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

Poster for the talk The Art History of Studio Ghibli on 24 March at 5:30 pm at The MAC, Belfast. The Seed Talks logo is centred at the top of a pale gold coloured background, with the talk title in black block capitals centred below. A half length image of NoFace from Spirited Away in tones of grey is centred below the title, with the speaker's name, date, time and location in black title case letters below.
24 March: Back to Belfast with Seed Talks!
February 12, 2026

Seed Talks are bringing my Studio Ghibli talk back to beautiful Belfast on 24 March! And I’m planning a couple [...]

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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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Poster and promo text for the Seed Talks event launching Helen McCarthy's new book The Manga Bible in London and on livestream on 3 March 2026. On the left, the poster is printed in black and white on a cream coloured background. The Seed Talks logo and the title of the talk, in bold black capitals, are centred above a band of manga-style images printed in black. Details of speaker, date and venue are centred in black sentence case type below. To the right is a bullet-point list of information about the event in black type, plus a URL for booking tickets in red.
The Manga Bible: attend the book launch in person or on livestream!
February 3, 2026

You can attend my book launch on 3 March whether or not you’re in London. And you can book your [...]

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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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Poster for The Art History of Studio Ghibli, a talk by Helen McCarthy. On a pale gold background, a monotone image of NoFace from Spirited Away is in the centre, with black text giving the title of the talk, the speaker, date and time and menu in two blocks above and below the image. The Seed Talks logo is printed in white with black outlines at top centre.
Art History of Studio Ghibli Returns To Newcastle
January 28, 2026

Hello all you lovely Newcastle Studio Ghibli fans – Seed Talks are bringing me back to your beautiful city to [...]

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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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Poster for the launch event of The Manga Bible
London Book Launch for The Manga Bible on 3 March
January 20, 2026

We’re holding a launch event with a difference for The Manga Bible in London on 3 March. Most book launches [...]

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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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