Michael Leader and Jake Cunningham’s new book takes a beautiful look at the extended history of Studio Ghibli
When people think of Studio Ghibli, they might first look to the amazing, pop culture-ingrained movies that the animation studio has produced, but their history isn’t just The Boy and the Heron and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. In Ghibliverse: Studio Ghibli Beyond the Films, Michael Leader and Jake Cunningham take a look at the art and history of those tangents, and aim to inform and inspire.
This book looks at works before Ghibli, non-movie works like Sherlock Hound, Ghibli-adjacent things like Ni no Kuni, museums, the books that inspired movies like Kiki’s Delivery Service, music, and all of the Ghibli movie-adjacent stuff. It’s not a long book per se, but it is a good reference source. I like these quick guides because they let us kind of flip through and indulge. It’s a visual history with quick paragraphs that give us context to some of the other stuff. If we were writing an essay about Ghibli and its impact on film and animation, this is one of those essential books that we’d use as an incredibly useful resource.
It’s well put together. The artwork is just beautiful and big, and it looks like they’ve gone with high res versions of some of these pieces. Towards the end of the book there are the plethora of adjacent things, like the museum and Ni no Kuni and other directors that have worked with the studio but aren’t necessarily affiliated with them. It’s a wealth of knowledge.
A sample page from the book Ghibliverse: Studio Ghibli Beyond the Films
There’s so much content, Ghibli-wise, and it’s an all-timer studio. So this kind of stuff is always great. It’s like a Disney art book, filled with visuals and stories. Ghibliverse: Studio Ghibli Beyond the Films is great if we’re an animation fan, a Ghibli fan, or even just a fan of movies in general. It’s an easy read that fills in some gaps and leaves us salivating to find out more about what makes the studio’s legacy so impressive.
The book is available now.
This review is based on a digital version sent to SideQuesting by the publisher. It originally appeared on the October 29, 2024 episode of The SideQuest. Images and video courtesy Studio Ghibli/the publisher/authors.
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