Kimitachi wa Dou Ikiru ka

This film is exactly what you would get if you were to go up to ChatGPT and prompt "Give me a Ghibli movie".

The erratic scene transitions, nonsensical story non-telling and almost zero character development for the characters (which they just keep throwing at you throughout the movie), it gives you the feeling of "it exists, it smells familiar, but it feels so off".

The movie stops for nothing; no reflection, reaction, or conversation. There is no humanity to the film compared to other Ghibli films. You are pulled by the ear from scene to scene, given no time to appreciate or take in anything. They ... instead force space for shallow renders of Ghibli tropes, such as "the cute little guys" or "look at this delicious food!", which only goes as far to give you some watered down feeling of emotion. You keep thinking that there will surely be something redeeming, perhaps a message, but even the message is rushed through.

You then find yourself coming out of the movie it feels like you were either too sober, or the producers too high. In any case, you now have a phobia of birds.

Before I get into the review, this review may be difficult to understand as I am not a native English speaker. Please understand.

Studio Ghibli's new film, "Kimitachi wa Dou Ikiru ka" ("How Do You Live?"), directed by Hayao Miyazaki, takes its title from Genzaburo Yoshino's novel "Kimitachi wa Dou Ikiru ka" ("How Do You Live?") published in 2017. But the story is completely original by Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli's official website describes the film as an adventure fantasy. This is the first film by director Hayao Miyazaki in 10 years since "The Wind Rises," which was released in 2013.

The odd thing about this film is that ... only the release date, title, and key visuals have been announced. Producer Toshio Suzuki of Studio Ghibli has stated that no TV commercials or advertisements, let alone trailers, will be released prior to its release. Also, unusually for an anime film in recent years, the film is being produced under Ghibli's sole financing. This means there is no problem even if the film is creating a deficit due to the drastic strategy of not using advertisements or promotions.

Referring to the production staff, the original story, director, and screenplay (storyboard) are by Hayao Miyazaki, and the music is by Joe Hisaishi. So far, this is no different from the usual Ghibli productions, but the animation director is Takeshi Honda. He is a veteran animator who has worked on "Evangelion" "Millennium Actress," "Dennou Coil," and many others. The tag team of Miyazaki and Honda, who has worked on so many films, is exciting and gives us a glimpse of how important Ghibli considers this film to be.

Although I am writing this review after watching the film, I will try to minimize spoilers, given Ghibli's strategy of not promoting the movie this way, i.e., they want people to watch it 'in its entirety' with no prior information.

I went to the cinema on July 14, 2023, the first day of the film's release. I had only limited prior information, as I mentioned earlier.
My first impression was that I had no idea what was going on. There was so much information and abstraction that I never fully understood. Undoubtedly, this is the most difficult film ever made by director Hayao Miyazaki.

Let's take a brief look at the storyline.

The main character is a boy named Mahito, who is estimated to be in his early teens. He lost his mother in a hospital during an air raid during the Pacific War and left Tokyo with his father for the countryside. There, he is met by his father's second marriage. Unable to accept her as his new mother, Mato transfers to a new school and begins to have problems with his classmates. Around the mansion he moves to, there are strange entities, such as the presence of a grey heron (the bird in the key visual) that speaks the language and a mysterious building.

At one point, Mahito chases after his new mother, who disappears into the woods, and when he enters the mysterious building, he faces a grey heron, which leads him on a journey into the 'world below.' This, the 'world below,' is not only a place of death but also a clean and beautiful fictional world where people turn away from reality. It is a world built on a perilous balance, and only those who inherit their great-uncle's blood are qualified to maintain it. Mahito is qualified and can rule the 'world below,' but what choice does he have to make?

Hayao Miyazaki leaves us with a certain message in this work by putting reality and fiction in opposition. When living in the real world, we may want to cling to the past or keep to our own world. We may also do bad things or lose hope because of the ugliness that pervades the world. But we must be honest with ourselves and move forward.

This film is the culmination of Miyazaki's work, and he has projected himself into this film. Hayao Miyazaki experienced an air raid in Utsunomiya when he was a child. He also lost his mother when he was a child. His father works for an aircraft company, which Mahito and Hayao Miyazaki have in common. Miyazaki may want to convey to his childhood self the importance of looking forward to life despite the hardships, ugliness, and evil that exist in this world.

Finally, I have probably only been able to present about 10 percent of this work. So please bring yourself to the theater and enjoy the many elements I could not tell you. To fully appreciate this work, you need to discover its hidden meanings and understand its symbolism. Therefore, I will likely discover different and new interpretations of this work as I rewatch it in the future. Accordingly, my evaluation of this work will also change, so please keep this review only as a reference.

Thank you for reading.

