Studio Ghibli hires male directors because they tend to have a “more idealistic” approach to fantasy than women.

Producer Yoshiaki Nishimura attempted to explain the Japanese animation studio’s lack of women when asked whether it will ever shake up its gender balance during a Guardian interview.

“It depends on what kind of a film it would be,” he said. “Unlike live action, with animation we have to simplify the real world. Women tend to be more realistic and manage day-to-day lives very well. Men on the other hand tend to be more idealistic - and fantasy films need that idealistic approach. I don’t think it’s a coincidence men are picked.”

Despite such gender stereotyping, Studio Ghibli is known for pushing complex and inspiring female characters to the forefront of its movies. Latest release When Marine Was There follows the story of an androgynous 12-year-old girl who is brilliant at drawing and has never ‘fitted in’ while San, the lead character of the classic Princess Mononoke, was raised by wolves to become a powerful female warrior. Then of course there was the fierce princess Nausicaa from 1984’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.

Studio Ghibli's feature films Show all 20 1 /20 Studio Ghibli's feature films Studio Ghibli's feature films Princess Mononoke 1997 Studio Ghibli's feature films Castle in the Sky 1986 Studio Ghibli's feature films Grave of the Fireflies 1988 Studio Ghibli's feature films My Neighbor Totoro 1988 Studio Ghibli's feature films Kiki's Delivery Service 1989 Studio Ghibli's feature films Only Yesterday 1991 Studio Ghibli's feature films Porco Rosso 1992 Studio Ghibli's feature films Pom Poko 1994 Studio Ghibli's feature films Whisper of the Heart 1995 Studio Ghibli's feature films My Neighbors the Yamadas 1999 Studio Ghibli's feature films Spirited Away 2001 Studio Ghibli Studio Ghibli's feature films The Cat Returns 2002 Studio Ghibli's feature films Howl's Moving Castle 2004 Studio Ghibli's feature films Tales from Earthsea 2006 Studio Ghibli's feature films Ponyo 2008 Studio Ghibli's feature films Arrietty 2010 Studio Ghibli's feature films From Up on Poppy Hill 2011 Studio Ghibli's feature films The Wind Rises 2013 Studio Ghibli's feature films The Tale of Princess Kaguya 2013 Studio Ghibli's feature films When Marnie Was There 2014



The studio’s legendary director Hayao Miyazaki retired in 2014 but made his attitude towards female characters clear in 2013. “Many of my movies have strong female leads - brave, self-sufficient girls that don’t think twice about fighting for what they believe in with all their heart,” he said. “They’ll need a friend, or a supporter, but never a saviour. Any woman is just as capable of being a hero as any man.”

Perhaps it’s time that Miyazaki’s successors, including Nishimura and director Hiromasa Yonebayashi, had similar faith in women working in film, although with Studio Ghibli struggling financially with the cost of making hand-drawn animation it sadly remains to be seen whether there will be any new directors at all.

“The slim-down process has begun,” Nishimura said. “There is no in-house production at the moment.”