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See how Hayao Miyazaki's graphic novel Shuna's Journey foreshadowed his classic films

A new English translation of the Studio Ghibli icon's 1983 comic contains seeds of Princess Mononoke and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Check out an exclusive preview.

Christian Holub is a writer covering comics and other geeky pop culture. He's still mad about 'Firefly' getting canceled.

Before he was one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the history of animation, Hayao Miyazaki wrote and drew his own manga. And as a new release makes clear, those stories carried the seeds of stories, ideas, and designs that would later flourish fully in his acclaimed movies like Princess Mononoke and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind .

Nausicaä , of course, was directly adapted from the manga series of the same name that Miyazaki had written and drawn from 1982 to 1994, before he founded Studio Ghibli . But during that same period, Miyazaki also wrote and drew another graphic novel, Shuna's Journey , which is now being published in the U.S. for the very first time by First Second. Alex Dudok de Wit handled the English translation. EW has an exclusive preview of Miyazaki's gorgeous art from the book below.

Shuna's Journey is about a young prince from a dying land who is desperate to create a better life for his people. When he hears of "golden grain," a legendary crop to be found out west that is much easier and more fulfilling to farm than the weeds his countrymen make do with, Shuna mounts his trusty elk and sets out to find some seeds to bring back to his homeland.

Some of this may sound familiar. Princess Mononoke , one of Miyazaki's most beloved films (and EW's favorite ), also centers on a young prince who leaves his barren land to find adventure and magic. Shuna's loyal mount is quite reminiscent of the trusty Yakul from Princess Mononoke . Like Ashitaka, Shuna falls in love with a beautiful young woman and eventually makes his way to the hidden nature sanctuary of the gods. There, Shuna encounters tall, long-limbed beings who manage to resemble both the automatons of Castle in the Sky (but more organic) and the fiery giants of Nausicaä (but less destructive).

In other words, Shuna's Journey foreshadows much of Miyazaki's later work while still managing to be a complete standalone story in its own right.

"What an immense honor it is to publish an original Hayao Miyazaki graphic novel," First Second creative director Mark Siegel said in a statement. " Shuna's Journey is a transporting, beautifully rendered tale by one of the greatest master storytellers of our time. Fans of Princess Mononoke and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (there are millions of us) will delight in finding early hints of these masterworks in gorgeous watercolor pages by Miyazaki's own hand. It's amazing Shuna's Journey has never been published before outside of Japan until now, as it belongs among his most inspired creations in any medium."

Shuna's Journey will be published in the U.S. on Nov. 1.

The secrets and surprises of Shuna’s Journey, Miyazaki’s rediscovered classic

Whether or not Shuna’s Journey is manga, it’s a haunting experience.

A new Hayao Miyazaki manga is a stop-the-presses event, even when it isn't entirely new, or maybe even entirely a manga. Miyazaki's breathtaking fantasy Shuna's Journey was first published in Japan in 1983 but has never been available in English. Now it's out from publisher First Second in a lovingly produced full-color edition with a translation from Alex Dudok de Wit.

As more or less anyone who's ever seen an anime knows, Miyazaki is one of the legends of Japanese animation. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he's renowned as the director of such films as My Neighbor Totoro , Princess Mononoke , Spirited Away , and the upcoming How Do You Live? But every once in a while, he draws manga as well.

Shuna's Journey was begun at around the same time as Miyazaki's longest and most ambitious manga, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind , which he adapted into an animated film in 1984 . Miyazaki was also interested in filming Shuna but was unable to get enough support for the story, so he drew it as a one-volume graphic novel instead.

Illustrated cover of Shuna's Journey featuring a girl on a donkeylike creature

What's Shuna's Journey about?

Shuna's Journey takes its inspiration from a Tibetan folktale called “The Prince Who Became a Dog,” but the characters and plot are Miyazaki’s own. The story opens in a small kingdom struggling through a famine. The young ruler, Prince Shuna, learns from a traveler about a fabled “golden grain” that could feed his people. Ignoring the warnings of the elders, he sets out in search of it, only to find that the outside world is even harsher than his rugged farming community.

Shuna crosses desert wastelands pocked by ancient ruins, fights raiders and cannibals, explores cities overrun with crime and corruption, and encounters cruelty and suspicion everywhere he goes. He rescues two sisters from a slave caravan, bringing the wrath of the slave traders on them. After a narrow escape, he descends into the bizarre Land of the God-Folk, a dreamlike realm which may actually be the site of abandoned advanced technology from a forgotten past. When Shuna returns to the land of the living, his experiences have broken him, and he has to rely on the sisters he rescued to help him rejoin humanity.

Miyazaki connections in Shuna's Journey

A comics spread featuring an inhabited pass between three cliffs

Fans of Nausicaä will notice a familiar vibe to Shuna's Journey. Both stories are about a courageous young ruler questing in a world where humans eke out survival under ongoing ecological disaster. In both stories, the setting may be fantasy, or it may be an SF vision of our own post-apocalyptic future, as suggested by the discovery of ancient technology left over from a long-gone civilization. In addition to sharing elements with Nausicaä, Shuna may remind fans of Miyazaki's 1997 film Princess Mononoke. Prince Shuna looks a lot like Prince Ashitaka, the male protagonist of Princess Mononoke, and both ride antelope-like mounts (described as “red elk” in Princess Mononoke).

In all three stories, Miyazaki remixes some of his favorite themes: environmental destruction, humanity's relationship with nature, and the importance of individual courage and kindness in an uncaring world. Shuna's Journey is less morally complicated than much of Miyazaki's later work. There are clear good guys and bad guys (the cannibal women who lure lost travelers into their desert home and eat them: bad) and a hero with a simple, relatable goal. Both Mononoke and the second half of Nausicaä question this kind of simplicity: in those stories, there are no clear villains, living in harmony with nature isn’t easy, and the protagonists aren't always sure about the right thing to do. (The first half of Nausicaä, the plot of which is covered in the movie, is similar to Shuna in tone—but read the entire manga to see the story and characters veer into much thornier territory).

The complexity of Shuna isn't in the story, but in the protagonist and the world he has to navigate. We don't learn more about Shuna's experiences than he himself understands, which means that many things remain unexplained. The Land of the God-Folk is so baffling it breaks his mind, but he's only slightly less bewildered by human communities overtaken by violence, slavery, and greed. Growing up in a poor but mutually supportive kingdom, he has his emotional strength slowly chipped away as he deals with people and places that lack the kindness he was raised with. Shuna's Journey ends with an optimistic message about the power of individuals, but only after sending the hero and the reader through dark, despairing territory.

But is Shuna's Journey manga?

Illustrated spread from Shunas Journey featuring houses on a mountain

Shuna's Journey is usually described as a manga, but it's a little different from a typical manga. Instead of a standard comic-book format with word balloons, it consists of illustrations with text captions, creating an effect halfway between a graphic novel and a picture book. Unlike most manga, it's in full color, so readers are treated to page after page of Miyazaki's rich watercolor art.

The hybrid format adds another level to the fantasy worldbuilding. We're not reading an ordinary adventure manga, but some kind of picture-story from an alternate civilization. The effect is distancing at first, but it's easy to get drawn into Shuna's quest and the world he explores.

It seems like Miyazaki has never made a bad drawing (in reality, as a merciless perfectionist, he probably threw them all out and went back to the drawing board), and Shuna, despite being one of his earlier works, is stunning to look at. The format allows Miyazaki to draw large illustrations and lavish detail and color on each one. Pages are crammed with fascinating, unexplained touches: elaborately patterned clothing, imaginative murals and tapestries, vast ancient ruins, strange plants and animals. It feels like Shuna's world extends far past the borders of the page.

Whether or not Shuna’s Journey is manga, it’s a haunting experience.

How Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli influences Clementine author Tillie Walden's comics

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The Journey of Shuna

View history
2 Characters
4 Inspiration
5 External Links
6 Navigation

Overview [ ]

The story opens with Shuna, the prince of a small mountain valley undergoing famine. One day, an old dying traveler arrives carrying a bag of dead golden seeds. Before passing away, he tells Shuna how he was once a young prince in a similar position to him and how he began his quest for the living grain after encountering the previous owner of the seeds. The magnificent golden grain is said to have originated from a land in the west where the moon resides. He also explains that the grain can save his people from starvation. Shuna leaves, journeying to the west over harsh landscapes astride his elk-like mount, Yakkul.

