Laputa’s Clubs Jack and the Magazines That Made Ghibli

Castle in the Sky Clubs Jack Playing Card, Animage 1986

A Single Card from Ghibli’s First Feature Film

This is one card from a full 52-card playing deck released in connection with Animage, the long-running Japanese anime magazine published by Tokuma Shoten. The card is the Clubs Jack (♣ J), and its central oval illustration shows Pazu and Sheeta riding together aboard a Flaptor — the small propeller aircraft that appears memorably in the film’s second half. The artwork is drawn in the hand-painted cel-animation style that predates digital coloring, and the background suggests a night sky or deep space, consistent with the film’s visual atmosphere.

Animage launched in 1978 and became one of the most influential anime publications in Japan. Its editorial relationship with directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata was a direct precursor to the founding of Studio Ghibli in 1985. This card dates from the summer of 1986, aligning precisely with the theatrical release of Castle in the Sky — known in Japan as Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa — on August 2, 1986. It was Ghibli’s first feature film and Miyazaki’s first produced under that studio’s name.

Whether this deck originally appeared as a magazine furoku (a premium insert bundled with an issue), a standalone publication, or a mail-order item cannot be confirmed from the available evidence. Both formats were common: Animage regularly bundled premium extras with its issues, and playing cards were a standard category for anime merchandise throughout the 1980s, much as acrylic standees or enamel pins are today.

Pazu, Sheeta, and the Adventure That Defines Laputa

Castle in the Sky follows two young protagonists. Pazu is an orphan boy living in a mining town who dreams of finding the legendary floating city his late father once photographed. Sheeta is a girl revealed to be a descendant of Laputa’s royal bloodline, whose glowing crystal pendant — the flying stone — is the key to reaching the ancient sky fortress. The two are shown on this card aboard a Flaptor, the small aircraft used by the military and air pirates in the film. Pazu appears in his signature cap and goggles, a visual combination that was already being used as shorthand for the film in promotional and merchandise contexts at the time of release.

The Flaptor scenes, with Pazu and Sheeta together in the aircraft against a dark sky, represent some of the film’s most iconic imagery. That this exact moment was chosen for the Clubs Jack illustration reflects how central the pairing had become to the film’s visual identity even in its opening summer.

Why Ghibli Fans Seek Out Merchandise from 1986

Castle in the Sky had a modest theatrical opening, earning approximately 1.16 billion yen — smaller than anticipated. Its reputation grew substantially through later television broadcasts and home video releases, and the film is now widely regarded as a foundational Miyazaki work. In various interviews over the years, Miyazaki has spoken of a strong personal attachment to this film among his own productions, which has deepened its following among dedicated Ghibli enthusiasts.

Merchandise produced during the actual 1986 release window is now roughly 40 years old. Items like this card were made for domestic Japanese circulation, with no formal international distribution at the time — there was simply no overseas retail channel for this kind of anime tie-in goods in the mid-1980s. The hand-painted cel artwork is also visually distinct from the digital production methods that became standard in later decades, making pieces from this period a tangible record of how the Laputa franchise looked at its very beginning. For collectors focused on early Ghibli history or on Animage’s role in shaping that history, the magazine connection adds a layer of context beyond the card itself.