How Zelda and Studio Ghibli inspire happiness and purpose

Study highlights the role of Zelda and Studio Ghibli in fostering exploration, calm, and purpose in life

2025-08-19

(Press-News.org) (Toronto, August 18, 2025) A new study published in JMIR Serious Games by JMIR Publications reveals that playing the open-world video game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and watching Studio Ghibli films can significantly improve young people’s overall happiness and sense of purpose in life.

Led by researchers from Imperial College London, Kyushu Sangyo University, and Georgia State University, the exploratory randomized controlled study, titled “Effects of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Studio Ghibli Films on Young People’s Sense of Exploration, Calm, Mastery and Skill, Purpose and Meaning, and Overall Happiness in Life: Exploratory Randomized Controlled Study,” involved 518 postgraduate students. Participants were randomly assigned to either play Zelda or not and to either watch nostalgic Studio Ghibli films like My Neighbor Totoro or Kiki’s Delivery Service or not. Researchers then measured feelings of exploration, calm, skill mastery, purpose, and life happiness.

Simply playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild led to higher life happiness scores, but adding the nostalgia of Studio Ghibli films boosted happiness even further. The increase in life happiness scores was partly due to heightened feelings of exploration, calm, mastery, and meaning.

These results suggest that certain games and films aren’t just entertaining—they can help young people navigate stress and sadness by deepening their sense of curiosity, peace, and life purpose. This offers fresh evidence that carefully chosen leisure activities may support mental well-being.

”The current study reveals a fascinating finding: Immersing oneself in the exploratory freedom of Breath of the Wild and the mindful wonder of Studio Ghibli films can actively nurture essential human capacities – exploration, tranquility, purpose-finding, and happiness – and, thus, offer valuable pathways to enhance everyday well-being," says author Andreas B Eisingerich.

With anxiety and loneliness increasing in young people, this research suggests that thoughtfully engaging with art and interactive worlds might play a meaningful role in helping people feel happier and more fulfilled.

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About JMIR Publications:

JMIR Publications is a leading open access publisher of digital health research and a champion of open science. With a focus on author advocacy and research amplification, JMIR Publications partners with researchers to advance their careers and maximize the impact of their work. As a technology organization with publishing at its core, we provide innovative tools and resources that go beyond traditional publishing, supporting researchers at every step of the dissemination process. Our portfolio features a range of peer-reviewed journals, including the renowned Journal of Medical Internet Research.

To learn more about JMIR Publications, please visit jmirpublications.com or connect with us via Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

Head office: 130 Queens Quay East, Unit 1100, Toronto, ON, M5A 0P6 Canada

Media contact: communications@jmir.org

The content of this communication is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, published by JMIR Publications, is properly cited.

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How Zelda and Studio Ghibli inspire happiness and purpose

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