After countless months of traveling, he has a near fatal encounter with a group of female cannibals known as the Goor Tribe. After successfully driving them off, he encounters several abandoned villages and arrives at place known as "castle-town." It is a deteriorating city inhabited by slavers known as "man-hunters" who prey on those who are defenseless and barter using slaves or loot from raided villages. There he finds the golden seed but discovers that it has already been threshed and is therefore not viable. While there, he meets an enslaved girl named Thea and her sister. While he considers buying their freedom, he is turned back by the merchants. Later that night, he meets an old traveler who explains that the seeds come from a land further west that is the home of the moon and where the mythical beings known as god-men grow the grain and trade it to the man-hunters for fresh slaves. However, before falling asleep, he warns Shuna that no man had ever gone there and returned alive. When morning comes, the old man disappears and Shuna rescues Thea and her sister from the slave-traders. After being pursued for two nights, they come to a cliff and Thea and her sister part ways with Shuna, taking Yakkul with them. Before departing, Thea learns of his plans and tells him to find them in the north if he survives. After defeating the pursuers with a trap, Shuna sees the moon sweep across the sky and knows that it is heading over the cliff in the direction of the land of the god-men. He descends the cliff, at the bottom of which is a turbulent ocean. Shuna sinks into a sleep of exhaustion, and upon awakening, sees that the ocean has calmed and a sandbar has appeared connecting the beach to the land of the god-men.

Crossing the sandbar, Shuna finds himself in a paradise full of extinct plant and animal species, along with strange and passive moss-like giants. In the center of an irrigated clearing, he discovers a bizarre and eerie tower that appears to be alive, and watches as the moon settles down on the tower and empties bodies of dead slaves into it during the night. In the morning, the tower creates new giants and irrigates the field while the green giants plant golden kernels of grain, which grows throughout the day into maturity. After realizing that time is accelerated on the island upon seeing his rifle, sword, and clothing deteriorate before his very eyes, Shuna takes some of the golden grain heads; causing great pain to himself and the giants in the process. He is then pursued by howling giants as he runs to the cliff overlooking the sea and jumps in order to escape.

Meanwhile, the narrative cuts to Thea and her sister one year later. After fleeing the man-hunters, they had settled in as tenant farmers for an old woman in a remote northern village. One evening, Thea imagines that she hears Shuna's voice calling out to her, and finds him on the outskirts of the village. While he has the golden wheat in a pouch, he was mentally broken from his escape from the island. As a result, he was reduced to a traumatic state and lost his speech and memory. After Thea nurses Shuna back to health, together they plant the golden grain and begin to harvest it. At the same time, Shuna slowly recovers his voice and memories; much to the sisters' joy and relief. By this time, Thea has come of age and the old woman, eager to find another field hand, urges her to either marry or face eviction. Instead of choosing suitors from the village, Thea marries Shuna and they live together in the village for another year while harvesting the golden wheat and helping the villagers fend off raids from man-hunters. But finally Thea, her sister, Shuna, and Yakkul decide to return with half of the harvested grain to plant in Shuna's valley and end the famine.

Characters [ ]

Shuna a young adolescent prince of a small valley who sets out to find the golden grain in the land of the god-men. Helen McCarthy writes that he is considered to be prototypical to the character of Nausicaä and has obvious links to the Ashitaka character in Princess Mononoke .

Yakkul (ヤックル) Shuna's steed (here, Yakkul refers to the breed as well as the individual, which looks light brown sable antelope without a mane and a white underbelly). He is the source of inspirations and the namesake of Ashitaka 's mount in Princess Mononoke , and Arren's Steed appeared in Tales from Earthsea was also inspired by this Yakkul.

Thea (テア) An adolescent girl enslaved by the people in the "castle-town" whom Shuna frees; she later finds Shuna after his journey to the land of the god-men and helps him plant the golden wheat.

Thea's sister A very young girl freed along with Thea by Shuna.

A dwindling population and a hostile land: This theme surfaces several times in Miyazaki's more serious works, including Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Princess Mononoke , as well as here in Journey of Shuna. The main character in all of these stories comes from a small village with few young people, a low birth rate, and a dying royal bloodline. At the same time, the land that they inhabit is either barely hospitable or filled with countless dangers. In Journey of Shuna, Shuna leaves by choice in search of the grain, whereas in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Nausicaä is summoned to war, and in Princess Mononoke Ashitaka is sent into exile because of a fatal curse from a demon.

Yakkul: Shuna's mount appears in exact replication as Ashitaka's red elk, who is also named Yakkul, in Princess Mononoke . (The soft-pawed cattle that appear pulling the slaver's wagon in Journey of Shuna also appear in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind as the Dorok Cavalry's mounts).

Journey to the west: Both Ashitaka and Shuna go west in search of solutions to the problems in their respective villages. While Ashitaka searches for the forest of the gods, ancient giant wolves and boars ruled by the Great Forest Spirit for a cure to his curse, Shuna travels to the land of the god-men and their mysterious island of long-lost species to save his village from famine. However, in both cases the location of supernatural beings and the goal of their journeys lie to the west.

The old man and the fire: During the night after meeting Thea and her sister, but before their rescue, an old man comes across Shuna at his camp. In exchange for sharing some food with him, the old man tells Shuna more about the god-men and their land in the west over a campfire amongst the ruins of an old house or settlement. At the same time, he warns Shuna of how the land to the west is mystical and that no man has ever returned alive. This exact scene is paralleled in Princess Mononoke, when Ashitaka meets Jiko the priest and consults him about the iron bullet found in Nago the boar's demon body before learning of the Great Forest Spirit and the ancient forest.

Earthsea: Hayao Miyazaki once told producer Toshio Suzuki that if Earthsea was to be made into film, the plots ought to be like Journey of Shuna. Suzuki passed on this message to Goro Miyazaki, who was directing Tales from Earthsea at the time, thus certain key features in Shuna also reappear in the Earthsea production.

Inspiration [ ]

In his afterword published in the Shuna booklet, Hayao Miyazaki wrote that he took the Tibetan folktale, The Prince who became a Dog , as a source of inspiration for the novel. It is a myth of how a prince named Prince Achu saved his people by stealing barley from the west from a serpent king. He was punished by being turned into a dog but returned to human form due to the love of a young girl and returns with the grain to his people. Miyazaki wrote that while he wanted to create an animation for it at the time, no one was willing to publish such a simple story. As a result, he turned it into a graphic novel with the support of several publishers.

Kentaro Takekuma traces Miyazaki's stylistic inspirations back to the adventures he read as a child and identifies his 1969 illustrated story (絵物語, Emonogatari ) People of the Desert as a precursor for The Journey of Shuna .

External Links [ ]

Starting Point: 1979-1996 on Amazon
Starting Point: 1979-1996 on Viz Media

Navigation [ ]

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Children’s books

Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘Shuna’s Journey,’ Finally Translated Into English

First published in Japan in 1983, this picture book from the fabled animator is eerie, enchanting and surpassingly strange.

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By Susan Napier

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SHUNA’S JOURNEY, by Hayao Miyazaki

“Shuna’s Journey” is an eerie and enchanting book, a voyage into a delicately mythic realm of beauty and heartbreak. Here a traditional Tibetan folk tale about a search for fruitful seeds is interwoven with scenes of surpassing strangeness, ranging from an encounter with a vast ship made of rock — its floors formed by human bones that crunch underfoot — to a giant silvery moon that hurtles across the sky guiding a youth toward a “land of the god-folk.” It is a place in which resilient and resolute young people, both male and female, lead their elders into a better future. This visionary space has been created by the legendary Japanese artist, animator and director Hayao Miyazaki .

The world knows Miyazaki as the maker of such masterpieces as “My Neighbor Totoro,” “ Princess Mononoke ” and “ Spirited Away. ” These films feature radiant, painstakingly detailed animation highlighting three-dimensional characters who venture into supernatural realms that are sometimes dark and dangerous but also — frequently — sublime.

What many filmgoers may not know is that Miyazaki started drawing in early childhood and by high school was dreaming of becoming a manga artist. This ambition startled his conservative parents, who hoped that their son would bring in a decent living as a respectable salaried executive. Miyazaki dutifully went to college and studied economics, but he dedicated his free time to a children’s literature study group that read cherished works, often by Western authors, such as Jules Verne’s science fiction adventure “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” and Frances Hodgson Burnett’s “The Secret Garden,” in which children toil to help a withered garden bloom again. Adventures and gardens feature prominently in Miyazaki’s films, and it is no surprise that he would be attracted to the ancient Tibetan folk tale about a young prince on a quest for barley that inspired “Shuna’s Journey.”

The book, first published in Japan in 1983, is only just now appearing in an excellent English translation by Alex Dudok de Wit that captures the unexpectedly ethereal beauty of Miyazaki’s written words. More of a picture book with narration than a manga, it opens with Miyazaki’s description of a human settlement: “At the bottom of an ancient valley carved out by a glacier, there was a small kingdom which time had abandoned.” Spread out around these words is a two-page visual rendition of the ancient valley, the snowy mountains and fissured cliffs overwhelming the tiny medieval-looking kingdom. This is Miyazaki’s world, a place where nature, animals, gods and humans interact.

