Metaphor in the Boy and the Heron ~ The Meaning of Ghibli ~ 

Something I haven't seen many people discuss is Mahito's mother farewell. He asks her to come with him, but she knows she must return to her timeline, so Mahito reminds her that that road will lead to her death, so, she gives the most honest and heart-breaking answer possible, which, to me, is the true meaning of the movie:"Giving birth to you will be my greatest joy". Miyazaki is telling us that he has finally found the answer, he's overcome that internal struggle that's been plaguing his soul for decades:"In spite of all the ups and downs, all that matters is the joy of giving life, to art, to a son etc., because it will be worthy enough". Miyazaki isn't reflecting on his legacy nor he's obsessed with finding a successor. He's telling us do go and create, to give life as he has done all this time, with no fear for what will come next, because it will all be worthy regardless of the consequences. That's why, to me, this is the most sincere and positive movie he's ever done.

“Create beautiful worlds untouched by malice” reminds me of the line from Princess Mononoke “see with eyes unclouded by hate.”

I like to remember that the universe has been around for 13.8 billion years and I was lucky enough to be here to experience all that Miyazaki offered us, because once he's gone it will never return again. Its a perfect moment in time. A truly blessed space to be in and something the boy and the heron recognizes and deals with sincerely. How lucky are we all to experience his 13 blocks, and its our duty to live through his work, to bring heart and sincerity and wonder to our world through ourselves.

11:30 I have the exact same Epiphany but not due to my own thinking. I am not smart like that. My 4-year-old son doesn't talk much. He is autistic. I didn't even know if he understood that we were going to go see another "Ghibli film". But Totoro ponyo and spirited away are his favorite. When they were crawling to the tower my son said MAMA they're going to find Mae. I am tearing up writing this because I realize how much my little boy sees things and make connections. For so long I thought there wasn't much going on in there but recently it's been moments like this where I have found my little boy is constantly observing and viewing the world and making connections. He saw the connection before I did before I even understood!. He has always been doing this he just might not have to words to tell me yet ❤️

That scene when Mahito notes the blocks are made of the same marble used for graves instead of wood that he objects to & the great uncle’s remark on his observation is one of my fav parts of the film. The great uncle only knows how to destroy himself in a world that is consuming itself by trapping himself in a dream world that shelters him from real life where he cannot find true sustenance; love found in real connections with others. The inhabitants of the other world only consume into their void & therefore create imbalance. Kiriko sustains herself by the tiny statues she appoints by her bedchamber through memory & uses it to protect Mahito similarly to how Haku tells Chihiro to consume food from the world she is in so she doesn’t disappear or needs to remember her real name in order to get back to her own real world. In order not to be consumed by a void you must create balance by having a real connection to the world you’re in. If Tahata’s approach to film making is laced in death, grief & loss, Miyazaki’s approach is laced in life & sustainability. Miyazaki’s last name literally means a shrine, which in a way laments itself in the metaphors he uses as spiritual conduits such as the tower throughout his films.

This video essay was more than an explanation of the art, but rather a work of art itself. Thank you for the time and effort you put into this, and I hope you keep this going.

Interesting to note that Future boy Conan was being exhibited at the Ghibli Museum from May 2023, not long before Boy and the Heron was released in Japan. No doubt the studio wanted people to reflect on, and if they hadn't seen it, discover, Miyazakis directorial debut

I finished the movie an hour ago and was bawling throughout. While I interpreted the movie as a reflection on death and grief, and there was this catharsis throughout the ‘rescuing’ scene of himi where mahito gets a chance to be able to do what he always wanted to do. When he referred to his scar and pointed towards his head, I thought he was referring to the mental pain but the 13 blocks and the gutting of the fish were some of the many points which I couldn’t add in. This perspective makes a lot more sense! Truly truly enjoyed your video!

Okay I'm crying now. This is one of those rare video essays that is art within itself. Ghibli films have offered so much inspiration to me as an aspiring writer, and the boy and the heron is no different. So much of it seems to speak on the overlap of creativity and grief, or at least that was my takeaway. I want to watch it again now, with all your interpretations in mind. Thank you.

