“In the month of July of the year 2008, the human race was on the verge of complete extinction. In moments, electromagnetic weapons wiped out more than half of humans from the face of the planet. The cataclysm caused a traumatic shift of the earth’s axis, and the continents ended up almost entirely submerged by the waters ”. With these words, in September 1981 (on different days, given the broadcast on private broadcasters), he presented himself to the Italian public Conan. The boy of the future, an animated series with which this Hayao Miyazaki signs his first direction.
Set in 2028 and based on the children’s novel The incredible tide, which Alexander Key published in 1970 and which will arrive in Italy 29 years later (for Kappa Edizioni), the cartoon tells the vestiges of a world swept away by a nuclear conflict twenty years earlier. A world in which the survivors have been forced to live in the few lands that have emerged and to start all over again, with only the resources offered by nature. The Conan of the title is a child, he lives on the Lost Island with his grandfather, who survived the war, and is a fisherman, like those sung by Lucio Dalla or Fabrizio De André. One morning, after battling the White Nose shark as if it were junk, Conan finds a lifeless girl on the beach, shipwrecked from who knows where. It is Lana and she will be the one to tell him and his grandfather how there are other survivors in the world, mostly gathered in Indastria, the only city left, dominated by a totalitarian regime. And it will again be she, soon kidnapped by the army of Indastria, to trigger Conan’s journey away from his Island, towards a world and humanity to be rebuilt.
The one of Conan. The boy of the future it is a simple story, explicit in its metaphors: it is the adventure of a child and his friends to discover a transient and fallen adult world, a world to be saved. However, it is the most effective type of story if it is told by Miyazaki and a handful of collaborators who, in hindsight, would appear to be composed of undisputed masters of anime Japanese: Yasuo Otsuka, the animator of Lupin III, Yoshiyuki Tomino, who inspired by Human colonies in space, the same book that today innervates Jeff Bezos’ space ambitions, was soon invented Gundam; and Hisao Takahata, a friend of Miyazaki and with him founder, in 1985, of Studio Ghibli.
Yet, first released in 1978 by Japan’s national broadcaster NHK, the series had been ignored. A question of production delays, wrong airing time and low popularity of its authors. It doesn’t matter: a second placement in the schedule and its purchase in the West, Italy in the lead, would have made the series known everywhere, delivering it to history as a cornerstone of animation. short.
Proof of this are the recent release of its remastered version on Amazon Prime Video (and on Vvvvid) and a luxurious limited edition box set, the Ultimate Edition, published by the Italian Dynit last May.
Seeing her again today, the reasons for so much affection – more than so much success – seem obvious: as if it were a trivial matter, Conan tells the dichotomy nature / culture, as the philosopher Ferdinand Tönnies would have said, the dialectic of society / community. She contrasts, hopefully, the innocence of the new generations with the adult lust for power, which leaves nothing in order to take everything. These are the themes of forty years ago, capable of making people seem Conan a work created this morning. It is a manifesto, a declaration of intent in which the authors – and which authors – insert all the elements that will distinguish their poetics in the years to come and will become the trademark of Studio Ghibli: well-finished characters, sober and elegant style of drawings, handcrafted special effects and, concealed, moral messages suggested with discreet clarity.
Behind the marked spirit of adventure that drives the series – Miyazaki’s favorite to the much more politicized tone of the American Key – important questions arise. The result is a profound ecological awareness and a condemnation of the reckless use of science and of class (or wealth) divisions which are very current.
If only this were the case, only “current”, it would already be a lot. The fact is that Conan speaks a language so essential that it is out of time. The way in which, in one episode, Lana saves Conan from drowning, that is by blowing the air into his mouth, is the most delicate and powerful way to represent the vitality of a child kiss, but also an ante-litteram reversal of gender roles. . And as Miyazaki will be able to do from then on, everything, in his story, happens with the fluidity of simple things, capable of revealing the extraordinary in life: Conan, barefoot, always and only in a tank top and shorts, is strong like a bull, maybe two, and sporting superhuman endurance. But also for him, as for Lana’s telepathic powers, it is natural unawareness that breaks through the incredible to make it seem real. Like the bumblebee of Antoine Magnan’s (wrong) theories (The flight of insects, 1934), who flies because he is unaware of the physical laws that would prevent him from doing so, Conan does not know that it would be impossible for him to crumble chains or resist ten minutes underwater; he does not know that crossing the ocean on a raft would be unthinkable even for the best of navigators. This is why Miyazaki allows it to him and it seems to us the most natural, true and beautiful in the world.
Forty years after the debut of an eternal work, recovering it is perhaps a duty, certainly recommended. Carlo Cavazzoni is well aware of this, who, at the head of the video sector for Dynit and with Michele Stagni, oversaw the editions now visible online and in the version for collectors.
Cavazzoni, what were the productive vicissitudes of Conan. The boy of the future?