Shuna, the book’s hero, is a young prince trying to help his kingdom survive in this severe but beautiful space. A mysterious old man bequeaths him some dead seed husks and, with his final words, a summons to adventure. But Shuna’s is not a traditional quest for a sword or treasure. Instead it is a journey to find living seeds, with the power to grow new crops for generations to come.

Astride his gentle soft-eyed steed, a red elk known as a yakul, Shuna sets out alone across mountains, deserts and oceans. The adventures he encounters are memorable but sometimes troubling, most notably a skirmish with a caravan of slave traders who sell their captives to alien creatures in return for seeds. Perhaps inspired by his study of economics, Miyazaki limns a society based on a ruthless and barren form of exchange, where human beings are bartered for seeds that cannot be sown but only consumed.

Shuna’s skirmish with the slave traders allows him to perform a heroic action. He rescues two young sisters, the older of whom, Thea, will return the favor, pulling him back to life after Shuna’s travels take him into the mysterious world of the god-folk and he is almost destroyed. Thea and her sister, we discover later on, are refugees whose home village was burned to the ground, a chilling reminder of our contemporary world.

Shuna’s story is an uplifting one, and children will appreciate its adventure, mystery and above all the immersive world that the book draws us into. At the same time, its depiction of the barter system offers a tutorial in economics, while its emphasis on the need for living seed is a lesson in sustainability. Older Miyazaki fans will appreciate the story as a compendium of some of the most important elements in the director’s later oeuvre, especially as seen in Thea. In a manner that would become typical of Miyazaki, she is given voice and agency unusual for a girl protagonist in the 1980s, culminating in her evolution into caretaker and then partner as she helps Shuna plant the priceless grains.

But it is Thea’s nameless and voiceless little sister who ultimately conveys the story’s most important message of courage and hope. We see her in a full-page illustration dancing across green seedlings, her hair flying in the sunlight. The text describes her “joyous laugh,” noting that “the girl hadn’t laughed once since the manhunters had set her homeland ablaze, but now she was twirling all about.”

Susan Napier is the Goldthwaite professor of rhetoric and Japanese at Tufts University. She is the author of five books, most recently “Miyazakiworld: A Life in Art.” She is currently working on a book comparing Studio Ghibli with Walt Disney Animation Studios.

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Shuna's Journey

Author: hayao miyazaki, publisher: first second, hayao miyazaki is world-renowned for good reason; his illustrious studio ghibli is famous for its exquisitely animated films, many of which explore the tensions between man and the natural world. sometimes whimsical, sometimes fierce and forceful, his tales have depicted humanity as stewards of peace or purveyors of war, mother earth as a generous or hostile force. can both entities live in harmony or is one destined to destroy the other, miyazaki is also a quick study of the human condition, depicting his leads, usually female, as courageous agents bearing and braving life’s capricious demands. some of these stories are simple, slice-of-life affairs focusing on family or community. other tales are sweeping, heavy-handed epics, featuring wars and angry gods and dead civilizations, with mankind often the cause or at least entangled in-between., shuna’s journey , interestingly, is none of these things. not exactly., first, it’s not an animated film or tv series. it’s not even a manga in the vein of nausicaa of the valley of the wind , another classic miyazaki work. rather, it’s an emonogatari – an illustrated story that deemphasizes word and manga-style paneling for captions and (often) full-page art. a close american equivalent would be a hand-drawn children’s book or, more explicitly, neil gaiman’s stardust , a graphic novel in which the author combines skeins of text with singular illustrations to convey an engrossing story. shuna’s journey pushes the format to its fullest potential., second, the story is neither epic nor simplistic, but pivots somewhere between the extremes. the eponymous shuna, the story’s princely avatar, doesn’t leave his quaint homeland to save the world or defeat some terrible evil. rather, he seeks a special seed—an almost magical grain that promises to forever feed his suffering tribe. and though the young man certainly encounters some danger and excitement on his journey, he spends much of his time simply wandering across landscapes both beautiful and barren, familiar and alien. here, miyazaki’s lushly painted pages become the star, filling in the silence of shuna’s lonely travels with exotic sights and twisted lands that hover between dream and hanging fear., lastly, the story doesn’t hold to a specific genre. it’s an adventure, maybe, but not a fun, swashbuckling one. it’s almost a piece of heroic introspection, except shuna is so stoic to his core, little growth or personality is revealed. it’s about the earth, yes, but humanity is more the victim here, exploited by both his fellow man and a strangely cryptic, unyielding planet. it’s a tale of love…that goes unstated. it’s a mystery without resolution or proper payoff. ultimately, it’s a paradox that tantalizes as much as it teaches, dangling scant hints and intimations to explain an incomprehensible, even horrific set of circumstances. in fact, the tale is borderline nihilistic—a strange row to hoe for the usually optimistic author. but hope peeks through the book’s final pages, offering its characters, and its readers, a reason to still believe., the story, to its detriment, is also a curiosity, unintentionally serving as a prototypal preview of later ghibli films, most notably princess mononoke . these parallels to later works prove as distracting as they are fascinating, diminishing the potency of the original story. if possible, shuna deserves to be read first, safe in a vacuum far away from the author’s other masterworks. again, if possible., beautiful, ponderous, inexplicable… shuna’s journey is miyazaki’s imagination left to the wind, flowing and unfurling like leaves traveling without destination. indeed, the story doesn’t conclude so much as it pauses, suggesting a part two that never came. thus, the story feels more like a fragment dredged from some lost, religious text…incomplete but not insignificant. some might want more, but readers less concerned with explanations and more willing to be moved and stirred by the images and words contained therein, will find a work primal, timeless..., ...and unmistakably miyazaki.--d.

Not unlike Prince Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke , Prince Shuna must mount a similar beast and head into the unknown.

Characters bear the same signature miyazaki touch, especially in their expressions - which, as seen in the rich merchant here, actually belies an evil nature. this scene also marks a rare moment in which a speech bubble is used., the artwork is versatile, with deft use of color and shading. miyazaki wasn't just a master director; he knew how to direct his own inner talents and vision., the world shuna travels often feels alien. eerie. ominous. in a way unusual to other miyazaki or ghibli works..

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Shuna's Journey Hardcover – November 1, 2022

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December 2022 New York Times Bestseller Winner of the 2023 Eisner for Best U.S. Edition of International Material―Asia From legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki comes Shuna's Journey , a new manga classic about a prince on a quest for a golden grain that would save his land, never before published in English! Shuna, the prince of a poor land, watches in despair as his people work themselves to death harvesting the little grain that grows there. And so, when a traveler presents him with a sample of seeds from a mysterious western land, he sets out to find the source of the golden grain, dreaming of a better life for his subjects. It is not long before he meets a proud girl named Thea. After freeing her from captivity, he is pursued by her enemies, and while Thea escapes north, Shuna continues toward the west, finally reaching the Land of the God-Folk. Will Shuna ever see Thea again? And will he make it back home from his quest for the golden grain? Films by Hayao Miyazaki / Studio Ghibli include: - T he Boy and The Heron - My Neighbor Totoro - Spirited Away - Howl's Moving Castle - Kiki's Delivery Service - Princess Mononoke

Print length 160 pages
Language English
Publisher First Second
Publication date November 1, 2022
Dimensions 6.4 x 0.75 x 8.75 inches
ISBN-10 1250846528
ISBN-13 978-1250846525
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Editorial Reviews

From school library journal.

A Junior Library Guild selection "Every scene in this cinematic work stands apart with breathtaking watercolors aided by expert staging and blocking... A reimagined folktale as grand as its painted visuals are sublime."― Kirkus, starred review "This book was published decades ago in Japanese, but is now finally published in English, and it will inspire some long-overdue appreciation...For Miyazaki fans, as well as any readers who would enjoy fantastic stories that unfold in surprising ways."― School Library Journal, starred review. "Gorgeous... Shuna's Journey foreshadows much of Miyazaki's later work while still managing to be a complete standalone story in its own right." ― Entertainment Weekly "Though aimed at and certainly appropriate for younger readers, Shuna’s Journey is a delight for any graphic novel or manga fan. Beyond that, the arrival of this book is a publishing event that should be broadly celebrated." ― Forbes “Eerie, enchanting and surpassingly strange.”― The New York Times "Beautiful...we rely on the children in his stories to explain his beautiful, broken worlds to us and to assure us that they will fix them.”― The New Yorker online

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Publisher ‏ : ‎ First Second (November 1, 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250846528
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250846525
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.02 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.4 x 0.75 x 8.75 inches
#249 in Fantasy Manga (Books)

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Hayao miyazaki.

