“ARRIETTY / 借りぐらしのアリエッティ”, ORIGINAL JAPANESE DOUBLE-SIDED B1 ROADSHOW THEATRICAL POSTER 2010, Ultra Rare, B1 Size (c. 72.8 x 103cm)
“ARRIETTY / 借りぐらしのアリエッティ” (2010) – ORIGINAL JAPANESE DOUBLE-SIDED B1 ROADSHOW THEATRICAL POSTER – HIROMASA YONEBAYASHI / HAYAO MIYAZAKI / STUDIO GHIBLI
Ultra-Rare Double-Sided B1 Oversize | Original Japanese First-Release Roadshow Campaign | Light-Box Printing | c. 72.8 × 103 cm / 28.7 × 40.6 in | Excellent
An exceptional original Japanese double-sided B1 theatrical roadshow poster for Studio Ghibli’s lyrical 2010 masterpiece Arrietty / 借りぐらしのアリエッティ, directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi from a screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki and Keiko Niwa, based on Mary Norton’s classic novel The Borrowers.
This is the beautiful and highly desirable leaf / ivy key art design: Arrietty in her red dress hidden among enormous green leaves, dew drops, vines, and secret garden textures, with the unforgettable vertical tagline 人間に見られてはいけない。 — “She must not be seen by humans.”
This is one of the most elegant and sought-after poster designs for Arrietty, and it is especially rare in the B1 oversize format. This example is further distinguished by its double-sided light-box printing, with the reverse printed in mirror image for illuminated cinema display.
A major Studio Ghibli rarity: Arrietty hidden among the leaves, at full B1 scale, in scarce double-sided theatrical light-box format.
Key Facts
Film: Arrietty / Karigurashi no Arrietty / 借りぐらしのアリエッティ
International title: The Secret World of Arrietty
Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi / 米林宏昌
Planning / Screenplay: Hayao Miyazaki / 宮崎駿
Screenplay: Keiko Niwa / 丹羽圭子
Original Story: Mary Norton / メアリー・ノートン, The Borrowers / 床下の小人たち
Producer: Toshio Suzuki / 鈴木敏夫
Music / Theme Song: Cécile Corbel / セシル・コルベル
Studio: Studio Ghibli / スタジオジブリ
Distributor: Toho / 東宝
Japanese release date: 17 July 2010
Poster format: Japanese B1 — c. 72.8 × 103 cm / 28.7 × 40.6 in
Poster type: Original Japanese theatrical roadshow / cinema display poster
Printing: Double-sided light-box printing, reverse printed in mirror image
Special format feature: Scarce oversize B1 double-sided theatrical light-box sheet
Date & Japanese Theatrical Release
Arrietty / 借りぐらしのアリエッティ opened theatrically in Japan on 17 July 2010, distributed by Toho. This B1 poster belongs to the film’s original Japanese first-release roadshow campaign and carries the period theatrical release line along the lower border:
7月17日（土）全国東宝系ロードショー
“Saturday, July 17, nationwide Toho theatrical roadshow.”
Original Japanese theatrical paper for Studio Ghibli titles carries particular collector weight because these posters represent the film’s home-market presentation: how audiences in Japan first encountered the work at the moment it entered cinemas.
The Film & Its Place in Studio Ghibli History
Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, with Hayao Miyazaki credited for planning and screenplay, Arrietty is one of Studio Ghibli’s most delicate and visually refined works. Rather than the epic scale of Princess Mononoke or the mechanical fantasy of Howl’s Moving Castle, this film finds wonder in miniature: sugar cubes, pins, leaves, floorboards, hidden passages, and the danger of being seen.
The film became a major commercial success in Japan. The Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan lists Karigurashi no Arrietty as the No. 1 Japanese film of 2010, with an estimated domestic gross of ¥9.25 billion, distributed by Toho. It also won Best Animation / Animation of the Year at the 34th Japan Academy Prize, where the official Japan Academy Prize materials list 借りぐらしのアリエッティ as the top animation winner.
For Ghibli collectors, this gives the poster a particularly strong position: it is not only a beautiful key-art sheet, but the original Japanese theatrical advertising for one of Ghibli’s biggest domestic successes of the 2010s.
Cécile Corbel’s Score
Cécile Corbel’s music is central to the film’s atmosphere. Her harp-led score and theme song give Arrietty its intimate, fragile, almost secretive emotional texture — perfectly matched to a story about tiny people living just out of sight.