Not gonna lie, this video made me cry. Miyazaki and his films have inspired me so much, especially when I create art. And to see him at the end of his era, reflecting on his career through one of his most beautiful films (I've seen The Boy and the Heron 3 times now because the images are just stuck in my brain lol) legit brought me to tears.

I had the same notion when I finished watching the movie. I see the great uncle as Miyazaki himself trying to find a successor and failed. Realizing no one could or will succeed him, he finally relented and advised Mahito (us?) to move on. When I saw the tower crumbled I don't know why my thoughts and feelings went to the Studio Ghibli itself crumbling or at least crumbling in Myazaki's eyes or even just his fear. I personally think Ghibli is not over yet. It will take only one genius person to revive Studio Ghibli in the future which we cannot see now because of the blinding light of the sun that is Miyazaki himself over there.

even if you never make another video this channel deserves to live on forever

As someone who lost his ex, his dad, and his grandparents to illness in the last 5 years, the Boy and the Heron really brought out emotions. The backgrounds were also very impressive in referencing surrealism and Impressionism styles. Definitely, it’s one of Miyazaki’s best works.

When I watched the wind rises I thought "This can't be H.M. Last movie, is too plain", and when I watched The Boy and The Heron everything came to clarity, this movie is a farewel, is a tribute to Ghibli and specificaly to the legacy of one of the most beloved artist of the last centtury. Saying good bye to people is hard but opposite to Mahito, we wont forget the memories we had with the art and stories from Master Miyasaki.

Wow, this is the best film critiques I have ever heard. How elaborated, well documented, how well delivered and what a sensitivity in presenting it in this way. Thank you. I enjoyed every moment of it.

I can't speak to your prowess in animation but certainly my whole family can speak to your incredible video essay skills. I watched this video last night after going to see the movie with friends and family, and sat down my whole family tonight to show them this video essay. We are all left with such a grounded, momentous feeling. Thank you for creating this video essay and I'll continue to share it with everyone I know!

This is the best video on RU-vid about this movie

What a wonderful analysis. Something I noticed that lines up with your reading of Grand Uncle as Miyazaki and the tower world being the world of Ghibli is that when the animals are brought into the world by the uncle, they transform into these magical, spirit-like beings that Ghibli/Miyazaki are known for -- and by the same token, they turn back to normal once they've left his world, showing how his creative power transforms ordinary things into beings of pure fantasy. Also, and this might be a stretch, but they very faithfully animated bird poop in the real world scenes, while I don't recall any bird poop in the "ghibli world" scenes. If I'm correct in that observation, it could be another small touch to show how Ghibli/Miyazaki have tried to create an idyllic world through their films. (Probably explaining that horribly, but hopefully you get the gist!) I hope you have more videos like this! I love the way you view media; especially when you started dropping Sontag quotes and correcting the record on what Death of the Author really means. Keep it up!

Absolutely incredible video. I admit that when I first left the theatre I was deeply confused but I think the mystery of finding out what the film means to us is one part of its beauty. I plan to rewatch it with some friends later in the week. The final message/conclusion you had was beautiful and really resonates with what I've experienced in my life the past few years. In a way, Miyazaki is showing us one way in regards to how to live.

I've gone to see this film twice. I was not expecting any of this, I can't get over the emotions this film gave me. I knew it was going to be amazing because it's his, but I wasn't expecting everything else. I cried more at this movie than any other I've ever seen. Miyazaki has been a part of my life for 28 years. This film was like a very dear old friend saying goodbye.

I watched a video where Naomi Klein and Ash from Novara Media were talking about a range of political topics and one of the things that Naomi kept coming back to was how we've become so egotistical and narcissistic as a culture. I think this is partly why we experience such profound and deep catharsis from The Boy and the Heron. It's devoid of ego. It's meant to be mystical, you aren't meant to understand it, you're meant to experience it. And that's what makes it beautiful.

Sobbing (again). While your opening essay has me questioning my need to find the “true” meaning of symbolism and metaphor, your final explanation is exactly how I had interpreted the film. I think I’ve cried more after the movie than during. As an artist myself, and someone who has experienced the loss of a parent as a child, and as an enthusiastic lover of Miyazaki films, this move moved me to my core. I haven’t stopped thinking about it. Thank you so much for this beautiful explanation. It was exactly what I needed to help process my feelings.

