Portal:Studio Ghibli

Toshio Suzuki (鈴木 敏夫, Suzuki Toshio, born August 19, 1948) is a film producer of anime and a long-time colleague of Hayao Miyazaki, as well as the former president of Studio Ghibli. Suzuki is renowned as one of Japan's most successful producers after the enormous box office success (in Japan) of many Ghibli films.

His professional career started at Tokuma Shoten, joining the company shortly after graduation. He was assigned to the planning department of Asahi Geino entertainment magazine, where he was responsible for the manga coverage page. Here he had a long anticipated meeting with cartoonist Shigeru Sugiura. In 1973 he became the editor of the magazine's supplement Comic & Comic (コミック&コミック, Komiku to Komiku), for which he worked with and befriended film directors, such as Sadao Nakajima, Eiichi Kudo and Teruo Ishii, as well as animators and manga artists, like Osamu Tezuka, George Akiyama, Kazuo Kamimura, Hōsei Hasegawa and Shotaro Ishinomori.

During a hiatus from the comic supplement, he was reassigned to the performing arts feature section of Asahi Geino, for which he covered such varied topics as bōsōzoku (Japanese motorcycle gangs), and the bombing of the headquarters of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries by the East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front. In 1975 Suzuki was assigned to the editorial department of the monthly Television Land (テレビランド, Terebi Rando), working on series such as Wakusei Robo Danguard Ace. In 1978 he became an editor for the, newly created, monthly magazine Animage, under its first editor-in-chief Hideo Ogata.

In his capacity as Animage editor he approached Isao Takahata and Miyazaki, who had worked on the animated feature film Hols: Prince of the Sun, for a feature article in the inaugural issue of the magazine but they declined. Suzuki and Miyazaki encountered each other again after the release of The Castle of Cagliostro when Suzuki again approached Miyazaki for an Animage article. This time the meetings result in an enduring collaborative relationship.

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Only Yesterday (おもひでぽろぽろ, Omohide Poro Poro, lit. "memories come tumbling down") is a 1991 Japanese animated drama film written and directed by Isao Takahata, based on the manga of the same title by Hotaru Okamoto and Yuko Tone. Toshio Suzuki produced the film and Studio Ghibli provided the animation. It was released on July 20, 1991. The ending theme song (愛は花、君はその種子 'Ai wa Hana, Kimi wa sono Tane', lit. "Love is a flower, you are its seed") is a Japanese translation of Amanda McBroom's composition "The Rose."

Only Yesterday is significant among progressive anime films in that it explores a genre traditionally thought to be outside the realm of animated subjects, in this case a realistic drama written for adults, particularly women. The film was, however, a surprise box office success, attracting a large adult audience of all genders.

The plot follows Taeko, a 27 year old, unmarried, OL who has lived her whole life in Tokyo and now works at a company there. She decides to take another trip to visit the family of the elder brother of her brother-in-law in the rural countryside to help with the safflower harvest and get away from city life. While traveling at night on a sleeper train to Yamagata, she begins to recall memories of herself as a schoolgirl in 1966, and her intense desire to go on holiday like her classmates, all of whom have family outside of the big city.

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Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, known simply as Innocence (イノセンス, Inosensu) in Japan, is a 2004 anime/computer-animated sci-fi sequel to the 1995 film Ghost in the Shell. Released in Japan on March 6, 2004, and in the US on September 17, 2004, Innocence had a production budget of approximately $20 million (approx. 2 billion yen). To raise the sum, Production I.G studio's president, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, asked Studio Ghibli's president, Toshio Suzuki, to co-produce. It is the only Disney/Studio Ghibli film to be animated and produced by Production I.G.

With a story loosely connected to the manga by Shirow Masamune, the film was written and directed by Ghost in the Shell director Mamoru Oshii. The film was honored best sci-fi film at the 2004 Nihon SF Taisho Awards and was in competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. The soundtrack for the film was released under the name Innocence O.S.T. and a related novel called Innocence: After the Long Goodbye was released on February 29, 2004. This film makes many allusions and references to other famous works, such as The Future Eve. The foreign DVD release of the film faced many issue ranging from licensing to audio.

The story is loosely based on Ghost in the Shell manga chapter "Robot Rondo". Opening in 2032, Public Security Section 9 cybernetic operative Batou is teamed with Togusa, an agent with very few cybernetic upgrades, following the events of Ghost in the Shell.

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