Spirited Away Picture Book

by Hayao Miyazaki

This illustrated book tells the story of the animated feature film Spirited Away. Driving to their new home, Mom, Dad, and their daughter Chihiro take a wrong turn. In a strange abandoned amusement park, while Chihiro wanders away, her parents turn into pigs. She must then find her way in a world inhabited by ghosts, demons, and strange gods.

Genres: Fantasy, Manga, Graphic Novels, Picture Books, Childrens, Japanese Literature, Japan

170 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2002

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this picture book a long time ago. I was looking for some in depth books or manga on my favorite movie of all time, Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki. I will be adding several gifs of the movie toward the end but they are in no kind of order. I wanted to put the whole movie on here, but you know.

I remember years ago, me and my boyfriend at the time, were getting ready to go to bed. It was pretty late and I happened to turn it on cartoon network and saw this amazing movie. We ended up watching it and another Miyazaki movie after. There was some kind of marathon that weekend and we were glued to the tv. I ended up buying all of the movies available on dvd, which I have now converted most to blu-ray.

Anyhooooooooooooo, Spirited Away is my favorite of his movies and my favorite movie of all time as I said.

At the beginning of this book there is a cast of characters. I thought that was cool because they have names for a couple of the creatures and things that I never knew.





I will try my best to explain the jist of the movie/book.

Chihiro and her family are moving to their new home. Chihiro's father takes a wrong turn and they end up at a dead end. There is some kind of old broken down station house and they go through. Then they see more old buildings and smell food. Chihiro keeps trying to call them away but they enter this town and start eating this food.

Chihiro ends up walking around and she sees a bath house. Then there is a boy named Haku and he is yelling at her to run and get back across before it's night and the river is there. Of course, this sounds all kinds of crazy but Chihiro runs back to get her parents and they have turned into pigs. They have been cursed by the witch, Yubaba for eating the spirits food.

Chihiro is stuck in this world of spirits now and Haku helps her get a job at the bathhouse. She has to try to find a way to help her parents and herself. Chihiro ends up making some wonderful friends at the house and there are some really funny moments and some moments that really got into my heart. I cried and well, I just can't explain it.

Lastly, I would like to say I think everyone should watch this movie. I think there are things in it for everyone.

























FIN

[Maede · Rating 3 out of 5]

اگر انیمه‌ی بی‌نظیر شهر اشباح رو دیده باشید،‌ احتمالاً ورق زدن این کتاب می‌تونه براتون جالب باشه. البته کتاب فقط تصاویری از فیلم رو داره که کنارش داستان نوشته شده. یعنی توقع چیز جدیدی نباید داشت. این روزها سر چند تا از کلاس‌هام (من مدرس انگلیسیم)، با بچه‌ها داریم می‌خونیمش و چون داستان کنار تصویرهاست، تمرین خیلی خوبی شده

کتاب رو می‌تونید از اینجا دانلود کنید
Maede's Books

۱۴۰۳/۱/۲۹

[_.eameli · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب کوتاه قشنگی بود
و ارزش خوندن داشت من که خیلی دوسش داشتم
و بعضی جاهایی که تو انیمه نفهمیدم مثل اونجایی که
هاکو فهمید کیه
من به شخصه تو انیمه نفهمیدم😂
دوسش داشتم
اکثرا این انیمه دیدن یا در بزرگسالی یا در کودکی

[Boogi Lu]

اينجا بهش ستاره ندادم چون واقعاً كتاب نبود بيشتر مجموعه اسكرين شات هاى انيمه رو با خلاصه اتفاقاتى كه مى افته. ولى خود انيمه .. شگفت انگيز بود يك پنج ستاره عالى و اعتراف دوباره به اينكه هايائو ميازاكى يه نابغه است. اين انيمه رو من بدون پيش داورى ديده بودم و بعدش اتفاق افتاد. شگفت زده شده بودم كه كى اين رو ساخته و قدرت خيالش به كجاها قد كشيده بوده. ذهنى مملو از خلاقيت و روح ِ فرهنگ ِ ژاپنِ دوردست و رمزآلود.
هايائو ميازاكى فرزند ژاپن و البته محصول ارزشمند فرهنگ و هنر ِ دنياى ما انسان هاست.

