Miyazaki Mailing List

The Miyazaki Mailing List (MML) is a Studio Ghibli-related email discussion group.

What is this list about?

This mailing list is for discussion of the works, studio, and colleagues of Hayao Miyazaki, a writer, director, and producer of Japanese animated films.

See also Topics of discussion.

What is its purpose?

This mailing list provides an English-language forum for discussion of topics related to Hayao Miyazaki, a wonderful storyteller and a director of a number of box-office successes in Japan.

This list was created in the United States at Brown University in 1991 to facilitate discussion among fans of Miyazaki's works. Japanese animation fandom, as with many other special-interest communities, began as small, isolated groups of people who got in touch over the Internet and gradually connected with similar groups all over the United States and around the world.

Japanese animation fandom in particular has had the longest Internet presence of all animation fan groups, with rec.arts.anime being the first and oldest running animation-related newsgroup.

At first, subscribers were people with interests in comic books and manga (Japanese comics and graphic novels), especially Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind, Hayao Miyazaki's epic work, and the small number of films he'd released before 1991: Nausicaä (1984), Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), and Kiki's Delivery Service (1989). Thus the address nausicaa@brownvm.brown.edu for the mailing list. This name has recently changed to nausicaa@listserv.brown.edu due to a recent transfer of the list server to a newer machine.

Over time, as copies of Miyazaki's films became more accessible in the form of fansubs, special screenings, and film festivals, Miyazaki fandom grew, and mailing list subscribers grew beyond Japanese fans, serious comic book collectors, film students, and students of Japanese popular culture. People started joining the list who were following the Viz Comics English translation of the Nausicaä graphic novels, or who had seen one or more of Miyazaki's films, or who had recently been introduced to Japanese animation and were recommended the works of Miyazaki.

Subscribers are quite diverse these days. They include students, teachers, professors, amateur and professional artists, animation art collectors and dealers, film studio employees and executives, game software developers, publishers of books on relevant subjects, members of the press, and professionals in many other industries.

Why join this list?

People typically join this list to talk about the issues raised by these films and compare their reactions with others. There is a strong sense of community among subscribers, a shared respect for the works of Miyazaki and his colleagues, and an interest in sharing these works with others, far and wide.

People also join this list to talk about the other works by Hayao Miyazaki and his colleagues, such as his epic comic titled Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind, which ran (with some interruptions) for 13 years before completion.

Subscribers have joined this list from at least 23 different countries, and provide great insight into the influence of Studio Ghibli's works on people around the world.

Some of these people have seen or read every work by Miyazaki et al., others joined after having seen the film Princess Mononoke, or the other Studio Ghibli films which have toured North America.

If you wish to join, please see below.

Who is on the list?

Fans

Fans join this list to stay up to date with, or contribute, exciting news about the release of Miyazaki's films in North America, and the touring film festival of the remainder of Studio Ghibli's films. Some of these fans operate popular web sites featuring up-to-date news, information, and links to other pages on the subject of Japanese animation.

Students

Student subscribers are often members of campus anime clubs. After graduation, they often remain active in their local fan communities, and participate in or contribute to the promotion of awareness of Japanese animation, taking whatever opportunities they have to also promote the works of Miyazaki to their friends, family, and coworkers.

Teachers

Teachers in many schools have accepted suggestions from students to integrate the comic or other films of Studio Ghibli as topics of discussion with the standard course material. For example, there is a college-level class using the comic series Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind as required reading.

Industry professionals

Art and animation professionals: While it might seem natural for people in the animation industry to subscribe to a mailing list about animation, this list is of particular interest because of the respect animators generally have for the inspirational works of Hayao Miyazaki.

Collectors and dealers: When Ruby Persson landed the exclusive rights to distribute licensed replicas of Studio Ghibli animation cels in North America, where did she go to reach the most fans most quickly? The Miyazaki Mailing List, and by extension, Nausicaa.net.

Film studio employees and executives: How better to keep tabs on fan reaction to the films of Studio Ghibli than to be subscribed to the largest, most influential online gathering of its fans?

Computer game software professionals: Selling computer games nowadays can depend on richly detailed artwork, compelling characters, and inspirational stories to draw consumers in and keep their attention. Miyazaki's name has appeared in the special thanks credits of a number of popular computer games.

Publishers and authors: Whenever a hot topic receives a lot of media attention, publishers are quick to find books to publish to feed the public's thirst for information. For the non-traditional market of foreign animation, what better place to learn about the market for books about Miyazaki's films than from the mailing list devoted to discussion of his works, to which a number of writers on the subject are already subscribed?

