This is the story of Studio Ghibli covering the three decades following its founding in 1985 as told by Toshio Suzuki, the acclaimed producer of the box office hits Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and others. Based on the author’s innate curiosity about everything around him and the considerable resources that he accumulated over thirty years, it is the story of what took place behind the scenes at Ghibli films and the human tale of the staff that devoted themselves to filmmaking, told with the author’s distinctive touch and sense of humor.

Suzuki’s first encounter with animation came after he joined Tokuma Shoten Publishing, where he was put in charge of launching the animation magazine Animage. It was through this magazine that Suzuki first met the genius directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata and gained their confidence. He was the de facto producer of the cinematization of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), which proved to be his entrée into the world of filmmaking. Six years after the success of Nausicaä, Suzuki devoted himself entirely to Ghibli. Thereafter, he produced many films for Ghibli, in addition to those directed by Miyazaki and Takahata. Today he continues to guide the studio, reveling in the joys and sorrows of filmmaking.

Thinking of producing as the work he was born to do, Suzuki looks back fondly on his life at Ghibli: “In the end, what I have enjoyed most is interacting with people. There is nothing greater than connecting with people at a profound level, to work surrounded by people you like. What more can one ask for?.… I met up with people like Miya-san, Takahata-san, and President Tokuma, and somehow arrived at the present day, enjoying myself along the way.”