Everyone is familiar with Chihiro Ogino from the Studio Ghibli film, Spirited Away. Spirited Away is a coming of age story of a ten-year-old Chihiro.
At the time of the movie, 2001, Chihiro’s family was moving to a new location. On the way there, her father, Akio, began speeding. He got lost and nearly hit a stone idol in the middle of a pathway. After slamming on the breaks and causing an unseatbelted Chihiro to be tossed around in the backseat, Akio and Yuko exit the car. Akio and Yuko, then notice they are near a large, abandoned theme park. Chihiro doesn’t want to explore with them, so they just leave her standing outside the car in the middle of the woods. This begins an epic journey fraught with danger for Chihiro. Her parents turn into pigs after being cursed for stealing the food of the gods. Chihiro must find a way to save them. To do so, she faces the evil sorceress Yubaba who takes Chihiro’s name and renames her Sin. Additionally, Yubaba forces Chihiro into an illegal work contract. Chihiro faces severe danger as a human in a spirit world. Everyone wants to eat her or hurt her. She constantly has to hide her true identity. During her adventure to save her parents she faces great peril from a No Face, a dragon, and Yubaba herself. Even baby Boh, threatens Chihiro at one point in the movie. After some time, Chihiro is able to befriend all these dangerous beings, helping many of them, and eventually saves her parents. In the end, it seems like everything works out for her as she gains some independence, maturity, and confidence. What a lovely ending! But, that wasn’t the true end of the story.
To see the full movie, click here. You do have to pay for it though.
About three years ago, the Studio Ghibli children joined together in a class action lawsuit against the parents of Studio Ghibli.
The children allege that their parents placed them in great danger, nearly resulting in the loss of life! The lawsuit started about three years ago when the statue of limitations on child endangerment charges was approaching for several of the Ghibli children. Among the first to join the lawsuit were Mei and Satsuki Kusakabe from My Neighbor Totoro. But, lawyers stated that they were too late to file a claim. Their film came out in 1988, and Mei reached the age of adulthood more than a decade ago. The group needed younger people to complete the claim. Ponyo and Sosuke from the Ghibli film Ponyo then joined in the lawsuit. Lawyers weren’t sure if Ponyo could be included because she was initially a goldfish. But she does now identify as a human girl. There may be a potential claim added on to the case to handle non-human claimants. Sosuke, on the other hand, had a strong case. His mother, Risa (Lisa) left a possibly six-year-old Sosuke during a major tsunami.
Still from ‘Ponyo’ (2018). Complimentary Image from Studio Ghibli. Background removed by Kelly Pratt.
In addition, Risa left him with another minor, Ponyo. Sosuke risked his life to get to his mom, who decided to go to work during the worst tsunami ever known in their small town. Sosuke’s dad is nowhere to be found. It seems like he may have abandoned Sosuke and Risa. The case against Sosuke’s parents is strong, and they aren’t the only ones facing a favorable outcome.
Boh, the giant baby of Spirited Away, joined the suit earlier this year. Forever stuck as a baby, the statute of limitations never runs out on Boh. This made him a great person to join the lawsuit. It was because of Boh that Chihiro Ogino decided to join. A radio station had breaking news about the story earlier this week.
The full statute of limitations can be found at federalcharges.com. There a document named ‘Child Endangerment Laws, Charges and Statute of Limitations’ by By Geoffrey Nathan, Esq, says that a person has from 3-10 years to file a complaint depending on the state where one lives.
A review of the trailer for Spirited Away, seems innocuous at first, but a second look reveals all the danger Chihiro faces once her parents abandon her.
This video explains it better than any words can. Just in this clip alone, Chihiro nearly dies at least 3 times! In addition, she faced great peril with No Face. No one is really sure who or what No Face is. He seemed innocuous at first. But, after some time, he began to eat, and eat, and eat. As he ate, he grew larger. Eventually, he was so huge that he ate the creatures around him. Each creature or being that he ate added more individual qualities to No Face. For example, after eating a talking frog, No Face was able to speak. Eventually, No Face turned his ire toward Chihiro. Here, you can hear how this terrible creature sounded when he attacked the bath house where Chihiro was working.
Without a doubt, this is a fearsome creature! It is amazing that Chihiro was able to escape the danger.
This audio clip served as the prosecution’s Exhibit A in the lawsuit which began yesterday. Stay tuned for more updates regarding the case.
As the lawsuit continues to gain momentum, even Youtubers are recycling the story. Chihiro received overwhelming support as videos flooded the internet. Here is an unique video which really explains the situation.
While the evidence against the Studio Ghibli parents builds, the case is still uncertain. Out of the more than twenty Studio Ghibli films, it is unclear how many of these children were endangered and if their claims are still valid. The prosecution has a long journey ahead of them. Needless to say, this site supports the children of Studio Ghibli, and especially Chihiro. She is one of the lucky ones who lived through her harrowing experience and came out traumatized, but stronger for it. Keep fighting, Chihiro!
Everyone who stands in solidarity with the Studio Ghibli children, please show your support by signing the Petition for Justice @ Studio Ghibli to bring these criminal and neglectful parents to justice.
Join our cry for justice:
Spirit them Away to Jail!!!
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