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It is officially 2025, and people around the world have beencelebrating the New Year in their own specialand unique ways. In Japan, the Chinese Zodiac has a big role to play in welcoming in the New Year, with the animal of the year featuring widely in New Year’s celebrations. 2025 is now the Year of the Snake, and there has been no shortage of snakes in New Year’s celebrations across the country.
The Year of the Snake celebrations have also extended to the anime world - and not just anyone. The co-founder of one of the most famous animation studios in the world,Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki has drawn a very special piece of art. Giving his own unique take on the Year of the Snake, along with a simple message, Miyazaki shared this new artwork via the officialStudio Ghibliwebsite on New Year’s Day.
A Special Snake by Hayao Miyazaki
A Silly, Original Piece of Art
The special piece of art drawn by Hayao Miyazaki himself was used by Studio Ghibli to wish all the fans a happy new year. It was posted on January 1st, following in a tradition of Miyazaki creating a simple piece of hand drawn art in his unique style with theChinese Zodiac animal of the year. Last year, he drew a dragon, and this year, of course, he has drawn a snake. It also has some simple text which translates to “How are you?” at the top, and “Best wishes again this year” at the bottom, along with the words “GHIBLI” and “2025” incorporated into the design.
It is no ordinary snake, though, and still manages to capture a bit of whimsy and fantasy. Namely, the snake has not one, but eight heads. Its tail can also be seen in the artwork, along with a snail and a mouse sitting on the tail. Hayao Miyazaki is the mastermind behindiconic characters like Totoro, Ponyo, and No Face, and his style is easy to pick out. This snake may look a little rougher and sillier than his usual drawings, but at its core, it definitely looks like a Miyazaki piece - just one done more quickly and casually than usual.
A Message from Studio Ghibli to Fans
Wishing Everyone a Happy New Year
To accompany the drawing, there is also a special message from the Studio detailing when they will be back to work, and celebrating the year’s successes as well as remembering what happened in 2024. Firstly, the message opens by wishing everyone a Happy New Year, and thanking them for their continued support of the studio. It then reflects on thetragic earthquakes that happened in Ishikawa Prefectureon January 1st, 2024, which resulted in many deaths. Studio Ghibli writes that they hope for a much quieter start to 2025, and that their thoughts are still with those who were affected last year.
The biggest part of the message to fans is about the studio’s success over the past year, and plans for the coming year, which reads (translated from Japanese),
To tell you a little about Studio Ghibli, we have almost finished the worldwide release ofThe Boy and the Heron, which was not only seen by many customers but also received many awards. Other traveling exhibitions and new projects are also underway, so we are happy that you all have high expectations of us. The second phase of Ghibli Park has successfully opened, and now all five areas have been completed as originally planned. This year, we are determined to push forward with further enhancement and improvement of our facilities and operations.
The Boy and the Heronhas foundunprecedented success since its release, so it comes as no surprise that Studio Ghibli is posting about that movie specifically. Finally, the message concludes by saying the studio will resume work on January 6th, the day after Miyazaki’s birthday. He will be turning an impressive 84 years old, and as reported last year, isn’t planning to stop his work any time soon.
While there are no exact details about what to expect in 2025 fromStudio Ghibli, it sounds like the studio is planning for a good year. Hopefully, the next movie will be announced sometime soon to give fans something to look forward to. In the meantime, there are plenty ofinteresting new pieces of merchandiseand collaborations coming out regularly, and Ghibli Park continues to expand every year.