Members of the press

Professional and amateur journalists have been subscribed to the Miyazaki Mailing List to be among the first to know about newsworthy events related to the works of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. The publications and web sites these journalists work for have been spotted quoting information and material which has appeared on the Miyazaki Mailing List and the Nausicaa.net web site.

Subscribers have reported hundreds of sightings of articles and reviews about Princess Mononoke and other Studio Ghibli films in the press. Whether or not their articles or reviews recommended that people watch these films, their articles have not always benefited from the up-to-date and accurate information available on the Miyazaki Mailing List and the Nausicaa.net web site.

We would like to extend an invitation to representatives of the media and entertainment industry to join this mailing list to take advantage of it to improve the quality of their research into the subject of Hayao Miyazaki, his colleagues, studio, and films. We will be the first to admit we don't have all of the answers, but we certainly have the resources and contacts necessary to assist someone with their questions.

Companies bringing Studio Ghibli's films to North America and the rest of the world, and why we support them

From a message to the mailing list by the list owner Michael Johnson.

It's not often that this list hears from professionals in the media and entertainment industries, but I'm glad that it does because this helps give companies a human face in the eyes of fans. It helps the rest of us understand the hard-working people who bring to us the stories we enjoy so much, the movies we love to watch, the soundtracks we love to listen to, the books we love to read, and the merchandise we love to wear or cuddle or display. We want to show the world that we have some wonderful, thought-provoking illustrated literature and film to share with them.

As we have seen on this list since the news about the Disney-Tokuma Deal was announced [in 1996], fan opinion of the chances Studio Ghibli's films have in this country and around the world rose from an all-time low ("Disney has now bought the rights to Ghibli films and will bury them"), to incredibly hopeful, yet guarded, optimism ("Please, Miramax, tell us the Mononoke box office figures are enough to convince you to release all Ghibli films nationwide to *local* theaters"). Part of this improved outlook stems from communication with the representatives of the companies involved in the projects to bring first Kiki's Delivery Service, then the Ghibli festival, then Princess Mononoke, then Castle in the Sky to North America.

Team Ghiblink, which maintains the Nausicaa.net web site, has been very fortunate to have established contact with representatives from these companies for the purpose of bringing you the information you want to know about the fate of these films, and for the purpose of bringing your requests and feedback to their attention. I can tell you that the month between September and October 3rd of [1999] were the busiest and most exciting days of my life, as we received permission to premiere the Miramax trailer of Princess Mononoke on Nausicaa.net and collected feedback about it from fans all over the world.

Do you remember the complaints about the pronunciation of "Miyazake" and "Mononoki" in the trailer? Miramax corrected that and released new trailers! They would never have done so if they'd ignored our feedback.

Do you remember the complaints that there were too few cinemas showing Princess Mononoke on October 29th and November 5th [1999]? Miramax opened a test market in Minnesota to see how well a wide release would be received by the public. They would never have done so if you hadn't helped encourage all of your fan clubs, friends, and families within reach of a limited release theater to go see the film and show their support, despite whatever you might have felt about the trailer, the choice of voice actors, or the company releasing the film.

Do you remember the complaints about the lack of official Studio Ghibli merchandise? Tokuma International and Studio Ghibli went to great lengths to ensure that JSR Direct made T-shirts, posters, keychains, and jewelry for the North American market that met very strict quality requirements. Tokuma and Ghibli also worked very closely with Ruby Persson to guarantee the quality of the limited edition Studio Ghibli cel replicas she is licensed [as] the exclusive distributor for. Stone Bridge Press, as with any publisher, takes risks whenever deciding to publish books on niche topics like Japanese Animation. Helen [McCarthy]'s lovely book [Hayao Miyazaki - Master of Japanese Animation] presents Miyazaki's work with great respect that isn't lost on the reader. Hyperion/Miramax Books published the English translation of the Art Of Mononoke Hime [Princess Mononoke]. And don't forget that Milan Records released the official English soundtrack.

Do you remember the complaints about too little advertising for Princess Mononoke? Miramax isn't dropping the ball. Their choice of famous actors for the voices, their choice of writer for the English script, their use of Team Ghiblink press material for their official press kit, and their question to Team Ghiblink "Can you tell us which celebrities are known to be fans of Miyazaki?" all show that they're doing their level best to encourage support among influential people, and among people who look up to those influential people -- whether those influential people are celebrities with a strong fan following, or are the "Number one Miyazaki resource on the Internet" as some have called us.

