Studio Ghibli, the famed Japanese animation studio of Hayao Miyazaki, will become a subsidiary of Nippon Television Network Corp, both sides said on Thursday.
Succession worries had been a priority at Ghibli, as Miyazaki has turned 82 and producer Toshio Suzuki is 75, the companies said in a joint statement.
The boards of both companies agreed at meetings on Thursday that the major commercial broadcast network will become Studio Ghibli's top shareholder, with a 42.3 per cent stake. Financial details were not given.
Nippon TV said it will send executives to support Ghibli’s management, while honouring its creative independence so it can focus on animation and other artistic projects.
The deal was first discussed last year at an “onsen” hot springs, the companies said, when Suzuki asked Nippon TV executive Yoshikuni Sugiyama for help in managing Ghibli. Sugiyama promised to give support.
Miyazaki’s son Goro is also an animation director and has been mentioned as a possible successor. But he had expressed doubts, saying the responsibility was too great.
Ghibli and Nippon TV have collaborated in the past, since Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind aired on TV in 1985. Nippon TV has also helped produce various Ghibli works, starting with Miyazaki’s 1989 Kiki’s Delivery Service. It also helped set up the museum devoted to Ghibli works in Tokyo.
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Visitors arrive at the Ghibli Warehouse after the opening of Ghibli Park in Nagakute, Japan, on November 1. AFP -
The central staircase of Ghibli's Great Warehouse. AFP -
The Elevator Tower at the entrance of Ghibli Park. AFP -
The character No Face is seated on a train from the film 'Spirited Away' at Ghibli Park. AFP -
Visitors take pictures of the robot soldiers of 'Tenku no Niwa' at Ghibli's Great Warehouse. AFP -
A wooden Totoro-shaped statue called Dondoko-do in the Dondoko Forest. EPA -
An exhibit from 'Spirited Away' at Ghibli's Grand Warehouse. AFP -
The central stairs of Ghibli's Grand Warehouse. EPA -
Inside Ghibli's Grand Warehouse. EPA -
One of the rooms at Ghibli's Grand Warehouse is inspired by the film 'Spirited Away'. EPA -
A small house at the 'Hill of Youth' area at Ghibli Park. EPA -
Sitting on a train next to the character No Face from 'Spirited Away' at Ghibli Park. EPA -
One of the rooms inside Ghibli's Grand Warehouse at Ghibli Park. EPA -
An exhibition inside Ghibli's Grand Warehouse. Studio Ghibli / EPA -
The entrance to Ghibli's Grand Warehouse. Studio Ghibli / EPA -
The Hill of Youth area at Ghibli Park. Getty Images -
The Cat Bus from the film 'My Neighbor Totoro' in the Ghibli's Grand Warehouse area. Getty Images -
A sign for the new Ghibli Park. AFP -
The Cat Bus from 'My Neighbor Totoro' at Ghibli's Grand Warehouse. AFP -
A real-life size recreation of Satsuki and Mei's House from 'My Neighbor Totoro'. AFP -
A shop at Ghibli's Grand Warehouse has Totoro soft toys. AFP -
A room in the Hill of Youth area at Ghibli Park. AFP -
A gift shop in Ghibli's Grand Warehouse. AFP -
An exhibit at Satsuki and Mei's House at Ghibli Park. AFP -
One of the exhibitions inside Satsuki and Mei's House from 'My Neighbor Tororo' at Ghibli Park. AFP -
A gift shop at Ghibli's Grand Warehouse. AFP -
A tower at Ghibli Park. AFP
Earlier this year, Miyazaki finished The Boy and the Heron, completed after seven years. It is based on a book but is also loosely based on Miyazaki’s wartime childhood. The Japanese title, which better expresses its theme, translates to: “How Will You Live?”
Miyazaki won an Oscar for his 2001 Spirited Away. He has occasionally declared he was retiring but has always returned to his craft.
He has produced an extensive range of animation works enjoyed by adults as well as children, including My Neighbor Totoro and Ponyo.
