“Castle in the Sky” / 「天空の城ラピュタ」, Animage December 1985 Promotional B3 Nakazuri Poster, Hayao Miyazaki / Studio Ghibli, B3 Size (36.4 × 51.5 cm) J8
This is a rare original Japanese B3 promotional nakazuri-style poster produced for the December 1985 issue of Animage / 「アニメージュ」, featuring early promotional artwork for Hayao Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky / 「天空の城ラピュタ」.
This is not a standard theatrical movie poster, but a magazine / retail / transit promotional poster issued before the film’s 1986 theatrical release. As such, it is a particularly interesting piece of early Studio Ghibli history, dating from the moment when Miyazaki’s first Studio Ghibli feature was being introduced to the Japanese public.
Film / publication background
Following the success of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Hayao Miyazaki co-founded Studio Ghibli, with Castle in the Sky becoming the studio’s first official feature film.
This poster predates the film’s release and appears in connection with Animage December 1985, published by Tokuma Shoten. The right-side text announces the forthcoming Miyazaki project and notes that Castle in the Sky was scheduled for release in August 1986.
The poster therefore belongs to the earliest promotional phase of the film, before its full theatrical campaign, making it a scarce and highly evocative pre-release artefact.
Poster design
The artwork is soft, pale, and sketch-like, with a delicate watercolour quality associated with early Miyazaki production and magazine imagery.
The central image shows Pazu in aviator goggles and Dola flying toward the viewer in a red mechanical aircraft, accompanied by other sky pirates moving through the clouds. The design has a light, exploratory quality — less like a finished theatrical poster and more like a glimpse into the imaginative world that would soon become Castle in the Sky.
At lower right, the pink Animage / アニメージュ logo identifies the issue as:
1985 12 DECEMBER
The printed price is 590 yen, with Tokuma Shoten listed beneath. The right-side promotional text also advertises magazine supplements, including an Arion & Mimi poster and an Angel’s Egg guidebook.
The overall effect is subtle but historically rich: early Ghibli, pre-release Miyazaki artwork, Animage promotional context, and B3 nakazuri-format presentation.
Format note
This is a B3 horizontal promotional poster, approximately 36.4 × 51.5 cm.
B3 posters of this kind were often used in bookstores, newsstands, magazine promotion, and sometimes as nakazuri-style transit advertisements inside trains. Because they were temporary advertising objects rather than retail posters, survival rates are low, especially for pre-release Studio Ghibli-related material.
Condition
Very good to excellent condition. Please review the photographs carefully, as they show the exact poster for sale.
The poster presents very well, with soft colour, attractive printed artwork, clear Animage branding, and strong overall display appeal. There are light signs of age, storage, and handling consistent with an original 1985 B3 promotional poster.
This is an original 1985 Japanese Animage promotional B3 poster.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
It is over 40 years old.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
