By Helen McCarthy
Stonebridge Press

We knew sooner or later that someone was going to write a book in English on Miyazaki, it was simply a matter of time. And then, of course, who was going to do it? Would they get someone who was an anime fan, or someone who simply would throw together a book in time to cash in on the (hopeful) wave of success that PRINCESS MONONOKE will bring?
Stonebridge Press, one of the leading publishers of books on Japanese and Japanese popular culture, gave this once-in-a-lifetime job to Helen McCarthy, editor of the now-defunct ANIME UK magazine.
The book is a chronological history of Miyazaki's films. The first chapter is an introduction to Miyazaki's life, and it contains a brief biography which fans will no doubt find interesting. This chapter also includes a sort of animation primer, in an attempt to provide the layperson with a sense of all the work required to make an animated feature-length film. The successive chapters cover all the films of Miyazaki from LUPIN III: CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO to PRINCESS MONONOKE. Only Miyazaki's films are covered in this book; Ghibli productions not directed by him are not included.
The chapters follow a set pattern of explaining the film's origins, summarizing the production and art of the films, introducing the characters, synopsizing the story and then a general commentary. For a mass-market audience, this is indeed the most sensible way to organize the book. However, anyone familiar with Miyazaki's work may find that some sections add little or no new information. For example, the plot summaries of the films and character descriptions are of little interest to me. As I have seen all of these films many times, I know the stories and I don't need to have them retold for me. Had I not seen the films, I wouldn't want the entire story laid bare before my eyes. Of course, McCarthy warns that spoilers abound and suggests that those not wanting to have the surprises ruined skip the summary sections. However, it almost makes me wonder why so much attention was devoted to these sections in the first place.
The tone of the book sometimes wavers between the that of an academic and that of a pop journalist. McCarthy will give an insightful, intelligent analysis of some aspect of Japanese culture and how it is reflected in a particular Miyazaki film, and then go on to talk about the Disney-Tokuma deal by using terms like "The Mouse." The transition between voices was somewhat jarring, and I felt, detracted from the book at times by attempting to jump from an analytical perspective to a fan perspective.
She does, however, succeed in painting a very descriptive portrait of Miyazaki, especially in both the Origins and Commentary sections of the chapters. His wit, humor and understatement are all translated onto the printed page beautifully, and reading this book can truly give the reader a sense of Miyazaki as a man as well as an artist.
One other nice touch is the filmography that appears at the back of the book. It allows the readers to see Miyazaki's entire career, including his early works. Titles like PANDA KOPANDA and AKAGE NO ANN (ANNE OF GREEN GABLES) which shaped Miyazaki's professional development are not very well known among his American fans, and McCarthy does Miyazaki a service by presenting his other works in this format.
The book itself is nicely laid out, mostly in black and white but with eight color pages of illustrations. There are a fair number of illustrations throughout the book, and they are chosen from some of the most memorable scenes from Miyazaki's films. However, for the $18.95 cover price, which is somehwhat pricey for a softcover book, I would have liked to see a bit more color in the book.
Overall, this book is good, and fans who want to know everything they can about Miyazaki are sure to pick this up. Whether it appeals to the new U.S. fans who will experience Miyazaki for the first time on October 29 is another story. But it certainly has potential.

Published by Stonebridge Press
Black and White and Color images
ISBN: 1-880656-41-8
$18.95
Availabe now in the US
Where to buy