Japanese Movies and their Equivalent Books: Part 2

Hello there!

This is Part 2 to my post: Japanese Movies and their Equivalent Books. You can read Part 1 here :)

Okay, so the next book-movie pair is.... Spirited Away and Everlost!

Movie: Spirited Away (2001)

By my all-time favorite director, Hayao Miyazaki!

Plot: In the middle of her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl, Chihiro, wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches, and monsters; where humans are changed into animals; and a bathhouse exists for these creatures. Chihiro becomes enslaved by the bathhouse mistress but eventually becomes close friends with a mysterious young boy, Haku. Together, they seek to find their true identities and to earn back their own freedom and rights.

Here is the awesome trailer to the awesome movie!!

Book: EVERLOST by Neal Shusterman

The award winning trilogy that
kept me up all night :P

Plot:
It begins with an accident.

Nick and Allie don't survive the crash, and now their souls are stuck halfway between life and death in a sort of limbo called Everlost. It's a magical yet dangerous place, where bands of lost souls run wild and anyone who stands in the same spot too long sinks to the center of the Earth. Frightened and determined, Nick and Allie aren't ready to rest in peace just yet. They want their lives back, and their search for a way home will take them deep into the uncharted areas of Everlost. But the longer they stay, the more they forget about their pasts. And if all memory of home is lost, they may never escape this strange, terrible world.

Similarities

Even if you simply skim through the plot overview of the EVERLOST and Spirited Away, you still can decipher the rough gist of their themes. Both are set in the land of spirits (or limbo!) and have strikingly similar themes of discovering one's identity, learning to live independently and eventually, trying to find their way back home.

In Spirited Away, the two young protagonists, Haku and Chihiro, are initially uncooperative but eventually learn to trust and rely on each other. While the Skinjacker trilogy spans across a much longer journey and involves more characters, the character development of Nick and Allie are still akin to that of Haku and Chihiro in Spirited Away. 

I would say that Spirited Away is a more concise version for lazy bums and potato couches that have no patience to read EVERLOST. However, they are both equally outstanding in their own rights and shine in each of their genres :)

Till next time! Remember to read Part 1 and check back again for Part 3 and Part 4!

Love, 

Crystal