| Shopping Guide |
| From the FAQ by Ryoko Toyama |
| Book List: | http://www.nausicaa.net/~miyazaki/books/ |
| CD List: | http://www.nausicaa.net/~miyazaki/soundtracks/ |
| Video/LD list: | http://www.yk.rim.or.jp/~wadakun/getro/graphy/VList.html |
(Video/LD list by WADA Mitsuhiro)
| INDEX |
[ General Information | Merchandise | Anime | Manga | Books | Soundtracks | CD-ROM | Music Sheets | Scale Models | Shopping Around the World ]
Q: Where can I get Ghibli merchandise such as stuffed Totoros or Japanese LDs?
You can buy Japanese merchandise (LDs, CDs, laminates, posters, calendars, artbooks, stationery, bags, stuffed animals) at anime importers such as:
Nikaku Animart in San Jose (http://www.nikaku.com/),
UCI Bookstore (http://www.book.uci.edu/anime.html),
The Place in Fremont (http://www.the-place.com/),
Planet Anime in Houston (http://www.neosoft.com/~planet/),
Mikado Laserdisc in San Francisco.
Kimono My House (http://slip.net/~kimono/index.html) sells Japanese toys, including a lot of Totoro toys.
Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/) sells several Miyazaki-related books (in Japanese and English), and soundtracks.
Japanese book stores such as Kinokuniya, Asahiya, or Books Nippan (http://club.jpn.net/nippan/).
See Anime Web Turnpike at http://www.anipike.com/cometc.html for the list of Anime shops's web pages.
See Anime Resource List, http://www.cybercomm.net/~starbuck/faqs/faql4.animeres.faq for the address and phone number of these stores.
For anime shops near you, check http://www.anipike.com/comguide.html.
Also, try rec.arts.anime.marketplace to look for used
copies.
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How to import books/CDs/merchandise from Japan: visit WADA Mitsuhiro's page, http://www.yk.rim.or.jp/~wadakun/getro/shop/.
Also, for Nausicaa goods: http://www.yk.rim.or.jp/~wadakun/getro/animation/Nausicaa.html
and for Mimi goods: http://www.yk.rim.or.jp/~wadakun/getro/animation/Mimi.html
Mononoke Hime goods at Ghibli's Official site: http://www.ntv.co.jp/ghibli/goods/index.html (in Japanese)
Ghibli Goods at Ghibli's Official site: http://www.ntv.co.jp/GHIBLI/goods/c_goods.html (in Japanese)
There is tons of Totoro merchandise in Japan. If you are really interested, you can buy a book, "Totoro ga Ippai", which catalogues all the Totoro merchandise ever made. For pictures of stuffed toys and other Totoro goods, see http://www.nausicaa.net/file-archive/Totoro/images/goods/ .
In Japan, many shops sell Ghibli goods. Some of them have their own web page. For example, see:
Benelic: http://www.benelic.com/t_totoro.htm for Totoro goods and http://www.benelic.com/t_mono.htm for Mononoke Hime goods.
Tokyo Omocha Club: http://www.gsquare.or.jp/jpv/1/t11.htm for Totoro and Mononoke Hime Jigzaw puzzle.
These pages are in Japanese, but you can see many pictures of Ghibli goods. Unfortunately, they don't take orders from outside of Japan.
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For detailed information about the availability of Ghibli films, see "Availability" page for each title in the Ghibli film page, http://www.nausicaa.net/~miyazaki/films/
Q. What Miyazaki/Takahata/Ghibli movies and TV shows are available on video in English?
"Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro" (rather badly dubbed) and "Lupin's Greatest Capers" (dubbed, contains the Miyazaki-directed TV episodes "Aloha, Lupin" and "Albatross - Wings of Death") from Streamline Pictures (http://www2.insv.com/streamline/). Since Streamline has exited from the anime business, we don't know how long they will distribute "Lupin". Manga Entertainment has picked up "Cagliostro", and rumor has it that they are going to release a subbed version.
"My Neighbor Totoro" (dubbed, also on laserdisc) from Fox.
