Anime movie giants Studio Ghibli have announced their first ever TV series, a coming of age fantasy titled RONIA THE ROBBER’S DAUGHTER.

The series is based on a children’s book by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren (who you may be aware of as the creator of Pippi Longstocking), and the story, as you may well have presumed, revolves around a little girl named Ronia (or Ronja, depending on which transliteration you believe), who is the only child of the chief of a clan of bandits.

Living in a castle on a tall rock in the middle of a pine forest, the series will follow Ronia’s adventures exploring the woodland surrounding her home, her growing friendship with the son of a rival bandit clan’s chief, and her changing attitudes as she begins to question her father’s life of thievery. As well as lessons of maturing childhood, the story will also feature the kind of magical creatures for which Ghibli are renowned, the inhabitants of the forest likely being reminiscent of those seen in MY NEIGHBOUR TOTORO, PRINCESS MONONOKE or POM POKO.

The series will be directed by Gorō Miyazaki, son of studio co-founder Hayao and the director of Ghibli films TALES FROM EARTHSEA and FROM UP ON POPPY HILL. He stated that “RONIA THE ROBBER’S DAUGHTER is a story not just about a girl who grows into adulthood, but it is also a story about the love and growth between a parent and a child, and a story about the bonds between friends. My goal is to create a work that everyone, from children to adults, will be able to enjoy.”

The series will debut on Japanese TV in August.

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