This was a remarkable video essay and I’m in tears at your final interpretation. I build fantastical worlds every day as part of my career, but being in a creative industry with dwindling integrity has taken its toll on me this year. I hope I can keep creating beautiful games despite being surrounded by insincerity.

After watching many many reviews and explanations I came to the same conclusion as you did and IM SO GLAD TO HEAR THAT BEING SAID IN A VERY BEAUTIFUL AND REAL WAY!!! THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO!!!!!!!

Not to forget the multiple dimensions through doors, you can see howls moving castles dimension circle and the colors inside of the tower.

No wonder you thought Miyazaki was talking to you. Your mind is as beautiful as his. You’d be worthy of taking the torch. I never would have understood this movie without your help

wow, bravo! I've watched a few reviews of the Boy and the Heron and yours is by far the most astute. I'm an animation film-maker who held Miyazaki as my mentor, without ever having met him, though I tried. I grew up watching Future Boy Conan but dubbed in Arabic, I was 8 years old when it aired in Saudi Arabia, after i saw the entire series, I had chosen my future career. I could draw exceptionally well, but I was also a story-teller, and created entire worlds with my drawing. Miyazaki layed out a clear path for me as young artist and film-maker, so I followed it as best I could, and went on to work both professionally and independently. I directed films at the NFB (Canada) and after left to make a film on tiny budget at home with only what I had to work with, and dreamt of having my own studio like Ghibli's some day. My short film made at home didn't get into any film festivals, but went to screen at the Shanghai World Expo 2010. I created many more stories, all features, storyboarded them and nurtured their evolution. I was following Miyazaki's example as best I could...Until life got in the way, and i got pregnant with my son, who is now 12. I became a single mother, and had to put my dreams of starting my own Ghibli-esque studio aside in order to raise my son. But Miyazaki's ethos on life has been foundational for me even when not envisioning films. I went to see the B&H two days ago, and cried nearly throughout the film, without really understanding why, though I'm very good at ascertaining metaphor and meaning in films. Your review helped articulate some things i understood on a more emotional level when watching the film, so thank you for your in depth work here! I have one remark: you say that lady Himi cannot create, but I disagree. She's Mahito's mother. She created him in a way. One last observation: " Create beautiful worlds untainted by malice" struck me as sounding like what Ashitaka says to Lady Eboshi in Mononoke Hime: "To see with eyes unclouded." thanks again, i'm glad other people out there see the value of Miyazaki's true contributions.

This is the most important and best RU-vid video of the year. The year is almost ended and we are blessed with this beautiful video. Thank you so much for this wonderful explanation. animation is one medium is very close to my heart and i feel towards the end of 2d animation and new world began. For who watched Miyazaki san movies throughout their life and cherish. His movies will always inspire and live within us forever.i salute his work and i will remember his work untill i die.thank u again for thsi wonderful explanation video and farewell to the greatest artist of all time.

I didn't cry watching the movie but I did cry watching this. Wonderful execution, every word had intent and meaning. Thank you for putting this interpretation out there.

I think this video is the best interpretation of the boy and the heron I've seen - possibly because it does resonate with some of my own ideas, but I've found it to be much, much more profound than the other analysis videos I've found here on RU-vid, which almost inevitably stop at a "superficial" reading of it. Thank you for making this, and I hope you'll continue to create - for now you've gained a new subscriber.

This had me crying at the end. I adore your interpretation of this. To my core. I allowed myself to leave my art behind for almost a decade and I’m just dipping my toes in again. And, although I found Studio Ghibli later in life, these stories quickly became a cornerstone in my world of inspiration. Sharing my art has become a key part of my healing journey and Ghibli is a key part of my art. It’s scary and makes me feel so vulnerable but it also is fulfilling in a way nothing else ever has been.

This is such a good analysis. You pieced together all the bits and pieces that have been floating around in my head since I watched the film, and the 13 blocks really brought it all together. Thank you for sharing this!

So glad I found your work after watching The Boy and the Heron. Thank you for this beautiful piece of work.

This video moved me to the very core. You have an amazing undestanding of Studio Ghibli, its history and Miyazaki's ouvre. You really grasped what his whole work amounts to and for that, for sharing this understanding with us, I truly thank you. Keep up the good work and let's create beautiful worlds untainted by malice as well, as spiritual disciples of the great master.

