In 1983, just one year before the release of Nausica of the Valley of the Wind and 14 years before Princess Mononoke hit theater screens, Hayao Miyazaki created the manga Shuna’s Journey. Fast forward to the present 39 years later, we can finally get the chance to read it in English for the first time!
Studio Ghibli has just announced last week on their official Twitter account that Shuna’s Journey will be receiving an official English translation. The story is a fantasy adventure about a prince on a quest to save his mountainous homeland from the perils of an ongoing famine.
Furthermore, Shuna’s Journey is presented in a single volume and will be published by First Second Books, a New York-based graphic novel specialist. As for who specifically is handling the translation, it is being done by London-based journalist/translator Alex Dudok de Wit, who previously wrote an in-depth analysis of Grave of the Fireflies. His father, Michael Dudok de Wit, is the director of The Red Turtle, the 2016 French/Japanese co-production created with help from Studio Ghibli.
You can check out the official announcement and the cover art of Shuna’s Journey below:
宮﨑さんの『シュナの旅』の英語版が、11/1に北米で発売されることになりました。翻訳は『レッド・タートル』のマイケル・デュドク・ドゥ・ヴィット監督の息子さんで、ロンドン在住のジャーナリスト・翻訳者であるアレックス・デュドク・ドゥ・ヴィットさんが担当しています。 pic.twitter.com/4wEZoqVOss
— スタジオジブリ STUDIO GHIBLI (@JP_GHIBLI) February 23, 2022
Shuna’s Journey is scheduled for North American release on November 1, which just so happens to be the same day as the grand opening of the Ghibli theme park in Japan. Let us know what you think about this news in the comments!