Studio Ghibli’s name is not Japanese, inspired from THIS culture, know its origins and unique meaning

Studio Ghibli, a well-known Japanese animation studio, has become more trending and viral these days due to a creative fusion of its art and Open AI’s ChatGPT-4o and Grok’s AI image generation tools that has captivated the imaginations of people and changed the perspectives of our visions while we share them to a billion people on earth through social media. The Japanese anime studio has amazed movie watchers for decades with its traditional anime and manga style, the latter being the name for Japanese comic art style. 

Studio Ghibli's inspiration 

The ongoing viral Ghibli style images have took over internet, with users posting their personal pictures to ones of celebrities and their iconic moments in huge numbers, turning them in Studio Ghibli style anime images. The reactions and views on these posts have also been crazy encouraging more AI images in Ghibli style. Users have started hashtags like #Ghibli, #Ghiblification, #StudioGhibli and more.  

However, one would wonder, from where the name ‘Ghibli’ came from? What does it mean? Surprisingly, the word Ghibli is not even Japanese. It derives its name from the Arabic word for “a fiercely hot wind” namely ‘qibli’, meaning ‘south wind’ or ‘coming from the qibla’. In Italian, ‘ghibli’ refers to a hot, dust-carrying desert wind in North Africa. 

What is Studio Ghibli art style and its connection Japanese art tradition 

This name was taken particularly because of its unique symbolisation resonating with the company’s goal of creating a new, powerful flurry of creativity in the anime industry. Studio Ghibli was founded by directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata in 1985 with producer Toshio Suzuki. The Japanese anime studio has popularised the manga, which is an animation style specific to Japan in which comic characters are given exaggerated facial expressions and dynamic poses. 

Studio Ghibli has been producing millions of animated films which have influenced movie lovers worldwide with their unique style of animated art which incorporates the traditional Japanese art of ukiyo-e woodblock prints and modern elements which gives Studio Ghibli movies an aesthetic touch. Some of its most popular films include, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and Howl's Moving Castle. What makes these films resonating among viewers is their style of storytelling, which is more expressive with exaggerated expressions, the humanism, strong storylines and out of the world imagination.