Synopsis
Set in the future: Two men learn that a mysterious winged girl has been taken prisoner, and then decide that they must free her at any cost.
1995 ‘ジブリ実験劇場 On Your Mark’ Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Set in the future: Two men learn that a mysterious winged girl has been taken prisoner, and then decide that they must free her at any cost.
ON YOUR MARK, ON YOUR MARK Ghibli实验剧场, On Your Mark Studio Ghibli, オン・ユア・マーク, On yua maaku, On yua māku, On yua mâku, On yua maku, ON YOUR MARK 吉卜力实验剧场, На старт!, Aos Vossos Lugares, 온 유어 마크, ON YOUR MARK 吉卜力實驗劇場
Suffering from writer's block during the production of "Princess Mononoke," Miyazaki took a break to create this beautiful short film, a wordless sci-fi tale accompanied by the song "On Your Mark" by the Japanese rock duo Chage & Aska. The story follows two policemen in a post-apocalyptic world as they struggle to give a winged girl her freedom, first from a religious cult, then from the government. Beautifully animated, it is the first Miyazaki film to make use of computer-generated imagery (albeit on a very limited basis ... it still looks very much like a Miyazaki film). Not easy to find, but well worth looking for.
Another day another win for Hayao Miyazaki 🐐
Studio Ghibli’s six-minute masterpiece is a visual poem directed by THE 🐐 Hayao Miyazaki. The film, with its breathtaking animation, immersive soundtrack, and ambiguous narrative, encapsulates themes of rescue, redemption, and resilience. It’s a testament to Ghibli’s artistic excellence 🪽🪽
Even on the short film platform, Hayao Miyazaki cannot disappoint. He is such a master animation director and as with all of his films there are aspects of his filmmaking abilities that you can always count on.
First and foremost you can always count on Miyazaki to craft hand drawn animation to such detailed perfection. Every part of this creative world is so fully realized in its art direction. The second one ties into the first as animation can only go as far as the imagination takes it. Miyazaki's imagination is more vast than the celestial bodies. He creates this futuristic world almost reminiscent to that of the Blade Runner universe complete with steel skyscrapers, advertisement lights, and the mechanical…
Follow me, set me free
Trust me and we will escape from the city
I'll make it through, follow me
Follow me, set me free
Trust me and we will escape from the city
I'll make it through, prove it to you
Follow me!
GOD IS WATCHING YOU
How lucky do you have to feel as a musical group to be able to say to other people "Oh yeah, Hayao Miyazaki directed one of our music videos." More or less feels exactly like one of Studio Ghibli's films condensed into roughly seven minutes, and it works better than that may initially sound. The opening minute or so specifically also offers insight on what a full cyberpunk ala Akira from Miyazaki would have looked like. Translation: It would be the coolest fucking movie ever made. Even want to outright say there's about the same amount of bombastic and just gorgeous imagery you would want from a full feature from the iconic director just in this…
In seven minutes, Miyazaki not only mounts an emotionally and directionally coherent sci-fi epic but makes the time to restage it along several possible conclusions. His mastery of both realistic detail (the shot of a military vehicle being blown off of a bridge and sort of hanging suspended in midair for a second is instantly memorable) and gestural intimacy (all of the tender, awestruck touches our two unlikely heroes make on the angelic being they repeatedly liberate, culminating in that gorgeous hand kiss) makes all of this flow together so well while also indulging seemingly as many of his visual and thematic preoccupations as possible in the least amount of time. This honestly deserves placement among his best work.
This seven-minute long music video from a pre-Mononoke Miyazaki is better than most feature-length sci-fi films of this type. A stunningly beautiful, simple story with animation as lush and detailed as the director's feature work, a dystopic setting that hints at rich world-building while retaining the intimacy of its characters, and with a killer 90s track. I would love more than anything to see a feature length version of this.
Hayo Myizaki is a special director. It’s crazy to see how much story he fit into one seven minute music video. One of the best I’ve seen. Hayo Myizaki is on a different playing field.