Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away Is Returning to the Stage

Spirited Away remains the biggest Studio Ghibli film at the box office and is the only movie from the studio to take home an Academy Award for Best Animated Picture. While this might change with The Boy And The Heron being nominated for the same category this year, the story of Chihiro Ogino's legacy will remain. While there are no plans for this world to be explored via a sequel or spin-off, the Studio Ghibli production is returning to the stage this year.

Japan creating live-action stage plays of famous anime properties is nothing new. Popular franchises such as My Hero Academia, Chainsaw Man, Naruto, Hunter x Hunter, and too many others to count have received their own live-action adaptations on the stage. In fact, franchises like Attack on Titan, Death Note, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure even received their own musicals. While many of these plays are relegated only to Japan, Spirited Away made the leap from Japan to United Kingdom for its first run and is doing the same in 2024.

Spirited Away Returns To The Stage

Performances for this new take on the Ghibli world will begin this month on March 11th, continuing into this summer. It goes to show just how popular Spirited Away remains that a stage play is able to bring in audiences decades after its initial theatrical run. If you plan on finding a way to Japan or the United Kingdom to check out the upcoming performances, here's when you can scope Studio Ghibli's latest live-action adaptation,

Dates: March 11th (Monday) to 30th (Saturday), 2024
Venue: Imperial Theater, Tokyo

Dates: April 7th (Sunday) to April 20th (Saturday), 2024
Venue: Misonoza, Aichi Prefecture

Date: 2024 April 27th (Saturday) – May 19th (Sunday)
Venue: Hakataza, Fukuoka Prefecture

Date: April 30th, 2024 (Tuesday) – August 24th (Saturday)
Venue: London Coliseum, United Kingdom

Date: 2024 Monday, May 27th, 2024 – Thursday, June 6th, 2024
Venue: Main Hall, Umeda Arts Theater, Osaka

Date: Saturday, June 15th, 2024 – Thursday, June 20th, 2024
Venue: Sapporo Culture and Arts, Hokkaido theater hitaru  

Luckily, even if you can't make it to these performances, you can still watch the Spirited Away stage play from the comfort of your own home. A performance is currently streaming on MAX and the recording can also be purchased digitally through several retailers. 

What anime franchise would you want to see get a stage play in North America? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Ghibli.