"Sherlock Hound" (dubbed) from Just for Kids Home Video/Celebrity Home Entertainment ( For more information, check http://www.nausicaa.net/~miyazaki/file-archive/hound.videography.)
"Grave of the Fireflies" (subbed and dubbed) from Central Park Media (http://www.centralparkmedia.com/).
"Pom Poko" was released theatrically with English subtitles in 1995 as Japan's entry for the 1995 Academy Awards' Best Foreign Film.
These are relatively easy to find at your local video rental or retail store. There was also a horribly dubbed and edited version of "Nausicaa", called "Warriors of the Wind", but Studio Ghibli says that they want people to just forget about this version.
Q. Where do I get the English versions of these movies and TV shows?
You can order them through your local video store or you can mail order them from various places such as anime shops mentioned above. For anime shops near you, check http://www.anipike.com/comguide.html. Also, try rec.arts.anime.marketplace to see of anyone is selling used copies.
Q. Is there any other way I can get hold of or see the rest of their stuff?
You have several choices:
a) Wait until Disney releases Ghibli's movies. Disney has made a deal with Tokuma/Ghibli to distribute 9 Ghibli films worldwide. Disney is going to video release "Kiki's Delivery Service" in September, 1998, and "Laputa, Castle in the Sky" in 1999 in the US. These are new English dubs. Disney (Miramax) will also theater release "Mononoke Hime" in North America in 1999. Other Ghibli movies are planned to be video released, though we do not know when Disney will release the rest of the films.
b) Buy the Ghibli LD Box Set. It costs more than $1,000, but it contains all the animes Ghibli ever made. "Kiki", "Laputa", "Porco Rosso", and "Totoro" come with (mono) English dubs on the right analog audio track. "Kiki" is considered to be a fairly good dub, though "Porco Rosso" is considered to be so-so. Disney will redub these (with better voice actors and sounds, they say), so you might want to wait. The Box Set is a limited edition. You will have to check with Anime importers for its availability.
c) You can also order Japanese videos or
laserdiscs for each title through anime importers, but they
are rather expensive. In Japan, videos cost as much as LDs, so
most fans go for LDs. Expect to pay from $70 to $130 per disc for
an LD. You can split the cost if you buy them with your friends.
You can also get used copies (those who bought the Ghibli Box Set
are now selling their old LDs). Check rec.arts.anime.marketplace
for availability.
These are not English dubbed, but you can find English translated
scripts in our file archive, http://www.nausicaa.net/~miyazaki/file-archive/. For the list of Videos and LDs available in Japan,
see WADA Mitsuhiro's page at http://www.yk.rim.or.jp/~wadakun/getro/graphy/VList.html.
d) Theater. A few of these films have had theatrical runs and if you're lucky enough to live in a big city and happen to notice that a film festival will be presenting one showing of one of these movies, you can see it in the theater.
e) Cons. Go to an anime convention or some science fiction conventions and they may be showing some of Miyazaki or Takahata's works.
f) Get a fansub of the movie or series. A fansub is where some person or group has taken a movie/series, translated it, and then using a computer and video equipment, made an English-subtitled tape of it. Since Disney has acquired the global distribution rights for the Ghibli movies, most fansubbers have stopped distributing their copies. Your best bet is to go to rec.arts.anime.marketplace and see if anyone is willing to sell or trade a copy. However, we don't recommend that you do this. Ghibli or Miyazaki cannot get any monetary compensation for their great works if you buy a fansub, which is unfair to them (they deserve every penny, and need it for their next production). Besides, fansubbing is illegal. If you buy fansubs, only get or pass along works that are NOT commercially available. And if you have a fansub of a title and that title becomes commercially available, GO OUT AND BUY IT!
Q. But I want a sub, not a dub. I can't get a sub from Disney, right?
Disney is releasing a subbed version of "Kiki's Delivery Service" (in letterbox), as well as a dubbed version. The laserdisc version of "Kiki" also contains the original Japanese soundtrack and English subtitles available through the closed captioning. At this point, we are not sure if Disney would do the same for other titles.
