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