*On July 17, I rewatched the film and added a new interpretation to its notes.. Please take a look. I may update my review and interpretation in the notes hereafter. Please note that there is a possibility of spoilers.

The movie feels like a series of short stories forcibly strung together with unrelated characters. I expect that there is some abstract meaning to it, but it was not obvious to me as an average moviegoer. The protagonist, while not very vocal, is unusually perceptive and somehow recognizes those seemingly unrelated characters and matches them with actual people he knows, which always turn out to be correct guesses. In the abrupt end, I was filled with more questions about the motivations and aftermath of what happened to the sub characters. Unlike the other Ghibli films that teaches a moral or converses a message, I didn't ... get what was supposed to be the point of this movie.

That said, the animation and sound are all on point which makes this a pleasing experience for the eyes and ears, but not quite brain. I would recommend it if you love Ghibli films and have 2 hours to kill.

(spoiler free)

i live in japan and speak japanese, so i got the chance to watch this joint with my mom in theaters (she fell asleep for half of it since she doesn't speak japanese and there were no subtitles LOL)

to keep it brief: the flick's good. very watchable. production and vibes were beyond on point as per standard ghibli quality, particularly miyazaki's shit. script was serviceable enough to not actively detract from the stellar atmosphere and ultimately satisfying viewing experience.

something felt off, though. it was like an incredibly advanced ai was trained on every previous miyazaki movie and then fed a new script to ... generate a new miyazaki thing automatically. every scene, every character, damn near every shot felt like echoes of his past work with a little less gusto. i feel like i could point to an analog in some previous work of his for literally every aspect of this thing. i dunno if it's because he's getting older or because he made this thing with his grandson in mind as the future audience, but it's just a little lacking in soul. behind the gorgeous soundtrack, animation, and vibes, it felt like there just wasn't all that much meat here.

save for a couple highlights, i don't think any of the characters really grabbed me or hit home in any significant way. they all kinda just feel like shadows of characters he's already written before. big hugs, tearful reunions, booming laughs, none of them felt right or natural. just made me want to watch ponyo or the wind rises again.

maybe you'll feel differently. my sincere hope is that i'm somehow just jaded or wasn't paying close enough attention, but i suspect this one was a little phoned in. it feels massively disrespectful to say that considering miyazaki's been working on this for the better part of a decade, but i can't shake that feeling that this one just doesn't stand up to scrutiny like most of his best stuff.

should you watch it? yes. especially if you're a ghibli fan. i hope you love it, really. maybe i'm just broken! 💯🤙

I walked into the cinema not knowing a single thing about The Boy and the Heron.

And I walked out still not knowing anything. Nothing about the plot, the characters and what they represented, especially the rather 'Okay, I guess that's it,' ending and, in particular, what Miyazaki was getting at, what he aimed to actually achieve with this movie. You can't just come out of a 10 year long pseudo-hiatus and decide to come back out swinging with a nearly 3 hour experience with literally nothing to tell. Yet, for some reason, that's exactly what happened. Walked out with absolutely no clue what the hell ... just happened.

No, I had not left immediately after entering. And no, I did not fall asleep; yet after a while I was borderline comatose. I sat and watched the full 2 and a half hours, completely observant in the first three quarters, and my attention slowly waned ever since. At about the halfway point, the film dissolved into an incoherent mess, flooded with Miyazaki's mindless ramblings of literally nothing. If I had to describe The Boy and the Heron, it would be like listening to a lunatic ramble on and on, the words meaning and inferring nothing, his speech slurred and delirious, yet so desperately we grasp for something out of it, some meaning, that after a while of listening to what is essentially incoherent rubbish, we just give up and move on.

As a preface, I should add that, while I do enjoy Ghibli films, I wouldn't consider myself a fan, yet I do get excited when I'm about to watch one. I know that a good time is about to be had, where the animation is amazing, often the emotions are so touching and endearing joined with an amazing soundtrack. Most times, I rarely dislike a Ghibli film. And, if I didn't find it as good as I normally do, it's generally just an 'okay' film. However, for this one in particular, admittedly I had some anxiety because I honestly believe that Miyazaki had not made a single good movie since 2004, when Howl's Moving Castle came out. Ponyo and The Wind Rises were alright, the others completely mediocre and forgettable.

So, Miyazaki's streak of completely amazing movies was long gone, and the Boy and the Heron is just another poor attempt to bring himself back up to his level. He has long gone past his prime, his peak.