Hayao Miyazaki is the prominent director of many popular animated feature films. He is also the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, the award-winning Japanese animation studio and production company behind worldwide hits such as PRINCESS MONONOKE, HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE and SPIRITED AWAY.

Photo by Thomas Schulz detengase @ Flickr (http://flickr.com/photos/t_p_s/2842706001/) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Shuna’s Journey Is Hayao Miyzaki’s Folkloric Blueprint

Newly translated into english, this standalone graphic novel from the acclaimed director directly adapts the stories that have influenced him for decades..

Directly inspired by Tibetan folklore, Hayao Miyazaki’s early graphic novel Shuna’s Journey is a look into the themes, stories, and character archetypes that define his more well-known work. Translated by Alex Dudok De Wit and published in English for the first time since its original Japanese release in 1983, this singular work within Miyazaki’s incredible opus is well worth picking up.

Shuna's Journey

Hayao miyazaki , alex dudok de wit ( translator ).

160 pages, Hardcover

First published June 15, 1983

About the author

Hayao Miyazaki

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Hayao Miyazaki's Graphic Novel Shuna's Journey Finally Gets English Translation After Four Decades

There's some semblance of justice and gentleness in this world after all: renowned/beloved animator and film director Hayao Miyazaki 's first standalone graphic novel, "Shuna's Journey," is FINALLY receiving an American release after four whole decades.

According to Gizmodo , translator Alex Dudok le Wit will be helming the English translation of the book, which is set to receive a release via the Macmillan graphic novel imprint, First Second. In line with Miyazaki's core aesthetics, "Shuna's Journey" is an homage to the traditional emonogatrari (illustrated story) comics of late '40s and '50s Japan, as opposed to the stylistics of contemporary manga.

A Tibetan folk tale come to life

Based on the pictures shared by le Wit on his official Twitter, Miyazaki's graphic novel is filled with beautiful watercolor illustrations with minimally narrated captions, and it is endearing to simply witness these snippets. The visual and narrative themes in "Shuna's Journey," which was first published in 1983, contains strands of Miyazaki's signature style, as seen in films such as "Princess Mononoke" and "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind." Miyazaki's fascination with these elements can also be glimpsed in one of his earliest published works, namely "Sabaku mo Tami" (People of the Desert").

The core narrative follows Prince Shuna, as he attempts to find a solution to his kingdom's barren lands, setting off in search of answers. On his way, he meets a captive girl named Thea, who he rescues, making enemies of her captors in the process. Battling all odds, Shuna continues his journey west, hoping to find the golden grain that is supposed to bring prosperity to his kingdom and people. The story mirrors the themes and world-building present in " Nausicaä ," and is based on a Tibetan folk tale. Here's how de Wit describes the novel:

"The book isn't so much a manga as an emonogatari (illustrated story), with all-watercolour images and text mostly presented as captions. It is based on a Tibetan folk tale, and the fantastical pseudo-Central Asian setting has a lot in common with the world of NAUSICAÄ. SHUNA also prefigures other Studio Ghibli films, including PRINCESS MONONOKE (which borrows visual and narrative ideas from it) and Goro Miyazaki's TALES FROM EARTHSEA (which is explicitly based in part on the book). Apart from all that, it's just a really beautiful story, strange even by Miyazaki's standards, sombre and luminous by turns. I can't wait for this to be out!"

Apart from all that, it's just a really beautiful story, strange even by Miyazaki's standards, sombre and luminous by turns. I can't wait for this to be out! (Miyazaki's original afterword will be included, as will a new introduction by me.) (4/4) pic.twitter.com/y5xGwk1WKX — Alex Dudok de Wit (@dudeydok) February 22, 2022

Miyazaki, of course, is one of the world's most well-known animators and the co-founder of Studio Ghibli , having etched wondrous, heartrending tales such as " My Neighbor Totoro ," "Howl's Moving Castle," " Kiki's Delivery Service ," and "Spirited Away." Although Miyazaki touches upon heavier, more serious topics about human existence, his films have always had a quality of healthy escapism embedded within them, be it in the form of a naive nostalgia for childhood or a sincere craving for a quieter, simpler life. As there is (always) something inherently humane about Miyazaki's film and art style, the news about "Shuna's Journey" is a welcome one.

An official release date for the English translation of "Shuna's Journey" has not been revealed as of yet.

Screen Rant

Hayao miyazaki's graphic novel shuna's journey gets english translation.

Shuna's Journey, one of Hayao Miyazaki's earliest manga works, is coming to English-speaking audiences with a new translation from First Second Books.

English-speaking fans of the legendary Hayao Miyazaki are going to have a chance to read one of the filmmaker's earlier manga works. Shuna no Tabi is a story written and illustrated by Miyzaki about a young prince who sets out on adventure to find a rare grain in order to make a better life for his subjects. For the first time since its publication in 1983, Miyazaki's manga will get its first English translation by First Second Books.

Hayao Miyazaki and his films with Studio Ghibli have garnered worldwide acclaim as well as a beloved fandom. The creator's works are notable for their richly developed worlds, gorgeous visuals and emotional depth. Shuna no Tabi , also known as Shuna's Journey , contains many of the elements fans love about his more popular stories. The manga is a beautiful , watercolor illustrated tale of a young noble whose quest takes him to the lands of gods.

Related: Hulk Gets Torn to Shreds by Totoro in Hilarious Ryan Ottley Art

And now, for the first time, English speakers have the opportunity to indulge themselves in the story in their own language. As the news began to break online, author Alex Dudok de Wit announced that he will be providing the English translation for First Second Books' release of Shuna's Journey. Dudok de Wit provided fans with a bit of trivia about the book, describing it as an "emonogatari," or illustrated story. He also mentioned that the story was influenced by a Tibetan folk tale and that the Studio Ghibli film Princess Mononoke borrowed several visual and narrative cues from Shuna's Journey .

Needless to say, fans were ecstatic about the idea of a hidden gem from the creative mind of Hayao Miyazaki being brought to a new audience. Some responses mentioned they had read fan translations and were excited to see the story receive an official one. Others had never heard of the story and were delighted at the opportunity to read the manga. It comes as no surprise that people are already clamoring to read Shuna's Journey . In the last several decades, Miyazaki's name has become synonymous with quality, with the creator nominated for over 170 awards and winning 120.

It isn't just the cachet of Hayao Miyazaki's name that's got people excited. Entire generations of fans have grown up with his works, connecting with his characters, and seeing shades of themselves in stories like Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle . Miyazaki's works deliver thoughtful insights about the human condition in a fantastical manner that helps nurture the soul. Fans of his stories no doubt relish an opportunity to see how Miyazaki's earliest attempts at storytelling influenced the tales they know and love.

Said fans will have to be patient while they wait for the translation of Shuna's Journey to be complete. The English copies of Hayao Miyazaki's story will be available November 1, 2022.

Next: Hayao Miyazaki's True Masterpiece isn't His Films, it's His Manga

Source: Alex Dudok de Wit

TCJ Archive

Shuna’s Journey

Tom Shapira | December 8, 2022

Hayao Miyazaki, translated by Alex Dudok de Wit

First Second

A new manga by Hayao Miyazaki. You can tell this is a big deal by a simple fact of the cover design: the creator’s name is bigger and more prominent than the name of the creation. We are not quite at the Stephen King level, the people-are-gonna-buy-it-no-matter-what-title-we-use level, but we are getting close. Which, on the face of it, is weird. Miyazaki is first (and second and third) and foremost a movie director, an animator. His manga work, as far as the English-speaking world is concerned, is limited to Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1982-94), 1 which is greatly admired… but not to the degree of its film adaptation.

And now we have this, Shuna’s Journey . I called it ‘new’ when the better terminology would be ‘new to us’. This short book, released by First Second 2 originally came out in 1983, while Miyazaki was still working on the Nausicaä manga. Up until the announcement of its publication I had hardly seen any discussion of it, certainly not as a lost masterpiece begging for translation. A friend, an academic scholar who has written extensively about Miyazaki, referred to it as a curio. A worthwhile curio, because Miyazaki is just that good, but only a footnote in the man’s oeuvre.

Here it is, printed nice - a small (6.25" x 8.75", not as small as the usual digest size) hardcover, translated by Alex Dudok de Wit. You can certainly see why some would take it as just a stepping-stone for larger things. Several of the story cues and many of the visual ideas would be reused later in Miyazaki's film work to greater acclaim. Both the appearance of the protagonist and his beast of burden will be instantly familiar to anyone who saw Princess Mononoke . Yet, I am forced to disagree with my academic friend; this isn’t a curio, this is a damn fine book on its own terms, worth a read whether you are familiar with the creator’s later works or not. It stands by itself.

