After meeting the arachnoid Kamaji and the slug girl Lin, Chihiro encounters the giant, all-powerful sorceress Yu-baaba, who renames Chihiro "Sen." This graphic novel is based on the highest-grossing animated movie in Japanese film history and a collection of its artwork by worldwide famous anime author Hayao Miyazaki.
Hayao Miyazaki (Japanese: 宮崎 駿) is a celebrated Japanese animator, filmmaker, screenwriter, and manga artist, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of animation. He is the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, the animation studio responsible for producing many of Japan’s most beloved and internationally acclaimed animated films. Over the course of a career spanning decades, Miyazaki has developed a reputation for creating visually rich, emotionally resonant stories that often explore themes such as nature, pacifism, flight, childhood, and the human condition. Miyazaki was born in Tokyo and developed an early interest in drawing and animation. His father’s work in the aviation industry had a significant influence on him, particularly in fostering his fascination with aircraft and flight, motifs that would become prominent throughout his later works. After studying political science and economics at university, Miyazaki began his professional career in animation when he joined Toei Animation. There, he worked under the mentorship of directors like Isao Takahata, with whom he would later form a lifelong creative partnership. In his early years at Toei and other studios, Miyazaki contributed to several television series and animated films. He worked as a key animator and storyboard artist, gradually gaining recognition for his storytelling abilities and attention to detail. Among his early projects were contributions to series such as Heidi, Girl of the Alps and Future Boy Conan. His directorial debut in feature films came with The Castle of Cagliostro, a film adaptation of the Lupin III manga series, which already showed signs of his distinctive style and sensibilities. Miyazaki's breakthrough came with the film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, based on his own manga. The success of that film prompted the establishment of Studio Ghibli, which he co-founded with Takahata and producer Toshio Suzuki. From that point forward, Miyazaki directed and wrote many of Ghibli’s most iconic works, including My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, and Howl’s Moving Castle. His films are known for their hand-drawn animation, strong character development, and philosophical underpinnings. In 2001, Miyazaki directed Spirited Away, which became one of the most critically and commercially successful animated films of all time. The film received numerous awards and international recognition, including an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. It also became the highest-grossing film in Japanese history at the time of its release. The film’s success further solidified Miyazaki’s reputation as a master storyteller and a visionary in global cinema. Despite announcing his retirement several times, Miyazaki repeatedly returned to filmmaking. His later works, such as Ponyo and The Wind Rises, continued to showcase his evolving themes and storytelling maturity. His most recent project, The Boy and the Heron, marked a highly anticipated return to the director’s chair and once again captivated audiences with its dreamlike visuals and emotional depth. Miyazaki’s films are often distinguished by their complex female protagonists, environmental messages, and moral ambiguity. Rather than presenting clear-cut villains and heroes, his stories explore the nuances of human behavior and often focus on characters finding their place in the world. Throughout his career, he has received numerous accolades and honors for his contributions to the arts, including lifetime achievement awards recognizing his impact on both Japanese and international cinema. His legacy continues to influence generations of animators and filmmakers worldwide, and Studio Ghibli remains one of the most respected names in animation.
True to the movie (the exact same thing actually, but who's complaining?) and an enjoyable read! I didn't realise this is the second of five volumes and wish my library had the other four too.
Ever since Haku sent her to find herself work, Chihiro has been through a lot. She is lost yet perseveres and obeys when she needs to. At first, it is easy to dismiss her as an impatient and whiny child. However, Chihiro fends for herself bravely in the spirit world even though she is confused and scared. Kamaji and Lin are a comforting presence for both the readers and Chihiro. They both seem cold at first, but as the story progresses, they become supportive characters in Chihiro’s journey.
Chihiro and her parents are on their way to a new home. Chihiro is grieving and apprehensive to the idea, as any child that's forced to leave their friends and familiar places behind would be. Her father takes a wrong turn along the way which leads them to a mysterious tunnel that connects to an abandoned amusement park. After having a disagreement, Chihiro separates from her parents and wanders the abandoned amusement park alone, only to find out that it's not nearly as abandoned as the naked eye would leave outsiders to believe.
