Marketing anime to a global audience: A paratextual analysis of promotional materials from Spirited Away

This article will focus specifically on the marketing materials utilized in the Japanese and American markets for Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (Spirited Away) (Miyazaki, 2001). That is to say, it takes a more in-depth look at the paratextual deployment of film posters and theatrical trailers. Building on the work of Rayna Denison, Keith Johnston and Eriko Ogihara-Schuck, this study delves deeper into the specific paratextual elements present within Spirited Away’s promotional ephemera. Focusing on two primary factors – branding and linguistics – the following campaign analysis examines the meaning behind the addition and elision of certain signifiers. By comparing the different versions of both posters and trailers, this article highlights areas of cultural difference, postulating that the anglophonic paratexts have undergone a process of Disneyfication. Finally, the author extrapolates the key selling points that are accentuated for both the domestic and global markets of Studio Ghibli films and then muses on the resulting hierarchy of brand networks that appear to have formed.