As an animator mentioned in an interview, there was said to have been a special rule at the legendary animation studio Ghibli back in the day.
The Ghibli studio is now world-famous as an animation studio with films such as My Neighbor Totoro or Howl’s Moving Castle.
It was founded in 1985 by the two filmmakers Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata in Japan.
But back then, there was a strange rule at Ghibli Studio, 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 the punctuality of employees.
It was said that one had to pay a certain sum if one showed up late for work: “At Ghibli, there was a box where you could throw in the money for the fine. It was 1,000 yen [which currently equals about 6.12 euros] or so.”
As the animator explained, this was quite a hefty fine for being late. However, boss Miyazaki had a completely different, much more curious rule.
For he not only monitored from his spot by the door when employees came in and out, but also arranged the seating in the office and had a unique system:
“He firmly believes that blood types influence personality, so he had people of type B and type A sit separately.”
The reasoning behind the blood type rule
This classification into different blood types may sound quite curious to Western work culture. However, as the German Red Cross explains on its website, in Japan it is widespread to attribute certain character traits to different blood types, comparable to how we do with zodiac horoscopes. These are not scientifically proven findings.
For example, people with blood type A are primarily attributed honesty, patience, and diligence as traits. However, they are also said to tend towards narrow-mindedness and tension.
People with blood type B, on the other hand, are said to be more active and take initiative. However, they are considered to be rather reckless and inconsiderate.
Blood type O 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 type AB are regarded as particularly sensitive and creative. However, according to Japanese interpretation, they can also be quite exhausting because they can be unpredictable and self-absorbed.
More about the famous animation studio on MeinMMO: The latest Ghibli film has achieved what no anime has ever accomplished