At night, the amusement park comes to life, as it is inhabited by hundreds of ghosts, demons and spirits of nature. Among the strange inhabitants of the land is a boy named Haku who seems to remember Chihiro from a distant memory that he's now forgotten, but his intuition tells him to help the lost girl survive by finding work and acceptance from the spirits. Determined to save her parents who have been transformed into pigs after being cursed for entering a land forbidden to humans, Chihiro overcomes her inner fears and sadness that gives her the courage she needs to confront the bizarre land she now inhabits as well as learning to leave her past life behind.
It's easy to mistake Chihiro as a bit of a brat when we first meet her, but we soon learn that she's actually quite intuitive while her parents are somewhat ignorant of her personal feelings. Being forced to leave everything she cares about behind and having no one around to help her through the grieving process would be upsetting to anyone in her position, especially at such a young age. The dangers of the amusement park force her to confront the fear of moving to a new place and she learns to adapt to a new way of life. Even after feeling like her parents didn't care about what she was going through, she never once thought of abandoning them. She actually has quite a few selfless and admirable qualities.
The spirits hate the girl at first, but they learn to sympathize with her after seeing how hard she's willing to work for people that may or may not even care about her. Spirited Away is a story about selfless acts of kindness coming back to give you the support you need in your lowest moments. People will remember when you do kind things for them without them asking you for help and without you asking for anything in return. Through the many trials and aid the zany spirits of the land throw her way, Chihiro receives the extra push she needs to accept her circumstances, come to terms with her grief and move on to a better life.
I'm about halfway through and am finding it i pretty good read. for what it is its seemingly childish appearance and output it seems to cover a fair few mature themes. it also seems to grip the reader as you see this gradual journey of a young girl trying to reclaim her family who have been overcome with greed and ironically turned into pigs for it. during this journey the mount of twists and pure imaginative creations by the author seem to amaze and mesmorise the reader or viewer, depending on wheter you are reading it or watching it. in the book however i found it a relly good read as it was evenly balanced between action and description and you never seemed to think about having to much of one as it was changing drastically at points when you wouldnt expeect it and yet you were also waiting for something along those lines to happen. put simply, brilliant 9/10 so far.
Edit: So from continuing on from reading i can tell that the progress of the book is weather slow and rather dis-interesting. this may deter some readers from reading it but nt me because i really wanted to try and read it cover to cover. another thing that i seem to find site intriguing about the book is that without much effort it seems to very well create the scene in which the characters are illustrated. Another deterrence from reading this book to some people is that compared to the movie, it seems to be a lot less interesting in terms of creating an interactive environment. Many elements of this book may frighten young people so viewer discretion is advised. To recall, i would now lower the rating of this book rom 9/10 to 8/10 due to the lack of creativity compared to the movie and the somewhat slow development of nearly all aspects of the book.
Thank you so much for reading this review and i will try my best to update this more often to keep you all posted on my progress. :)))))
Klappentext: Durch einen geheimnisvollen Tunnel verirrt sich die zehnjährige Chihiro in eine wundersame, von Gottheiten und Zauberwesen bevölkerte Welt. Um hier zu überleben, muss sie im Badehaus der Hexe Yubaba schuften, in dem die skurrilsten Gäste verkehren. Chihiros Suche nach einem Weg zurück in ihre Welt gerät zu einem märchenhaften und gefährlichen Abenteuer, in dessen Verlauf sich das verängstigte Mädchen zu einer selbstbewussten jungen Persönlichkeit wandelt...
