A Modern-Day Romantic: The Romantic Sublime in Hayao Miyazaki’s Creative Philosophy

ABSTRACT This article explores how the concept of the Romantic sublime is presented within the filmography of acclaimed animator Hayao Miyazaki (1941-). Fronting the Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli from 1985, Miyazaki has developed into an auteur figure with his films attracting considerable attention from scholars. The films of Hayao Miyazaki are characterized by a consistent creative philosophy, a philosophy that this article contends is profoundly shaped by the esthetic, philosophical, and artistic traditions of the European Romantic movement. Miyazaki’s engagement with Romanticism can be characterized by his interpretation of the Romantic sublime, a concept inherently linked to the traditions of the Romantic hero, the magical imagination, and the natural realm. This engagement with Romantic ideals is illustrated in this article by analyzing the thematic and visual elements of Miyazaki’s films, highlighting how these particular films reflect, and embody, particular Romantic ideals. In studying these films through a conceptual framework of the Romantic sublime, this article provides a deeper insight into Hayao Miyazaki’s creative philosophy.