Q. What is in the Ghibli LD Box Set?
Ghibli ga Ippai (All About Ghibli) LD Box Set, TKLO 50180. All the anime Ghibli ever made, including On Your Mark, Sora Iro no Tane, and Nandaro are in it. It also contains a talk between Miyazaki and Akira KUROSAWA, more interviews of Miyazaki, and a documentary on the making of "Only Yesterday". They are letterboxed, with digital surround stereo (where available), CLV, NTSC, 13 discs in the box. All the movies are beautifully remastered, with much clearer images and colors, and details are visible that you couldn't see in the older Japanese LDs. It's the ultimate collector's item.
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For detailed information, see Miyazaki Manga page, http://www.nausicaa.net/~miyazaki/manga/
Q. What mangas by Miyazaki are available in English?
Viz Communications has published an English version of "Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind" as a Viz Graphic Novel. In total, there are seven volumes. Each costs about 17 dollars. You can order them through your local comic book store or directly from Viz Communications, PO Box 77010, San Francisco, CA 94107, http://www.viz.com/. "Nausicaa" is also available from Viz as a "Perfect Collection".
Viz also published the English translation of " Hikoutei Jidai", the manga "Porco Rosso" was based on, as "The Age of the Flying Boat" in ANIMERICA #5-7, 7/93-9/93. For the availability of Animerica, ask Viz.
Q: What's the difference between the Graphic Novels and Perfect Collections?
There are 7 volumes in the GN, and there are 4 in the PC. A PC volume contains two GN volumes or one and part of another. A PC vol costs more or less the same as a GN vol, but the GN vols presentations is nicer (dust cover, and they used to have better quality paper and included a watercolor page inside, except for the volumes 6 and 7).
Q: How can I get the Japanese version mangas by Miyazaki?
Check with Nikaku Animart or Japanese language book store chains such as Kinokuniya Bookstore, Asahiya, or Books Nippon.
There are seven volumes of "Nausicaa" (Animage Comics Wide, Tokuma Shoten), and each costs from 350 - 470 yen. ISBN: 4-19-773581-2 (Vol. 1). Also, Tokuma published a deluxe edition of "Nausicaa" in November, 1996. It's A4 size, two volumes (552 pages and 536 pages), 5,800yen each. "Hikoutei Jidai" (ISBN4-499-20595-6), the manga "Porco Rosso" was based on, and "Miyazaki Hayao no Zassou Note" (ISBN4-499-20602-2), the compilation of the short manga about planes, tanks, war, and so forth, are available from Dainippon Kaiga.
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For the comprehensive Miyazaki/Takahata/Ghibli book list, visit http://www.nausicaa.net/~miyazaki/books/.
Q: Is any other Miyazaki/Ghibli related book available in English?
There are storybooks available from Tokuma, called the "Tokuma Magical Adventure Series". They are hard cover with storybook type text accompanied by frames from the films. The pictures are fairly large and nice to look at. These should be relatively easy to find.
Nausicaa 1: ISBN 4-19-086975-9
Nausicaa 2: ISBN 4-19-086976-7
Laputa: ISBN 4-19-086973-2
Kiki: ISBN 4-19-086972-4
Totoro: ISBN 4-19-086971-6
Q: What are the "Art of" books?
There is one for each of Nausicaa, Laputa, Totoro, Kiki, Only Yesterday, Porco Rosso, and Mononoke Hime. The books range from around 2600 to 2800 yen in price, and are each around 200 pages. They are paperbound but printed on high quality glossy paper. Edited by the staff of Animage magazine, they contain a variety of sketches, storyboards, background information, and cel reproductions (with backgrounds). From Kiki onward, the books contained a full script (not just dialog, but also action cues, etc.). The books are quite beautiful and a good buy if you want this level of detail. Some of them are out of print, so you have to check anime importers or Japanese bookstores for their availability. Sometimes, you can find them at anime conventions.
Q: What are "Film Comics"?
