Before anime was born … – review of the book “Howl’s Moving Castle”

The story of a certain Sophie

Howl’s Moving Castle tells the story of Sophie, the eldest of a hat merchant’s three daughters. She is extremely helpful and helpful, and at the same time quiet and reconciled with what fate has in store for her. After the death of her parents, her stepmother decides that she will take over the family business. The heroine agrees to it, although deep down she wants something else. One day, the store is visited by the Witch of the Wasteland, who turns Sophie into an old woman. However, even that does not alienate the girl. She decides to go out into the world in order to remove the evil spell. And so it ends up in a movable castle belonging to the sorcerer Howl. In it, he meets the fire demon Calcifer and the young Michael. This relationship will change the lives of all four.

An unusual fairy tale

Howl’s moving castle is a fairy tale that was originally published in 1986. Its author is the British writer Diana Wynne Jones. The story she created is not a typical representative of the genre. Although it begins, like many stories, with the orphaning of the main character, the fate of three sisters and maybe not the worst, but also not the best stepmother, with time it deviates more and more from the usual patterns. First of all, it involves us in numerous intrigues, both interpersonal, as well as clashes between Howl and the Witch of the Desert, as well as international, i.e. clash of kingdoms. There are also unusual twists and turns. This is evident from the very beginning, when Sophie is transformed into an old woman. Usually it would end up, at least initially, in breaking down, crying, trying to reverse the spell as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, our heroine only shrugs her shoulders and sets off into the world, as if nothing had happened. If you manage to do something about it, it’s good, and if you don’t, it’s hard. It is also rather difficult to find characters typical of the genre in the book. Hauru himself, as a great mage, would be associated with dignity and power. Meanwhile, he is rather inept, pathetic, and sometimes even irritating. We also have Calcifer, one of the funniest demons in history. He would like to be seen as the evil and cruel that mortals should fear. Meanwhile, his threats are made deaf and no one cares about them. Worse for him, he has to be afraid of people more often when they threaten to extinguish him. One should also not forget about the Witch of the North – a dark, dangerous and truly terrible figure. Although in fairy tales we often deal with sinister sorceresses,

And so Jones created for us extremely interesting heroes, each of which has its own unique character. However, colorful heroes are not everything. The storyline is also extremely addictive. The author is able to slow it down as well as to move it off the hoof. We get some unconventional solutions that will surely surprise us. In addition, she is great at moving from comedy that makes it impossible not to laugh, through romance and drama, to dark and extremely disturbing events. In addition, the fairy tale is suitable for younger audiences, but adults will not break away from it.

There must be a comparison

Writing about Howl’s Moving Castleit is impossible not to compare the book and the movie. After all, it was thanks to the animation from 2004 that the fairy tale gained international recognition. I must admit that Ghibli studio approached it very professionally. We find many scenes that have been taken straight from the pages of the novel and transferred to the screen. The artist’s vision of both the character, the world and the castle itself was also beautifully captured. However, there are a few differences between the titles. The creators of the anime had to drop a few things so that their production would not be too long. Therefore, in the novel, we get a much more detailed representation of both Sophie’s sisters and her stepmother. The author also showed the characters of the main characters better. Jones also created a much darker version of the Wasteland Witch. One has to admit, however, that, in turn, the film gives us more insight into the war waged by Ingaria. Both versions complement each other. Ultimately, as in most cases, it should be considered that this book is better than the adaptation. There is less chaos in it, and at the same time we will find in it precise descriptions and a more detailed analysis of events and characters. It must be admitted, however, that Hayao Miyazaki’s work is not much inferior to its original!

You will be satisfied

Howl’s moving castle is an extraordinary fairy tale worth reaching for. Anime fans will surely be satisfied with it. It will bring some new threads that were omitted in the movie, shed some new light on the main characters, and explain some situations. For those who have not watched the animation, it will also be a great choice. Jones’ book is both readable to children and will engage adults. And because it is written in a light language, you can read it in a few hours and you probably won’t get distracted from it until you finish reading the last page. So you can thank the Nowa Baśń publishing house that we have the opportunity to see this item.