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
JAMS Vol 6 issue 1 Open-access anime journal free to read
I’m delighted that the proceedings of the Lancaster symposium on transnational anime are now published as an issue of the [...]
READ MORE...The Animation Atlas: a must for any animation fan’s bookshelf
Book launch parties are quite rare these days unless you’re at the celeb end of the author spectrum, so it [...]
READ MORE...My Last Ghibli Gig of 2025 – Newcastle upon Tyne
Bookings are now open for my last Studio Ghibli gig of 2025, on 15 December. I’ll be at Dance City [...]
READ MORE...The Manga Bible: launch date confirmed!
It’s official – The Manga Bible launches on 5th March 2026! You can help me to supercharge the launch by [...]
READ MORE...MCM ComicCon: cosplay magic
I really enjoyed looking round MCM ComicCon on Friday afternoon – big thanks to Chris Whittle of Experience12 for inviting [...]
READ MORE...Sent to Coventry: Art History of Studio Ghibli on 2 December
Booking for my first December Studio Ghibli talk is now live. It’s at the Square One Bar in Coventry. I’ve [...]
READ MORE...Studio Ghibli Question Time: are anime feature films considered superior to anime TV series in Japan?
Although asked in the context of Miyazaki’s and Ghibli’s views on the primacy of the feature film, this question covers [...]
READ MORE...New talk date in Norwich: 27 November 2025
I’m coming back to Norwich on 27 November to talk about Studio Ghibli in the beautiful Maddermarket Theatre. My favourite [...]
READ MORE...Anime and Manga on Dinosaur Island
I had two absolutely knockout nights at the Quay Arts Centre in Newport, on the Isle of Wight. Friday night [...]
READ MORE...Transgenerationality – the ageing up (and ageing out) of Japan’s animation industry
At the beginning of July I was privileged to speak at a symposium on Transnational Perspectives in Anime. It was [...]
READ MORE...Anime going global: the start of the process
62 years ago, in 1963, 35-year-old Osamu Tezuka flew to the USA to present his hit TV series Tetsuwan Atom [...]
READ MORE...Studio Ghibli Question Time: What’s the significance of Howl’s exchange of hearts with Calcifer?
That’s an excellent question, not just because it impacts a key relationship in the film of Howl’s Moving Castle but because [...]
READ MORE...Remarkable new book on Studio Ghibli deserves a wide readership
Studio Ghibli Animation as Adaptations: Investigating how the Japanese Powerhouse Reimagines Stories is – to adapt an image from another [...]
READ MORE...Studio Ghibli Question Time: what’s in a haircut?
The Ghibli fans who come to my Seed Talks ask some really interesting questions. So I’ve started recalling as many [...]
READ MORE...The Manga Bible: US cover reveal
Prestel said yes, go ahead and share, so here’s the North American edition cover for The Manga Bible, available for [...]
READ MORE...Isao Takahata: FINALLY a book in English
The great Isao Takahata, without whom the Hayao Miyazaki we know would not exist, was and remains an influential figure [...]
READ MORE...Studio Ghibli Question Time: why does Sophie dress like Yubaba?
I get some absolutely fantastic questions from audiences for my Seed Talks on Studio Ghibli. They often raise points I [...]
READ MORE...LATEST ON THE NEW EDITION OF “HAYAO MIYAZAKI: MASTER OF JAPANESE ANIMATION”
Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation was published by Stone Bridge Press in 1999. It was the first book on [...]
READ MORE...Bristol Ghibli fans rocking my Question Time on Howl’s Moving Castle!
A couple of hundred Bristol anime fans joined me at the Hen & Chicken on Thursday (21 August) for a [...]
READ MORE...Surprise, surprise! The Manga Bible on YouTube
I watched a surprising and very flattering new YouTube video today. It’s constructed, probably by AI (subtitles in that not-quite-grammatical [...]
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