Meinung: Wer die Filme von Hayao Miyazaki kennt, der weiß jeder einzelne Film ist ein kleines Meisterwerk für sich. So auch "Spirited Away - Chihiros Reise ins Zauberland“. Schon beim ersten Anschauen vor vielen Jahren war ich auf der Stelle fasziniert. Sofort zogen mich sowohl Handlung, als auch die liebevoll gezeichneten Figuren in ihren Bann. Wer hat sich bitte nicht sofort in Haku verknallt? Bis heute bleibt "Spirited Away" mein absoluter Liebling. Wer ähnlich denkt und die 5 Comic-Bände von Carlsen Comics noch in die Hände bekommt, der sollte sie unbedingt lesen. Für mich ein absoluter Schatz und Kurztrip in meine Kindheit!
Was bisher geschah... Während ihres Umzugs aufs Land verirrt sich die zehnjährige Chihiro in eine geheimnisvolle, fremde Welt. Als sich ihre Eltern ungefragt von den Speisen eines scheinbar verlassenen Restaurants bedienen, werden sie zur Strafe in Schweine verwandelt. Ein Junge namens Haku hilft Chihiro und rät ihr, den alten Kamaji aufzusuchen, um ihn um Arbeit zu bitten...
Weiter geht es im zweiten Band also mit der Suche Chihiros nach Arbeit. Kamaji hat "leider" schon genügend kleine Helferlein: die putzigen Rußmännchen. Zum Glück hilft ihr Lin, eine der vielen Putzfrauen, durch das Badehaus zu Yubaba, der Besitzerin, zu gelangen um nach Arbeit zu fragen...
Spirited Away tells the story of 10-year-old Chihiro, a girl in the midst of a move to the suburbs who wanders into a strange town and finds a world of spirits ruled over by the mysterious Yubaba.
Into the boiler room! Chihiro encounters the old arachnoid Kamaji and his bizarre army of soot balls who keep the hot water running. Chihiro tries to help but she's not really suited for this kind of work. When Lin the slug girl comes to deliver lunch, though, Kamaji tells her to take Chihiro with her. Lin introduces Chihiro to the bizarre bath house wonderland where she works, and to her boss, the giant-size matriarch Yubaba. After a demonstration of her powers, Yubaba renames Chihiro "Sen," and puts her to work. Sen goes through a gruelling first day of scrubbing floors and being made fun of by the other workers for being human, but she forges on. In the middle of the day, while everyone's asleep, she sneaks outside to meet Haku...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
If you love the movie, Spirited Away, you'll love these books. The illustrations are taken directly from the brilliant film and the reader can experience the movie just from reading these volumes. Well, maybe not entirely, but at least reminisce if they'd already seen it.
I am just really enjoying this series. They take like 15 minutes to read (max), the art style is beautiful and the illustrations are sometimes so absurdly funny. This one still seemed like more of a set-up for things to come, but I didn't mind since I don't like info dumps.
هذه أول مانغا أقرؤها رغم أنني لست أحب عالم الأنمي ولا أنتمي إليه صدقا وإنما فضول جذبني لقراءة هذه المانغا بعد مشاهدة الفيلم الأصلي لها ولغرابة القصة وأيضا لشهرتها..
هنالك شبه كبير بين المانغا والفيلم .. كنت أتوقع أغلب الأحداث بحكم المشاهدة السابقة للفيلم لكن هذا لم يلغ عنصر التشويق فيها متحمسة للجزء الذي بعده")
My whole life, people have told me I would love this movie. When I was at the library and saw they had it as a graphic novel I did not hesitate to pick it up. And it did not disappoint. I enjoyed every second and the entire series was perfect. Immediately after finishing the graphic novels I watched the movie and loved it.
Quite a weird story, but I’m really enjoying it so far. I made the mistake of only getting the first two books at the library instead of all of them. I ended up reading the first two in less than 30 minutes, and I was left wanting more!!! Can’t wait to finish this series!
if you have seen the movie you for sure need to read the books, there are five in total and it is just amazing to know how different the books can be from a movie.
my first every manga and my first Hayao Miyazaki film. Truly a wonderful and beautiful creation, an enchanting world and characters that touch your heart. This has to be my favorite Miyazaki work.