The sounds of Studio Ghibli are looking good too.

Studio Ghibli likes doing things the old-fashioned way, and their fans love them for it. More fully embracing digital production methods might allow Ghibli to work faster and with more precision, but there’s something undeniably special about the warm, analog atmosphere of the films of studio co-founder Hayao Miyazaki and his cohorts.

So it’s fitting that Ghibli is now re-releasing the soundtracks for its most iconic anime films on vinyl, and to make them extra-special, the records are pressed in a playful rainbow of colors.

Even before taking the records out of their sleeves, you get a feast for the eyes with the gorgeous cover artwork. Some of the films are represented by their most best-known pieces of key art, while others feel like environmental design sheets, really pulling you into their intricately crafted worlds.

Once you are ready to pull the record out and play or display it, instead of the basic black of the records’ standard-release versions you get dazzling discs of color.

▼ Princess Mononoke’s forest-evoking green and Porco Rosso’s crimson are especially apt color choices.

You also get additional artwork on certain record labels, and some of them include extra illustrations as well. As an especially cool touch, a few of the records feature characters outlined on their vinyl directly, like Spirited Away’s Boh and fish girl Ponyo.

There’s a total of 12 soundtracks in the color record lineup, meaning that not each and every Ghibli theatrical anime is represented. The best of the best are covered though: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky, Grave of the Fireflies, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo, The Wind Rises, and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. That accounts for all of Hayao Miyazaki’s Ghibli films, and also for all of the Ghibli films scored by Joe Hisaishi, Studio Ghibli’s most frequent, and celebrated, collaborating composer (Grave of the Fireflies, scored by Michio Mamiya and pressed onto a clear record, is the only non-Hisaishi soundtrack in the color collection).

Pricing for the records is surprisingly varied, with the Totoro, Kiki, Porco Rosso, priced at 4,180 yen (US$31), Grave of the Fireflies at 4,400, Nausicaa at 4,840, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo, The Wind Rises, and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya at 5,280, and Castle in the Sky at 5,500. Quantities are limited, and orders can be placed now through HMV’s online store here.

Source: HMV via Ghibli no Sekai
Top image: HMV
Insert images: HMV (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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