A 1983 graphic novel by animated filmmaker and the beloved Studio Ghibli’s co-founder Hayao Miyazaki is being released in English in the US for the first time ever, almost four decades after its first publication in Japan.
Titled Shuna’sJourney (Shuna no Tabi), the story follows the tale of Prince Shuna, who leaves his village in order to save his people from starvation by finding golden seeds.
The AssociatedPress details that the story also contains elements that were later featured and explored in the films Miyazaki made later on, namely Princess Mononoke and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
Shuna’s Journey will be translated into English by journalist Alex Dudok de Wit, and it will then be published by First Second Books, a graphic novel publisher based in New York City.
The novel was first launched in the Animage magazine in June 1983, as reported by Anime News Network.