[Ali Di · Rating 3 out of 5]

!Spirited away

[آرزو · Rating 4 out of 5]

چی بهتر از کتاب برای یادآوری این انیمه‌ی زیبا؟

[Rachel✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

خیلی گوگولی بود
عاشق No face شدم

[Sooraya Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story book version of the iconic anime.
A bizarre adventure of a little girl that reminded me of Alice in Wonderland.
I haven't seen the movie yet. But I guess they've used snapshots from the anime to construct this book, which seemed rather lazy here. Because on many pages, the accompanying pictures didn't tally well with the narrative.

[Inn Auni · Rating 4 out of 5]

10-year-old Chihiro and her parents stumble upon a seemingly abandoned amusement park. After her mother and father are turned into giant pigs, Chihiro meets the mysterious Haku, who explains that the park is a resort for supernatural beings who need a break from their time spent in the earthly realm, and that she must work there to free herself and her parents.

Honestly, my review is influenced by the movie rather than the book. This was one of the movie that I watched and thought "Wow, that will be cool." The picture book, even though I didn't read it, was super cool and expensive, which belong to a friend. Hopefully, I'll be able to buy it one day.

SPOILER ALERT

Ten-year-old Chihiro Ogino and her parents are traveling to their new home when her father takes a wrong turn. They unknowingly enter a magical world that Chihiro's father insists on exploring. While Chihiro's parents eat like pigs at an empty restaurant stall, Chihiro finds an exquisite bathhouse and meets a young boy named Haku who warns her to return across the river before sunset. However, Chihiro discovers too late that her parents have turned into pigs and she is unable to cross the flooded river, becoming trapped in the spirit world.

After finding Chihiro, Haku has her ask for a job from the bathhouse's boiler-man, Kamaji, a spider yōkai commanding the susuwatari. Kamaji already has soot spirits working for him, but he asks the worker Lin to send Chihiro to the witch, Yubaba, who runs the bathhouse; Yubaba tries to frighten Chihiro away, but she persists, so Yubaba gives Chihiro a contract to work for her which Yubaba takes her name and renames her Sen (千). While visiting her parents' pigpen, Sen finds a goodbye card addressed to Chihiro and realizes that she has already forgotten her name. Haku warns her that Yubaba controls people by taking their names and that if she forgets hers like he has forgotten his, she will not be able to leave the spirit world. While working, Sen invites a silent masked creature named No-Face inside, believing him to be a customer. A 'stink spirit' arrives as Sen's first customer. She discovers he is the spirit of a polluted river. In gratitude for cleaning him, he gives Sen a magic emetic dumpling. Meanwhile, No-Face tempts a worker with gold, then swallows him. He demands food and begins tipping extensively. As the workers swarm him hoping to be tipped, he swallows two other greedy workers.

Sen discovers paper shikigami attacking a dragon and recognizes the dragon as Haku transformed. When a grievously-injured Haku crashes into Yubaba's penthouse, Sen follows him upstairs. When she reaches Haku, a shikigami that stowed away on her back transforms into Zeniba, Yubaba's twin sister. She transforms Yubaba's baby son Boh into a mouse, creates a decoy baby and turns Yubaba's bird creature into a tiny bird. Zeniba tells Sen that Haku has stolen a magic golden seal from her, and warns Sen that it carries a deadly curse. After Haku dives to the boiler room with Sen and Boh on his back, she feeds him part of the dumpling, causing him to vomit both the seal and a black slug, which Sen crushes with her foot.