Just saw the film today and came to RU-vid to see, like you talked about, if others saw what I seemed to miss in the movie. Thank you for this video, i found your thoughts incredibly moving and truly without malice, well done 👍🏻

Your analysis is wonderful and I love your video essay style. I'm sure this is a movie that will grow richer on rewatch-- it was so beautiful and overwhelming when I saw it last night.

Thank you for this video. It's the best analysis of The Boy and the Heron movie so far. Please keep continue this hard work of your! It was extremely educational!

I cried like a baby when I saw the movie at the theater 😢 truly it was magical and deep

Watched this video shortly after finally seeing the movie, now I've cried several times today. Thank you so much for this wonderful essay and your beautiful interpretation.

I cannot stop thinking about this film, and your essay has given me many more things to think about in relation to it, presented interesting context I didn't have, and shared compelling potential interpretations for me to consider. Thank you!

Wow!!! I literally teared up watching your video, thank you for this beautiful journey!

Just watched this masterpiece of a movie today. Growing up with Moyazaki and Studio Ghibli, this movie really brought back so much and more. Thank you for being the few, if not ONLY deep dive video essay into this beautiful movie and Miyazaki currently. It's not that I didn't understand or interpret the movie myself, but rather that bittersweet feeling of finishing the movie and wanting more. The editing and recreation of scenes as well as your overall understanding of Miyazaki and Filmography/animation is presented exceptionally well here.

You absolutely KILLED IT WITH THIS VIDEO MAN! IT'S SO SO GOOD I'M IN AWE!!

I just came from watching the movie, and I understood it in my own sense and it made me cry throughout it with the beauty and emotion and connections to my own life. I really appreciate you making the video essay, and I gained so many new insights and interpretations not only for the movie but looking through the world in a different lense in general. at first I didn't know where you were going with defining metaphors but suddenly I got a wave of reflection. this was really beautiful, thank you so much.

I saw the movie just a few hours ago. I could tell there was a lot of depth and metaphor and meaning and it was difficult to try to piece it all together upon my first watch, but this video gave a really interesting and detailed perspective and interpretation. Thank you for all the effort that went into making this.

Your words has touched my soul and filled me with inspiration. This was beautiful, your interpretation and expression of it makes me wanna create art for as long as time allows. I think Miyazaki would be delighted if he watched this

Honestly this is similar to the interpretation I arrived at as well, and I find this movie to be my favorite, despite leaving my first screening wondering what the heck I just saw. Miyazaki really laid it all out with this one, and like you said he left us with a direction as to what we should do. All that said this was a lovely video, well done!

By far the most beautiful video essay I’ve seen about this movie. Practicing what you preach, you show us show sincerity can move. Even in something like a simple video essay on RU-vid. Much love :)

What an absolutely stunning video. Thank you for sharing - I couldn't help but bawl my eyes out as soon as I realized that the 13 towers the Great Uncle mentioned really were his 13 films.

As a writer, I've found this video and this analysis very interesting and rich in powerful messages. I really loved your video, it proves how much cna be extracted from the mind and soul of a genius like Miyazaki.

Thank you so much for putting this together!

Man, this video essay is absolutely beautiful. i keep coming back to watch this.

Brilliant work, my dude. I very much enjoyed your perspective and i now have a new understanding of this film that i will appreciate all the more the next time I view it. Thank you.

Thank you for creating such a beautiful video! I'm amazed at how much you were able to notice these small details and the amount of research and passion put into this analysis. The last minutes of the video were truly emotional :) It made me appreciate the wonderful movie and Ghibli even more. thank you!!!

Thank you for your time and effort in creating this video. I appreciate your interpretation of the symbols and metaphors within the movie. I love Miyazaki’s films: the depth and complexity of his characters. They stay away from an oversimplified view of human nature as being either reductively good or bad. His characters all seem to be on a hero’s journey, wrestling with their own humanity. I walked away from the Boy and the Heron feeling like I had missed some of the more complex themes within the film. So, I truly enjoyed your in-depth perspectives.

Just finished! Amazing! Well done. Really special analysis for a special film. Have only watched half (couldn’t understand it), so when it’s out on digital will rewatch with this perspective. Thanks for your gift to us, the pelicans!