The basic story follows Prince Shuna, the future leader of a tribe living in an extremely harsh environment. They can just about grow enough food to live on, but nothing more. A chance encounter with a dying traveler reveals to Shuna the possible existence of miraculous ‘golden grain’ that can grow rich even in a soil as arid as Shuna’s kingdom. So, despite the begging of his people, Shuna takes a rifle, some supplies, and his Yakul (the above-mentioned beast of burden), and goes out on a long journey to find the golden grain. It’s a quest story - the untested youth goes outside the world he's known all his life and encounters new people and phenomena. You can be pretty sure that by the end of the book our protagonist would stop being a youth and learn to be a man. Familiar ground, though Miyazaki is said to have based it on a Tibetan folktale, “The Prince who Became a Dog”,

There’s certainly a more mythic flavor to this story than usual. Miyazaki's works usually deal with the fantastic, but often in a manner that feels more grounded than Shuna’s Journey . To bring back the Princess Mononoke comparison, the action of that film took place in a well-defined time and place, within a society that is clearly understood by the viewer as the story progressed. (Even if you don't know everything about that time and place, there's enough visual details to clue you in to how everything works.) This remains true even in Miyakazi's films that fabricate their setting out of whole cloth; there's always so much there, even if just in the background, to give a sense of a fully-functional world. Shuna’s Journey keeps things more obscure. We can never quite be sure where or when this story happens: it could be the past; it could be a Nausicaä -like post-apocalypse future; it could be another world; it could be Australia. We don’t know, because we don’t need to know.

The art, full watercolors instead of the more traditional b&w pencil and ink, is a reflection of this mythic mode. For a creator known for his attention to detail—every bolt in every aircraft, every seam in every piece of cloth rendered as realistically as possible—this work has a more ‘washed’ look to it. The small size doesn’t mean details are lost, simply because there aren’t that many details. This is not to say Miyazaki compromises his harsh standards; you can see his carefully-planned construction in the design of the rifles in the caravans and devices used by the slave traders, but these appear only when he chooses. Mostly he draws less-defined spaces in this work.

The overall page design helps with this dimension: the highest number of panels per page is three, with many more going for just two panels, or even a full-page splash. 3 There are no speech balloons or even caption boxes; both narration and dialogue are printed right atop the artwork, giving sections of the book a feeling more akin to illustrated novel than ‘comics’ - as if we are not reading the story in the present, but hearing an account from long ago.

Shuna himself remains fairly ignorant of the world around him throughout; an early encounter with slave traders awakens moral outrage in him, but he does not learn more about the world through it. In fact, he is a surprisingly passive protagonist - he takes action, but he does not often make choices, reacting to events rather than trying to shape them. The final 1/3 of the book takes (what I presume to be) the transformation of the prince into a dog from the original story and translates it into the language of post-traumatic stress disorder: Shuna goes through too much, too quickly, and has to be nursed back into health (physical as well as mental). There are no quick cuts, no montage that takes us into the desired ending; it’s a long and grueling process of Shuna finding himself, with the help of others. This is a part of the story that many would skip over, or just pass it by briefly, but Miyazaki gives it his full attention.

This makes for a curious comparison to the artist's more self-assured heroes: those characterized by overcoming the adversity of new circumstances, which would come at a different stage in Miyazaki's career. Like Shuna himself, it is possible Miyazaki was still finding his way when this work came out. But also like Shuna, Miyazaki did not bow down to the world as it is, he went out and explored it - sought out new sights and ideas. It was not an easy journey, for either creator or creation, but it was well worth it.

Which, to my great shame, I have not yet read.
Neither the first nor second publisher I think of in terms of manga translations, although their usual young adult audience is probably a good fit for Miyazaki’s works in general, and this one in particular.
By which I simply mean the panel occupies the whole page; this isn’t a Jim Lee pose-fest.

the cover image of Artist, a comic by Yeong-Shin ma

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First Second

Miyazaki’s Shuna’s Journey is coming out in English for the first time

Coming in November from First Second

Hayao Miyazaki isn’t just the director behind some of the most beloved and greatest animated films of all time – My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away – he’s also a manga-ka. And now one of his never-translated works, Shuna’s Journey , is going to be published in English for the first time.

Shuna’s Journey was originally published in 1983 and features many themes similar to Princess Mononoke and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (which was also a manga originally.) The graphic novel is coming from First Second on November 1, with a translation by Alex Dudok de Wit.

The story involves Prince Shuna’s quest for golden seeds to save his village and his encounters with gods and slaves alike.

“Fans of ‘Princess Mononoke’ and ‘Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind’ — there are millions of us — will delight in finding early hints of these masterworks in gorgeous watercolor pages by Miyazaki’s own hand,” First Second creative director Mark Siegel , said in a statement.

Translator de Wit tweeted more about the book, along with some gorgeous interior visuals.

🥁Some personal news🥁 I'm translating SHUNA'S JOURNEY, a 1983 graphic novel by Hayao Miyazaki, into English. The good folks at @01FirstSecond will publish it on November 1. (1/4) https://t.co/Wqyzbf7rgC pic.twitter.com/LWTtes4CYQ — Alex Dudok de Wit (@dudeydok) February 22, 2022

“The book isn’t so much a manga as an emonogatari (illustrated story), with all-watercolour images and text mostly presented as captions,” he continued. “It is based on a Tibetan folk tale, and the fantastical pseudo-Central Asian setting has a lot in common with the world of NAUSICAÄ. SHUNA also prefigures other Studio Ghibli films, including PRINCESS MONONOKE (which borrows visual and narrative ideas from it) and Goro Miyazaki’s TALES FROM EARTHSEA (which is explicitly based in part on the book).

Wow. Cannot wait for this, how about you?

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Review of Shuna’s Journey By Hayao Miyazaki!

November 3, 2022 Category - Anime

Have you ever heard of Shuna’s Journey?

It’s the work by Hayao Miyazaki but not famous like other Ghibli works like Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, etc.

I read it about 15 years ago, maybe right after graduation of University and I was looking for an interesting book at a kind of subculture store and found it!

I read it a bit on the spot and decided to buy as it was very interesting.

Interesting point is about 5 years ago, I happened to encounter with this book again when I ordered a secret menu at a unique book cafe in Ikebukuro.

They serve one menu with a book which is secret. I wondered what kind of book come and to my very surprise, the secret book came in front of me was Shuna’s Journey .

It is manga and not made into an anime movie, so I’ll introduce you the story and review.

※This article includes spoiler, so if you do not want, I’m glad you come back here after reading Shuna’s Journey

1. Short Summary
2.1. Unpredictable Action of Shuna
2.2. Is action by Shuna really right?
2.3. Strong Mind of Thea
2.4. Talk with a man like Jigo of Princess Mononoke
2.5. Existence of God-Folk
2.6. Bravery of Shuna
3. Original Concept from The Prince who became a Dog
4. Shuna’s Journey English Ver. Released November 2022!

Short Summary

Long time ago, there was a small kingdom at the bottom of the valley.

People were poor but lived gratefully for the small harvest. Prince of the kingdom Shuna thought what a sad poor life and what a beautiful but harsh nature.

One day, Shuna finds an old traveler lying on the ground.

Traveler shows seeds of grain which is already dead and tells Shuna that he is traveling to find the living seed.

He was once a prince of a small country like Shuna but to rescue the poor people in his country he set out on a journey to get the living seed.

Shuna got the dead seed and he also set out on a journey to find the living seed. After his long journey, what he saw was…

Unpredictable Action of Shuna

First, Shuna’s action was a kind of surprise to me.

Here, surprise means as a character made by Hayao Miyazaki..

Certainly people living there were poor but at least they felt gratefulness for the harvest. The elders also say if that’s the destiny even if we are poor, dying here is also our way.

But Shuna said “what a sad poor life” . He doesn’t have a good impression on his country.

In the end, he ignores all the advice of his father and elderlies and set out on a journey.

Shinto and Japanese culture choose to live with nature instead of conquer nature.

This is my private view but I felt like works by Hayao Miyazaki treasure this rules of nature and each main character in his works treasures that part at least.

Even though poor they are, they help each other and live with thankfulness even if that’s a poor harvest, that kind of part they treasure I felt.

But I felt action and thoughts of Shuna were opposite.

Just one point was common. That was the action he took to rescue others.

Not for himself but for others, to rescue people in his kingdom, he set on a journey. He doesn’t care taking any risk for that and this point is common in all the works by Hayao Miyazaki, I felt.

Is action by Shuna really right?

There were some scenes in which I wondered if actions by Shuna were really right.

First, he attacked merchants who were selling slaves.

Of course, I understand he can not forgive those people ethically. Still, when he had been spoken to a merchant if he could buy the slaves and couldn’t make it, he gave up and left the place.

