SHUNAS JOURNEY HC

Gosh! Best Of 2022

Age: 13+

A lost (to the West anyway) classic by Studio Ghibli supremo Hayao Miyazaki, originally published in 1983, and never before released in English. Created two years before he established the studio for which he'd become known, Shuna's Journey is loosely based on an old Tibetan folktale, and has many of the themes around nature and civilisation which would go on to dominate his work. A self-contained volume, the story is related in prose captions accompanied by Miyazaki's lush watercolour artwork, full-colour throughout. A chance for us to see one of the earliest works of one of the world's most inventive creators.

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?