“Animage Records” (アニメージュレコード), Official Japanese Promotional B2 Poster Featuring Nausicaä, Laputa, Totoro, Kiki, Jiji & Sherlock Hound c. 1989–1990, B2 Size (c. 51 × 73 cm) Q127
This is an original official Japanese promotional B2 poster issued for Animage Records, the Tokuma-affiliated music / soundtrack label associated with many of the most important Japanese animation releases of the 1980s. Rather than promoting a single theatrical film, this sheet was produced as a record-label / shop-display promotional poster, bringing together watercolor-style character artwork from several key Tokuma, Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli-related and TMS titles.
The lower-right copyright line credits rights holders including Tokuma Shoten, Nibariki, Eiko Kadono, TMS and RAI, tying the poster directly to the official Japanese animation and soundtrack-release ecosystem of the period. The presence of Kiki’s Delivery Service imagery places the sheet after the film’s 1989 release, making a late-1980s / circa-1990 dating appropriate.
About the poster
This official Animage Records promotional poster brings together some of the defining icons of late-20th-century Japanese animation: Nausicaä with Teto, Totoro beneath the moon, Kiki and Jiji, Pazu from Castle in the Sky playing trumpet above the town, and Sherlock Hound in detective costume. The selection reflects the close cultural and commercial relationship between Tokuma / Animage, soundtrack publishing, and the animation works that helped define the international reputation of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli-era Japanese animation.
This is not a standard theatrical release poster. It is best understood as an official Animage Records promotional / display poster, intended to advertise the label and its animation music catalogue rather than a single film campaign.
Poster design
The design is light, elegant and unusually restrained. Against a warm white ground, the poster presents a group of soft watercolor vignettes, each floating independently with generous negative space between them.
At upper left, Nausicaä sits quietly with Teto perched on her shoulder, rendered in pale blue-green washes that give the image a gentle, reflective quality. At upper right, Totoro appears in a moonlit night scene, the dark indigo sky setting off the rounded figure and small surrounding creatures. Near the centre, Jiji is drawn as a simple, alert blue-black cat, while the largest image on the sheet is the portrait of Kiki, her red bow and dark hair forming the strongest visual anchor of the composition.
Below, Pazu stands on a brick chimney playing his trumpet above a distant townscape, one of the most lyrical images associated with Castle in the Sky. At lower right, Sherlock Hound sits in profile with pipe and cape, adding a TMS / RAI-linked element to the otherwise Miyazaki / Tokuma-focused composition. The overall effect is that of a carefully arranged animation portfolio sheet: understated, atmospheric, and highly evocative of the hand-painted promotional style of the period.
Why collectors prize this example
• Official Animage Records issue: a genuine Japanese promotional poster connected to Tokuma’s animation soundtrack programme, not a modern decorative print.
• Multi-title Miyazaki / Ghibli-related imagery: includes characters from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service and Sherlock Hound.
• Distinctive record-label context: produced for soundtrack / music promotion rather than ordinary theatrical display, giving it a different collecting appeal from standard film posters.
• Elegant watercolor presentation: the soft, sketch-like artwork gives the poster a refined character closer to an animation art study than a conventional commercial one-sheet.
• Scarce display ephemera: promotional shop posters were generally handled in commercial environments and were not preserved in the same numbers as books, records or video packaging.
Condition
Good / Very Good vintage condition overall, with attractive display presence but visible age-related wear. The artwork remains charming and highly presentable, with the watercolor-style colours still soft, clear and appealing. The poster shows general age toning, particularly to the white paper ground, with more noticeable brown discoloration along the right edge and lower portion.
Please review the photos, including the front, back and close-up images, as they show the exact poster for sale.
It is an original official period promotional poster, not a modern reproduction or reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
