Hayao Miyazaki, the genius who brought us such lavishly simple children's classics such as My Neighbor Totoro, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, and Kiki's Delivery Service, is called in America The Disney of Japan. As the author Helen McCarthy says about this title is that it speaks more about our quick dismissal of the unknown with a fast moniker than seeing if that comparison truly fits. Although accurate in the sense of his revolutionary stamp on the animation world in similar fashion of Disney in America, the differences stop there. Even anime fans that are familiar with the name of Hayao Miyazaki and his level of work are but a few steps above the average person in comparison to this book.

Ms. McCarthy shows the man behind the machine of Studio Ghibli in the best way possible for him, in the context of his works. Ms. McCarthy chose several of Miyazaki's most famous films and goes into depth on their creation, the inspiration and the events in Miyazaki's life at the time of creation and afterward. Much in the spirit of Frederick Schodt's Dreamland Japan, the author steps away from her subject and simply uses Miyazaki's own recorded quotes and thoughts to set up the commentary, only using enough of her own insight to pull it all together. Ms McCarthy's pacing is excellent, keeping a constant level of interest with uncomplicated but on target accounts from Miyazaki's life.

A detailed recounting is given for each film in spoiler-rich detail, with preview section on how Miyazaki did his planning, what tools he used, and a commentary on the film. Each film is a snapshot in time to a particular era in his life, with the struggles of securing rights from the original novel for Kiki's Delivery Service to the joy of putting together a movie based partly on his childhood memories in My Neighbor Totoro. This allows us to see his vision in the same fashion he expresses his humble heartfelt views in life, by not trying to put it into words but clear action. Totoro shows his deep respect and love for nature. Mononoke Hime shows his views on trying to balance the natural world with our own. Laputa shows the consequences of technology gone horribly wrong.

One of the gripping sagas mentioned in the book is the heartbreak he suffered in producing that much loved classic Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind; from the heavy burden of the manga that munched away his time on other projects to the hideous butchering of the finished movie to create the English film Warriors of the Wind. For that last fiasco, Miyazaki did not allow any of his films to be released overseas for years, a cautionary tale to companies on how much damage re-edits can do in the long run.

Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation is not an adequate title for such a story as this. Hayao Miyazaki, in his own view, is a master of nothing. He is simply a man who tries to create the best films he can that reflect what he believes in his own heart. Yet when one looks at the scale of what he considers his best; his redrawing by hand key frames that do not meet his expectation in his movies, and what he believes in his own heart; the call to have all life be considered sacred in a plea of humility, makes him able to hold the dreams of the whole world in his hand and have the world feel safe in his doing so. With such a comparison, Master of Japanese Animation is the closest we can get.