Coupled with the fact that there was no advertising for this film and that it was absolutely boggled with ambiguity, so much so that it honestly felt that not even Miyazaki himself knew what was going on, it was impossible to even grasp a fragment of an idea. And, it's not like it does anything particularly well. While I do agree that not all pieces of media need to have a central message and that they can be good without one, for instance Pulp Fiction, the Boy and the Heron just does not impress me with its writing. Some scenes should have been highly confronting for Mahito but I didn't even know what the hell was going on. Even the plot line literally made no sense. It's set in WWII, because of course it is, you can't have a Japanese film not talking about WWII in some regard, and follows a boy called Mahito. After a while of trying to go through some character development, he takes psychedelics and everything makes 0 sense.

You can't be like, 'this film is ambiguous so you can draw your own conclusion,' and tell me that the parakeets meant something to you. Perhaps I should also add that, for some unknown reason, Miyazaki is fucking obsessed with birds in this film. I don't think there was a period in the film lasting longer than a minute that did not have a bird in it. But never in the film is it ever made clear why he had to have so many birds throughout this movie. We get it man, you fucking like birds! But please, for the love of God, give me something to grasp on, some idea or anything. Yet, we don't get a single thing.

There is absolutely no wonder as to why there is no advertising, no promotion and nothing about this film disclosed before its release, aside from the name and a poster.

That is because Miyazaki does not have a single fucking clue what the hell the Boy and the Heron is about.

Ghibli's latest production attempts to be a thought-provoking, existential commentary on life, dealing with grief, and moving on after loss. Instead, it offers more questions than answers and fumbles it's pacing by drawing out the beginning half with world-building the world we are familiar with instead of the new one that we'd appreciate clearer knowledge about.

The main character does have a resolution with his development, albeit it is easily overlooked due to the his minimal lines and generally monotonous reaction to a lot of events. The relationships between characters are not complex, and were not impactful enough to make me feel a connection to ... any of them or their intentions. Sure, I felt bad for the main character and his grief, but his journey of self-discovery and identity fell short at the expense of bizarre bird attacks, isekai inception and the introduction of side characters that get underdeveloped. To put it short, the film attempts to do too many things in 2 hours. The foreign world we are introduced to gets built half-heartedly and leaves us with many abstract explanations to questions that could be answered more concretely and clearly.

The animation, however, is stunning. Ghibli's fluidity and consistency does not fail on this account.

Conclusively, the film is a joy for the eyes but may pose to be slightly confusing for those with a logical perspective like my own; therefore, just accept the abstract explanations, move on, and enjoy a general story about identity and dealing with loss.

My wife and I saw this in theaters last night. Other than watching the trailer for the film the day before, we went in completely blind. My abridged thoughts are more or less unless you're a really hardcore Ghibli fan who likes anything and everything they put out just because it's Ghibli, you'll probably be some amount of underwhelmed with this.

The Boy and the Heron very much LOOKS like a Ghibli movie. It has the classic Ghibli art style with a 2023 coat of paint. It's not the prettiest anime I've ever seen but it definitely looks nice and it brings a very vibrant and ... colorful palette to the table, but unless something absolutely blows me away with how good it looks, or unless it's hideous, I'm not too caught up on the aesthetics these days as the general statement "This looks some degree of good/pretty" is applicable to almost every modern anime. There isn't anything memorable or distinct about the way the characters in this movie look, and that problem- it being largely forgettable and lacking that X factor that really pulls you in and sticks in your mind- plagues the entire film. I won't remember the name of a single character in this movie one month from today and beyond the basic premise and progression of the film I won't be able to recall any specific scenes or memorable moments either.

The pacing is on the slower side, and I don't think this movie needed to be over two hours long as it does not feel like it truly has the substance to support such a run time, but slower pacing can be forgiven if it builds up to really hard-hitting moments, be it a fantastic action scene, an emotional drama scene, etc. Spoilers- it doesn't. There isn't a proper "climax" to this movie, there isn't that one WOW moment that you'll remember weeks later, there isn't much in the way of character development whatsoever... There really isn't much of anything on offer at all other than enjoying a pretty, mildly creative journey for what it is, but there's little to no depth whatsoever to any aspect of this movie.

The plot also feels underdeveloped at times and lacking cohesion. It shows various elements of this and of that with the potential to go somewhere promising, but it never follows up on any of them or shows you how we got from Point A to Point B and it feels half-baked. My wife left the theater for no more than five minutes in the first third or so of the movie, and nothing remotely interesting or meaningful happened in the five minutes she was gone, but afterwards she asked me repeatedly what the hell she missed and assumed it must have been really important because otherwise the rest of what's being shown doesn't really come together.

