Danica Davidson
November 20, 2024 
Right after reporting on the death of Shohei Hino, a voice actor in Studio Ghibli’s The Boy and the Heron, another person involved with Studio Ghibli has passed away. This time it’s Shuntaro Tanigawa, a writer, poet, lyricist and translator, who wrote the lyrics for Howl’s Moving Castle.
Tanigawa passed away a week ago. He was 92, and old age was listed as the cause of death. His family already held a private funeral.
His father was Tetsuzo Tanikawa, an influential philosopher. The younger Tanikawa got interested in writing poetry when he was a teenager. At age twenty, his first book of poems, titled Nijū Oku Kōnen no Kodoku (translated as Two Billion Light-Years of Solitude) came out.
Later he got involved with Osamu Tezuka, the “God of Manga” and penned lyrics for the theme songs of Tezuka’s anime series Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atom in Japanese), Phoenix, and Big X.
Besides writing lyrics, he wrote the whole script for the film The Phoenix: Chapter of Dawn.
Tanigawa wasn’t only known in Japan for his work. In 1989, he received the American Book Award for his book Floating the River in Melancholy. As a translator, he worked the Peanuts comic by Charles Schulz and the nursery rhymes of Mother Goose. His talents affected people all over the world.
GKIDS licensed Howl’s Moving Castle for North America and gave this description for its plot:
Howl’s Moving Castle Plot
Sophie, a quiet girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome but mysterious wizard named Howl. The vain and vengeful Witch of the Waste, jealous of their friendship, puts a curse on Sophie and turns her into a 90-year-old woman. On a quest to break the spell, Sophie climbs aboard Howl’s magnificent moving castle and into a new life of wonder and adventure. But as the true power of Howl’s wizardry is revealed, Sophie finds herself fighting to protect them both from a dangerous war of sorcery that threatens their world. Featuring the voice talents of Lauren Bacall, Christian Bale, Billy Crystal, Blythe Danner, Emily Mortimer, and Jean Simmons.
Source: ANN
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
