Helen McCarthy, writer, author, journalist, speaker, scholar, Manga, Anime, Japanese animation, Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki, Osamu Tezuka, Leiji Matsumoto, haiku, cosplay, UKHelen McCarthy, writer, author, journalist, speaker, scholar, Manga, Anime, Japanese animation, Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki, Osamu Tezuka, Leiji Matsumoto, haiku, cosplay, UKHelen McCarthy, writer, author, journalist, speaker, scholar, Manga, Anime, Japanese animation, Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki, Osamu Tezuka, Leiji Matsumoto, haiku, cosplay, UKHelen McCarthy, writer, author, journalist, speaker, scholar, Manga, Anime, Japanese animation, Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki, Osamu Tezuka, Leiji Matsumoto, haiku, cosplay, UKHelen McCarthy, writer, author, journalist, speaker, scholar, Manga, Anime, Japanese animation, Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki, Osamu Tezuka, Leiji Matsumoto, haiku, cosplay, UKHelen McCarthy, writer, author, journalist, speaker, scholar, Manga, Anime, Japanese animation, Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki, Osamu Tezuka, Leiji Matsumoto, haiku, cosplay, UKHelen McCarthy, writer, author, journalist, speaker, scholar, Manga, Anime, Japanese animation, Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki, Osamu Tezuka, Leiji Matsumoto, haiku, cosplay, UKHelen McCarthy, writer, author, journalist, speaker, scholar, Manga, Anime, Japanese animation, Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki, Osamu Tezuka, Leiji Matsumoto, haiku, cosplay, UK

Photo: Megaera Amis

Introduction

Helen McCarthy is a writer, speaker, scholar and poet who has published over a dozen books across eight languages on anime, manga, history, art and craft.

Helen’s publications include: A Brief History Of Manga, Manga Cross-Stitch, 500 Essential Anime Movies, 500 Manga Heroes & Villains, The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation since 1917, Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation, The Erotic Anime Movie Guide, The Anime Movie Guide – Japanese Animation since 1983 and Anime! A Beginner’s Guide To Japanese Animation.

Her main interests currently include Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki, Osamu Tezuka, Leiji Matsumoto, haiku and cosplay.

She has given talks and lectures across the UK, USA, Europe and Asia. You can contact her here.

Learn more about Helen here.

LATEST NEWS

From left to right, the German, English and French editions of The Manga Bible by Helen McCarthy. The book covers are identical, a purple background overlaid with manga art, with the book title in bold yellow capitals and other text in white. In the background, enlarged copies of the ENglish cover on advertising boards, one with the launch date, 5 March 2026.
Happy New Book Birthday to The Manga Bible!
March 5, 2026

Happy New Book Birthday to me! The Manga Bible is in the shops today. Of course, I’ll celebrate – but [...]

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A page from Arzach and the Space Jockey clearly shows its influence on Miyazaki. The desert landscape, blue sky and mode of transport are all clearly related to his work on Nausicä of the Valley of the Wind.
Studio Ghibli Question Time : The French Connection
February 12, 2026

Among the many fascinating questions at my Seed Talks in the West Country was one about the influence of comic [...]

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A frame from the Reels video shot by and ©Octopus Books/Octopus Publishing, shows someone flipping through The Manga Bible
The Manga Bible: The Movie!
January 28, 2026

My lovely PR team at Octopus shot some videos of me to promote The Manga Bible and I thought it [...]

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The interior of Wow and Flutter with Gareth smiling under the bright yellow neon sign showing the shop's name. Gareth is tall, with grey hair, wearing a dark blue open-necked shirt and dark trousers. The shop is crammed with art, vinyl, zines, comics and Japanese toys. Photo by Helen McCarthy
An Outpost of Cool Japan in Hastings: Wow and Flutter
January 28, 2026

When OH and I travel for Seed Talks, we love to look for comic shops and other places that sell [...]

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Front cover of La Bibbia dei Manga, published in Italian by Gribaudo. The cover is deep pink, overprinted with a page of manga art by Baron Yoshimoto in black ink. The title is in large, bold, bright yellow block capitals, with the author's and publisher's names in smaller white capitals.
Christmas in January: Italian Edition of The Manga Bible!
January 9, 2026

I was absolutely thrilled to receive an advance copy of La Bibbia dei Manga – Gribaudo’s Italian edition of The [...]

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animeinsider.insta made this birthday image of a younger MIyazaki surrounded by some of the characters from his films. The text congratulates him on his 85th birthday, 5 January 2026.
New Year, New Energy
January 5, 2026

I hope everyone’s having a really good start to 2026 in spite of the political horrors around us. Even in [...]

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Cover of the French edition of the catalogue to the Isao Takahata exhibition held in Japan and Paris.
A Present from Paris
December 23, 2025

Look what came in the post from Paris – the perfect Christmas gift to myself. Now I can relive the [...]

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A graphic of a black wooden screen with a white background, with the Stone Bridge Press logo on the right and the cover of The Anime Encyclopedia on the right.
Time Travel: The Stone Bridge Podcast August 2023
December 22, 2025

Before I sign off for the holidays, here’s an interview I really enjoyed doing, from the excellent Stone Bridge Podcast. [...]