These are available for many anime productions, not just Studio Ghibli films. They are basically color manga made entirely of cel setups from the corresponding anime (i.e., there's no additional art beyond that in the film or video), with the complete dialog for the film (sometimes minus an occasional background line) in the word balloons for the manga (as well as overlays of the usual manga sound effect words). They usually have full furigana (pronunciation hints) for kanji, so if you know some Japanese and can read kana, you may well be able to read it (if your Japanese can handle the dialog, of course). They generally run around 700 yen per volume, and they usually come in sets of four for feature films, so that's 2800 for the set. Perhaps not worth it unless you have no other source of art (film comics do seem to stay in print), or you want to translate on your own.
Q: What are "Roman Albums"?
Roman Albums are a series of books that contain lots of postage stamp sized stills from the movies, which cost around 1,500 yen. They also contain some production art and sketches along with interviews of the animators and voice actors (in Japanese, of course). "Roman" means "novel" in French. There are Roman Albums on Nausicaa, Totoro, Laputa, Kiki, Only Yesterday, Porco Rosso, and Mononoke Hime. However, most of them are out of print and rather hard to find. You have to check anime importers for their availability. You can also find them at anime conventions, or you can check rec.arts.anime.marketplace to see if someone is offering them. You can also try used book shops in Japan if you have a chance to go there.
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For a comprehensive Ghibli CD list, visit http://www.nausicaa.net/~miyazaki/soundtracks/.
Q: How can I get the soundtracks of Ghibli anime?
You can buy CDs through Japanese anime importers. There are several kinds of CDs based on Ghibli anime. They are:
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Title:
"The Art of Nausicaa"
"The Art of Laputa"
"The Art of Totoro"
"The Art of Kiki's Delivery Service"
"The Art of Only Yesterday"
"The Art of Porco Rosso"
for Windows and Mac. Distributed by Tokuma Japan Communications.
Price:
5,800 yen each (excl. tax)
Contents:
Each title contains every picture in the respective "The Art
of" book, but no extra (except cute icons such as Catbuses
for "Totoro", Ohmu for "Nausicaa"). The
soundracks and image songs from the movie are played while you
run the program. There are three different modes
("Scenes", "Topics", "Auto") to
allow the user to choose the method of viewing pictures.
Requirements:
You don't need Japanese capable computers, since all the text are in graphic mode. And it's fairly easy to use, even if you are not Japanese capable. ^_^
Title:
"Lupin III: The First TV Series Encyclopedia",
available from Vap, for
Windows 3.1 - VPRJ-09713
Window95 - VPRJ-09723
Mac - VPRJ-09703
Price:
5,800 yen (Excl. tax)
Contents:
-Digest movies of all the 23 episodes of the first Lupin TV
series in 320*240, full frame motion. Narrated by KOBAYASHI
Kiyoshi, the voice actor of Jigen.
-Previews from episode #2 ~ #21
-Opening and Ending animation: 6 patterns in total.
-Data Base: About 400 data with a rulet-like searching tool.
-Settei (Model Pack): Model packs for characters, mecha, and
places.
Title:
"Conan The Boy in the Future Digital Library"
for Windows and Mac. Available from Bandai Visual (Emotion
Digital Software). BCRW-0007
Price:
9,800 yen.
Contents:
43 Background images
74 Stills from the series
96 Animations from the series (with sound), incl OP and ED.
701 Rough sketches.
34 Computer graphics pictures
You can access the pictures or animation
from the following sections:
- Story: The contents of all episodes can be accessed.
- Scenario
- Encyclopedia
- Characters: A description of each character (or group)
- Mecha: A description of mecha
- World Map Navigator: Click at the World Map to get info about
each location.
- Collection: An overview of all the merchandising with photos.
- Appendix
- Funny Scenes: 14 animation clips from the series
- Pata Pata: A slot machine like game where you can assemble a
character out of 3 parts; head, torso and legs.
- Overseas versions: one animation clip from each of the
following foreign versions: English, Hungarian, Cantonese,
Italian and Catalan.
Requirements:
Windows 3.1: 486DX-25MHz or higher. SoundBlaster compatible sound
board. VGA, Super VGA and XGA for graphics.
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Q: Where can I get the scores of the beautiful music in Ghibli movies?
Piano scores for the pieces from the soundtracks and image albums are available in several degrees of difficulty. You can order them through Japanese book shops such as Kinokuniya or Asahiya.
