A popular collection of lifestyle items recently returned to Studio Ghibli’s official online shop. Anime fans gearing up for their first spring outings can travel in style with special tote bags and lanyards depicting their favorite characters from My Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away and Kiki’s Delivery Service.
As featured on Donguri Sora, Ghibli’s themed tote bags are soft, cotton-polyester canvas bags featuring designs based on famous moments from each of the aforementioned films. For instance, the «Your Name is Totoro!» bag depicts Mei and Totoro’s first meeting inside the latter’s character’s tree. Kiki’s «Departure Day» tote bag similarly tributes the scene where Kiki packs her things to prepare for her year-long training trip. Each bag contains a single, large pocket designed to fit A4-size documents and other school/work-related materials. The four corresponding cardholders (sold separately) feature matching colors and back designs. Cute character icons also adorn each of the small «reels» that attach the cardholder to the strap. The official images can be viewed below.
Studio Ghibli Returns Travel-Ready Anime Tote Bag & Card Holder Collection to Official Store
Ghibli’s tote collection is exclusively inspired by films directed by Hayao Miyazaki, the studio’s world-renowned co-founder. My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service, released respectively in 1988 and 1989, are two of the director’s earliest films. While these movies quickly became household names in Japan, Spirited Away (2001) was one of the first films to earn Ghibli major worldwide attention, leading to a Disney-produced English dub starring Daveigh Chase (Lilo and Stitch), Jason Marsden (A Goofy Movie) and Suzanne Pleshette (Will & Grace). Spirited Away‘s «Tea Time» tote bag highlights No-Face, a mysterious creature that befriends Chihiro, the film’s main protagonist. Boh, one of Chihiro’s other companions, is also shown eating a cookie.
Inspired by the titular novel by Diana Wynne Jones, Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) is one of Miyazaki’s most iconic fantasy-romance films. In the film, a young woman named Sophie encounters Howl, a handsome yet cowardly wizard who grows to love Sophie in spite of an unfortunate curse that gives her the appearance of an elderly woman. Donguri Sora’s «I’m Disappearing» tote bag showcases Calcifer, a hot-tempered fire demon who operates Howl’s castle. The title and design reference a scene where he grows weak after running out of kindling.
Including tax, each Ghibli tote bag costs 4,400 yen (~US$31). The retail price for each matching lanyard is 2,420 yen (~US$17). While Donguri Sora does not currently offer overseas shipping, its products are frequently resold through unaffiliated international retailers like Neokyo and Meccha Japan, among others. Depending on the viewer’s geographic location, Studio Ghibli’s film library is available to stream on either Max or Netflix.
