studio ghibli

About Studio Ghibli

What is Studio Ghibli?

Established in 1985 by Tokuma Shoten Publishing, Studio Ghibli is an Animation Studio based in Japan and helmed by Hayao Miyazki, Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki. Tokuma Shoten had been serializing Miyazaki's manga version of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind since 1982. The following year they decided to produce a film version ofNausicaä, to be directed by Miyazaki himself. When the finished film was released in Japan in 1984, it proved such a success that Miyazaki and Tokuma decided to create a studio dedicated to the production of high quality animated feature films like Nausicaä. In this way Ghibli is unique among Japanese animation companies, most of whom depend primarily on TV series and OAVs for income.

Because they focus on large-scale feature films, Studio Ghibli make around one film a year, most of which have been directed by either Miyazaki or his colleague Isao Takahata. The Studio has won numerous awards, including an Oscar® for Best Animated Feature forSpirited Away, and has enjoyed considerable box office success both at home (where Spirited Away proved more popular than Titanic) and abroad.

What does Ghibli mean?

Ghibli means "hot wind blowing through the Sahara Desert". The name was used for Italian scouting planes during World War II leading Miyazaki, a fan of airplanes from a young age, to name the studio after it. Although "Ghibli" is an Italian word, it is pronounced jee-blee, or ji-bu-ri in Japanese.