Piano Solo and Keyboard Animation Best Collection: Hayao Miyazaki, from Onkyo Publishing, 2575 yen. It has a combination of Mimi, Porco, Kiki's, Totoro, Laputa, Nausicaa, and Only Yesterday.
Nausicaa:
Piano Solo Album, Doremi Gakufu Shuppansha, 1030 yen, ISBN
4-8108-1797-0
Piano Solo Album, KMP, 1339 yen, ISBN 4-7732-0586-5
Soundtrack & Symphony, Tokyo Ongaku Shoin, 1545 yen, ISBN
4-8114-1994-4
Laputa:
Piano Solo Album, Doremi Gakfu Shuppansha, 1030 yen, ISBN
4-8108-1798-9
Piano (Soundtrack & Image songs), Tokyo Ongaku Shoin, 1545
yen, ISBN 4-8114-1993-6
Totoro:
Piano Solo Album, Doremi Gakufu Shuppansha, 1030 yen, ISBN
4-8108-1799-7
Piano Image Song Collecton, Zen-on Gakufu Shuppansha, 1339 yen,
ISBN 4-11-179020-8
Piano (Soundtrack & Image Songs), Tokyo Ongaku Shoin, 1545
yen, ISBN 4-8114-1988-X
Kiki:
Piano Solo Album, Doremi Gakufu Shuppansha, 1030 yen, ISBN
4-8108-1650-8
Piano Solo (Image Album), Tokyo Ongaku Shoin, 1236 yen, ISBN
4-8114-1450-0
Piano (Soundtrack & Image Songs), Tokyo Ongaku Shoin, 1545
yen, ISBN 4-8114-1630-9
Piano Solo Album, KMP, 1442 yen, ISBN 4-7732-0589-X
Porco Rosso:
Piano Solo Album, KMP, 1339 yen, ISBN 4-7732-0754-X
Piano Solo (Image Album), Tokyo Ongaku Shoin, 1236 yen, ISBN
4-8114-9580-2
Piano (Soundtrack & Image Songs), Tokyo Ongaku Shoin, 1751
yen, ISBN 4-8114-9606-X
Whisper of the Heart:
Piano Solo, Tokyo Ongaku Shoin , ISBN 4-8114-2354-2
Piano Solo Album, Doremi Gakufu Shuppansha, 1030 yen, ISBN
4-8108-2660-0
Mononoke Hime:
Piano Solo (Image Album), Tokyo Ongaku Shoin, 1442 yen, ISBN
4-8114-2679-7
There are also music sheet for brass band, from Doremi Gakufu Shyuppansha and Tokyo Ongaku Shoin.
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Q: Where can I get scale models of Ghibli characters/mecha?
You can buy them from anime importers, or on-line model shops such as HobbyLink Japan (http://www.iac.co.jp/~hlj/ ) or Rainbow Ten (http://www.wbs.or.jp/bt/models/english/index.html ).
Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro model kits from Gunze Sangyo.
Nausicaa model kits and Laputa model kits from Tsukuda Hobby. http://www.iac.co.jp/~hlj/pages/tsukuda/tsuscifi.html
Action figures of Lupin III
from Medicom http://www.iac.co.jp/~hlj/pages/medicom/medfigs.html#Lupin
III
Prebuilt models of Shishigami and Yakkul from Mononoke Hime
from COMINICA http://www.jaspanet.or.jp/COMINICA/ (in Japanese)
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(If you live in a country other than the US)
Ghibli/Miyazaki/Takahata Anime in your local language: visit Ghibli International Page by Matt Francis at http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/asbel/main.htm
Anime shops near you: check http://www.anipike.com/comguide.html. Also, try rec.arts.anime.marketplace to look for used copies.
How to import books/CDs/merchandise from Japan: visit WADA Mitsuhiro's page, http://www.yk.rim.or.jp/~wadakun/getro/shop/.
Some US anime shops ship their goods overseas. Check Anime Web Turnpike at http://www.anipike.com/cometc.html for the list of anime shops' web pages.
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