and aweinspiring subject matter. Had he made the film after finishing the manga, it would have certainly turned out a far better realised motion picture.

My Neighbor Totoro gets MASSIVE points for catbus, but otherwise it's way too sentimental. Porco Rosso is clearly where it's at.

Osamu Tezuka has often been seen as father of Japanese anime, along with Kenzo Masaoka. Indeed, Miyazaki once bashed him for it because we can say the tight budget for Japanese anime is partly Tezuka's fault. However, as I know almost nothing about anime, I don't intend to argue about it.

I've not happy with his 21th century works at all, but 20th century works and the comic of Nausicaä are just amazing.

Nah, the story line for the Nausica manga was already there, just wasn't published yet when the movie came out.

I like how you left out certain Studio Ghibli production films that he didn't produce directly but still was an active part of in the making.

I'd definitely have to say my favorite is Castle in the Sky. Or Laputa, to be elitist or whatever. Been a fan for 20 years. Doesn't seem like that's going to change that much in the next 20 years either, judging by the way how family-oriented movies are made these days.

Double Post:
And another thought:
You're obviously going to lose out on votes on which movies he made were superior out of the choices you've listed, because quite frankly although the maker of the films is well known through one or two awards (them being the newest out of the collection), his most deserving works probably aren't as seen as much as it should be. (Kudos for getting the chronological order of films correct though)

I would have to say Mononoke Hime at this point, I love Spirited Away too, but Mononoke for the win form me.

Well, whether he had the story ready or not, Katsuhiro Otomo style, the storyline of the film was still cut short (considering the manga finished in -94). If you look at the manga, he took the plot of books 1 and 2 and then out of nowhere finished with a few elements that appeared in book 7.

I guess I was just disappointed Kushana's character was reduced to just being a vile she-bitch antagonist instead of the multi-layered, ambitious yet admirable woman she was in the manga.

;__; Every time someone says Osamu Tezuka, I go into mourning over the fact that the assholes at Viz are sitting on the rights to Black Jack. One of the best mangas ever, and they only got out two graphic novels. Over 200 chapters are gathering dust and will probably never see life outside Japan ><

Either way, when the hell is that new Black Jack movie coming out here? Jesus Christ...

Mononoki Hime for me~

Aardork: I second that Totoro comment, Although ive never seen Porco Rosso.

I've so far collected all of the Miyazaki directed films, even The Castle of Cagliostro, bu now I'm gonna go for the stuff he participated in, like The Cat returns, and pom Poko

Damn, I have no idea which one I like the best. :(

Castle in the Sky was so mesmerizing, especially at the end.
I can watch Spirited Away again and again and never get bored with it.
Howl's Moving Castle was simply amazing.
Princess Mononoke was one of the first anime's that I watched. It was powerful, and one of the "you've got to watch this" animes that got me into the genre.

Mononoke-Hime for me too... It's one of those movies that I still love to watch. It left a mark on me and I'll always hold it high on my list of favorites.

My favorite Hayao Miyazaki film was sprited away but my second favorite has to be Princess Mononoke (yay for studio Ghibi!)

mmm....
is a hard answer....

Howl's Moving Castle
Spirited Away
Nausicaa

My Neighbour Totoro gets points for being the only movie I've ever seen that's 100% feel good, and in that sense, perfect. Nausicaa was a weird movie to be sure, but the basic setting is my favourite still. I'm split between those two. They also both have strong personal attachments so that may be a factor.

I honestly don't know what some people's big gripe about Howl's Moving Castle is, aside from it obviously being somewhat popular and (therefore) not as "edgy" and "different" to like. It was an unassailably awesome movie.

EDIT: Q--I didn't read the manga, but in the movie Kushana didn't come of as a "vile she-bitch" to me at all.

Where's Anne of Green Gables =X