Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki (Vol 1)

Spirited Away volume 1, based on the movie by Hayao Miyazaki, tells the story of Chihiro. She’s being forced to move to a new home, a new school and is not taking it well. On the way to the new house, she and her parents stop alongside the road. Her parents stumble upon a few food booths and begin to eat, but Chihiro feels something is not right. She stumbles upon a ghost town and is at the mercy of the spirits, provided she follow a few rules outlined by a mysterious stranger.

Fast forward to the future (no timeline, for sure), Chihiro, now named Sen is trying to work within the bath house and learning to live according to the rules within the ghost world. But something calls to her, her old life. She needs to make certain she doesn’t forget her old life, her old name AND her parents. But when she accidentally brings in something that doesn’t belong, she puts everything into jeopardy. Including her own name.

Spirited Away is my favorite movie of its type and I am happy I picked this up. The sturdy construction of the paperback has a dust cover AND features print-like clips from the film, scene by scene.

Who would read this: Fans of Studio Ghibli, Geeks (like me) who haven’t read manga but love the movie, anyone interested in a good, strong female character–this is an ALL ages book.

Time to Read: This took about 30 minutes… I wish it had gone on longer.
Rating: 5/5 stars

Funny Story: I don’t really read manga, I may open it up to Studio Ghibli books because this was AWESOME!

Final thoughts: It was hard to get all of the books, but it was totally worth it. While I would not have selected a manga normally, it was part of a challenge–and I am so happy I actually read it! It may have opened a door.