NEWS

For a fleeting afternoon in 2004 at the Monnaie de Paris, the planets of imagination aligned to bring two of the biggest sculptors of international pop culture together. Admittedly, this wasn't the first time that Franco-Belgian comics pioneer (and Humanoids co-founder) Mœbius crossed paths with Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki. But it was the first time the meeting was filmed as an (amazing) joint interview, which you can watch below. 

Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki notes in the introduction that Mœbius (neé Jean Giraud) had made a surprise visit to the studio after reading the 1982 manga incarnation of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Miyazaki notes that Mœbius was a huge inspiration on that project, as was his Arzach series, originally serialized in Metal Hurlant starting with the debut issue in 1975. 

Mœbius' appreciation of Miyazaki is slightly less expected: the artist cites a deep, enamored appreciation of rural Europe as a benchmark of Ghibli's aesthetic. Miyazaki agrees, saying that working on films like Spirited Away—which revolved around Japanese folklore and iconography—required a different approach. 

It's also worth noting that both creators worked on the 1989 animated feature Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, with Mœbius even contributing a script draft. You can see some of Mœbius' concept art here. 

Watch the full interview between Hayao Miyazaki and Mœbius below, and a hat tip to Brian Michael Bendis for sharing: