If you Google “things that will make me feel good” a list of Hayao Miyazaki movies will most definitely show up. And it’s the familiarity of the movies that never fail to make us feel better; the movies themselves are incredibly soothing, even when they deal with complicated topics. HBO has a 20 minute nature loop from Studio Ghibli’s movies, so it MUST be soothing. If you’re hungry for books that you’ll enjoy just like a Studio Ghibli movie, below you’ll find some options depending on which one's your favorite:
If you just watched Spirited Away
Inspired by The Wild Swans and East Asian folklore, this book combines an exiled princess, a dragon prince, six enchanted cranes, and an infinitely complex curse Shiori of Katani must break. Shiori, the book’s main character, acts in the same brazen, courageous manner of Chihiro, and her dragon Seyju is a more arrogant, airy version of Haku.
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a standalone, feminist take on the Korean folk story "The Tale of Shim Cheong." In a village ravaged by sea storms, the villagers sacrifice a bride to the Sea God every year in order to appease him. Exchanging her friend’s place, Mina is swept away into the Spirit Realm to find a way to break the Sea God’s curse.
If you just watched Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
A lot of Miyazaki movies are coming-of-age movies starring teenage girls who must somehow save the world, and Nausicaa’s no different. While Nausicaa has a steampunk/slightly futuristic tone, Uprooted is a novel inspired by Polish folklore that will make any reader feel as if they’ve stepped into medieval times. Agnieszka, a girl raised in a quiet village, is taken away by a wizard who abducts a girl every ten years in exchange for his services to the village. This book is fast-paced, funny, chilling, with vivid characters and hair-raising battle scenes. Oh, and it won like a bazillion awards between 2015 and 2016.
If you just watched My Neighbor Totoro
We know FOR A FACT that a book will be good when a talking cat shows up with an unusual request. And how many of Miyazaki’s movies have talking cats with unusual requests? Natsukawa’s novel is a story made for those for whom books are much more than words on paper, for the cat has a mission and a bookworm is a must. After the death of his grandfather, Rintaro inherits the tiny Natsuki Books, a tiny second-hand bookshop on the verge of collapse. The talking cat shows up to save the bookstore, and the rest is history.
If you just watched Kiki’s Delivery Service
We have several moods/tones/level of innocence here for every kind of reader:
This book is a complete GEM. While the main character isn't a little witch traveling to a new town, we do have a little boy who lives amongst ghosts in a graveyard. Loosely inspired by The Jungle Book, this novel follows Nobody (yes, he's called Nobody) as he narrowly escapes death while he's still a baby (Harry Potter, is that you?) and is taken in by a pair of caring ghosts called Mr. and Mrs. Owens. While it may sound like a spooky murder story (there is, after all, a murdered named Jack who's after Nobody) this book tells two stories: one about growing up, and another one about lettting go.
Eva Evergreen is definitely more a spot-on recommendation for Kiki fans. Yes it’s a children’s book, but I don’t believe people should avoid tis genre as a whole just because its aimed at younger audiences. Sometimes I find the wisest, most magical pieces of advice in children’s books (have you met Shaun Tan, dear reader?)
Eva Evergreen is pure magic from the very first sentence. This little witch must earn her Novice Witch ranking by age 13 or she’ll lose her magic forever and, just like Kiki, she must move to a new town and spread some goodness in order to earn her broom. Eva sets up a magical repair shop in Auteri, a quiet costal town, and must do her best to live up to her family and the town’s expectations. I read the first sentence and fell immediately in love, but I’m also very open to "childish" novels. As I said, it depends on the kind of reader you are!
