There can’t be many people with Internet access who haven’t heard the name of Studio Ghibli. It’s one of the most famous film studios on the planet, producing classics like Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and Princess Mononoke. Both Princess Mononoke and the studio’s perennial favourite My Neighbour Totoro have been transformed into stage shows. Concerts of their magical film scores draw huge crowds. But there’s a lot more to Studio Ghibli than just movies. Its art is driven by inspiration from Japanese and Western art, by energies from the streets of Japan and by the mystical qualities of its traditions and its wild places. Helen McCarthy, who wrote the first books in English on anime and on Ghibli’s co- founding director Hayao Miyazaki, will take you on a journey through the studio’s history and inspiration, with time and space to appreciate selected artworks and a list of sources – books, websites and places to visit – if you want to explore further.

Helen McCarthy is a writer, presenter and independent scholar who was introduced to anime in 1981 and has been studying it ever since. She has spoken at universities, cultural institutions and of course anime conventions across America, Asia and Europe, from the British Museum and the Smithsonian Institution to Akita International University and the Japan Foundation in London and Kuala Lumpur. Her works include The Anime Encyclopedia, widely recognised as a seminal text for the study of anime; Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation; The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga; and Leiji Matsumoto: Essays on the Manga and Anime Legend.