Hayao Miyazaki, often referred to as “the Walt Disney of Japan,” is undoubtedly famous in his home country. With record-breaking films such as Academy Award-winning, Spirited Away, and the iconic, My Neighbor Totoro, it’s easily assumed that everyone in Japan has watched at least one Miyazaki movie. A recent poll conducted by a Japanese movie rental chain reveals that, actually, almost everyone in Japan has.
Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd., a Japanese company that operates TSUTAYA, a chain of movie rental stores, conducted the survey, which was taken by 1,251 TSUTAYA point card holders between the ages of 16 and 69. The survey’s first question asked if members had ever watched a film directed by Hayao Miyazaki to which 95.6 percent of respondents said that they have watched at least one. Next, the survey asked members to reveal which Miyazaki movies they have seen. Here are the results:
My Neighbor Totoro – 85.5%
Spirited Away – 83.4%
Kiki’s Delivery Service – 78.4%
Princess Mononoke – 77.3%
Castle in the Sky – 73.8%
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind – 73.1%
The Castle of Cagliostro – 65.2%
Howl’s Moving Castle – 59.3%
Porco Rosso – 58.4%
Ponyo – 55.5%
The Wind Rises – 15.3%
It appears that the classic, My Neighbor Totoro, just barely took the lead away from Spirited Away, what some believe to be Miyazaki’s finest work. With the recent announcement of Hayao Miyazaki’s retirement from directing films, it’s safe to say that he will be missed by many people in Japan and all over the world.
We here at RocketNews24 want to know how many of the films listed above our readers have seen. Take our poll below!
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