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Did you know Studio Ghibli made a film in 2006 based on the young Howl? Many Japanese people believe this character is based on Howl as a youth as seen when Sophie travels through time. The film is called “the Day i bought a star” (Hoshi O Katta Hi) and as we know Howl has had childhood experiences with stars, also being known as ‘the boy who swallowed a star’.

The short film 16 minutes in length was written and directed by Miyazaki and is shown exclusively in Tokyo’s Ghibli Museum and the new Ghibli Park in Aichi prefecture but the story is a partial adaption of book by the same name by Naohisa Inoue (you might recognise art style visuals from the fantasy sequences of Whisper of the Heart also drawn by Inoue).

As you can see from the images above the film also features a magical woman older than Howl (could that be a certain mentor witch? 🤣) and a boy who looks very like Howl who lives on his own in the country side. The film was also Miyazaki’s first project directly after the release of Howl’s Moving Castle in 2004.