Many people have seen the meme of the famous Hayao Miyazaki saying a quote along the lines of "Anime was a mistake. It's nothing but trash." Anime fans love to put this quote at the end of silly anime scenes, particularly ones that are sexualized to the degree of bodily absurdity. However, there is a story behind this meme, and it has to do a lot with how Miyazaki views the anime industry.

The quote is far from exact. The source of the meme image comes from the Golden Times, a Japanese news site that put up screenshots of an interview with Miyazaki in 2014. In the screenshots, the subtitles read a much longer and more intellectual version of "Anime was a mistake." Instead, Miyazaki criticized how people (most particularly women) are portrayed in anime. He basically called it unrealistic and part of his explanation translated to, "It's produced by humans who can't stand looking at other humans. And that's why the industry is full of otaku."

RELATED: Why Hayao Miyazaki Thought Howl's Moving Castle Would Be Unpopular In The United States

What Miyazaki Was Actually Talking About

Chihiro and Haku in Spirited Away.

"Anime was a mistake," is a humorist short-form of what Miyazaki spoke about in the Golden Times interview. There is some humor in it, especially for fans of both his work and other anime, but the meme also promoted a lot of online discussion as to what Miyazaki actually meant by his criticism. Fans have questioned what Miyazaki means by how characters are portrayed, whether that means how they are drawn, how they behave, or a mixture of both.

Fans who have watched a lot of Miyazaki films, as well as other anime, may have a good idea of what Miyazaki meant. His films do not adhere to anime tropes, and the anime industry has a lot of tropes from characters being tsundere, yandere, generic male leads, weak women, and having a ton of fanservice. That is only scratching the surface. There are a lot of stereotypes in anime, and Miyazaki does not seem to like that and that can be seen from the details of his films that explore feminist, environmentalist, and anti-war themes with complex characters.

Some fans may have taken his otaku comment personally. The word is more accepted by western audiences while in Japan it can be seen as more negative. With Miyazaki being Japanese, he may see otaku in a completely different way than western audiences do. In Japan, otaku are often seen as obsessed to a creepy degree. The sort who may send hate mail and love letters to manga artists they've never met. The kind of person who cares more about fiction than reality, to a degree that is unhealthy.

RELATED: A Deep Dive Into The Politics Of Hayao Miyazaki

Miyazaki And Memes

Frustrated Miyazaki in interview.

While the "Anime was a mistake," meme is incredibly popular, there are other Miyazaki memes that have stemmed from his cynical outlooks. Fans are actually quite amused by his cynicism, mostly because his films are so optimistic in their portrayals of human nature, love, and beauty. Miyazaki is cynical about more than just the anime industry. He is an anti-capitalist in a capitalist world, anti-technology in a technological age, and environmentalist while climate chaos is all over the news. With all that, it is no wonder he can get annoyed by current events and people. Many have actually theorized that his optimistic films show why he is so cynical. He knows things can be far better than what they are currently.

A popular comparison in memes is between Miyazaki and the horror manga artist, Junji Ito. Ito's work is not what Miyazaki criticizes, but it is an absolutely different flavor than My Neighbor Totoro and Pom Poko. Ito's work covers madness, body horror, and irrational compulsions. However, from his interviews, fans took notice that he seems like a sweet and optimistic man. He shares similar anti-war sentiments as Miyazaki, but is not known for making any spicy comments like Miyazaki. Fans have joked that while Miyazaki sees how the world could be better, Ito is a happier person because he sees how the world could be much worse.

Miyazaki has made plenty of spicy public comments. When a young animator showed a demo of animation done by artificial intelligence in 2016, Miyazaki said, "I am utterly disgusted. . . I strongly feel this is an insult to life itself." In 2014, he also made comments about people obsessed with guns, saying "They're the ones that have the most immature character traits left over." One of the most unsettling thoughts he ever shared is his vision of the future with the New Yorker, saying "I'd like to see Manhattan underwater. . . The future is clear: it's going to fall apart. What's the use worrying? It's inevitable."

With all this weight in his words, it is rather interesting how much of a meme Miyazaki's cynicism has become. From an affectionate angle, the man is very loved by the anime community and the memes are just poking some fun at his perspective like a child would with their intellectual grumpy grandpa. The anime fan audience actually has mostly said that Miyazaki makes great points about the industry. A lot of longtime anime viewers also have gotten tired of the stereotypes and tropes.

MORE: All Of Hayao Miyazaki's Anime Movies, Ranked According To Metacritic