Culture
Prinzessin Mononoke: Art Book with 90 New Drawings
Studio Ghibli has compiled 258 images from the film's development, including a markedly different early version of the story.
The seventh volume of the Hayao Miyazaki Imageboard Complete Collection, supervised by Studio Ghibli, will be released in Japan on December 3, 2026, and is devoted to the anime film Prinzessin Mononoke. Publisher Iwanami Shoten announces 258 drawings, including 90 motifs that have not been published before. The 184-page art book costs ¥6,600 including tax.
A Different Story of Prinzessin Mononoke
The book documents how Hayao Miyazaki developed his ideas for the film, which came out in 1997. The printed works include an early version that differs markedly from the later theatrical version, both in its story and in its drawing style. Its concept is more reminiscent of the story of Beauty and the Beast.
This original version was already published in 1993 in the form of a picture book with texts by Miyazaki. The new edition is meant to contain the original designs and the picture book text in full. In this way, the volume shows not only finished images but also ideas that changed or were discarded during the film's long development.
Among the images are, for example, an unusually friendly-looking San and designs for scenes that did not make it into the anime. In animation production, illustration boards serve to capture characters, locations and atmosphere before all the sequences for the film have been worked out.
Interview with Toshio Suzuki and Recommendation by Eiichiro Oda
In the appendix, producer Toshio Suzuki speaks about the making of the film. The interview covers, among other things, the design of the iron works, the character Eboshi, and Miyazaki's engagement with the relationship between humans and nature. One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda also contributes a recommendation for the volume.
The series, edited by Studio Ghibli, has been released since December 2024. The new volume carries the ISBN 978-4-00-028837-8. The official product page of publisher Iwanami Shoten offers further book information.
The drawings complement the view of the studio's work, which is also addressed in the Ghibli exhibition in Kyoto. aninew.de also reports on the release of original drawings by other well-known manga artists in its article on the art book by Masakazu Katsura.