Genre Drama
Before Chise became the "ultimate weapon," there was another—Lieutenant Mizuki. A battle-hardened military woman, she volunteered for an experimental procedure after injuries left her unable to return to the battlefield. As the prototype ultimate weapon, Lieutenant Mizuki was highly successful on the battlefield, however, as the first candidate, her development was limited. When a more suitable candidate to become the weapon, Chise, is forced into the military, Lieutenant Mizuki thinks that she is silly, weak, and unsuited for the role. As the only other person to have undergone the procedure, however, Lieutenant Mizuki can hear Chise's thoughts and is the only one who understands her. As the war rages on and Chise's development progresses, Lieutenant Mizuki discovers more about Chise, ultimate weapons, and herself.
OVA
That jumbled piece of architecture, that cacophony of hissing steam and creaking joints, with smoke billowing from it as it moves on its own... That castle is home to the magnificent wizard Howl, infamous for both his magical prowess and for being a womanizer—or so the rumor goes in Sophie Hatter's small town. Sophie, as the plain daughter of a hatmaker, does not expect much from her future and is content with working hard in the shop. However, Sophie's simple life takes a turn for the exciting when she is ensnared in a disturbing situation, and the mysterious wizard appears to rescue her. Unfortunately, this encounter, brief as it may be, spurs the vain and vengeful Witch of the Waste—in a fit of jealousy caused by a past discord with Howl—to put a curse on the maiden, turning her into an old woman. In an endeavor to return to normal, Sophie must accompany Howl and a myriad of eccentric companions—ranging from a powerful fire demon to a hopping scarecrow—in his living castle, on a dangerous adventure as a raging war tears their kingdom apart.
Movie
In Edo period Japan (1603 to 1868), a strange new disease called the Redface Pox has begun to prey on the country's men. Within eighty years of the first outbreak, the male population has fallen to a quarter of the total female population. Women have taken on all the roles traditionally granted to men, even that of the Shogun. The men, precious providers of life, are carefully protected and the most beautiful of the men are sent to serve in the Shogun's Inner Chambers.
ONA
