Though Retired, Hayao Miyazaki Remains Hard at Work

Back in September, master animator Hayao Miyazaki announced his retirement. But, as they say, you can’t keep a good man down. Though retired from animation — his last feature, The Wind Rises, has begun playing in select dates here in the States — Miyazaki has returned to manga, the medium that first brought him acclaim.

Earlier this month, Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki revealed that Miyazaki was working on a samurai manga set during Japan’s Warring States period. And now, a Japanese TV show has offered a few glimpses of the master’s new work. Miyazaki may be in his 70s, but as these screencaps attest, he hasn’t lost a step: his work is as lovely and detailed as ever. The fact that this genius is still so devoted to his art and craft, and is pushing forward with new work, is inspiring.

As mentioned before, this isn’t the first manga in Miyazaki’s career. Prior to animation, Miyazaki was best known for Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, an epic post-apocalyptic series that finds the remnants of humanity embroiled in war and pending ecological disaster. It’s a stunning work of world-building, and highly recommended for fans of the fantasy genre.