Princess Mononoke is my favourite Miyazaki/Ghibli film of all time. I remember watching it for the first time as a teenager and its incredibly visceral energy and stunning animation left me in a mild state of trauma, albeit in a good way.
Running at a whopping 134 minutes, Mononoke Hime is Ghibli’s lengthiest film ( I think ), and the whole animation was painstakingly storyboarded by Miyazaki-san himself, shot by shot. This book contains the entire collection.
(above ) A quick lesson in reading Japanese storyboards. There is a wealth of juicy morsels to be found in the notes if you can read Japanese.
(above right ) – a drawing that extends beyond the bounding box usually means the shot has a camera move, in this case a pan.
(above) A pivotal scene in the film – Ashitaka meets San ( Princess Mononoke ) for the first time. *cue Princess Mononoke main theme, string version*
(above) Grumpy Ashitaka and San. I love how Miyazaki-san finds time for self amusement/encouragement even during crazy production crunch times. San says “Quit your dilly-dallying !” and Ashitaka “Start drawing !!”.
(above) Miyazaki-san documents his boards with detailed notes, including sound effects. Here he describes the sounds made by a tree canopy filled full of Kodama : ZAAAA~~~~~ZAAAA !!!!!!
You may not understand Japanese, but Miyazaki’s beautiful sketches of the entire Princess Mononoke film is still a veritable work of art.
(below) The book comes with a protective cardboard slipcase.
Princess Mononoke Storyboard Book art book details :
– Dimensions – 8.6 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
– Softcover, 620 pages
– Color and Black and white, Japanese text
– Comes with card board slip case
Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon CA | Buy From Amazon UK
Also check out these other Ghibli art books :
Mononoke Hime ( Princess Mononoke ) Blu-ray Review
The Tale Of Princess Kaguya Storyboard Book Review
Howl’s Moving Castle Storyboard Book Review
Mononoke Hime Blu-ray Arrives.
The Art Of Spirited Away – Storyboard Book Review
January 4th, 2011 at 2:28 am
that looks sooo good. i’m going to Japan in the Spring, so i’m trying to curb my spending a bit, but maybe i can buy all sorts of these things while i’m there. if anyone knows names or addresses of great shops that would sell these or things like them in Tokyo, or anywhere else, please let me know!
January 4th, 2011 at 2:35 pm
That is an absolutely beautiful sketch book. Miyazaki’s storyboards are so intricately detailed, that a lot of the panels stand as great pieces of artwork on their own. The cardboard dust jacket is a great addition. I have noticed that quite a few of Miyazaki’s art books are getting translated to English in North America, which makes them cheaper and more accessible in the western market. Although, I think it may be sometime until one of his storyboard books are translated on our side of the pacific.
January 5th, 2011 at 6:58 am
i can’t believe how many superb quality artwork mr.Miyazaki created..with full and all my respect…he is always number 1 for me…
January 5th, 2011 at 3:03 pm
T^T You you!! Tempt me! Really feel like getting this. Arrghhh..~~
January 6th, 2011 at 12:07 am
Zack – Hey there, you can find these books in any good bookstore in Tokyo, but the 2 Kinokuniya bookstores in Shinjuku will definitely carry them. ( unless they run out of stock ) Happy hunting ! :]
A-run Chey – Thanks for dropping by. :] As you mentioned, I think the chances of any publisher translating all those notes in the storyboards are quite slim, so its going to be a while. That said, the pictures themselves are alone worth the price of the book, so its still not a bad idea to pick up the Japanese copy, if you don’t want to wait.
onurg – Ditto that !
Ray – WHAT ????? You don’t have this ????? BUY NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW !!!
January 6th, 2011 at 6:49 am
This is amazing. Princess Mononoke is my favorite Studio Ghibli film next to Ponyo and Grave of the Fireflies. The artwork is absolutely stunning.
January 7th, 2011 at 3:10 pm
I love the Studio Ghibli e-konte books. Aren’t they terrific? It’s an excellent learning tool for artists and scholars, and offers many unique insights into the production of the films.
I really ought to buy more of these books. The e-konte book I currently own is Horus, Prince of the Sun, which proved immensely helpful. I do wish I was fluent in reading Japanese, however, because there are a number of essays in these books that I’m sure would be deeply insightful.
One book you should get is the one that accompanied last year’s museum exhibit on Ghibli’s storyboard layouts. The title is “Studio Ghibli Layout Designs – Understanding the Secrets of Takahata-Miyazaki Animation.”
January 9th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Thanks for introducing this book. It’s simply amazing the amount of details put into sketching the storyboard. It’s as if reading the actual storyboard used. Do animation artists still do this type of detailed storyboard?
January 10th, 2011 at 12:09 am
Daniel Thomas MacInnes – You’re absolutely right about the layout design book, I was fortunate enough to attend the exhibition :
Studio Ghibli Layout Designs Exhibition Part II
http://halcyonrealms.com/animation/studio-ghibli-layout-designs-exhibition-part-ii/
CJ – Not all animation directors do storyboards as detailed as this, because it takes alot of time and effort, and you need to be quite an artist too ! That said, it isn’t necessary for the storyboard to be beautifully drawn, we’re just lucky because Miyazaki-san is such an amazingly artist.
February 19th, 2011 at 6:29 am
hello!
i knew about the existance of this artbook of Mononoke
http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/4198100020/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=AN1VRQENFRJN5&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=0S7T1WHMN6KW3ZGDHTTJ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=463376736&pf_rd_i=489986
is there another, the one you have reviewed here? including only the animation pannels and sketches?
when was it published? i know the first one: the art of.. has English version, right?, this one hasn;t got one, yet…
i will be glad if you could reply to my questions
thanking you in advance
April 16th, 2011 at 7:48 am
I’m gonna buy this right now!!!