We have a lot to thank these people and companies for. We have long wished that we could do more than share n-th generation fansubs with our friends and families. Now that Disney and its subsidiaries have the distribution rights to Studio Ghibli's films, we can. We told them what we wanted, we complained bitterly about their perceived mistakes in making them available to us, and surprisingly enough they had the patience and good grace to listen to us, to take steps to give us what we asked for, and to correct their mistakes.

We owe them our gratitude and our full support.

Thank you all for your support of the Miramax release of Princess Mononoke. ...of the Milan Records release of the official English soundtrack to Princess Mononoke. ...of the Cowboy Booking International's Retrospective of the Legendary Studio Ghibli (the Ghibli film festival touring North America). ...of the Hyperion/Miramax Books publication of the translated Art Of Mononoke Hime book. ...of Helen McCarthy's book Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation, published by Stone Bridge Press. ...of the Buena Vista Home Entertainment video release of Kiki's Delivery Service. ...of the Fox Video release of My Neighbor Totoro, and the limited Troma [Films] theatrical release. ...of the Viz Comics publication of the translated Nausicaä manga. And lastly, thank you all for your support of the Miyazaki Web over the past five years, and this Miyazaki Mailing List for the past eight. We couldn't have helped make Mononoke a success without your help!

All of these things have demonstrated that Miyazaki's and Studio Ghibli's works are commercially viable products in North America. If such success can continue to be demonstrated, releases will continue and will be more likely to spread to other countries around the world.

Let's continue to show our gratitude and full support. Anything less would jeopardize the success of the most promising effort to bring Studio Ghibli's works to North America and the world. Do we want that on our conscience?

I hope that this list can continue to live up to its charter as a Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group -- one which is seen as a well behaved, productive, and rewarding forum for topics related to director Miyazaki, his colleagues, his studio, and their works, whether the participants are consumers, critics, or professionals. It would be especially nice to see representatives from Tokuma Shoten, Studio Ghibli, Disney, Buena Vista, Miramax, Hyperion, Milan Records, and JSR Direct as participating members of this group in addition to those professional artists, engineers, authors, and publishers who [have already subscribed]. Perhaps even the musicians, voice actors, and film critics we've read so much about would also consider joining us. ^_^

(Invitations such as this one tend to fall on deaf ears when coming from "mere fans," -- I know, I've tried -- so if those of you in the industry have contacts in the companies mentioned above, or with the artists, actors, and critics mentioned above, please consider extending an invitation for them to join this list with your endorsement. If they have misgivings, please let me know so that we can see what we can do about making participation in the list more useful to them. If this means creating new, more specialized, lower-traffic mailing lists or masking their true e-mail addresses, that can easily be arranged. Thank you!)

The list owners

The list owners can be reached by e-mail at the address nausicaa-request@listserv.brown.edu. They stand ready to assist you with your subscription, but ask that you try your best to use the information provided in these online documents to help you guide yourself to the answers that you seek whenever possible.

Michael S. Johnson Nausicaa list co-owner - primary owner, moderator, policy, error messages Rachel Blackman Nausicaa list co-owner Theo Hua Nausicaa list co-owner - subscriptions Steven Feldman Nausicaa list founder Note regarding list ownership

If the primary list owner is unavailable for any reason, the other list owners are empowered to act on his behalf.

Note regarding list policy enforcement

Subscribers are encouraged not only to follow the rules and policies of this mailing list, but to help enforce them. The list owners are often busy with other responsibilities (full-time jobs and other hobbies, for example), and can't be as vigilant as they'd like to be.

If you receive a reasonable request from another subscriber to adhere to the list's policies, please take heed. If there are any complaints about the activities of the list owners or other subscribers, please contact the list owners.

Where can I find more information about this list?

Read this page, for starters. You may also send the text "INFO NAUSICAA" in the body of an e-mail to the address listserv@listserv.brown.edu, or send your question to the list owners at nausicaa-request@listserv.brown.edu.

When was this list created?

This list was created on April 11th, 1991 by Steven Feldman, at that time a student at Brown University. Since then, primary list ownership has been handed down twice: to Mauricio Tavares and later to Michael Johnson.

The Miyazaki Web was created on December 31st, 1994 on TCP.COM, and moved to its own domain, Nausicaa.net, on April 26th, 1997.

The Mailing List, and how to use it

The mailing list is run on the machine listserv.brown.edu. A LISTSERV user's guide is available for those who wish to learn more about the list server and its features to take control of their subscriptions.

