The Tree In The Middle Of The World (世界の真ん中の木) is a children’s book/illustrated novel drawn and written by the late Ghibli animator Makiko Futaki (二木真希子), who passed away in 2016. A veteran animator who has worked on every Ghibli film since 1988 right up to When Marnie Was There, Futaki also lent her superb animation skills to Katsuhiro Otomo’s animated sci-fi masterpiece Akira.
With a strong interest in nature and animals, Futaki’s inspiration for this book was further fueled during a trip to the island of Yakushima while she was doing research for My Neighbor Totoro. The story follows a young girl by the name of Shishi and her perilous journey to discover the great tree, encountering a young boy Sama who partners and aids her in the quest. This book was published posthumously for the first time in 2019.
Futaki’s superb flair for illustrating imaginative worlds with lush, verdant vegetation makes for rich eye candy and an enjoyable read. While she is no longer with us, her beautiful art work will continue to inspire readers for generations to come. Recommended.
“Tree In The Middle Of The World – Makiko Futaki Illustrated Novel 世界の真ん中の木 二木真希子 絵物語” poem/picture book details :
– Dimensions – 14.8 x 21 x 1.5 cm
– Hardcover, 136 pages
– Full color, in Japanese
Buy From Amazon.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon FR | Amazon IT | Amazon DE | Amazon ES
You might also be interested in these items :
Sable – Kimura Shinji Illustrated Children’s Book Review
Panzertales World Tank Museum Illustrated Art Book Review
Busasaurus – Daisuke Igarashi Illustrated Picture Book Review
The Illustrated World Of Tolkien Book Review
Monster Land – Junaida Illustrated Picture Book Review
August 1st, 2021 at 1:44 am
These illustrations are beautiful! Do you think there’s any chance of this getting an English release?
Also, I just wanted to point out a typo, as you said she worked on every Ghibli film since 1998, when she’s worked on their films since the studio’s inception in the 80s.
Anyway, thanks for sharing, I hadn’t actually heard of Makiko Futaki before. So it’s always nice to put a name to the many iconic sequences she worked on.
August 4th, 2021 at 2:35 pm
Coffee – You never know ! But I’ll say the chances are quite small seeing how most Japanese art books never get picked up for English editions.
I fixed the typo, thanks for the heads up !