The anime world mourned the “retirement” of Hayao Miyazaki earlier this year, with the announcement that The Wind Rises would be his last feature film as a director. For the legendary founder of Studio Ghibli, retirement has an entirely different meaning, with Japan’s NHK Professional series interviewing the 72-year-old creator about his latest projects.
We can already see from these initial shots that the sengoku (Warring States) era manga is going to be a beautiful one. Reports are that Miyazaki hasn’t even been paid for the manuscript yet, so this is very much a labour of love for the iconic illustrator. It’s also a terrific insight into the technical process of the master.
There’s no release date on this for Japan, so it might be a while before English language audiences will be able to read this. For now, check out these first glimpses of the beautiful art from this upcoming project (via Crunchyroll and NHK).