Your subscription, and how to control it

If you lost that piece of welcome mail that you received when you subscribed to this list - you remember the one with all of the helpful information about how to send messages to the list and unsubscribe, the one that warned you to keep it somewhere safe because you'd need it some day, right? - then you're in luck: this section will help you with most of that.

Features and services of this mailing list

Please select from the following:

Archives and subscription management on the web
Subscribing
Unsubscribing
Posting
Receiving copies of your own messages
Digests
Hiding from other subscribers
Stopping mail temporarily
Changing your e-mail address
Problems and troubleshooting

Subscribing: How do I subscribe?

Shortcut: MLSUB

To subscribe: send the words subscribe nausicaa FirstName LastName in the message body (NOT the subject) to the e-mail address listserv@listserv.brown.edu. For example, "subscribe nausicaa John Doe". Avoid putting any other text in your message, as it might confuse the list server.

Note about our anti-spammer policy

Due to the risk of the list being targeted by spammers, all subscription requests will be delayed by one week before approval. This is to give spammers time to be reported to authorities and have their e-mail addresses deactivated. When we approve the subscription requests one week later, deactivated e-mail addresses immediately bounce mail to the list owners, making it easy for us to cancel those subscriptions.

Unsubscribing: How do I unsubscribe?

Shortcut: MLUNSUB

To unsubscribe: send the words unsubscribe nausicaa in the body of a message (NOT the subject) to the listserv@listserv.brown.edu. Avoid putting any other text in your message, as it might confuse the list server.

Posting: How do I send messages to the list?

Before sending your message, please be sure that it abides by the list's rules and policies. Otherwise, if you are not sure, then please consult a list owner to find out if your message is appropriate for the list.

Send new messages to the e-mail address nausicaa@listserv.brown.edu. To reply to a message posted by someone else, use your e-mail software's reply feature. Note that to reach the list, your e-mail software will need to send your reply to nausicaa@listserv.brown.edu.

REPRO: How do I (not) receive copies of messages I send to the list?

You can tell the list server to start or stop sending you copies of messages you send to the list. New subscribers default to receiving copies of their own messages. People who subscribed before about 1998 did not default to receiving copies of their own messages to the list.

To start receiving copies of your messages, send the text set nausicaa repro in the body of an e-mail to the address listserv@listserv.brown.edu. Avoid putting any other text in your message, as it might confuse the list server.
To stop receiving copies of your messages, send the text set nausicaa norepro in the body of an e-mail to the address listserv@listserv.brown.edu. Avoid putting any other text in your message, as it might confuse the list server.

Digests: How do I receive daily compilations of messages, instead of individual messages?

You might prefer to periodically receive one large piece of e-mail (a digest) from the mailing list, instead of receiving each individual message sent to the list.

To begin receiving digests, send the text set nausicaa digest in the body of an e-mail to the address listserv@listserv.brown.edu.
To receive individual messages instead of digests, send the text set nausicaa nodigest in the body of an e-mail to the e-mail address listserv@listserv.brown.edu.

How do I conceal the fact that I am a subscriber from other subscribers?

As an anti-spamming precaution, only the list owners may request a list of subscribers from the list server. We will NEVER release this information to anyone without permission of the subscribers.

WARNING: Because only subscribers may post messages to the list, posting a message to the mailing list will reveal to everyone else that you are a subscriber. Your message will be recorded in the list's archives, which are publicly available. If you wish anonymity when posting messages to the list, please contact the list owners for assistance.

Going on vacation: What if I won't be reading my e-mail for several days?

You might wish to temporarily stop receiving messages from the mailing list. This might be due to planned absence from your e-mail, or because you are already subscribed to the list under another address.

To temporarily stop receiving messages, send the text set nausicaa nomail in the body of an e-mail to the e-mail address listserv@listserv.brown.edu.
To start receiving messages again, send the text set nausicaa mail in the body of an e-mail to the e-mail address listserv@listserv.brown.edu.

Note: this does not affect whether or not mail is delivered to you as individual messages or as digests.

Changing your e-mail address: What if I want list mail to be delivered somewhere else?

If for any reason you wish to receive messages from the list at a different address, you have three options.

