The literary era since 1979

After visiting the Dengeki Bunko, Fangyan set off for Koganei City, a suburb of Tokyo, under the arrangement of Kadokawa Leyiko.

Studio Ghibli is located here. Since I have visited it before, this time I can say that I am familiar with the place.

In addition to Miyazaki Hayao, he was also greeted by his old partner Suzuki Toshio and long-term director Takahata Isao, who has participated in almost every one of Miyazaki's works, from "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind", "Castle in the Sky", to "Grave of the Fireflies".

This also includes the new work "Kiki's Delivery Service" which will be released in July.

"It's such a pity that I won't be able to see this movie first."

Fangyan stood quietly in front of a wall with a huge poster of "Kiki's Delivery Service" hanging on it.

Miyazaki Hayao and Suzuki Toshio exchanged glances for a while, then said with a smile:
"That's not difficult! We can prepare a small preview for Fangyan-kun!"

"Will it be too much trouble for you?"

The dialect was polite.

"When a distinguished guest comes to visit us, we should treat him well!"

Suzuki Toshio waved his hand: "Besides, we also have our own selfish motives. We hope that Fangyan-kun can write a review for Kiki's Delivery Service."

Fangyan agreed readily, and then he saw them arrange for assistants to go to the projection room to debug the equipment and prepare for the film screening.

"Actually, I took the liberty of coming here this time because of something."

This immediately attracted the attention of Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki and others, who also wanted to find out the purpose of Fangyan's trip.

"Do you still remember the promise we made to each other?"

He said it in a serious tone.

"Joining forces to create an animated film?"

Miyazaki's face looked serious.

"Yes, I am here to fulfill this promise."

As Fangyan spoke, he took out the manuscript of "Spirited Away" from his briefcase.

The eyes of everyone present immediately lit up. No matter whether it was a novel in dialect or a screenplay, they were all hard to come by in the Japanese publishing industry. In particular, "Farewell My Concubine" won the Oscar for Best Picture, which made it a legend in the entire Asian film industry.

Under the greedy gaze, Fangyan handed over the novel that had been translated into Japanese.

“That’s the kind of work I’d like to work on, a piece of children’s literature.”

"Eh!"

Miyazaki was surprised and delighted, especially when he heard that it was the first children's literature novel in dialect.

Fang Yan said, "I don't know if it suits your taste."

Although the novel "Spirited Away" is not long and the number of words does not exceed 20, it is still a novel after all. Even if Miyazaki Hayao and Suzuki Toshio read it quickly, it will take at least two or three hours, not to mention reading it carefully.

Fortunately, a preview of "Kiki's Delivery Service" was arranged, so Fangyan didn't have to wait for Miyazaki to finish reading the novel.

In the dark screening room, Dorayaki, Mizu Shingen Mochi and Taiyaki were placed on the table, and the hot steam from the teacups carried a faint fragrance.

Halfway through the movie, Takahata suddenly asked, "Fangyan-kun, what do you think?"

“It seems different from Miyazaki-san’s previous works.”

According to Fangyan, the core themes of movies like "Castle in the Sky" and "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" are "anti-war", "environmental protection" and "love and peace", but "Kiki's Delivery Service" explores the themes of growth, strength and self-identity through the independent practice journey of the 13-year-old little witch Kiki.

"How do you become an adult? What growth issues do you face between becoming more like an adult and becoming truly mature?"

“In my opinion, Kiki’s Delivery Service is more like a little girl’s youth diary, recording the setbacks she experienced while growing up, the sensitive thoughts of adolescence, and her rebirth after overcoming difficulties. It is similar to the situation of many young people who struggle to grow up alone in a big city.”

"..."

"This is the best in the country!" Takahata Isao couldn't help but sigh. He is indeed a world-famous literary giant. He can see so many things about it at the first glance.

"This is just my humble opinion."

Fangyan took a sip of tea.

"No, no, no, Mr. Fangyan is really too modest."

Isao Takahata said that the original intention of creating "Kiki's Delivery Service" was not only to explore new themes and ideas, but more importantly to seek change, because the previous "Grave of the Fireflies" had a high idea but was a box office failure, which once affected the operation of Studio Ghibli.

"So that's it..."

The dialect made Takahata Isao not worry about it, and he vowed that "Kiki's Delivery Service" would definitely achieve the same success as "My Neighbor Totoro".

"It is my honor to receive such evaluation and recognition from you!"

Takahata Isao's face was full of excitement.

Fangyan chatted with him while watching the movie until it was over, then he slowly stood up:
"In fact, this Kiki's Delivery Service is similar to the Spirited Away that I'm going to work with you on."

"is it?"

Isao Takahata walked out of the screening room.

“Spirited Away also tells the story of a girl’s independent and strong growth in a fantastic and bizarre mythological world.”

The story is told in dialect.

“They are so similar.”

Takahata Isao was surprised.

"You can ask Miyazaki-san later. He should have seen most of it."

What Fangyan said was soon confirmed. Miyazaki fell in love with "Spirited Away" almost at first sight.

But this is normal. After all, this is Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece and was once the box office champion in the history of Japanese animated films.

"Mr. Fangyan, are you really going to leave this story to us?"

Miyazaki's eyes were fiery.

Fangyan nodded, "But it will take some time to adapt the novel into a script."

Miyazaki Hayao excitedly said: "We can wait! Such a good work is worth waiting for!"

"Besides that, there is another suggestion I hope you can consider."

Fang Yan hopes to use Ming Tian Xia Company as an intermediary to facilitate the cooperation between Shang Mei Film Studio and Studio Ghibli on "Spirited Away".

Toshio Suzuki was very surprised when he heard that Shangmei Studio was involved in the investment, production and distribution of the film.

"That's it."

Fangyan spoke nonsense in a serious manner, saying that the Shangmei Studio had taken a fancy to the novel of "Spirited Away" and had repeatedly begged him to hand over the novel to the Shangmei Studio for production. The conditions they offered were better each time, but he had to keep his promise to Hayao Miyazaki, so he did not agree completely.

"Mr. Fangyan!"

Everyone couldn't help but be moved.

"But considering the current predicament of Shangmei Factory, I wonder if there is a way to have the best of both worlds?"

Fang Yan said sincerely, "It is to let the Shanghai Animation Studio participate in the movie Spirited Away."

"We can't give you a direct answer for now."

Suzuki Toshio and Miyazaki Hayao looked at each other and said, "Can you give us some time to discuss and consider this?" (End of this chapter)