I may simply be the wrong person and wrong demographic for who Ghibli is trying to target, and I know this is an unpopular opinion among the anime community at large, especially older members of the community, but as a whole I've been underwhelmed with Ghibli films and have found the ones that I've seen to be overrated. I think if I were seeing them for the first time as a child, especially if the movies had just come out, perhaps I'd feel differently, but seeing them now as a proper adult in my 30s for the first time they consistently feel very shallow to me and probably aimed at children or casual anime watchers rather than myself. I deeply RESPECT and APPRECIATE Ghibli, as what they've done for the industry as a whole and the countless creators they've influenced is undeniable, but I'm just not all that damn blown away by their movies. All of this is to say, I'd perhaps recommend going to see this movie if you have younger children who may find it enchanting or if you're a huge Ghibli fan who adores their other movies- honestly, they're mostly pretty similar and have a ton of repeated elements and themes- but otherwise this is pretty skippable. I don't regret going to see it once, but I couldn't care less if I never see this again and I won't think about or remember this down the road.

OBJECTIVE RATING- 6-7.5
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT RATING- 6-6.5

The Boy and the Heron finally came to North America. I had the chance to watch this at it's second screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was introduced by Guillermo Del Toro.

The Boy and the Heron feels like Miyazaki saying goodbye even if the Ghibli studio head says otherwise. But it's first and foremost a treatise on mortality. This is a film in theme and scope that is dealing with how Miyazaki himself hopes the world to be left.

The Boy and the Heron also feels like the most personal and the darkest film in Miyazaki's filmography. The film begins with the sound of ... an air raid siren and a boy searches for his mother amidst the wreckage. Indeed there are scenes that shocked me and surprised me. I know Miyazaki has made darker material before but this one really felt like it was going places Miyazaki never had ventured before. It makes me glad to know that in his old age he's grown a bit bolder with what he shows the audience probably reflecting that many who grew up watching him are now of the age of reason and can handle more mature content.

The film definitely feels heavily influenced by Dante Aligheri's the Divine Comedy and indeed in part of the trailer we see such a line inscribed on the stone archway that allows Mahito to enter the tower. It has been pointed out to me that indeed Spirited Away is kind of similar to Dante's Inferno and I wouldn't disagree but I do feel that this book has heavily influenced Miyazaki.

I don't want to get too in depth with the plot because I believe this is a film all of you should experience with knowing as little as possible when you all see it in December. Although the film at times can be a bit messy and confusing, at my age I have learned to embrace the chaos and knowing that sometimes we won't have all the answers. Whether this remains Miyazaki's final film or not is still a mystery but rest assured the director is still at the top of his game.

First of all, I'm not a fan of Ghibli. I watched some of their works but liked only Spirited Away, so I didn't have high expectations for this movie. We have a very leisurely start with a lot of injection, then it all is like Tom and Jerry till the very end - heroes just run, crawl, go through different locations, symbolic event which were supposed to mean something, but heroes just pass through it and never ever remember them again. None of the raised topics were paid enough attention or got a development, same goes to all characters of the story. This movie reminds ... me of a modern art - strange events or pictures with a bunch of people pretending they understand what author meant. Art is the only thing that is good in this show.

And let's not talk how fast boy's father switched to his dead wife's sister - like a half of the year is the longest.

Hayao Miyazaki, saying goodbye to his viewers whom he considers as grandchildren, is a narcissism that I didn't expect to break my heart this badly.

The Boy and the Heron, is Miyazaki's movie that needs the most context. The most personal. An Endgame for Studio Ghibli. A personal message that those who weren't raised on his tales may not understand.

But for those of us who found a friend in Totoro. For those of us who fantasize about seeing Laputa when looking up at the sky. For those of us who can't wait to grow up like Kiki. For those of us who fell in love with ... San and Ashitaka. For those of us who found home and identity in Yubaba's Hot Springs of the Spirits. For those of us who were mesmerized by Howl's moving palace and Sophie's miraculous maturity. For those of us who feel like parents when we see Ponyo. For those of us who reflect on life and all its sweet moments and tragedies that pass with the wind. This time, the maestro made a movie that is about us.

This is like him saying privately, and exclusively for me: "Hey kid, it's been so long. How Do You Live?"

This may or may not contain spoilers

Before starting with everything that got me a bit "disappointed", I'll start with the amazing side of Miyazaki's last movie, "The boy and the heron" that I watched in theater on the 29th of October 2023.

First and foremost the art is beyond wonderful. I got chills from both the soundtrack and the animation. Whenever Mahito has flashbacks from his mother, I was speechless. Beyond that the whole movie got me speechless it terms of art. Since the story takes place in various worlds, the buildings, the landscapes, the nature, is so diverse yet so splendid. We have a look ... at Japan during war and it's very accurate (art wise). Again on the music, the violins, the piano, the suspenseful harmonies got me all on the edge of my seat. I was waiting so hard to understand everything that was happening!

