Over a dozen designs from six anime film classics.
Temperatures in spring can be sort of unpredictable, as there’s always the chance of rain showers or strong winds bringing back some of the winter chill. Pretty soon, though, the warm days of summer will be here, and right on time Studio Ghibli specialty store Donguri Kyowakoku is ready to supply fans with a wardrobe of new short-sleeved T-shirts inspired by the films of the famed anime production house.
Part of the Ghibli-themed GBL premium casual fashion line, the new batch features characters and artwork from six beloved anime classics: Castle in the Sky/Laputa, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, Spirited Away, and Howl’s Moving Castle.
Almost all of the shirts feature different graphics on the front and back. In the case of the Castle in the Sky tee, appearing on the front are the Robot Solider and text proclaiming “RS since 1986” (1986 being the year the film was released in Japanese theaters), and the techno-magical defender in a more serene pose on the back near the hem.
Next are two shirts for Totoro fans. The first bears the message “The Wind Blow” with the big forest spirit himself taking his human and little Totoro friends on a ride through the night sky, with his top subtly sitting on the back.
The second captures a scene of Mei and her new neighborhood friends putting their imagination to use during playtime, with either a small or mid-size Totoro on the back right below the collar.
▼ Small-size Totoros have white fur, but the mid-size are the most likely to carry sacks, so it’s hard to tell exactly who this is.
Jumping ahead to 2001’s Spirited Away, you can show your respect for the mystical bathhouse Aburaya’s hardworking boiler room manager Kamaji.
▼ “Aburaya” is written in kanji on the front…
▼ …and Kamaji is on the back.
Switching focus to the bathhouse’s clientele, making a surprise appearance in the lineup is Spirited Away’s Radish Spirit, on a design available in either white or red.
Written on the front is “Odoru” and on the back “Mau,” both Japanese words meaning “dance.”
Howl’s Moving Castle gets the most attention of all in the new T-shirt line, with three designs on a total of five shirts.
Fire demon Calcifer, accompanied by the kanji for “flame,” comes in black or white. It’s the only design in the collection without any graphic on the back, but you do get a cute little frying pan on the sleeve.
The rest of the core cast can be found on the “Cleaning Up” shirt, where Sophie and her friends attend to the exhausted shapeshifting wizard.
▼ The back of the shirt, and also the hard-to-notice difference between the two colors it’s offered in, “light gray” and “pure white.”
And last, Sophie and Markl share a more relaxed moment on the final Howl tee.
Next up, Kiki’s Deliver Service, which also gets two designs. The “Hello” shirt has Tombo placing a call to Kiki in one of his many attempts to make a friendly overture to the newcomer to his town…
…and also Kiki unceremoniously shooting that attempt down on the back collar.
The other Kiki design has the little with flying on the front, and on the back a very small Tombo clinging to the rope on the sinking blimp with “Witch on a deck brush” in classy cursive script.
There’s also an aerial aura to this Porco Rosso shirt, but the blue shadow underneath the seaplane reveals that it’s actually floating in the waters of the Adriatic, with Porco issuing a warning on the back collar.
Elsewhere, sultry singer and hotelier Gina graces this chic black shirt, with Curtis remarking on her beauty on the back collar…
…and last, for the truly deep Porco Rosso fan, there’s a shirt of these dapperly dressed gentleman from the film’s ending.
All of the shirts are priced at 6,600 yen (US$50) and can be ordered through the Donguri Kyowakoku online store here, with shipping scheduled for June.
Source: Donguri Kyowakoku
Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku
Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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