Use the list server CHANGE command. The list server software gives you the opportunity to update your subscription e-mail address yourself. From your old subscription e-mail address, send an e-mail with the body of the message change nausicaa your-new-address to the address listserv@listserv.brown.edu. At your new e-mail address, wait for a message to arrive from the list server (listserv@listserv.brown.edu) requesting you to confirm your new subscription address. Follow its instructions to complete the change of address of your subscription.
Subscribe and unsubscribe. You may subscribe from your new address and unsubscribe from your old address. This sequence (subscribe from new address, unsubscribe from old address) is important if you don't want to risk missing any messages from the list. However, if you don't tell the list owners what is going on, we might not notice that this is a change of address and simply assume that you are a new subscriber and force your new subscription request to be delayed one week as per our anti-spammer policy for all new subscribers.
Contact the list owners. You may contact the list owners with your request to change the e-mail address under which you are subscribed.

Problems with your subscription

Problems with your subscription can be caused by a number of things. If you're in a hurry, take a look at the Troubleshooting chart for an idea of what could be wrong with your subscription, what caused it, and what you can do about it. If you're really in a hurry, please contact the Problems receiving messages from the list

The list owners occasionally receive error messages about problems delivering mail to subscribers. Sometimes, so many of these error messages arrive that the list owners are forced to take action to avoid drowning in error messages. Most of these list owner actions will affect your subscription, if your subscription is the one that the error messages are reporting about. How they will affect your subscription depends on the problem.

Problems sending messages to the list: Occasionally, some subscribers stray away from the rules of the list. When the list owners become aware of this, they issue warnings or take action to avoid repeated violations of the list's rules.

Troubleshooting your subscription
What happened to my subscription?	What issues did the list owners notice about me or my subscription to cause this?	What can I do about this?
I didn't receive a copy of my message to the mailing list.	None.	Send an e-mail with the body of the message `query nausicaa` to listserv@listserv.brown.edu. If LISTSERV tells you that your subscription options include "NOREPRO - You do not receive a copy of your own postings," then this should help. If that also doesn't work, then contact the list owners for assistance.
Nobody responded to my message to the list.	None.	First read the archives to make sure your message was actually received by the list server and distributed to other subscribers. If you don't see your message in the archives, try the remedy for "I'm not receiving messages from the mailing list anymore." If that doesn't work either, then contact the list owners for assistance.
I'm not receiving messages from the mailing list anymore.	Several possiblities: "Mailbox full" "User unknown" "Host unknown" "Server unreachable" "Unable to deliver for X days" "We do not relay" etc.	Send an e-mail with the body of the message `query nausicaa` to listserv@listserv.brown.edu. If LISTSERV replies and tells you that you are not a subscriber of the list anymore, you will have to resubscribe. If LISTSERV replies and tells you that you are still subscribed, but that your subscription options now include `NOMAIL` and `NOPOST`, contact the list owners to let them know you can send and perhaps receive mail properly again.
I'm not able to post messages to the list anymore.	Any of the above errors, or one or more of your messages to the list violated the list's rules of conduct.	Same as above.
My messages to the list are held for review by a list owner.	Two possiblities: If you subscribed after March 2004: All new subscribers are set to be moderated by default. This means that all messages by new subscribers are held for review by a list moderator. When the list moderators decide your messages meet the quality standards of the list, then you will be allowed to moderate your own messages. If you subscribed before March 2004: Your subscription may have been changed from self-moderation to list moderator moderation because one or more of your messages violated the list's rules of conduct. This is most commonly due to overquoting.	If you have any questions about why your messages are being held, please ask the list owners. If the list owners notice your messages are not violating any list rules anymore, your messages will eventually not be held for review anymore.
I'm not subscribed to the mailing list anymore.	Several possibilites: The list server detected that messages could not be delivered to you properly and automatically unsubscribed you. List owners received too many errors of any kind (more than about 10 or 20). You were engaged in irresponsible or abusive behavior, or repeatedly violated the list's rules.	If you have any questions about why you were unsubscribed, please ask the list owners.

Rules and Policies

The rules and policies for this list are based in part on existing guidelines for good behavior online, a.k.a. "netiquette."

An Internet standards document called RFC 1855. For the technically minded, it will provide some interesting background information. In case of any contradiction between RFC 1855 and this document, this document wins.

Comments and suggestions about these rules are welcome, and should be directed at the list owners, not the mailing list.

Rules list

Please stay on topic.
Please limit quoting in your messages.
Please follow these guidelines about message formatting.
Please avoid attaching files to your messages.
Please find out if your question has already been answered before asking it on the list.
Please be on your best behavior.
Please write your messages in English.

Consequences of breaking list rules

An exact policy for how to deal with people who break these rules has not yet been set. Current policy is to send the subscriber a warning, or to set hir subscription to REVIEW until the list owners are confident the misbehavior will stop. Suggestions, directed at the list owners, are welcome.