“It was commissioned in 1978 by a Japanese national network, NHK, and for Miyazaki it was Miyazaki’s first experience directing a TV series. His scrupulousness and his meticulousness in the realization of the animations and the backdrops created delays and conflicts with the producers for the overrun of the budgets. Not surprisingly, after this experience, Miyazaki decided to abandon the production of the series, which limited his creativity too much, to devote himself only to cinema films, which had higher budgets and allowed him to express himself better. Which makes it Conan unique in its kind, both for the quality of its realization and because it is the only series entirely directed by the Maestro “.
Today the catalogs of the main streaming platforms seem to witness a vigorous return of the anime. Do the younger generations appreciate them?
“I have been working in this sector since the mid 90s, first as a distributor then for Dynit Italia, and I can say that I know him. Yet I do not hide constant surprises: since the 70s, and I believe continuously, Italy has shown a dispassionate love for Japan and local animation. It is a reciprocated admiration, of course, I think due to a mutual cultural attraction. That said, yes, there is a renewed interest in Japanese animation, to which I believe the pandemic has indirectly contributed: anime adapt to contemporary rhythms, because since the 70s their duration has always been 22, 25 minutes, ideal for fast entertainment, which however generates that regular interest, capable of gluing the viewer in front of the screen ”.
Why a generation that loves gaming and exports should watch Conan?
“Because it’s one of those series that should be seen by everyone. It occurs to me that when we released the reissue of the box in blu-ray, with the excuse of showing it to his daughter, a friend of mine saw it all over again. Result? The whole family ate her with the same passion. I believe that Conan is one of those rare cases where history is timeless. For two reasons: it has a science fiction context, which without a unique temporal collocation allows it to ‘not grow old’, and it is one of the best made series, which still makes it a delight for the eyes today ”.
Let’s deepen: what is the secret that makes it an “eternal” series?
“Everyone could give a different answer. What seduced me was the contents, atypical for the time: in the 70s cartoons talked about robots, sports and little else. In this case, however, the story came from a novel, reworked by an amazing Miyazaki in enhancing its, I would say, universal aspects, such as man’s inability to learn from his mistakes. A characteristic of adults, which, however, in retrospect today, was approached with a unique sensitivity: Conan and his friends are opposed not only to ‘bad’ adults, but also to good ones, victims of an almost chronic inability to improve, to act selflessly. It is a beautiful message of hope: to entrust the rebirth of the planet to the new generations, the only ones still uncontaminated and able to rebuild the world by restoring its lost purity. In addition to this aspect, in Conan the poetics, style and art that Miyazaki would develop in his cinematic masterpieces from then on took root. Precisely the care in the realization lavished by Miyazaki caused an unfriendly broadcast and, therefore, the first failure. The Master often failed to deliver the episodes on time, because he was not fully satisfied with the result. That rigor, however, is still evident and is the basis of a charm that resists the passing of the years “.
The initial flop was sensational, especially considering the excellent quality of the production team. When Conan did it really explode?
“Masterpieces don’t always get immediate feedback. In addition to a wrong placement in the schedule, which contrasted the series with others with very large sequels, it should not be underestimated that Conan it was a white fly: while maintaining an adventurous imprinting, it was anything but a violent anime, one of those at the time with the greatest impact on the public. When it was re-broadcast by Japanese private networks, its potential began to be seen, so much so that, in the 80s, the series was re-edited into a film, then repudiated by Miyazaki and the production company. We recently tried to distribute it, but it was impossible. Only to a later step, Conan it was exported abroad and exploded. There is also a version translated for Saudi Arabia. When he arrived in Italy, he became a phenomenon. I believe even more successful than at home ”.
About Italy: seven discs including blu-ray and dvd, both in original 4: 3 and 16: 9 format, a double vinyl with the original soundtrack and the tv theme, a 120-page artbook, a booklet with synopsis , cards and insights. Total cost, 119 euros and small change: what market does this type of production have here?
“The one of Conan it is a numbered edition: three thousand copies have been printed and three thousand sold. A few remain on the main digital stores. It is a result that is anything but obvious given the times and difficulties we are going through ”.
There is an aspect, or an object, of Ultimate Edition which are you most proud of?
“The paper toy that we made up our minds to make without knowing how complicated it was to produce it. And then the vinyl, which contains the description of each song with the reference to its place in the series. Not least the video restoration. We made this edition with materials never used before: in 2020, Nippon Animation created a new digital transfer, in 4K, from the original films. We tapped it for Conan and the definition that we have managed to obtain for the blu-ray is the maximum possible, so much so that by blocking the image and paying attention it is even possible to notice the misalignment of the original photograph ”.
With Michele Stagni, he also edited the Home Video edition, available with two dubs, that of 1981 and that of 2007. With what criteria did you work?
“The 2007 dubbing is ours. It is the second in chronological order and is very faithful to the original texts. We decided to choose the same voice actors as Laputa – Castle in the sky, given the (non-causal) similarity between the protagonists of the film and those of Conan. Another proof of how much, in that first direction, Miyazaki had laid the seeds for a future of wonders. In all senses”.
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