Beyond Ghibli: “Shinkai - Not Separation, But Connection”
There’s a very particular joy you experience when discovering a new artist you really like. Whether it’s a musician, actor, writer, director, or any number of other talents—that sense that you’ve become acquainted with someone who not only shows incredible abilities at the moment but also promises the potential for even more to come. Sure, they could falter and never reach that height again for numerous reasons. But that moment when you first glimpse this new (to you) and exciting voice is a moment of a rapturous discovery that acts as a key to finding so much more.
This is doubly true of the YouTube channel Beyond Ghibli. One of the greatest video essayists on YouTube (yeah, I said it), Beyond Ghibli (aka Joe O’Connell) dives into Japanese media and culture—mostly in anime TV series and films, though branches out to other ventures, too—not for reviews or critiques but to look at the deeper themes explored by a particular title or artist. Beyond Ghibli defines its channel thusly:
Beyond Ghibli is a celebration of Japanese media, be it anime, manga, video games or beyond!! These aren't reviews or critiques - instead, BG will be full of wholehearted recommendations; where newcomers can start their journey, and where veterans can find their next favourite . My videos are deep dives into some of the country's most beloved properties and explorations of their creation: from the minds that brought them to life, to the thoroughly Japanese culture and themes woven throughout. I hope you'll enjoy exploring it all with me!
Not only does Beyond Ghibli boast incredible writing and editing skills (and O’Connell’s ridiculously smooth narration voice), but shows real philosophical pondering and empathetic interpretation that makes each installment hit home for every viewer, no matter if the subject at hand is a volleyball team, or a trio of homeless adventurers, or a running theme of disconnected people find ways to bond across time and space.
The “doubly true” aspect of discovering something new and incredible applies to Beyond Ghibli a great talent to discover, but the channel also shines a light on titles that people may not have heard of or artists that they didn’t realize had such extensive filmographies. The video essay below is about Makoto Shinkai, the anime filmmaker behind some of the most heartbreaking-yet-heartwarming of the past 20 years: THE GARDEN OF WORDS, THE PLACE PROMISED IN OUR EARLY DAYS, WEATHERING WITH YOU, 5 CENTIMETERS PER SECOND, YOUR NAME., and some other video shorts and TV episodes reveal an incredible artist not just capable of crafting emotionally engaging stories but doing so in visually resplendent ways that feel utterly unique while resonating with the familiarity that comes from artists capturing sensations we struggle to put into words.
If you like Beyond Ghibli, be sure to subscribe to the YouTube Channel, please follow O’Connell on Twitter, and support the Patreon if you are able to do so.