Studio Ghibli is Only On a Break

No. 

They. 

Aren't.

Closing.

Down. 

I feel like a very niche portion of the internet has been falling apart lately at the thought of Studio Ghibli closing down. If you aren't entirely sure what that is, you're probably thinking of the movie (my favourite of all time) Spirited Away. Or as some of my cooler friends refer to it "the movie with the long mask thing":

TRUST ME. When I heard this news, my heart completely despaired too. Studio Ghibli is whimsical art in its finest; they've has created a lot of movies that have completely engulfed me in breathtaking fantasy, inspired me, made me feel at home, and helped me bond with a lot of people like me.

As my cool friends call them: "the badass princess movie" and "the one with the giant rat" 

But there's no reason to say bye to all of that just yet. Sure, Hayao Miyazaki is retiring (he's 73. Give the guy a break, okay?) But all of this rumour of Studio Ghibli closing down and no longer producing movies came from virtually nowhere. 

There was originally some speculation about Studio Ghibli shutting down, mostly because some things were lost in translation (literally. Literal Japanese to English translations. Am I the only one who thinks that's funny?) and because the studio's first film without Miyazaki made severely less money in theatres. 

Sure, that calls for Ghibli to cut down their 300-person staff (what they meant by "restructuring") but they're not going to halt all their productions. They just... might not be as amazing. Ah, what am I saying, I'm still going to think they're amazing.

Breathe, people. Studio Ghibli is only channeling their inner Ross Gellar.