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Helen is pictured seated in front of a cream coloured wall. She has cropped red hair and wears a teal blue cowl neck sweater, large green malachite stud earrings, and a round pendant with a stone that looks like a beautiful alien planet.
The Anime Business new episode – all about me!
December 18, 2025

The latest episode of The Anime Business is an interview Justin Sevakis filmed with me about a year ago: “The [...]

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From left to right, the German, English and French editions of The Manga Bible by Helen McCarthy. The book covers are identical, a purple background overlaid with manga art, with the book title in bold yellow capitals and other text in white. In the background, enlarged copies of the ENglish cover on advertising boards, one with the launch date, 5 March 2026.
TikTok!
December 18, 2025

That’s where I’m going – thanks to the brilliant PR team at Octopus. I spent an afternoon with them yesterday [...]

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From left to right, the German, English and French editions of The Manga Bible by Helen McCarthy. The book covers are identical, a purple background overlaid with manga art, with the book title in bold yellow capitals and other text in white. In the background, enlarged copies of the ENglish cover on advertising boards, one with the launch date, 5 March 2026.
That New Book Feeling – In Triplicate!
December 11, 2025

Advance copies of The Manga Bible fell into my eager hands this morning, and after I’d finished inhaling that unique, [...]

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A beautiful pine green shawl or scarf patterned with brown acorns and leaves and white Totoro and snowflake motifs.
Ghibli Goodies Galore from Maison Ghibli
December 7, 2025

I often get asked about the cute cotton tunic dresses I wear to present my Seed Talks. They’re licensed Ghibli [...]

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Opening screen of The Aunty Sochelle Podcast features the podcast logo at top right, the text GUEST STAR: HELEN MCCARTHY in purple caps at bottom right, and a Megaera Amis portrait photo of Helen on the left, all on a black background. Helen has cropped blonde hair and wears glasses. Today her earrings are a pair of wings serpents in dark gold and you can just see the silver chain of her Tyrannosaurus skeleton necklace.
My Transatlantic Aunty: The Podcast
December 4, 2025

I had SO MUCH FUN it ought to be illegal – my first time on the Aunty Sochelle podcast! We [...]

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The Folio Society edition of Diana Wynne Jones' Ingary novels, known as the Howl's Moving Castle collection. All three books are illustrated by Marie-Alice Harel with cover designs in similar tones of rose, purple and grey. The image shows the first two books of the trilogy stacked on each other, spines with titles facing the viewer, while the third is placed on top of them, slightly open so that front and back covers and spine are all visible.
Studio Ghibli Question Time: is there any chance that Ghibli will ever adapt Diana Wynne Jones’ sequels to Howl’s Moving Castle?
November 20, 2025

Well, never say never … but at present it seems unlikely, for three reasons. Firstly, Hayao Miyazaki has spent more [...]

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The opening screen of the YouTube video 'How manga broke the US comic industry' by Mattt. A black background with the title at top right, a circular pie chart in green and grey with small red and blue segments left of centre, and the Marvel and DC logos indicating their approximate current US market share.
A YouTube history of manga in America by Mattt
November 16, 2025

Frederik L. Schodt is someone whose own scholarship is impeccable. So when he recommends a piece of work on manga [...]

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A screen showing the opening slide of the post-symposium talk on AI and Studio Ghibli. On the left of the screen is Dr. Rayna Denison, on the right Dr. Zoe Crombie. Photo from JAMS Vol. 6 no. 1.
JAMS Vol 6 issue 1 Open-access anime journal free to read
November 4, 2025

I’m delighted that the proceedings of the Lancaster symposium on transnational anime are now published as an issue of the [...]

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The mask of Firesong K'Treva by Patterner Cosplay. Layers of leathery segments evoke armour, flames and feathers at one, coloured in tones of gold and bronze. The mask has a long beak and is shaped like a bird of prey's head.
MCM ComicCon: cosplay magic
October 26, 2025

I really enjoyed looking round MCM ComicCon on Friday afternoon – big thanks to Chris Whittle of Experience12 for inviting [...]

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An image from Satoshi Kon's unfinished 5th feature film 'Dreaming Machine'. A young Japanese woman in a beige formal jacket and black open-necked shirt walks under an archway made of gold tubular metal and flanked by two brightly coloured 50s-style characters. A retro-style white house with red roofs is in the background, under a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. The image is slightly unsettling despite the blue sky and bright colours.
Studio Ghibli Question Time: are anime feature films considered superior to anime TV series in Japan?
October 22, 2025

Although asked in the context of Miyazaki’s and Ghibli’s views on the primacy of the feature film, this question covers [...]

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A poster for the symposium on transnational anime held at Lancaster University on 4 July 2025. White text on a blue background, illustrated by the covers of 'Anime: A History" by Jonathan Clements and "Studio Ghibli: an Industrial History" by Ranya Denison. Includes a barcode for more information.
Transgenerationality – the ageing up (and ageing out) of Japan’s animation industry
October 9, 2025

At the beginning of July I was privileged to speak at a symposium on Transnational Perspectives in Anime. It was [...]

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The US version of Tetsuwan Atom replaces the Japanese title lettering with "Astro Boy" in a futuristic font
Anime going global: the start of the process
October 6, 2025

62 years ago, in 1963, 35-year-old Osamu Tezuka flew to the USA to present his hit TV series Tetsuwan Atom [...]

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