Hayao Miyazaki, deemed highly influential with his memorable films such as “Spirited Away”, will finally see his manga Shuna’s Journey translated and released in the West, after first being published in 1983, and perhaps opening up a whole new world for those unfamiliar with these such works.
Studio Ghibli posted the English cover to their Twitter account, celebrating the long-awaited release:
The story follows Shuna, the prince of a small mountain valley on a dangerous quest to save his home from famine, and he is accompanied by Thea and her sister, former slaves saved by the protagonist.
Shuna’s Journey was made using watercolor panels, a rarity in the manga industry where the majority of artwork is monochrome ink:
Shuna’s Journey will be published on November 1st by the Macmillan imprint First Second, as confirmed by Mark Siegel, editorial and creative director of First Second:
“Fans of ‘Princess Mononoke’ and ‘Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind’ — there are millions of us — will delight in finding early hints of these masterworks in gorgeous watercolor pages by Miyazaki’s own hand.”
Shuna’s Journey shares familiar elements that were later seen in Princess Mononoke, which was released one year after Shuna’s Journey was published, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, which was released 14 years after Shuna’s Journey.
Shuna and his mount Yakkul were inspirations for Princess Mononoke’s Ashitaka and his sable mount, and his journey to restore nature is seen as a prototype for Nausicaa.
“Anime Was a Mistake”
That’s really neat I’ll read it
Its surprising seeing his name without “Its retiring again”
Why tho? f♥♥k this guy
now?
might as well stayed in JPN