Now this book’s more for my gothic, mystery-loving, adrenaline-junkie pals, and it’s somewhat similar to The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Darkness (which I also recommend if you’re looking for a grown-up version of Kiki’s Delivery Service.) There’s magic, there’s a disappearance, there’s Scottish folklore, there are mysterious creatures replacing people, and there are enough plot twists to make you dizzy. A mother of three is commissioned to paint a mural in the remote island of Lon Haven, where only a lighthouse stands like a lone star. After the family of four moves to the lighthouse, two of the three baby sisters go missing, and eventually the mother goes missing as well. Twenty years later, the only daughter left standing, called Luna, comes back to the lighthouse after the police reports her sister Clover has been found. But the thing is, Clover is still seven years old, the same age she was when she vanished. Luna learns that the cave beneath the lighthouse used to be a prison for women accused of witchcraft, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
If you just watched Castle in the Sky
I've recommended this book before and I'm never going to stop doing so. Castle in the Sky takes place in, you guessed it, a castle in the sky that's mostly empty. Like the movie, Lonely Castle in the Mirror takes place in a castle where seven kids, ranging from seventh to ninth grade, have been invited to spend the summer by the Wolf Queen. These seven kids have suffered from bullying and are either attending a special school or staying at home. Kokoro, our main girly, finds that beneath the fairy-tail-esque facade of the castle exists a dark truth, which mirrors the book itself: beneath the fairy tail elements, the center of this book deals with very difficult topics in a very sensitive manner. There’s a focus on bullying, mental health, and the very acute anxiety everyone feels when growing up. After reading this book, even I felt like I’d spent a summer at the Wolf Queen’s castle.
If you just watched Princess Mononoke
This book caught my eye from the very beginning. Elin is a young girl of mixed blood/heitage who takes care of sea creatures called Toda, and similar to Princess Mononoke, there’s an important political background which questions the morals of how animals are taken care of. Erin forms a special bond with one of the beasts she’s set to tame, and throughout the books we see her growing from a young scared child into a strong woman who has suffered many losses and hardships. The way the author changes points of view is masterful, and all of the characters are incredibly well developed. As an extra bit, there's an anime based on this book called Erin.
The list of awards this book series has won is kilometric, and there’s a good reason for that. This graphic novel takes place in an alternate reality, 1900s matriarchal Asia with a steampunk aesthetic (like Nausica) where a teenage girl must overcome the trauma of war and manage to understand her strange mental connection to a monster that threatens to consume her. Imagine the perfect lovechild between J.R.R. Tolkien, Arcane, and a Miyazaki movie.
If you read Webtoon novels, this book is extremely similar to The Spark in Your Eyes, and it’s also very similar to The Poppy Wars by R.F. Kuang. This is a difficult novel to swallow mainly because it exposes the realities of war, and how far people will go in order to accomplish a mission. In 1345 China is under the Mongolian thumb, and a village in Central Plains is famine-stricken and dirt poor. A girl fated for nothingness takes her brother’s place after his death and joins a monastery before joining the army, very similarly to Mulan. She rises in ranks and finds herself top general after many years, and must face the Mongol forces while also facing her inner demons. The feeling of not belonging anywhere, the gender dysmorphia, the gender representation, and the queer relationships really did it for me.
This book is unlike anything else in the YA Fantasy market. It’s extremely culture-specific, and it’s masterfully done. I found myself googling several Yoruba words when reading this book, so I learned about this West Africa ethnic group as well as different West Africa mythologies. The book takes place in the fictional country of Orisha (inspired by Nigeria) where Zélie must find a way to restore magic in the land. This book was a hit back in 2018, mainly because it exposes ideas on black oppression, racism, slavery, and police brutality. I loved it, 90% of the world loved it, and so will you. I have yet to read the sequel so TBD on that.
If you just watched Howl’s Moving Castle
If you liked the movie then you should most definitely read the books below:
- Howl’s Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones (1)
- Castle in the Air by Dianna Wynne Jones (2)
- House of Many Ways by Dianna Wynne Jones (3)
If you're looking for something similar instead:
This book is one of my favorites and I cannot imagine anything will ever change that. The Kingkiller Chronicles can be described as beautiful, poetic, mysterious, and heart wrenching. Rothfuss’ writing isn’t like anyone else’s I’ve ever read: you have to look carefully at each word, for everything serves a purpose. It’s not grand and theatrical like Tolkien or Martin, but instead it’s like a quiet whisper that stirs something in the soul. Kvothe is the land’s greatest wizard who has seemingly disappeared, which isn’t true as he’s the one telling you his story. We encounter Kvothe as a tavern owner, reminiscing about his days as a beggar in Tarbean, a student at the wizard university, and a hero at war. The second book, The Wise Man’s Fear, was published back in 2011 and I’m still waiting for the third and final installment of this brilliant series.
EXTRA: How Do You Live (July 2023)
Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli will release their latest movie, How Do You Live, based on the beloved Japanese 1937 classic by Genzaburō Yoshino. Academy Award–winning animator Hayao Miyazaki called it his favorite childhood book and announced plans to emerge from retirement to make his final film. The movie's set to come out on July 14th, 2023.
