It was a sad day for anime fans everywhere when Studio Ghibli announced that their acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki would be retiring in 2013. Since then, however, the veteran filmmaker has been unable to tear himself away from the animation studio, keeping himself busy with a CG short for the Ghibli Museum called Kemushi no Boro (Boro the Caterpillar).

Studio Ghibli announced that the CG short was now complete, and Miyazaki has decided to “withdraw” his retirement in order to make one last feature-length anime film. While a television special screened in Japan in 2016 hinted that Kemushi no Boro would be made into a feature film, the announcement only said that Miyazaki was coming out of retirement “for no other reason than he had found a subject worthy of making.“

According to the announcement, Miyazaki’s decision to come out of retirement came upon completing Kemushi no Boro with a young team of staff, during which time many of his longstanding, valuable companions passed away, which caused him to think deeply about his own mortality.

Now the studio is hiring staff to help make Miyazaki’s final feature-length film a reality, with a job ad posted on their website that seeks to hire people who can “bring a youthful vitality” to the project. While the number of employees to be hired remains unspecified, they are specifically looking for artists to do either:
1. Inbetweening (generating intermediate frames between two images so that they blend seamlessly)
2. Background art

Applicants must be 18 years of age or older, and though gender and nationality will be unquestioned, there is a requirement that you must have Japanese ability, which is necessary for production purposes. Those currently working in the animation industry are also eligible to apply.

Successful employees will be hired to work at the Studio Ghibli headquarters in Koganei, Tokyo, on a contract basis for a three-year period, starting from October 1. Transportation and social insurance costs will be covered, and employees will receive a monthly salary of ¥200,000 (US$1,797) or more, with bonuses paid twice a year and working hours set out as 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., including a one-hour lunch break.

To apply, you’ll have to send in your resume by downloading a form from their website and include two B4-sized original hand-drawn works according to the rules set out in the official guidelines. If you have the Japanese ability required to apply, you can find out more about the detailed requirements on their official site, which is written in Japanese.

According to the recruitment page, telephone or email inquiries will not be accepted, and applications close on July 20, 2017, with practical exams and interviews conducted in September in order to narrow down successful applicants.

If you fulfill all these requirements, then head on over to view the official job description and send in your application. Given that the recruitment announcement states that because of Miyazaki’s age this will definitely be the last film he directs, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity you don’t want to miss out on!

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