That is, he first tried to free the slaves by buying them under the official rules (in this world) without resorting to the power and assault.

But he threatened the merchant by putting the edge of his sword to the merchant’s neck to free them in the end and that’s the opposite way of the first action of his.

Not only that, he assaulted a cart carrying slaves and killed traffickers. I think this scene is the first time Shuna killed human.

Aside from right or wrong, Shuna threatened and killed people at least.

I understand it if the situation was like lives of slave hang in the balance or his life was at risk but he attacked voluntarily in this case.

Trafficking slaves is unforgivable but was Shuna really right? Wasn’t there any other way?

Next point I felt something was the part he robbed seeds in the end. This is also an obvious predatory act .

Stepping in the land where humans were not allowed to enter and run away after ripping the plant out there. Actually, the moment he ripped out the plant, an acute pain tore through his heart.

In the end, he loses all the memories he had. This might have been the price he paid for it.

Strong Mind of Thea

When Shuna had wavering feelings when the merchant asked him of buying slaves, Thea shouted at Syuna he would also be captured if he sold his weapon, adding she didn’t want even Shuna to buy her.

Without really strong heart, no one can make such a remark, I thought.

She was promised to be free from the servitude at least but she rejected it on her own. Top of it, she made an extra disadvantageous remark saying she does’t want to be bought even by Shuna.

If this had occurred in our real world, most of us could not do, I think. Making such remark is very difficult without much pride and strong heart.

Of course, this is the world of manga, so it’s possible, still I think this kind of decision we have to make in our life regardless of its scale occurs even if the situation is different.

No one blames you and that’s not a bad thing even if you didn’t say, move, but.

This kind of situation, most of us encounter, I think. In a way, only in such a moment, real value of that person is being put to the test, I feel.

Thea was a girl who never throw away her pride of heart even if she became a slave. Nobody can rule her in the real meaning, I felt.

Talk with a man like Jigo of Princess Mononoke

What? Jigo?

A man who looks like Jigo of Princess Mononoke appears in Shuna’s Journey. Rather, his character and role are almost Jiko.

This elderly person tells Shuna the place where seeds exist.

What I paid attention was just a small talk between Shuna and this elderly person.

Shuna thought this guy knew the place of seed, so asked him eagerly. But the elderly person tells “Give me a naan before that” .

I felt this is really true.

If you want something, you give something first.

People often become like I want, I want, sometimes although it can not be helped as we are human after all. We tend to prioritize our profit before others. If you just live unconsciously without thinking, you tend to do such things, rather, adults often do it, too.

Point is those people do such a thing unconsciously like the case of Shuna. They, sometimes including me, don’t notice they prioritize themselves.

Simply put, it’s the difference of Giver who can give something to others and Taker who always work hard to get something from others

I felt this elderly person told (although he didn’t say anything directly) Shuna this very simple thing in this small talk.

Privately, I felt I wanted to be Giver regardless of whether I can get something or not.

Existence of God-Folk

God-Folks were the ones who had the seeds in the end

God-Folks gave the seeds to the humans in return for humans who had been sold by humans. Slaves, who were bought by Traffickers, had been sold to God-Folks.

Humans grew seeds and plants once but now only God-Folks keep the seeds. What humans have was dead seeds which were given by God-Folks now.

I feel this contains various metaphors.

Humans who lost, forgot the original way of living and irony of selling humans by same human race as a price.

We might be able to put those things to various incidents which occur in our real world.

If we focus on seeds, that’s native seeds which exist since old days only in the area. If we focus on our lifestyle, mass-consumption society rather than fixing and making on our own hands.

Communication of social media instead of face-to-face conversation.

Something gained, something lost.

Was that something we gained dead seeds or…

Bravery of Shuna

I feel Shuna is a person who acts emotionally using right brain rather than left brain. There are cases I can not say his action is right or wrong.

Still, he acts. He acts even if he risks his life.

I thought this is just incredible. I can not act like him if that means risk my life, actually.

For Shuna, something to accomplish overwhelms taking his life.

That old man like Jigo also told him he can go back home anytime as cozy, free life as a prince awaits for him.

But, he chose to keep going.

In the closing days of his journey, he notices he is in a very peaceful world.

Blessed with nature and foods. World of no creatures that threaten or being threatened.

I think this is the world he was looking for.

He can live happily rest of his life if he stays there without going outside. No need to fight. No need to hurt or being hurt.

And yet, he left there and set out on his journey in the end. He did so just for something he wanted to accomplish.

There are many risks in life and there is security by staying inside as well.

There is no answer like which is right but Shuna kept going even at risk to his life for something he wanted to accomplish.

Those who accomplish something might be the ones who can move with such a strong will.

What could Shuna accomplish in the end.

Original Concept from The Prince who became a Dog

It was written in the postscript and it looks like the story was made based on Tibetan folk song “The Prince who became a Dog” .

In this The Prince who became a Dog, the prince who stole grains of wheat turned into a dog instead of losing memories like Shuna.

Now finally the mystery of Shuna’s action was not something appeared in the main characters by Hayao Miyazaki was solved.

Shuna’s Journey had its original draft and I think the story developed based on it as much as possible.

It was not a perfect original work like Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and Princess Mononoke, etc.

Both endings after that, Shuna’s Journey and The Prince who became a Dog, are also similar.

In Shuna’s Journey, the seeds which Shuna brought back were not revealed after all but in The Prince who became a Dog, it was clearly revealed as “Wheat” .

Tibet is the country where staple food is wheat and this The Prince who became a Dog must have made factoring in its real history.

Shuna’s Journey English Ver. Released November 2022!

Finally, Shuna’s Journey was translated into English and release November 2022.

Publisher is First Second in United Kingdom.

It’s a hardcover book.

I checked price on Amazon US and it was about $20 .

I’m very interested in how the translation is.

And I’m also very glad that Ghibli fans in overseas could notice this Shuna’s Journey as it is not famous at all like other Ghibli films in overseas.

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Tags: Hayao Miyazaki , Review , Sammary , Shuna's Journey Author : Hiroshi

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Hayao Miyazaki’s Shuna’s Journey Wins a Best U.S. Edition Eisner Award

The recent English release of Hayao Miyazaki’s Shuna’s Journey, a precursor to Princess Mononoke, takes home a prominent award at this year's Eisners.

Hayao Miyazaki's one-volume watercolor illustrated manga, Shuna's Journey, wins Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia at the Eisner Awards.
Shuna's Journey follows a prince on a mission to find a magical grain and save his village from famine.
Studio Ghibli's latest film, The Boy and the Heron, dominates the Japanese box office, earning $11.3 million in its opening weekend. Ghibli Park reveals new attractions based on popular films.

Hayao Miyazaki 's one-volume watercolor illustrated manga, Shuna's Journey , takes home one of the biggest awards in the comic book industry.

According to Anime New Network , the classic story won the Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia category at this year's Eisner Awards, beating out Junji Ito's Black Paradox, Tatsuki Fujimoto's Look Back, Murasaki Yamada's Talk to My Back and Masaaki Nakayama's PTSD Radio. Shuna's Journey was released in Japan back in 1983 and finally received an English release in November 2022.

RELATED: 10 Best Name Meanings In Studio Ghibli Movies, Ranked

The short manga follows the titular prince of a small village in the mountains. After encountering a dying traveler, who tells him about a magical grain, Shuna sets off on a quest westward to hopefully find the grain and save his people from a deadly and persistent famine. The narrative was adapted into a radio drama in 1987 with Yōji Matsuda, who would go on to voice Prince Ashitake in 1997's Princess Mononoke , playing the main character.

The Boy and the Heron Recently Debuted in Japan

There have been multiple recent developments for Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli beyond Shuna's Journey winning an Eisner. Most notably, The Boy and the Heron (also known by its original Japanese title How Do You Live? ) , the latest feature film from the legendary director and award-winning studio, debuted in Japan on July 14. Despite receiving minimal promotion, the movie dominated the Japanese box office during its opening weekend, taking home an impressive $11.3 million.

RELATED: Hayao Miyazaki’s How Do You Live? Is the First Studio Ghibli Movie Ever Released in IMAX

The Boy and The Heron was a major undertaking for Studio Ghibli. Production actually began in 2016 and the studio's President Toshio Suzuki explained in an interview that even though 60 animators worked on the completely hand-drawn project, they were "only able to come up with one minute of animation in a month."

Moreover, Ghibli Park has revealed new attractions that will open in the near future. Mononoke Village, which is obviously influenced by Princess Mononoke , will feature a statue of the boar god Okkoto-nushi that includes a built-in slide, and Valley of Witches, which takes inspiration from Howl's Moving Castle , will enable visitors to check out Sophie's hat shop. Ghibli Park already features attractions based on other beloved films like My Neighbor Totoro and Whispers of the Heart.