Now onto what I enjoyed from this story. It's a given that Miyazaki is well, old now. At the age of 82 I was expecting a movie of the sort, where life and death are the main topics. Here Mahito is mourning his mother that has now passed away 3 years ago from a fire where she was hospitalized. He moved out of Tokyo with his father to live with his step-mom but gets bullied at school and pierces his head with a stone to skip classes. Throughout the whole film, he questions himself on death and life mostly because he's searching and missing his mother. But when given the possibility to change everything about the world, he sees the wrong in himself and declines which I found honorable. I also like the fact that he's given the choice to either make the world better or worse and that some creatures here represent the uglier side of humanity (the parakeets). They show us how selfish we can be and the consequences that we have to face after such behavior. The art makes me think a lot about shintoism, especially some scenes and creatures remind me of "The river Styx" another great aspect of this film that adds more meaning to it.

Also I feel like the japanese title fits way better than the english one, "How will you live?" regarding what the movie is about as said above. It's a metaphor of life and us human beings. We yearn for more and forget to accept the harsh truth that life shouldn't be taken as granted. To live in harmony with oneself and others through grief and pain or happiness. This is about accepting life as it is, living true to reality and somehow abandon the past. As the heron says "It's okay to forget, everyone will forget at some point".

Now what didn't sit right with me.

It was a lot to understand and I think you have to watch it multiple times (I was very focused and still had a tough time), and some situations feel almost like they have nothing in common? As if they were patchworked together and made into one. We start in the reality to then another world where Himi is alive but Mahito doesn't recognize her and when he does, he isn't shocked in any way..? What is that tomb?? Why did they have to walk but never look back when doing so?? Next when the Heron pulls his prank Mahito still befriends him? His father is having a child with his sister in law but he still sees her as his now mother even though it's been a few days after they live together..? Add onto this that she frankly says that she hates him. Why that less explanation on the parakeets and the other creatures?

It was a great movie but I still feel a bit lost so be aware of that! I enjoyed it very much and want to rewatch it to understand it better, please do as well!

I have eagerly anticipated this film’s release ever since the day it was announced way back then and now it is at last here. The Boy & The Heron is a visual spectacle, akin to most Ghibli films a single frame from this can go for a solid wallpaper. They went overboard with some of the stuff here; even “minor” stuff like the flame animations and the cloth physics are sure to fill up oddly satisfying boards online when this drops on digital.

If I were to make comparisons to previous Ghibli films and their artistic direction, I’d say this feels like an amalgamation of ... The Wind Rises and Howl’s Moving Castle. Joe Hisaishi’s score is, as usual, magical, and it perfectly complements the movie. Kenshi Yonezu’s Spinning Globe is also a beautiful vocal track that hits hard when it graces your ears as the credits roll.

The narrative is filled with a lot of symbolism, and while it presents a story that I do believe is better than its contemporaries, imo it could’ve been so much better. I do think the story feels better after another viewing as there is symbolism to practically every single scene and every little mundane thing, but the characters themselves feel weirdly one-dimensional.

There are plenty of amazing scenes in the film that hit hard. It’s just that I harbor a strong love and admiration for Miyazaki’s old way of writing and I believe a narrative about a boy overwhelmed by his grief who’s stuck between the cruel real world and an ideal fantastical one could gain a lot from that.

Ultimately, I can't complain much about this, as the film is lowkey a semi-autobiography and once you do learn a bit about Miyazaki’s past a lot of the symbolism and character writing from the film clicks into place. I’d say the writing is a bit intentionally “messy” just like life. Some things don’t get proper resolution and there just isn’t enough time and in most cases, no second chances. I wish they kept the original Japanese title of the film, "How Do You Live?," As that would set a far more accurate depiction of what the film’s all about. Also, Miyazaki made this film for his grandson, so this is pretty much his gift to the next generation. The film took home every major award and once again I can't help but lament that if Hollywood treated animation as a proper part of cinema Studio Ghibli would have like a dozen Oscars at this point. Now that Hayao Miyazaki is back full-time, I am once again patiently looking forward to his next project.

I am not lying when I tell you that watching this film healed a deep wound in me.

