Artists invited to put their own interpretive spin on Ghibli’s classic anime theme songs.

There’s a perception that while director and Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most celebrated hand-drawn animation artists of all time, his son, Goro Miyazaki, isn’t all that into illustrating. Goro’s educational background is in garden and landscape design, and his biggest career successes are the design of the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo and Ghibli Park in Aichi Prefecture. Meanwhile, the audience responses have been lukewarm at best for the anime he’s directed for Studio Ghibli, the most recent of which, Earwig and the Witch, was the studio’s first-ever all-CG production.

But while he doesn’t have any character design or animator credits on his resume, anyone who’s been under the assumption that the younger Miyazaki can’t draw well is very much mistaken, and he’s illustrated not just one, but two amazing-looking covers for a new Studio Ghibli music project.

Ghibli wo Utau Sono 2 (“Let’s Sing Ghibli-Volume 2”) is the second release in the Ghibli Tribute Album series, in which popular Japanese recording artists are invited to cover the iconic theme songs of Ghibli’s anime film library. Though not officially designated as such, the pigtailed girl in the drawing bears a resemblance to Earwig and the Witch’s titular protagonist, and the woman seated next to her looks a lot like Earwig’s mom.

A total of 13 individual artists and groups will be contributing to the album, presenting their own interpretations on some of the most widely recognized and fondly remembered anime music for multiple generations of fans. The list of performers consists of:
● Aina the End
● Yudai Ono and Sota Hanamura (from Da-iCE)
● Sakurako Ohara
● Aya Ogawa and Iroha Okuda (Nogizaka 46)
● Kalafina
● Shigeru Kishida (Kururi) and Shiori Tamai (Moroiro Clover Z)
● Glim Spanky
● Ninjin (from Rokudenashi)
● Non x Soil & Pimp Sessions
● Taro Hakase and Satoshi Takebe
● Penthouse
● Win Morisaki
● Hiroko Yakushimaru

The album’s track list is yet to be revealed, but with the studio only having around 20 or so films total, if there’s a Ghibli anime theme song that you’re particularly fond of, there’s a better-than-even chance it’ll be featured. The featured artists represent a wide range of musical styles, with collective careers spanning several decades, which should make for interesting results.

▼ A preview for the first Ghibli wo Utau album, which came out in 2023.

As for why there are two covers for the new album, the one with the girl and the pigs is the general-release version, while the illustration of the girl and older woman is an exclusive cover for copies of the album sold through official Ghibli-affiliated retailers, such as Ghibli specialty store Donguri Kyowakoku. Aside from their covers, the two release are identical, but Donguri Kyowakoku is offering both for preorder (standard cover here, Ghibli-affiliated store here), identically priced at 3,630 yen (US$25) and with shipping slated for late November.

Source: Donguri Kyowakoku
Top image: Donguri Kwoyakoku
Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku
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