Japanese Anime - A Fantastic New Book and A Competition!
Walking around London last weekend, the trials and tribulations of Covid lockdowns seemed a life-time ago. As time passes, the pressures, strains and stresses of the period have, for me, started to dissipate and I am left with a few special memories of time spent with family. Time that, in all honestly, we would not have had were it not for the virus.
One of those memories is sitting down together in a make-shift home cinema (a blank wall, a projector and a few bean bags) and introducing the films of Studio Ghibli to our family. At a time when the world seemed to be falling apart, they provided a few hours of release, of pure magic and of unrivalled beauty.
It is no wonder these incredible films are loved the world over.
Back in 2018, Studio Ghibli fanatic Michael Leader did something similar, sitting down with Ghibli novice Jake Cunningham.
Together they looked at the history behind Ghibli's films (including some of our family favourites, Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro and Princess Mononoke), and captured Jakes’ unbiased views as he experienced a Ghibli film for the first time. The Ghibliotheque podcast was born. They ended up covering all of the Studio Ghibli films and even visited Japan on the ultimate Ghibli pilgrimage!
Four years and well over one hundred episodes later, they have interviewed artists, animators and film-makers who have either worked on or have been deeply inspired by the Studio Ghibli films. With their co-host Steph Watts, they have also branched out to cover filmographies of other studios and film-makers whose work has revolutionised animation.
In 2021 Michael and Jake released their first book, Ghibliotheque: The Unofficial Guide to the Films of Studio Ghibli. It would become an Amazon best seller, with translations in Spanish, Italian, French, German, Korean, Chinese and Czech.
And, a few weeks ago, they released their second, The Ghibliotheque Anime Movie Guide. This wonderful book provides a superb guide to the world of Japanese animated cinema, exploring breakout hits such as Akira, Ghost in the Shell and Your Name, some hidden gems that even Anime fans may not have come across, together with some future classics.
It is a beautifully put together book, written with love and packed full of incredible images. If you (or a loved one) have any interest in animated movies, then we whole-heartedly recommend it!
We are delighted to have teamed up with Michael, Jake and Waterstones to offer U.K. readers the opportunity to win copies of both books, together with an original framed Spirited Away movie poster!
You have until 27th November to enter. When you have, why not check out the Studio Ghibli movie posters that we currently have available?
Best of luck!
Adam and the Art of the Movies team.