With Haku unconscious, Sen resolves to return the seal and apologize for Haku. Before she leaves the bathhouse, Sen confronts No-Face, who is now massive, and feeds him the rest of the dumpling. No-Face chases Sen out of the bathhouse, steadily vomiting out those he has eaten. Sen, No-Face and Boh travel to see Zeniba. Yubaba orders that Sen's parents be slaughtered, but Haku negotiates freedom for Sen and her parents after revealing that Boh is missing and offering to retrieve him. But if Sen fails Yubaba's final test, the deal will be broken.

Sen, No-Face and Boh meet with the now benevolent Zeniba, who reveals that Sen's love for Haku broke her curse and that Yubaba used the black slug to control Haku. Haku appears in his dragon form and flies Sen and Boh to the bathhouse. No-Face becomes Zeniba's spinner. In midflight, Sen recalls falling in her youth into the Kohaku River and being washed safely ashore, thus revealing Haku's real identity as the Kohaku River. When they arrive at the bathhouse, Yubaba forces Sen to identify her parents from among a group of pigs in order to break their curse. After Sen answers that none of the pigs are her parents, her contract combusts and she is given back her real name. Haku takes her to the now dry riverbed and vows to meet her again. Chihiro crosses the riverbed to her restored parents, who do not remember anything. They walk back to their car (which is now covered in dust) and drive away.

[N.a.f.a.s · Rating 3 out of 5]

برای من که انیمه شو ندیدم خوندنش لذت بخش بود‌.
اتمام
۳۰/مهر/۰۳
دوشنبه
15:25

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

** Books 239 - 2016 **

4,4 of 5 stars!

I'm really glad found this books at my hostel and seriously how many times i already watch the movie is still lingering into my mind perfectly. I love this books more than i love My Neighbor Totoro i dunno maybe the story is more complex and I just found Haku is so cute! ^__^

Unfortunately i doesn't have a chance to read Kiki's Delivery Service Picture Book since at that time i have to go to Osaka. I'm glad that i found this books and read it calmly in the early of morning :')

Reading this books on September 19th, 2016
The Lower East Nine Hostel at Kyoto, Japan

[Seyed Mohammad Reza Mahdavi · Rating 3 out of 5]

شهر اشباح
هایائو میازاکی
ترجمه سپیده رستمی
انتشارات پریان
مصور، رنگی، گلاسه
تعداد صفحات : 174

[Imaydahjr · Rating 4 out of 5]

اتمام
۴/آبـان/۰۳
01:40

انیمه شو خیلی دوست دارم و این کتاب مصور هم، حس دوست داشتنی ای داشت! :))

[Nura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every time we fall down to the ground, we look up to the blue sky above
We wake to its blueness, as for the first time
Though the road is long and lonely and the end far away, out of sight
I can with these two arms, embrace the light

the pics are good (though it clipped out from the movie), but the bubble speech kinda annoying. better watch the movie.

[Pha · Rating 5 out of 5]

تصاویر که از همون انیمه بودن ولی بازم چیزی از شگفت‌انگیز بودنش کم نمی‌کنه و خوش‌حالم که خوندمش چون دوباره انیمه‌ش برام یادآوری شد و لذت بردم.

[Ljubomir · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for 'The Art of Spirted Away', and I came across this book as well. I hadn't seen the movie in a long time and I had partly forgotten the story, so I decided to give it a go. No surprise, it works as a picture book too, and perhaps it might even be the more suitable option for smaller children, but otherwise I'd recommend to just watch the movie for the full experience.

[marialena_ios · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spirited away! My favourite animated film in picture book! Just beautiful! Recommended to everyone!

[ImyReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ohh the joy and beauty of Studio Ghibli brought to me on pages ✨💗my inner child is overjoyed 🧚‍♀️✨

[R.]

