spirited away (Page 13)
Director of the new animated film Moonlight Palace responds to allegations that his movie bears suspicious similarities to Ghibli’s masterpiece, Spirited Away.
A wonderful video from days past takes us on a magical musical journey that will spirit you away.
You can now vote for your favourite Studio Ghibli film to watch on the big screen in Japan.
Many of us thought some mysteries in Spirited Away would never be solved. But now a letter from Studio Ghibli has surfaced giving us some incredibly detailed explanations!
Famous anime spirit seems to have gotten even better in the year since his skills were last recorded on video.
From My Neighbor Totoro to Porco Rosso, these cute kits let you recreate miniature worlds from your favorite Miyazaki films.
The village joins a line of beautifully detailed paper art kits that allow you to put together scenes and settings from your favorite Ghibli films!
It’s the closest thing yet to stepping inside the animated world of Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away.
Fan-made trailer for My Neighbor Totoro turns the magical family adventure into a frightfest.
So hungry you could devour an entire onsen resort’s worth of food? Time to make some noodles—with a twist!
My Neighbor Totoro is without a doubt one of the world’s most-loved Hayao Miyazaki’s films. The movie is filled with memorable characters, from the big guy himself down to the littlest soot sprites. Their design may be simple—black furry balls with big, white eyes—but that doesn’t make them any less cute.
But what if you took them from two-dimensional to 3D computer animation? Absolute adorableness!
We here at RocketNews love Studio Ghibli and its cast of adorable animated characters. We save all our yennies to splurge on licensed merchandise and never miss a chance to visit tourist sites where we might bump into acclaimed semi-retired director Hayao Miyazaki.
One thing we’re yet to do is adorn our bodies with permanent ink tributes to the Ghibli stars. Thankfully, there are fans out there much braver than us who have made the leap, giving us a huge collection of beautiful tattoos for us to sift through. Take a look at 12 of our favourites, from the films My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle.
September in Japan is the bridge between summer and autumn, with warm humid days mixed in with cool nights and passing typhoons dumping some of the year’s highest amounts of rainfall around the country.
With the rain set to continue, umbrella sales are in full swing at the moment, and some of the best ones here are simply magic. They won’t send you flying through the air like Mary Poppins, but they will reveal hidden secrets when the rain begins to fall!
When you find something you really like, it’s sometimes hard to express how much it’s influencing your life. To show off how much they love something, some fans try cosplay or rampant consumerism. Others write songs or fan fiction to tell the world the extent of their affection.
But for others, it’s as simple as drawing a picture that perfectly captures all their feelings on the paper. One such artist has put her heart and soul into some fan art that shows the kind of devotion Studio Ghibli inspires in its fans.
Tributes to world-famous Hayao Miyazaki have been pouring in from around the world this past year. They all show a deep appreciation for the great director and are maybe even trying to persuade him to work on another film, but since Miyazaki is currently planning his nature preserve off of Okinawa, we will have to tide ourselves over with more beautiful tributes to him. Today’s is a fantastic 8-bit pixel video that features the characters from all our Ghibli favorites.
Unless you’ve got a bitter aversion to the cold, odds are you’ll find early summer to be the least pleasant time of year in Japan, weather-wise. Not only is it hot and muggy, it’s also the country’s rainiest period, and just about any time you’re stepping outside you’ll want to carry an umbrella with you.
Thankfully, there’s a way to make the rainy season a little more enjoyable, as a new line of Studio Ghibli-themed umbrellas means a summer squall is just the beginning of a Totoro hunt as the beloved forest spirit magically appears on the umbrella’s fabric when it gets wet.
Every now and again, some outspoken fan of Japanese animation, distraught over what he sees as a decline in quality among the art form’s offerings, will hold up the shining example of some new title that shows promise, billing it as “the show that will save anime.” But if this tweet is to be believed, it’s too late. Anime is already dead, as proven by a mysterious, Ghibli-like carcass that washed up on the beach.
Many Japanese animation fans can rattle off a list of the animation directors or character designers they admire, but the visuals are only half of the way anime stimulates the senses. For everything that you’re hearing during your favorite show, you can thank the sound director.
It’s a role Kazuhiro Wakabayashi has been filling for decades, and we recently sat in on a talk the industry veteran gave about the unique challenges a sound director faces, what it’s like to work with some of the biggest names in Japanese animation, including Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki and Ghost in the Shell’s Mamoru Oshii, and the surprisingly deep human element of creating the audio environment for a fictional world.


















Sushi Bus: Japan’s first conveyor-belt bus lets you eat sushi while sightseeing around Tokyo
7-year-old boy left behind on Mt. Fuji by his own dad
Foreign hiker on Mt. Fuji loses consciousness and dies, becoming climbing season’s second fatality
Anime fans can now wear a Seiko watch inspired by Japan’s One Piece Shinkansen
Ninja theme park suddenly closes in Japan, shadow warriors undone by shady real estate deals
Studio Ghibli unveils new interactive stationery dioramas that bring anime movies to life on your desk
The Japanese government is ending its Cool Japan Fund program
Hiker needs to be rescued from Mt. Fuji two times in two days, but system is working as intended
Masturbatory aid maker Tenga releases officially licensed anime versions in Japan and U.S.
Why do foreign tourists queue up to eat at Tokyo Little House?
12-year-old British girl who went missing in Tokyo found safe after visiting anime sites around Yokohama
Study finds hundreds of people in Indonesia legally named after Naruto, Inuyasha, other anime stars
Japan’s Rabbit Island in danger of becoming Boar Island, tourists asked to follow feeding rules
Japanese gacha machine in Shibuya now sells tiny capsule terrariums
Studio Ghibli composer Jo Hisaishi just set three Guinness Records
12-year-old foreign tourist missing in Japan, police asking for help finding her [Video]
Stay at a hotel with a bed for your plushie in Japan
7-Eleven Japan brings back best-selling flat croissant that became a hit on social media
Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
New Shinkansen luggage drop-off system begins in Japan, making train travel even easier
Air-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
Japanese Shinkansen becomes an overnight hotel for three nights this summer
Pokémon Center Online designates first Pokémon items that will require Japanese ID card to buy
Japanese toilet aims to attract foreign tourists but not everybody is happy about it
99-year-old woman rescued while attempting to climb Mt. Fuji
Tokyo’s newest viral dessert is like a Japanese parfait inside a bread bun [Taste test]
New Japanese vending machine at Shinkansen station sells cups of ice on platform
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
Studio Ghibli unveils new interactive stationery dioramas that bring anime movies to life on your desk
The Japanese government is ending its Cool Japan Fund program
Hiker needs to be rescued from Mt. Fuji two times in two days, but system is working as intended
Masturbatory aid maker Tenga releases officially licensed anime versions in Japan and U.S.
Why do foreign tourists queue up to eat at Tokyo Little House?
Studio Ghibli composer Jo Hisaishi just set three Guinness Records
7-Eleven Japan brings back best-selling flat croissant that became a hit on social media
Universal Studios Japan partners with manga horror master Junji Ito’s Tomie
Kyoto’s Meiji-era mansion opens a private tearoom with stained glass for just one day
Pokémon and Polaroid reveal collaboration with adorable Pikachu and Eeveelution camera and film
Burger King Japan brings back its insane all-you-can-eat One Pounder Challenge
You can send your suitcase from Tokyo to Kyoto on the Shinkansen for same-day delivery… but it’ll cost you
Japanese man arrested after pretending to be foreigner while trying to rob convenience store
99-year-old woman rescued while attempting to climb Mt. Fuji