The art in this film is stunning and breathtaking like all Ghibli films, but there’s a new style to it. It’s almost like a touch of softness from pastels or water color. It adds a wonderful dimension that’s unlike previous films. The use of music, especially in place of characters speaking is a new choice that had me on the edge of my seat every time. I felt that if I had made a noise I would’ve broken the characters focus; that’s how powerful it was. And ... of course the scenes with swelling, thunderous vocals with music are just incredible. The plot line is meandering in a way that captures your heart throughout the journey. A wonderful cast of characters that are able to walk the line between gripping drama and fantastic comedy. Every single emotion will be felt.
But what puts this film at the top, and I do not say this lightly: I genuinely felt myself being healed of a deep emotional pain while watching this.
For some personal context my father loved Ghibli films, and many of my best memories are discovering movies with him. He passed away a few years ago and my mother has since found someone new. I have a lot of turmoil and trauma surrounding it, but my mom is happy with this man so I bottle it up and smile.
And without spoiling too much of the film, watching this film was almost like a way to recapture watching with my dad. I could almost feel him sitting with me in the theater enjoying every second. And throughout the events of the film I could feel my pained and bitter heart soften. It was as if I was beginning to work through and accept some of the struggles I had kept deep in for so long. No this film didn’t cure my troubles, but it did make me feel less alone about them for a while.
I implore you to watch this film with nothing but intrigue and excitement. You will not be disappointed.

How do you live?

Miyazaki desperately seeks an answer to this question as he makes it again to the author of the original book, in which the film is titled in Japanese (“Kimitachi wa dou ikiru ka?”; “How do you live?”). The octogenarian and multi-award winning director demonstrates his non-response with an exposure of his self on screen for over 120 minutes; that is, a conscious work on his personas as an artist, as a father, as a human being and, above all, as an idealist. There is no clear answer: the film is an amalgamation of a life filled with uninterrupted attempts to seek beauty ... in the corruption of reality, the real world.

At times, the film features countless self references: it's as if Miyazaki knew he was making a... Miyazaki film. The director presents the public with an intertwining of ideas and audiovisual archetypes that marked his work in an apparently disconnected way, such as several clippings of his expressions as an artist. The tropes are all here: the fantasy environment full of fantastic beings; surrealist, dreamlike envinronments; the contemplation of ideals of beauty and purity; a deep relationship with nature and the female figure; however, there is no focus on any of these aspects. It is not the ode to nature of Princess Mononoke or the tragic (and romantic) contemplation of an artist's relationship with his craft of The Wind Rises. All the aforementioned aspects come together, congested as in a synthesis, so to speak. Miyazaki exclaims the various virtues that would give some meaning to the human condition, which he himself believed in for some time.

The self-insertion of his personality into certain characters in the film also denotes the self-reflective nature of “Kimitachi wa dou ikiru ka?”; It's a dialogue by the author with yourself, with his various "selves". Miyazaki is Mahito, the boy who loses his mother at a young age and needs to learn to live without a mother figure, he is also this same boy who grows up in a Japan devastated by war and destruction. Mahito also takes on the role of representing Miyazaki's relationship with his son, Goro: an ideal successor to his father's legacy who never lived up to his selfish expectations. Miyazaki, in this sense, projected himself in the figure of “Ooji”, an old man who sought throughout his long life to establish a perfect, ideal world within his studio. The old man, aware of his finitude, has his desire for a world along his lines rejected by Mahito, which is enough to represent a destruction of the heredity of that ideal. But isn't it ironic that parental relationships of a blood and biological nature (above all, material, real) are sought for the continuity of this perfection of the artist's abstract (and unique) ideal world? Perhaps this is the conformity achieved by Miyazaki: Mahito leaves his old world, in ruins, collapsing. The artist, Ooji, dies with his art.

Ultimately, Miyazaki's non-response demonstrates a man aware of his legacy, but also aware of an entire world outside his idealistic mind. People will move on, forget, and follow their own paths: his romanticized idea of perfection will thrive and perish within his work. And although I believe this conclusion brings dissatisfaction to Miyazaki himself, it is conveyed in a sober, if not conforming, way. The conclusion of the plot is short, to the point. As if all the brilliance of a life was like the passing of a second. Tomorrow, immutably, everyone will move on. If there is still any illusion regarding eternity and perfection, let it be for a small moment, while we visit the worlds within his work; there, in fact, we will be inside his ideal world, where in fact all aspects follow Miyazaki's whims to the millimeter. It is within his work that, reluctantly, Miyazaki finds his immortality, while the weight of reality becomes as fleeting as it is necessary.

watching this really soon after watching THE WIND RISES is so funny (they honestly make a good double feature). in a way, they're very similar. both deal a lot with the meaning of creation and art in a world where everything inevitably decays. both touch on the kind of purity in dreams that clashes with the corrupt and imperfect world they are chased in. both are bittersweet, reflective examinations of Miyazaki's own life and career. but while THE WIND RISES is more about why we must choose to keep on living, THE BOY AND THE HERON asks: how do we live?

it's very poignant watching this ... old man and his bizarre world of dreams and fantasy on the brink of collapse. he wants to find a successor to his kingdom but, eventually, he has to make peace with what he's built falling to rubble. Miyazaki has accepted what he sees as the imminent end of Studio Ghibli (or at least what it once was) and while he never quite answers the question—"how do you live?"—he hopes that the memory of his creations can push others to find an answer. "This was my world. It was beautiful and messy and tragic and silly. It can not last. Now go make your own."

