Spirited Away

Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki
Miyazaki, H. (2002). Spirited away. San Francisco: Viz Communications Inc.
ISBN: 9780329382674

Plot

Ten year old Chihiro and her family are moving to a new town. They stop at an abandoned amusement park where food is waiting for them. Chihiro's parents eat the food, but Chihiro does not. Her parents turn into pigs. Chihiro is helped by a boy named Haku, who warns her to leave. But it is too late. Spirits begin to swirl around the park and she is forced to work for the witch Yubaba, the owner of the park's bathhouse. She is put to work bathing and serving the most difficult spirits in the bathhouse. She is rewarded by a river spirit who has been heavily polluted, with a gift of medicine. She later uses this medicine to treat Haku who has been injured in his dragon form by Zeniba, Yubaba's sister. But Haku is still comatose. Chihiro travels to Zeniba's home to return a talisman belonging to her that haku had stolen in hopes that she will cure him. Zeniba informs Chihiro that her friendship and caring have cured her friend. As they return to the bathhouse, Chihiro realizes that Haku is a river spirit who saved her from drowning years earlier. This realization breaks the curse holding him to Yubaba. For Chihiro to be released from the witch, she must correctly identify which of a herd of pigs are her parents. When she correctly identifies that none are, she is released. Haku escorts her to the edge of the Spirit World and tells her her family is waiting on the other side. She returns to the car with her family, but she will never be the same.

Critical Evaluation

This series of books is based on the movie Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki. The illustrations are by Miyazaki. The story functions on multiple levels. On one level, it is a coming of age story as Chihiro must learn to overcome self-centered childishness and serve and help others. After her journey, she is not the same. She has made the transition to the next phase of her life. On another level, the story functions as social commentary about consumption, materialism and pollution. On yet another level, it is merely a wonderfully engaging story. Miyazaki is a master animator and his illustrations are beautiful.

Readers Annotation

When ten year old Chihiro's parents stop along the road for a bite to eat at a deserted amusement park, they are transformed into pigs and Chihiro is spirited away into a bizarre bathhouse of witches and dragons. She is made to serve the denizens there. She is forced to wash unclean spirits. Her only friend is badly injured and she must undertake a dangerous journey to try and save him.

About the Author
Born in 1941, Hayao Miyazaki an Academy Award winning Japanese animator. Miyazaki's stories often involve the themes of humanity's relationship to nature, the pitfalls of technology and the difficulty of maintaining a nonviolent existence. He is immensely succesful in Japan and has enjoyed crossover success in the United States with Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away. He was named one of the Time 100 Most Influential people in 2005.

Genre: Fanatsy/Science Fiction, Anime, Graphic Novel

Curriculum Ties: Language Arts, Art

Booktalk Ideas: Family, friends, responsibility

Reading Level: Grade 4+
Interest Level: Grade 4+
Challenge Issues: None

This is a brilliant work that functions on many levels. It is a book that challenges tweens to interpret meaning.