Not many people have the chance to see inside a storied company such as Studio Ghibli, nor become so acquainted with its inner machinations. In his business memoir, Sharing a House with the Never-Ending Man, Steve Alpert describes 15 years as the "resident foreigner" at the film studio, for Ghibli fans, Miyazaki stans, animation aficionados and those with a love of looking at intercultural communication from the outside.
The insights into how filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki works, the animation process and especially what it takes for Studio Ghibli films to be dubbed in English for U.S. markets are fascinating. Perhaps more interesting still is Alpert's ability to take readers into the boardrooms, the negotiations and the processes behind the creation and distribution of international favorites such as Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away. Readers will enjoy glimpses of interactions with Disney executives, and revel in awards won. Most of all, the joy of this book is joining Alpert on his daily cultural and language challenges as an American executive in Japan, as well as his memories of moments with some of modern Japan's most influential men.
Some of Studio Ghibli's nuanced storytelling artistry clearly rubbed off on Alpert; Yasuyoshi Tokuma, Toshio Suzuki and, of course, Miyazaki are artistically rendered in his recollections. The modern-day Japanese answer to Disney, this company could not be further from the American animation studio model, and Alpert reveals part of why Ghibli's reputation for cinematic excellence is well-deserved, in a memoir that's equal part anecdote and cultural primer. --Michelle Anya Anjirbag, freelance reviewer