The official Studio Ghibli work listing credits セシル・コルベル / Cécile Corbel for both music and theme song, making the soundtrack one of the film’s most distinctive creative elements.
Design Notes
This is one of the most beautiful and immediately recognizable Arrietty theatrical images, and it has superb impact at B1 scale:
Arrietty hidden among the leaves: the central image captures the entire emotional premise of the film — a small girl living in a giant human world, always close but never meant to be seen.
The tagline: 人間に見られてはいけない。 — “She must not be seen by humans.” A perfect Ghibli line: quiet, urgent, and full of mystery.
Lush botanical composition: the huge green leaves, water droplets, vines, and hidden garden textures create an immersive miniature world.
Colour and contrast: the bright red of Arrietty’s dress against the greens of the ivy makes the image instantly striking.
Large-format impact: in B1 size, the leaves and dew drops become almost life-size, making the “tiny world” concept work beautifully as a theatrical display.
Double-sided light-box printing: the reverse is printed in mirror image, confirming this as a cinema display format intended for illumination.
Collector significance: this is not the more commonly encountered smaller display format; it is the scarce oversize B1 double-sided theatrical light-box version.
The Double-Sided Light-Box Printing
This example is especially desirable because it is double-sided, with the reverse printed in mirror image. That is a key feature of theatrical light-box posters: the reverse-side image strengthens the colour and density when the poster is illuminated from behind.
For collectors, this matters a great deal. A double-sided B1 is not simply a larger version of the standard poster. It is a premium cinema-display format, made for illuminated theatrical presentation and distributed in far smaller quantities than ordinary one-sided sheets.
Because a poster of this type would likely have been intended for a protected light-box or cinema display case, it also helps explain the excellent preservation seen here: strong colour, clean image presence, and very little visible handling distraction.
The Japanese B1 Format and Why It’s So Hard to Find
Japan’s standard theatrical poster size is B2, and most original Japanese Studio Ghibli posters are encountered in that format.
The B1 format is a different category. At approximately 72.8 × 103 cm, it is an oversize display sheet intended for higher-impact placements such as theatre lobbies, large poster cases, and premium roadshow displays. B1 posters were produced and distributed in much smaller numbers than standard B2 sheets, and their survival rate is lower: they are harder to store, easier to damage, and more likely to have been discarded after theatrical use.
This example is rarer again because it is double-sided, with the reverse printed in mirror image for light-box illumination. Original Japanese Ghibli double-sided B1 sheets are extremely difficult to source, especially in this condition.
With no official public print-run records available, any exact production figure would be speculative. The reliable collector point is clear: an original 2010 Japanese B1 double-sided Arrietty theatrical poster is dramatically scarcer than the standard B2 format and is seldom encountered in excellent, unrestored condition.
About the Artists: Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Hayao Miyazaki & Studio Ghibli
While Japanese theatrical posters often do not credit a single poster illustrator in the Western collecting sense, Studio Ghibli’s key art is best understood as an extension of the film’s own visual language.
This poster captures Arrietty with remarkable clarity: the world is enormous, the leaves are monumental, the water droplets feel like glass, and Arrietty herself appears both brave and vulnerable. The design is quiet but incredibly powerful — a perfect theatrical expression of the film’s central idea.
It is also important to distinguish the creative credits accurately: Arrietty was directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, while Hayao Miyazaki is credited for planning and screenplay. That makes this a key Studio Ghibli work with major Miyazaki involvement, but not a Miyazaki-directed film.
Authenticity and Reprints
Important note: Arrietty imagery has been reproduced in later decorative prints, retail posters, and modern display formats. Genuine 2010 Japanese theatrical posters need to be distinguished carefully from later reproductions.
The example offered here is an original vintage Japanese theatrical B1 poster from the film’s first-release roadshow campaign in 2010.
It is not a modern Ghibli shop print, not a decorative reproduction, not a later retail poster, and not a contemporary reprint. It is the real theatrical article: B1 size, double-sided, mirror-image reverse, and printed for cinema light-box display.
Condition Report
Overall presentation: Excellent / Unrestored.
This is a superb original example with bright colour, crisp image presence, and excellent overall display quality. The sheet presents beautifully at full B1 scale, with the double-sided light-box printing adding major collector appeal.
Please refer to the images provided — this is the exact poster offered.