This is a very beautiful analysis and it really helped me connect much more to the movie than before. I want tor rewatch the movie with this framework in mind now! Thank you for this amazing video, very in depth and inspiring.

How did a video essay nearly make me cry? Thank you for your contribution.

What a wonderfully crafted reflection on this film and studio ghibli’s legacy!! Thank you so much for sharing your hopeful and beautiful interpretation of the film 🥹

Beautiful video, I thank you for taking the time to help this parakeet better grasp the possible meanings :) . It's went from an enjoyable movie to something I'll greatly remember.

Really eye-opening video; just watched it and your interpretation helps me understand it a lot better. “Create beautiful worlds, untainted by malice,” what a message - and what an incredible video essay too!

i watched this film 2 days in a row, and im just so overwhelmed. i did not realize id be feeling all the ways he's been reaching to us who grew up with his stories. i feel this one, though, has a message from his heart directly to ours in the most piercing way ive ever felt. i can't help but cry. ive always wanted to work in animation but just couldnt manage to pursue it directly and settled for studying something else in the creative field, but i know where my heart belongs. i dont want to settle though... this film is telling me the world is full of us that have that creative will and sincerity, and we can make this place worthwhile and beauitful despite all the obstacles and destruction we must face. we are living in the direct impact that Miyazaki's life works has on the world. we must carry on with sincerity and heart for him and our sake. (typed through tears)

Beautiful!!!! Excellent work. I too was uncertain of how I felt when I finished the movie, and my interpretation is different, but I love how you set this up!

As someone who would have bene one of the four of your group, I greatly appreciate this essay. I only saw it on the 6th, but since then I've been watching and reading many similar explanations since I knew I must be missing something, but this one by far resonated with me the most. The only issue is I probably won't be able to rewatch the film until it becomes available for purchase, but I will do so keeping in might what you have said. On a separate note, incredible video.

Didn’t think I’d watch the best video or the year this close to the end. Good work man!

ive also seen a lot of interpretations of this film that go into how the mystical world is tainted by the violence present in the real world from the war and how this carries more autobiographical weight from how themes of war have consistently showed themselves in miyazaki's work. mahito's father makes planes for the war. the pelicans, common symbols for providing parental figures, are moved to do violence in the name of feeding their people, coming back burned and hurting in the process and the dying pelican specifically mentions how their children are forgetting how to fly. there's the consistent idea of starvation with the birds, where there is never enough for them, but in the case of the parakeets, they have a large feast and clearly have a lot of food aside from meats. they take pleasure in the idea of killing humans, they do not harm pregnant women and they do not harm himi, a young girl, but mahito, a boy, is consistently trying to be chopped up. ive seen multiple others describe how the birds are essentially fascist, and that may seem a bit absurd but their violence, their organization, their romanticism of the past when the birds cry and seeing their ancestors and "paradise" in their own distant past of the jungle, the signs held before the king saying "duch" being similar to "duce", a word meaning leader used to refer to mussolini, and the fact that they're portrayed as comical and incompetent because giving weight to fascist's idea of themselves as intimidating or impressive plays into what they'd want. they have lots of food but are still constantly seeking to consume in violent ways. there is also the ever present imagery of mahito's mother burning, and in contrast, the world being so full of water. another underlying aspect ive seen others point out is allusions to the napalm bombs that hit tokyo through this imagery. his illusion mother literally melts into a slimy, oily mess, and then her younger self has power over flames and surround her. she is always burning and it is her fate to be burned, which she accepts at the end. All of these allusions to the war in this mystical world and how the greatuncle has brought them here in the form of what were once normal animals speaks to how miyazaki's own life experiences have impacted his art. the beautiful, strange world carries a undercurrent of suffering, created not with maliciousness by its creator, but simply because that is his understanding of the world. in the context of mahito who ultimately cant and doesnt want to continue on the world's existence, it can also speak to miyazaki coming to terms with how his legacy is ultimately personal and painful, both because of the expectations it entails, but also because his own work and the work of his peers has been shaped by their own grief and trauma. how can they ask the younger generation, who didn't live through such horrors, to continue on that legacy of movies which so prominently featured their own experiences? war, destruction brought about by humans, and themes of environmental decay have all been very prominent in miyazaki's works and i feel this movie was trying to show how personal and inherent to his life those themes were and in part because of that, passing on his legacy can never truly happen. i do not think these ideas inherently contradict this video, though it is a different interpretation in some ways, but are trying to inform aspects of miyazaki's creative process that came from very specific and painful experiences in his life

this is probably the most beautiful and profound video essay i have ever seen thank you