نظرات رو که می خونم خیلی جالبه
انگار دوستان با مانگا اصلا آشنایی ندارن

[Lilith.on.adventure · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 it’s nostalgic

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this was like walking through a portal to my childhood 😍😭 I wish it was longer.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3.3


Well, it is a picture book; it says so on the cover (don't now what I expected). More suited for children. I love Miyazaki's work, and I loved the anime feature film so naturally ... just had to pick it up.
It's not bad ... the format just doesn't suit my age. Better re-watch the movie.

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

This movie is one of my son's ultimate favorites. I haven't seen the movie and the book left me a little confused in places. I think it is written with the idea that fans of the movie are reading it and already know the basic storyline.

[Aisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

beautiful.

[A O · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stumbled upon this book while browsing for other books at Foyle's (if you've not been in, it's massive, at least the branch I went into was), had seen the anime film a couple of times but was not aware it was a book, the movie is easily 10/5 stars but the book, while great, I won't be raving about it. It's still really good and I did enjoy it but it is missing some plot sequence details which added to the film and some of the characters are a little shallow. Illustrations were taken from the anime which I don't mind but as some others point out, is a little lazy. Amazing for children to get into the story but otherwise, I would read it but you have to watch the movie for the full experience. I found the character list at the beginning of the book useful though although one can enjoy both the movie and book very happily without it. I don't feel I had any issues having read the book after watching the film as often one would do. There's no option to give partial stars but I think 3.5 is what it deserves to be rated.

[night court book · Rating 4 out of 5]

شهر اشباح که در سال ۲۰۰۲ توانست برنده ی جایزه ی اسکار بهترین انیمیشن شود،در روایت گر ماجرای دخترکی ده ساله به نام چی هیرو است که در بحبوحه جابجایی به حومه شهر،با سرگردانی وارد شهری عجیب میشود و خود را درون دنیای پر از اشباح تحت حکومت یوبابای مرموز میابد* پشت جلد کتاب
این کتاب رو من با ترجمه ی اقای حسین فلاح از نشر مات خواندم. برای طرفداران انیمه مخصوصا استدیو جیبیلی خواندنش میتونه تجربه ی قشنگی باشه اما ویراستاری کتاب و همچین محل قرار گرفتن تصاویر باعث شده به عنوان یه نوع کمیک مصور خیلی ضعیف باشه و واقعا نیاز به اصلاح داره.

[Viet Phuong · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is extremely beautiful and creative in terms of illustration, but it might be a bit too philosophical and allegorical even for adult, let alone children. My children enjoyed the book thoroughly, but also constantly asked me about "what this means", "what was that" - questions that I might not even fully understand myself, and thus had hard time explaining them to the little ones. Still a great book and read, but a difficult one as well (not to mention the dark theme of life-death separation).

[яσвεят · Rating 5 out of 5]

نمیدونم واقعا چجوری باید شهر اشباح رو تعریف کرد ازش هم انیمه اش هم این استوری آرت بوکی که نشر پریان چاپ کرده و واقعا کیوته🥲
شهر اشباح از اون داستان هاست که هر چقدر هم بخوای تعریفش کنی ؛نمیتونی! از لذت داستانی که درش میگذره تا کاراکتر های خاص اون همه و همه ذهن تو را به فکر فرو میبره که
میازاکی واقعا این نبوغ و خلاقیت رو از کجا آورده این پیرمرد پر حاشیه
انیمه اش را ببینید این کتاب را بخوانید
حتی اگر سالها پیش آنها را دیده و خوانده اید .....

[DeshojandoLibros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Si ya han visto la película, en realidad el libro es igual, es más como para colección. Lo único diferente es que al final le agregaron un hermoso poema llamado “Always with me”, de Wakako Kaku/ Youmi Kimura.

Reseña completa en deshojandolibros.com

- Lady Bookie

[Kanika Som · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just couldn't put into words how hard my heart raced while reading the book this evening.

I have a lot of associations with this movie. It's heart warming to pause and observed details of the story.

My smile was widen every scenes as turning the pages. It didn't feel bizarre adventure anymore. It felt like an old friend and home ...