Shuna’s Journey (シュナの旅 Shuna No Tabi) is a relatively unknown, little gem of a manga illustrated by master animator/director Miyazaki Hayao almost 4 decades ago in 1983 – predating his first major manga/anime masterpiece Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind by a year.

The story tells the tale of Shuna, a teenage boy who must leave his impoverished home and travel to faraway lands in search of food to ensure the survival of his village. Both the story and characters from Shuna resemble a hybrid mix of those appearing in his later films Nausicaa, Princess Mononoke, and Tales of Earthsea (directed by his son Goro Miyazaki ). Shuna for example, looks like a cross between Asbel ( Nausicaa ) and Ashitaka ( Mononoke ), Thea like Nausicaa and San, even Ashitaka’s ride Yakkul appears exactly as he did in Princess Mononoke.

I first reviewed the Japanese edition of the manga way back in 2009, but New York based publishing house First Second Books is set to release the first ever English edition of the comic in November 2022. Check out the cover art below –

This is excellent news for fans of Hayao Miyazaki’s delightful watercolor illustrations, especially English speaking readers. What is also welcomed are the bigger print size of the book ( the original Japanese edition is tiny ) as well as the hardcover format, which will go a long way in keeping the book in good condition.

I will of course be getting a copy for review, so definitely check back in again closer to the publishing date. If you are interested in reading the manga in its original Japanese language, check out my review and I have also included the Amazon purchase link below –

Shuna’s Journey – Hayao Miyazaki Manga English Edition details :

– Dimensions – 6 x 1 x 8.5 inches
– hardcover, 160 pages
– Full color, in English

Buy From Amazon CA | Amazon JP | Amazon UK | Amazon FR | Amazon IT | Amazon DE | Amazon ES

Japanese edition –

Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon CA | Buy From Amazon UK

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