I am very remorseful that I have read none of this rundown. I have no excuse, but I definitely wanna go back and read all these!

The film is stunning. I was blown away after seeing it yesterday. It's at the same time a Very Ghibli Film while also not being much like any other Ghibli movie. I just adored it, and expect subsequent rewatches to be rewarding. Hisaishi's music, man, you nailed my exact thoughts on its minimalism. I thought of Children of the Sea in the theater! I loved how different it was while still being recognizable as a Hisaishi score. (See, this is how you do restrained and respective while still being engaging lol)

I am also reminded that I need to be careful about my admiration for creators whose work I love. Definitely disquieting to hear Miyazaki host a workplace that would qualify as abusive at times! I really enjoyed reading that interview you linked, I love hearing the "how the sausage is made" rundowns on anime (when they're not detailing inhumane working conditions...) and how the artists' styles come through on the work they do. There's definitely the same idea of an anime being the sole brainchild of the creator (like how we think of film composers), when it's in fact a collaboration that at its best is better than the sum of its creative parts.