Toshio Suzuki Quits
Koji Hoshino Replaces Suzuki As New Studio Ghibli President
Toshio Suzuki has stepped down from the position of president of Studio Ghibli to concentrate on producing. Former Walt Disney Japan head Koji Hoshino takes over.
Toshio Suzuki has quit his job at Studio Ghibli, the anime powerhouse that produced such films as Grave of the Fireflies, Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, announced the studio on February 1st. Koji Hoshino, the former head of Walt Disney Japan, will become Studio Ghibli's new president.
Suzuki has resigned the position in order to concentrate on producing upcoming films, like Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo on a Cliff, Goro Miyazaki and Isao Takahata's next projects. He will also sit on Ghibli's board of directors.
"As movie-making is where it all began for Studio Ghibli," he said in the announcement, "I want to focus on that and not forget my first passion."
Suzuki Integral to Studio Ghibli's Success
Toshio Suzuki is considered one of anime's most renowned producers. Aside from being the principle producer on every Hayao Miyazaki film since 1992's Porco Rosso, he was also behind Isao Takahata's award-winning My Neighbors the Yamadas, 2001's Metropolis and 2004's Innocence: Ghost in the Shell.
He also kick-started Goro Miyazaki's film career, when he encouraged him to take over the directorial reins on the smash hit Tales from Earthsea.
The elder Miyazaki and Suzuki developed their partnership in the late 1980's, when they worked together on the pivotal Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind manga at Tokuma Shoten's Animage magazine. Suzuki was the then-editor-in-chief of Animage, after helping launch the monthly.
When Hayao Miyazaki started bringing Nausicaä to the big screen, he asked Suzuki to join the production committee. Suzuki represented Tokuma Shoten during Nausicaä's production, then officially joined Ghibli in 1989, producing every subsequent Hayao Miyazaki film since then, as well as producing Takahata's animes. In 2005, Suzuki became Studio Ghibli's president, in addition to all his other duties.
Small wonder that Hayao Miyazaki once said, "If it were not for Mr. Suzuki, there wouldn't have been Studio Ghibli."
Koji Hoshino Brought Hayao Miyazaki Animes to North America
Koji Hoshino, Suzuki's replacement, has a long history with Studio Ghibli. As president of Walt Disney Home Video Japan, Hoshino was a pivotal figure in developing the studio's international acclaim. In 1996, Hoshino partnered with Ghibli to release its back catalog on home video, turning them into best sellers.
He later convinced the Walt Disney Company to release an English dub of Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke in North American theatres. Although the film (which featured a script by Neil Gaiman, and Claire Danes in the voice booth) did poorly, it set the stage for Spirited Away, which won the Best Animated Feature Film award at the 2002 Oscars. Hoshino later became the president of Walt Disney Japan, and served in that position until late last year.
He was also the executive producer on Spirited Away, and Hiroyuki Morita's 2002 film The Cat Returns, which Suzuki also worked on.
