Hayao Miyazaki
Books by Hayao Miyazaki
Shuna's Journey
by Hayao Miyazaki & translated by Alex Dudok de Wit
Shuna’s Journey — published in 1983, before the launch of Studio Ghibli — is finally available in English. There are seeds of themes and characters which fans will recognise from more famous later works, and similarities with Nausicaä in particular. But Shuna’s Journey is unique, a stand-alone graphic novel based on a Tibetan folk tale called The Prince Who Turned into a Dog. Shuna travels through a breathtaking variety of landscapes and the watercolour art makes it a visual feast. Much of the scenery is inspired by Tibet but there are also ocean and primeval forest. The traditional folk tale is about the people’s gratitude towards barley, their staple crop; Miyazaki envelops it in a narrative about slavery and people consumed by greed and estranged from nature.
“This is probably Hayao Miyazaki’s manga masterpiece. It’s a very entertaining work. What’s particularly appealing is it has a very strong female protagonist, a woman named, named for the Greek princess in Homer’s Odyssey.” Read more...
The best books on Manga and Anime
Susan J Napier, Literary Scholar
“Miyazaki has a genius for showing, in a non-judgemental and matter-of-fact way, how the world is changing in the Anthropocene.” Read more...
The best books on Anthropocene Oceans
Jan Zalasiewicz, Geologist
Interviews where books by Hayao Miyazaki were recommended
The best books on Anthropocene Oceans, recommended by Jan Zalasiewicz
Geologist Jan Zalasiewicz tells us about the danger posed to oceans by the Anthropocene – and how we can work together to protect them
The best books on Manga and Anime, recommended by Susan J Napier
Many people have heard of manga and anime, but would be surprised to learn how deeply this niche is steeped in Japanese tradition and culture—or how often manga features strong, smart female leads, says Susan Napier, anime expert and Professor of the Japanese Program at Tufts University. Here, she picks five books that encapsulate manga and anime as both forms of art and cathartic re-workings of Japanese history.
