Anime: Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away Getting A Live Action Adaptation
Critically acclaimed and fan favorite Studio Ghibli film, Spirited Away was just announced to be receiving a live action adaptation. And we’re excited.
Earlier this week it was announced that Studio Ghibli’s fan favorite and all around masterpiece, Spirited Away, would be receiving a live action adaptation. At first headlines had a few of us nervous. Live action adaptations of popular anime aren’t always good or even watchable, and something about the Ghibli style is so youthful and magical that translating that feeling to human actors and film feels like an almost impossible task. But fear not, Spirited Away’s live action adaptation will be made for stage with a 2022 theatrical premier.
This won’t be the first time a Studio Ghibli film has gotten the stage production treatment. In 2013 Whole Hog Theatre brought another favorite, Princess Mononoke, to life at theAiiA Theatre in Tokyo and the New Diorama Theatre in London. While I never had a chance to see it myself, reviews were positive and stills from the set looked as close to perfect as possible. Suffice to say, I’m left with an abundance of hope that the live action stage adaptation of Spirited Away can be just as good.
This time around, Tony and Olivier Award Winning director John Ciard will be the driving force behind the Ghibli adaptation, and given his impressive history with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Les Mis, and years of work with various Japanese stage productions, he is more than up to the job.
Also onboard for this adaptation are Mone Kamishiraishi who is best known for her work on anime Your Name and Kanna Hashimoto who has starred in a number of projects for film and television. Both have been cast to play lead character, Chihiro.
Spirited Away follows Chihiro as she wanders into a hidden world of magic, spirits, dragons, and witches where she learns to be more mature and less selfish. Studio Ghibli’s signature style of animation and storytelling work together to make their worlds immersive and dreamy at the same time with characters and situations that remain relatable even when they’re highly fantastical and food that looks so good that we all collectively want to pull it right out of the screen. First premiering in 2001, Spirited Away – or Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi in Japanese – won many, many awards as well as critical acclaim from almost everyone who watched it.
If you’d like a chance to watch the stage version of Spirited Away, it will debut at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo in February 2022 and run through March of that year. After, the production will go on tour through Osaka, Fukuoka, Sapporo, and Nagoya between the months of April and July, so plan your next trip to Japan accordingly. Unfortunately, while you’re there you won’t be able to check out the iconic Spirited Away bathhouse at the Studio Ghibli Park as doors aren’t scheduled to open until later on in Autumn of 2022.
Have you watched any other stage adaptations of popular anime? Are you looking forward to this live action adaptation of Spirited Away? Do you know where we can watch a copy of the Whole Hog production of Princess Mononoke? Let us know in the comments!
Ja Ne, Adventurers!
