The Art of Miyazaki's Spirited Away (Studio Ghibli Library)

i like the details of how they animated bits, and i like the sketches of the bouncing heads!! "blob blob"

infact, this books just the perfect compliment to the film.


Just saying   November 23, 2003
 3 out of 30 found this review helpful

the last person said spirited away did not come to england but it did. It just was quite hard to find. They have two versions out. The original japanese. Which is very hard to find now as not many cinemas are showing it (i went to the odeon). and they have the english which against the japanese is totally rubbish.
well by the sound of it this book is amazing *buys it*!


Definitely worth collecting...   October 19, 2003
 25 out of 25 found this review helpful

Beautiful! You get a real sense that you own something special when you get this. (Very exciting when it gets delivered to you in the big box too, it feels like christmas as a kid, all over again!)

Overall worth getting. It’s not gob smacking stunning, but still very very nice. Definitely worth the money if you’re a fan.

While the book follows the ethos that it’s just presenting the artwork, it does follow the films plot, in terms of where art is placed in the book… what I mean is, The car ride and the Chihiro getting lost artwork is near the start and goes through into the various scenes in the film, in order.

My favourite parts are the Character design pages, and the landscape watercolour like paintings, some of them look frameable for any art gallery.

The artist commentary is very interesting too; some inside info on their ideas while making the film included.


An insight into the work of a genius   February 24, 2003
 17 out of 17 found this review helpful

This is a great book. Whether you are familiar with the work of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli or not, the work in this book cannot fail to impress. It leads you from an introduction by Miyazaki's, though his concept art (beautiful watercolour sketches) to the final backgrounds and character work including a script at the back. The layout of the book follow the narrative of the film, with introductions to the characters and locations along the way. A section at the back is devoted to the digital processes used during the making of the film and throughout the book there are short paragraphs from the artists about their experiences and thinking process (e.g, use of colour, architectural influence etc etc). The images in the book are incredible and allow you to study in detail the work and skill of the artists, as a student studying animation I find this book is an invaluable resource. I have bought other "The art of" books on other Miyazaki film, and this book lives up to their high standards (unfortunately the other books are only available from Japan, try Amazon.jp). I highly recommend this book to anyone even remotely interested in animation or the work of Miyazaki, good to see a hardback book at this price too. Cant recommend it enough.