<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><p class="">The current NHK Asadora is Natsuzora. As with most Asadora, it is
about a woman struggling through modern Japanese society or history and
finally succeeding in some goal. (One from 2000, titled Audrey, was about a woman involved in the Kyoto film industry.) Natsuzora specifically is about a young
woman, orphaned during the war, who decides to become an animator. This
week was the start of the next stage in the story, where she finally
starts working at the animation studio.The year is about 1957. Since the studio is called Toyo
Doga and it is making a feature length animated film ent<span class="text_exposed_show">itled
Hakujahime, anyone with a small knowledge of Japanese anime history
knows this is based on Toei Doga and the production of Hakujaden. </span></p><div class="text_exposed_show"><p class="">
So there is now lots of speculation on the net about who is the real
life model for each of the characters. It's well known that the heroine,
Okuhara Natsu (played by Hirose Suzu), is based on the pioneering woman
animator Okuhara Reiko (Okuhara's real life husband is in fact a historical
consultant on the drama; Okuhara died in 2007). Articles like the one below argue that other
characters are based on other groundbreaking women animators such as
Yasuda Michiyo (the colorist legend says even Miyazaki Hayao could never
say no to), Nakamura Kazuko (who left Toei to join Tezuka), and Ota
Akemi (who later married Miyazaki). Of course, there are characters
based on other animators such as Mori Yasuji, Otsuka Yasuo, Yabushita
Taiji, Takahata Isao, Daikuhara Akira, and Miyazaki too. As with other
Asadora, one worries how real history will be treated (such as all the
labor strife at Toei), but so far this is a must see show for anime
fans.</p><div class=""><a href="http://ghibli.jpn.org/report/natsuzora-2/" class="">http://ghibli.jpn.org/report/natsuzora-2/</a></div></div><br class=""><br class=""><div class="">
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line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; border-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; border-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; border-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; border-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class="">Aaron Gerow<br class="">Professor<br class="">Film and Media Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures</div><div class="">Director of Graduate Studies, Film and Media Studies</div><div class=""><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" class="">Yale University</span></div><div class="">143 Elm Street, Room 210<br class="">PO Box 208324<br class="">New Haven, CT 06520-<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;" class="">8324</span><br class="">USA<br class="">Phone: 1-203-432-7082<br class="">Fax: 1-203-432-6729<br class="">e-mail: <a href="mailto:aaron.gerow@yale.edu" class="">aaron.gerow@yale.edu</a></div><div class="">website: <a href="http://www.aarongerow.com" class="">www.aarongerow.com</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
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