Earlier this week it was reported that animator Hayao Miyazaki had decided to retire, having apparently grown nauseated at the sounds of delight emitted by his movies’ audiences, the peals of eternal childlike laughter that are now like an ipecac to him. Of course, Miyazaki has said he’s retiring before, so naturally this report was met with some skepticism—skepticism that, like your repugnant joy, Miyazaki has now totally done away with in a press conference. “I know I’ve said I would retire many times in the past. Many of you must think, `Once again.’ But this time I am quite serious,” Miyazaki said today, concluding, “This will never happen again” in regard to making proclamations that he’s quitting the business, as well as that magical feeling you get when you see a new Miyazaki film.
Instead, he says he’ll devote himself to “refreshing” the exhibits in his Ghibli Museum and keeping himself busy, albeit at a much slower pace, on doing other things besides the grueling ordeal of animating feature films, a process that has become increasingly difficult for the 72-year-old. “There’s an end to everything,” Miyazaki concluded, both of his animation career and your innocence.