As an animator said in an interview, there is said to have been a special rule at the legendary animation studio Ghibli back then.
The Ghibli Studio is now world-famous as an animation studio with films such as My Neighbor Totoro and Howl’s Moving Castle.
It was founded in Japan in 1985 by two filmmakers, Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.
But there was a strange rule at Ghibli Studio back then, as animator Shinsaku Kôzuma told Full Frontal in an interview.
Here you can see a trailer for the latest film from Ghibli:
Seating arrangement in the studio sorted by blood type
According to the animator, there was a strict rule under Miyazaki at Studio Ghibli during the time of Castle in the Sky (1986) to ensure staff punctuality.
So you probably had to pay a certain amount if you showed up late at work: “So at Ghibli there was a box into which you could put the money for the fine. It was 1,000 yen [das sind aktuelll umgerechnet 6,12 Euro] or so.”
As the animator said, that was quite a heavy penalty for being late. However, Chef Miyazaki had a completely different, much stranger rule.
Because he not only controlled from his place at the door when the employees walked in and out, but also determined the seating arrangement in the office and had an unusual system:
“He strongly believes that blood types affect personality, so he had Type B people and Type A people sit separately.”
This is behind the blood group rule
This division into different blood groups may sound rather strange for Western work culture. However, as the German Red Cross explains on its website, it is widespread in Japan to attribute certain character traits to different blood groups, comparable to our use of zodiac horoscopes. These are not scientifically proven findings.
For example, people with blood group A are primarily considered to have honesty, patience and care as qualities. However, they are also said to have a particular tendency to be narrow-minded and tense.
People who have blood type B, on the other hand, are said to be more active and tackle things. But they are considered more careless and ruthless.
Blood group 0 is particularly goal-oriented and optimistic – therefore they are good candidates for leadership positions as well as “ideal partners”. However, they are also said to be particularly jealous and vain.
People with blood group AB are considered particularly sensitive and creative. However, according to the Japanese interpretation, they can also be quite stressful because they can be unpredictable and self-absorbed.
More about the well-known animation studio on MeinMMO: The latest Ghibli film has achieved what no anime has ever achieved