“First: don’t panic! Second: don’t panic! And third: did I mention not to panic?!”

As humans grew stronger, I think that we became quite arrogant, losing the sorrow of ‘we have no other choice.’

I’d rather be a pig than a fascist.

I make films as a business, not as a cultural endeavor.

The characters are born from repetition.

Modern life is so thin and shallow and fake. I look forward to when developers go bankrupt, Japan gets poorer and wild grasses take over.

I’m not going to make movies that tell children, “You should despair and run away”.

Children understand intuitively that the world they have been born into is not a blessed world.

Stop trying. Take long walks. Look at scenery. Doze off at noon. Don’t even think about flying. And then, pretty soon, you’ll be flying again.

Our lives are like the wind or like sounds. We come into being, resonate with each other. Then fade away.

We depict hatred, but it is to depict that there are more important things. We depict a curse, to depict the joy of liberation.

If you release your subconscious it becomes really hard to live a social or family life.

The winds of time eventually turn them into the tools of industrial civillisation. It’s never unscathed.

There are so many things we can’t do anything about if we think about generalities

I wanted to convey the message to children that this life is worth living.

Yet, even amidst the hatred and carnage, life is still worth living. It is possible for wonderful encounters and beautiful things to exist.

There are all kinds of values within the films but I don’t make message films.

Happiness is not fame or riches or heroic virtues, but a state that will inspire posterity to think in reflecting upon our life, that it was the life they would wish to live.

Onward, my brave boys – money or no money – men or no men! Have you love? Have you God? Onward and forward to the breach, you are irresistible.

The power to question is the basis of all human progress.

If people talk behind your back, it’s because you’re ahead of them.

I survived because I was tougher than anybody else.

Don’t workout because you think you ‘need’ to, do it because your body deserves love, respect and healthy attention.

Every single day is a battle to stay strong.

The only way you can become a legend is in your coffin