this is obviously less perfect than many of Miyazaki's other works. while it contains much of the different kinds of magic apparent in his other movies, it lacks some of the cohesion and all-out irresistibility that they have. that doesn't stop this from being a beautiful and heartbreaking collection of the ruminations of a great artist coming to grips with the end of a magical career, though. it's a true legend saying his own kind of goodbye.

also, i couldn't help but laugh imagining Goro as Mahito at the end as Miyazaki wants him to take over his kingdom, but...you know *cough*EARWIG AND THE WITCH*cough*. and, i know it's selfish, but i'm still praying Miyazaki doesn't retire and makes at least one more movie before he dies lol

9/10

This movie is bad. If you wanted the quick version, there it is, dont waste your time like this movie wasted mine.

Why is this movie bad? Well, like a child with an attention deficit, this movie jumps from one thing to the next, switching to random shit when it runs out of ideas, constantly forgets about established characters and plot lines, explains none of its bullshit, and then expects you to do all the work of making sense of it and “discovering” its “deeper meaning.” There isn’t one, so don’t bother looking for it. It just makes a half-assed statement about appreciating who/what you have ... and not overdoing escapism, something other Ghibli movies have done before in a much more coherent and interesting way.

Somehow this movie manages to feel both incredibly rushed and extremely overdone. There are beautiful moments and genuinely interesting ideas, but it’s all wasted when what I remember the most was the times the 3d models were rendered shittily, the way that the fire animations really feel like they were made at least in part with ai assistance, and the rolling credits looking like they were made in iMovie with fucking comic sans. The *title* doesn’t even make sense, the heron is there for barely a quarter of the movie and doesn’t do anything important *at all.* If he wasn’t a character the movie would barely be different. I don’t remember a single thing he said and I just got done watching the movie. The movie also feels split up into four or five different sections that don’t really fit together well in any way. It feels like the movie is made up of filler arcs and it’s embarrassing.


The only good things I can say about it are that there are some pretty animations and scenes, but none of them are good enough to carry any of the many failings of this movie. I also laughed a few times, sometimes even because the movie wanted me to. I’m not saying this movie is completely bad, but it is bad, especially compared to much better Ghibli movies that totally embarrass The Boy and the Heron in comparison. Anyone who says this movie is deep and meaningful is either bullshitting to be pretentious or very high. It’ll keep your kids from quiet for a few hours and that’s about it.

Miyazaki came out of retirement for one last hoorah.

However he was in said retirement for 10 years, also it's Miyazaki so who's going to tell him "no" to anything?

I went into the Boy and the Heron blind not knowing a thing about it beyond the poster... two hours later I still know nothing about it and I'm rather sleepy.

I can see the general outline. A boy dealing with the grief of losing his mother and the growing pains of integrating into a new family. The way it's presented however is nonsensical. More like other characters and actions from other ghibli productions were just ... rehashed here in a watered down version. Spirited away + princess mononoke being the two most prominent influence.

While I don't mind the dreamlike logic the movie was going for my question with any show is:-

1. Does the character/s actions make sense within context?
2. Was the show entertaining?

No & No.
The characters have zero reason to act they do aside from "it's in the script". In one case it's because having a character with a big laugh is sorta of a ghibli troupe so regardless if it fits this specific character or the context of the scene they have to give a big belly laugh... kindda made them look touched in the head honestly. Also the main character seemed to just know stuff, no reason for him to just because "it's in the plot script". The fact that he's always right is weird.

I left the theater twice I was so bored so, no it wasn't entertaining. I doubt anyone would have given this anything above a 5 if Miyazaki's name wasn't attached to it. More so with that ending, I was just.... so confused by that. Did the projector run out film?!

I'm extremely shocked of not liking it.

The beginning times of “The Boy and the Heron” were this beautifully haunting portrayal of loss. A sudden, traumatic event that sticks with every step of your life from then on. It was a quiet, subdued movie, never vomiting any information, leading us into a slow, methodical build-up. I was engrossed, tense, wondering where the story might lead, this may be a masterpiece. The movie itself gave me these expectations of what to expect, and when it turned whimsical, I was still hyped up, until I got… bored?

That can't be right. The movie was being so good, but then ... it started losing me. It went off the rails into a surreal, fantasy world, that was cute, fun, but ultimately unfocused as hell. I didn't get any of the emotions in terms of hitting me. I could see the intent of every scene: “This one is supposed to make me sad”, “this one makes me interested”, “this makes one laugh”. However, I could never connect with any scene after the golden gate.