Shuna's Journey is distributed in North America by First Second Books, and many Studio Ghibli classics, including Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away and Castle in the Sky, are available to stream on MAX. The Boy and the Heron will debut in North America later this year.

Source: Anime News Network

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Graphic novel by Princess Mononoke director Hayao Miyazaki to be re-released

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Elements of Shuna’s Journey, first published in 1983, later found their way into the films Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind.

Hayao Miyazaki’s Shuna’s Journey. (Photo: AP, First Second)

A graphic novel by Oscar-winning filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki is being released for the first time in the United States, nearly 40 years after it was published in Japan.

Miyazaki's Shuna's Journey, a 1983 release which contains elements later built upon in his films Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind, will be published Nov 1 by the Macmillan imprint First Second. Alex Dudok de Wit is translating the book into English.

"Fans of Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind – there are millions of us – will delight in finding early hints of these masterworks in gorgeous watercolour pages by Miyazaki's own hand," Mark Siegel, editorial and creative director of First Second, said in a statement Tuesday (Feb 22).

Miyazaki, 81, is regarded as one of the world's greatest animators. His other films include My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service and the 2001 release Spirited Away, which won the Academy Award for best animated feature. He was nominated for a best animated feature Oscar for his 2013 film The Wind Rises.

Literature / Shuna's Journey

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Shuna is the prince of a miniscule kingdom in a shadowed valley, where the citizens have can produce only just enough food and crops to scrape by. One day, Shuna meets an old weary traveler that claims to be a prince of another land. Before he dies of exhaustion, the traveler shows Shuna a pouch of dead seeds from a land far to the west, claiming that if living seeds are found, they will produce a flourishing golden grain that will allow his people to live free from the backbreaking toil and meager yield their farmland and crops entail. Shuna, along with his faithful steed Yakul, sets off to retrieve some viable seeds to return to his homeland, encountering many obstacles as well as entwining his journey with that off a mysterious girl named Thea and her sister.

It was written and illustrated by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki and first published in 1983, predating many of the works he is now most known for. Though it shares many similarities in themes and artstyle to Miyazaki's more famous works like Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Princess Mononoke , the structure of its story is closer to a fable than the epic style narratives in those works, as it is based on a traditional Tibetan tale called The Prince That Turned Into a Dog . It is not strictly a manga, relying as it does far more on narration captions than direct speech balloons, being more an emonogatari or illustrated story.

It was adapted into a 60-minute radio drama which was broadcast on NHK FM on 2 May 1987, with Yōji Matsuda (who already voiced Asbel in Nausicaä and would go on to voice Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke ) in titular role. It also partially inspired the Studio Ghibli film Tales from Earthsea , directed by Hayao's son Goro.

It was finally officially published in English by First Second Books in 2022, translated by Alex Dudok De Wit.

This book provides examples of:

Adaptational Early Appearance : Thea meets Shuna far earlier in the tale than her equivalent in the original legend does.
After the End : Like many of Miyazaki's later works, Shuna's world is implied to be set very long after some sort of civilizational collapse, as Shuna passes many relics and ruins left behind by vanished civilizations, which nonetheless depict representations of technology like firearms.
Ambiguously Evil : The god-folk, mostly on account of it being unclear what they even are . All that's seen of them is a moon-like flying saucer. The god-folk could be a sentient race of living beings, or a great elaborate machine just going through its programming.
An Arm and a Leg : When Shuna is attacked by cannibalistic bandits in this desert, he shoots off the left hand of one of the attackers, causing them to retreat.
And the Adventure Continues : After Shuna has regained his lucidity and speech and the village they were now enjoys the golden grain, Shuna sets off with Thea, her sister, and Yakul to complete his original mission of bringing the golden seeds to his homeland. The closing narration says the journey will be tough and that Shuna's troubles are far from over, but that the return journey is a story for another time.
Author Appeal : Beautiful pastoral landscapes, strange wildlife, themes of living humbly in harmony with nature vs warfare and exploitation. It is absolutely a prototype of the aesthetics and themes Miyazaki's work would become known for worldwide.
Breaking the Fellowship : When Shuna's party reaches the precipice separating the land of the gold-folk from the rest of the world while being pursued by slavers, Shuna sends Thea and her sister north on Yakul, because he needs to continue his journey and it's too dangerous for the others to follow.
The fortress city is the largest and most prosperous civilization Shuna ever sees, and the fact that he finds it after crossing a wasteland dotted only by ruins makes it stand out all the more. It also has abundant supplies of the golden grains he is seeking. Its economy is based entirely around capturing and trading slaves in exchange for the grain, who themselves acquire the grain from a far more insidious force.
The Land of the God-Folk. It's a beautiful and fertile land teeming with animals long thought to have been extinct, and sure enough, it is where the mythical golden grain grows. It's also where humans are sacrificed for the purpose of producing the golden grain in the first place.
Deuteragonist : Thea. When Shuna's memory is wiped after his ordeal in the land of the god-folk , the perspective of the story switches to her. Her actions from that point on mark her as the secondary hero.
Eldritch Location : From Shuna's perspective, the farm the grain comes from is this. It's surrounded by species thought long extinct, and after witnessing the process of the golden seeds' creation, Shuna looks around and realizes his rifle has gone rusty and his clothes raggedy, indicating that time flows differently in the God-Folks' land.
Engagement Challenge : When the old woman Thea is staying with insists she choose a husband in order to get another laborer to help with, Thea declares she will marry whoever can ride Yakul. Yakul naturally bucks off everyone who tries until Shuna, his master, tries.
The Ghost : The "god-folk" . The most we see of them is the flying saucer-like "moon" they use to drop captured humans into the machine that uses them as raw materials for the process of creating the golden grain seeds.
Human Resources : The "god-folk" drop captured humans they procure from slavers into a strange organic machine that then irrigates the surrounding farmland with water, which produces "green giants" that exhale and cultivate the living golden seeds. Shuna cannot tell if the people are converted into the green giants or the water that irrigates the farmland.
I'm a Humanitarian : Shuna nearly falls prey to a group of cannibals in the desert until he realizes the entrance to their lair is strewn with human bones.
Industrialized Evil : The god-folk exploit the humans of the outside by trading hulled seeds of the golden grain for humans captured by slavers, keeping the outside world dependent on them and trapped in a system of warfare as slavers destroy more and more villages and countries in order to capture more slaves. The slaves are then fed into an organic machine that converts them into raw material to grow more of the grain.
Insistent Terminology : The slave traders insist on being called "manhunters." Considering the people they capture and sell aren't used for labor, but are slaughtered and processed as Human Resources , it turns out to be an apt term.
Jerkass Gods : It's ambiguous if the god-folk are gods in the first place (or if they are an organization or a singular being), but the trope applies nonetheless. They take human sacrifices, use them to produce a golden grain that is a more effective crop than any other known plant in the world, then trade it to the neighboring humans for more sacrifices. Worse, the god-folk thresh the seeds, ensuring humanity cannot grow the grain themselves, thus keeping them dependent on the god-folk and fueling an industry built on raiding and enslaving.
Nothing Is Scarier : When Shuna almost enters the large organic structure in the land of the god-folk , he is suddenly seized by dread and runs to a hiding spot. This turns out to have been a wise move, as it turns out the structure is some kind of processing plant the god-folk use to convert captured slaves into Human Resources that irrigate their land and grow the golden grain, in a thankfully undepicted process.
Only the Leads Get a Happy Ending : Downplayed. Shuna succeeds in bringing back some of the golden grain and allowing the village to cultivate it themselves and alleviate their poverty, but the nightmarish process of people being captured by slavers and traded to the god-folk to be used as Human Resources is still ongoing. However, the fact the golden grain is now available outside the god-folk's slave trade might mark the beginning of the end of the cycle.
Organic Technology : The massive fleshy structure Shuna finds in the god-folk's land that he nearly enters before being instinctively repulsed by fear at the entrance turns out to be this.
Pet the Dog : Despite lamenting that she'll be losing useful labor with their departure and having been rather demanding of the young people in her care, the old woman still gifts Thea and Shuna her late husband's rifle to keep them safe on their journey back to Shuna's homeland.
Rescue Romance : Shuna first meets Thea and her sister when they are prisoners of slavers, and he soon frees them. When they encounter each other again, Thea returns the favor by helping the traumatized Shuna regain his faculties out of gratitude for saving her and her sister's life.
Satellite Character : Thea's sister. She's never referred to by name and neither is she seen not in the company of Thea.
Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior! : The old woman who Thea and her sister take refuge with in the northern village. She's described as stingy and mean, but not a bad person, and Thea understands that unhappy elders have a tendency to nag.
That's No Moon : The flying saucer-like craft the god-folk use is shown and described as resembling a bright full moon several times.
Thea's little sister is said not to have laughed since their homeland was destroyed by slavers. She laughs and dances with joy when the seeds Shuna managed to retrieve from the land of the god-folk finally sprout.
Thea herself hasn't cried since the same incident. When Shuna finally regains his power of speech and speaks her name, she cries tears of joy and relief while hugging him.
World Half Full : The lands to the east are harsh and impoverished, and the lands to the west are even worse, with cannibalism and slavery running rampant, and the world as a whole feels like life is hanging by a rapidly fraying thread. However, after many trials and tribulations, Shuna is able to acquire the seeds, plant them, and grow a renewable grain that can now be spread to the rest of civilization, indicating that things can begin to improve.
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Hayao Miyazaki's Shuna's Journey foreshadowed Ghibli movies
See how Hayao Miyazaki's graphic novel. Shuna's Journey. foreshadowed his classic films. A new English translation of the Studio Ghibli icon's 1983 comic contains seeds of Princess Mononoke and ...
Hayao Miyazaki's Lost Masterpiece Returns With Beautiful New Release
Published Nov 4, 2022. Before Hayao Miyazaki was a director, he made the graphic novel Shuna's Journey which later inspired Nausicaä and Princess Mononoke. Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most recognizable anime directors of all time, but before his famous films like Nausicaä or Princess Mononoke, he released the graphic novel Shuna's Journey.
Shuna's Journey
Shuna's Journey (シュナの旅, Shuna no Tabi) is a one-volume watercolor-illustrated graphic novel written and illustrated by Hayao Miyazaki and published as a single softcover booklet, on 15 June 1983, by Tokuma Shoten under its Animage Ju Ju Bunko imprint. The story was adapted into a 60-minute radio drama which was broadcast in Japan, on NHK FM, on 2 May 1987.
The secrets and surprises of Shuna's Journey, Miyazaki's rediscovered
Shuna's Journey takes its inspiration from a Tibetan folktale called "The Prince Who Became a Dog," but the characters and plot are Miyazaki's own. The story opens in a small kingdom struggling through a famine. The young ruler, Prince Shuna, learns from a traveler about a fabled "golden grain" that could feed his people.
Hayao Miyazaki's 40-Year-Old Graphic Novel to Get English Translation
In 1983, nearly 40 years ago, Hayao Miyazaki published a graphic novel, Shuna's Journey. And in 2022, Miyazaki's graphic novel will receive a translation into English. Studio Ghibli/Hayao ...
The Journey of Shuna
The Journey of Shuna (シュナの旅, Shuna no Tabi) is a one-volume watercolor-illustrated graphic novel written and illustrated by Hayao Miyazaki and published as a single softcover booklet, on 15 June 1983, by Tokuma Shoten under its Animage Ju Ju Bunko imprint. The story was adapted into a 60-minute radio drama which was broadcast in Japan, on NHK FM, on 2 May 1987. The story opens with ...
Book Review: 'Shuna's Journey,' by Hayao Miyazaki
Shuna, the book's hero, is a young prince trying to help his kingdom survive in this severe but beautiful space. A mysterious old man bequeaths him some dead seed husks and, with his final words ...
Reviewing Shuna's Journey: A Masterful Prelude to Miyazaki's Later
Shuna's Journey pushes the format to its fullest potential. Second, the story is neither epic nor simplistic, but pivots somewhere between the extremes. The eponymous Shuna, the story's princely avatar, doesn't leave his quaint homeland to save the world or defeat some terrible evil. Rather, he seeks a special seed—an almost magical ...
Shuna's Journey: Miyazaki, Hayao, Wit, Alex Dudok de: 9781250846525
Shuna's Journey Hardcover - November 1, 2022. by Hayao Miyazaki (Author), Alex Dudok de Wit (Translator) 749. See all formats and editions. Will Eisner Comic Industry AwardsWinner, 2023. December 2022 New York Times BestsellerWinner of the 2023 Eisner for Best U.S. Edition of International Material―AsiaFrom legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki ...
Shuna's Journey
From legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki comes Shuna's Journey, a new manga classic about a prince on a quest for a golden grain that would save his land, ... - Princess Mononoke. About the author (2022) Born in 1941 in Tokyo, Japan, Hayao Miyazaki cofounded Studio Ghibli in 1985 with Isao Takahata. Among his eleven animated features, Spirited ...
Shuna's Journey: Hayao Miyzaki Graphic Novel Review
In Shuna's Journey we can clearly see the prototype for Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Princess Mononoke, with similar beasts and narratives about climate, ecology, and human greed ...
Shuna's Journey by Hayao Miyazaki
In particular, Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke received the Japan Academy Award for Best Film and was the highest-grossing (about US$150 million) domestic film in Japan's history until it was taken over by another Miyazaki work, ... Shuna's Journey, as is explained by translator Alex Dudok de Wit, precedes much of what we now consider to be ...
Hayao Miyazaki's Graphic Novel Shuna's Journey Finally Gets ...
The visual and narrative themes in "Shuna's Journey," which was first published in 1983, contains strands of Miyazaki's signature style, as seen in films such as "Princess Mononoke" and "Nausicaä ...
Hayao Miyazaki's Graphic Novel Shuna's Journey Gets English Translation
He also mentioned that the story was influenced by a Tibetan folk tale and that the Studio Ghibli film Princess Mononoke borrowed several visual and narrative cues from Shuna's Journey. Needless to say, fans were ecstatic about the idea of a hidden gem from the creative mind of Hayao Miyazaki being brought to a new audience.
Shuna's Journey
Shuna's Journey. Hayao Miyazaki, translated by Alex Dudok de Wit. First Second. $27.99. 160 pages. Buy Now. A new manga by Hayao Miyazaki. You can tell this is a big deal by a simple fact of the cover design: the creator's name is bigger and more prominent than the name of the creation. We are not quite at the Stephen King level, the people ...
Miyazaki's Shuna's Journey is coming out in English for ...
And now one of his never-translated works, Shuna's Journey, is going to be published in English for the first time. Shuna's Journey was originally published in 1983 and features many themes similar to Princess Mononoke and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (which was also a manga originally.) The graphic novel is coming from First Second ...
Review of Shuna's Journey By Hayao Miyazaki!
A man who looks like Jigo of Princess Mononoke appears in Shuna's Journey. Rather, his character and role are almost Jiko. This elderly person tells Shuna the place where seeds exist. What I paid attention was just a small talk between Shuna and this elderly person. Shuna thought this guy knew the place of seed, so asked him eagerly.
Early Miyazaki Graphic Novel Shows The Studio Ghibli Founder's
It is easy to see the through line from Shuna's Journey to Miyazaki's 1984 breakthrough film, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and later explorations of comparable themes like Princess ...
Rare Hayao Miyazaki Manga Released in English for the First Time
Shuna's Journey, a one-volume watercolor illustrated graphic novel by Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, is finally receiving an English release.. According to ABC News, the graphic novel, which was originally published in Japan in 1983, is being translated by Alex Dudok de Wit and will be released by First Second Books on Nov. 1. "Fans of Princess Mononoke and Nausicaä of the Valley of ...
Hayao Miyazaki's Shuna's Journey Wins a Best U.S. Edition ...
Summary. Hayao Miyazaki's one-volume watercolor illustrated manga, Shuna's Journey, wins Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia at the Eisner Awards. Shuna's Journey follows a prince on a mission to find a magical grain and save his village from famine. Studio Ghibli's latest film, The Boy and the Heron, dominates the Japanese box ...
Shuna's Journey by Hayao Miyazaki, Hardcover
December 2022 New York Times Bestseller Winner of the 2023 Eisner for Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia From legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki comes Shuna's Journey, a new manga classic about a prince on a quest for a golden grain that would save his land, never before published in English! Shuna, the prince of a poor land, watches in despair as his people work themselves to ...
Graphic novel by Princess Mononoke director Hayao Miyazaki to be re
A graphic novel by Oscar-winning filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki is being released for the first time in the United States, nearly 40 years after it was published in Japan. Miyazaki's Shuna's Journey, a 1983 release which contains elements later built upon in his films Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind, will be published Nov 1 ...
Shuna's Journey (Literature)
Shuna's Journey. These things might have happened long ago; they may still be to come. No one really knows anymore. Shuna is the prince of a miniscule kingdom in a shadowed valley, where the citizens have can produce only just enough food and crops to scrape by. One day, Shuna meets an old weary traveler that claims to be a prince of another ...

See how Hayao Miyazaki's graphic novel Shuna's Journey foreshadowed his classic films

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