Everything after that point meant nothing to my brain, like a movie on autopilot going through the motions of an emotional journey without understanding on what makes a scene good. Characters did things, they evolved in relationships, but it made no sense. Why would the heron suddenly be considered a friend? Why did the kid change his mind about his aunt? How do they abandon the dad character? Missed chances to make a hard-hitting movie, and I couldn't care at all.

None of the characters made an impact on me, the world creatures were cute but random. It's a waste of beautiful animation that I needed a better, more revised script. Focus the story on the elements you want, and build towards exactly what should hit. It felt like random bullshit was being thrown at me, and I was expected to care.

Maybe the ending was going to redeem it, and I was expecting it all to end in a connected, cohesive manner. Boom, abrupt, instant, the story ends, go home. There was an end to the journey, but it didn't connect anything to me.

4/10. Stellar animation, but such a terribly, unfocused mess of a story.

The animation is its best feature, followed by a solid soundtrack. The story, on the other hand... is bad. The first act where stuff is sort of set up is decent, but then the setup phase just does... not... end. More and more things keep getting introduced and it keeps going and going, and what's crazy is that nearly NONE of it is given time for a rhyme or reason for why it is part of the world much less the story. Or rather, nearly everything is given roughly the same amount of time, which leads to everything being given roughly the same level of ... importance, which leads to nothing being important. The film has starting points of ideas and elements of world-building, but it keeps stacking them up unrelentingly without giving them proper form, function, and stability which sadly leads to it falling apart much like... well, that's sort of a spoiler. But that's generous to say, as spoiling this wouldn't even amount to anything since no part of the plot has a payoff. The majority of it lacks cohesion and relevance and just left me confused and disappointed all the way from the start of the second act to the film's ending. And that ending was... yeah, I don't even know what to say about it. It just happened and left me unimpressed. The story in general being bad also has to do with the pacing which does not help.

All right, so from a storytelling perspective the movie sucks. What about the characters? Well, the titular boy has something going for him with a desire to fill the hole in his life left by his mother but acts like an automaton with some capricious tendencies. For example he randomly shows familiarity and care for another character he meets (I won't specify who this is because that's a spoiler) and while thematically it makes sense it is completely unearned due to the story not giving them proper development. If the film took more time to explore his acting out behaviors (e.g., his anger, him hurting himself and others, and his violent tendencies toward the titular heron) that'd be interesting and engaging, but it didn't. The titular heron has some development in warming up to the boy after being mischievous and antagonistic, but what his motives are are a complete mystery. Maybe a couple of the supporting characters are serviceable like the boy's father, but just about all of the rest aren't given any motivation or relevance to the story and are really just there. The boy's great uncle has motivation, but it makes no sense and is unexplained. Everyone else is uninteresting and thus didn't really matter. To sum, the characters are either basic or uninteresting.

As it stands, this is probably a new low for Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki as I'd put it below Ponyo which has a lackluster but considerably more coherent story.

I think I get what Miyazaki was trying to go for here, but the movie struggles with being too ambitious. From what I'm hearing, in interviews, it seems more of a reflection on Miyazaki's worldviews rather than actually being a good film. I don't mind this being different from other Ghibli projects, but it really wasn't a good movie, Ghibli or otherwise.

About 75% of the film is a basic slice of life adventure. By the time things get interesting, the movie is almost over. Instead of spending so much time on the mundane stuff, there should've been more time spent on the symbolic, spiritual and ... fantasy-world aspects. There's something with these things, but I couldn't bring myself to care about anything else. There are even some important characters that don't get introduced until that 75% of the film is over. With the more complex stuff being mostly glossed over and zoomed past since the film doesn't have enough time to develop them by that point, it's hard to process them.

The characters have barely any personality because not much is done with them and they are trapped in this pretty basic story. The only characters that actually have personality are the heron and the minor characters. They were funny and quirky, design and character wise, but again, they don't really do much, or I had a hard time understanding them. For a Ghibli film, some of the characters are hardly expressive. I can kinda understand why with Mahito, but there still should've been more done with his character in terms of personality and development. He doesn't really actually progress much throughout the story and the growth he does get is very rushed. It's hard to understand what these characters represent when so much was going on so fast in so little time.

Even a couple of the character designs look straight out of other Ghibli films. Examples being Mahito and one of the old ladies that look like great value Grandma Sophia.

The only highlights I can give to this film are the music and animation. Still Ghibli-like.

The film left me bored and mostly confused, which rarely happens with a Ghibli film. For what it's worth, if you're really interested, it might be better to stream rather than to watch in all sitting. And it may require repeat viewings to get everything. Still, I wish the movie took more time to develop the world and characters.