This is a phenomenal essay! Holy shit. My jaw dropped when you brought up the thirteen blocks and the thirteen works of Miyazaki. Fantastic job

I’ve just come from the theatre, cried several times there and now I’m sobbing after watching this amazing video essay! Oh my….what a precious world of ours.

I audibly screamed when you began to reference "Death of the Author" as I had just finished a course in which that was a foundational text. I must say that my initial interpretation of this movie was that there is no way to create a world without malice but you must try and go on anyway. The pelican scene spoke so deeply to me and so I tried piecing that directly together with the line you focus on. I love how we can agree that the line about creating a world about malice is clearly the thesis of the movie (or anti-thesis in my case). I also was so surprised when the sister ended up being his birth mother (I think I may have mixed up names) but this strongly contributed to my interpretation. I really appreciate the break-down and your perspective. Thank you

Reviewing many of Miyazaki‘s films in these last couple of weeks, I couldn't help but remember Dostoevsky‘s famous words, 'Beauty will save the world.' Especially coming from a human being like Miyazaki, who is deeply conflicted, struggling with the state of the world, our role in it, and his own guilt - often described as 'grumpy' and 'cynical.' However, he channels all that to give rise to these dazzling pieces of art that have touched so many people in different phases of life. Personally, I frequently have to hold back tears at the sheer beauty of his creations, even before considering all the meaning and symbolism layered on top of it. He has a unique sensitivity that allows him to speak directly to the human soul, which is also why the films can be appreciated across all age groups. And this most recent film outright tells us to create beautiful worlds untainted with malice! While it acknowledges and warns us that we all carry the seed of malice within us (the scar Mahito inflicted on himself), it also shows us that we have the potential (the stone Mahito keeps in the end) to overcome the darkness within our nature to make the world a better place. Woven in within this overarching statement are so many timeless human themes: Loss, grief, guilt, war, death, opportunism, consumerism, environmentalism (wouldn‘t be a Miyazaki film otherwise), love, transition, succession, legacy, responsibility, compassion. It is truly one of the most remarkable things I have seen. Maybe beauty will save the world after all! Calling this sentiment naive is a failure to understand the full scope of what beauty can mean. Of course, we will fail to create a world without malice because we are all malicious. But the more people strive to do so, the closer we can get!

You explaining a masterpiece is a masterpiece itself🤯✨

Until now your videoessay is the best work I know about The boy and the heron. Congratulations! Very inspiring.

It’s been 13 days since this video was uploaded/published and I’m glad I gave it a watch when it should up on my feed. I couldn’t help but notice the similarities/references between certain frames/shots of other Miyazaki films upon my first viewing too but I wanted to understand why that way. Thank you for breaking down and explaining The Boy and The Heron in such detail. Just subscribed to the channel too. 🤩Keep up the good work. 😁👍🏽

I can't believe I picked up on references to totoro, spirited away, cagliostro, porco rosso, and howls moving castle and just dismissed it as coincidence. Love this movie even more with the full context. Great video

This is the most beautiful film essay I ever heard. Thank you fren ❤

I have to add to the comments here - this essay is excellent. The movie is powerful. I have seen it twice so far and continue to chew on it. Your essay is fantastic. It brings perspective I hadn’t considered and information I didn’t have. Your essay has left me moved, and inspired, and thankful. I hope as well to use the tools I have been given to create worlds without malice. I feel empowered to tell stories, those fictional and that if my life, that are worth telling. I am confident that others who have watched your video will feel the same. Thank you for using what you have been given to share this with us.

Your video made me cry again lot. Such an amazing analysis ❤

You just got a new subscriber. Thank you for this heartfelt video. I had goosebumps throughout it all. I hear the call.

Gosh, what a beautiful interpretation. you made me cry

Fantastic video! I remember thinking while watching the film that it had various elements from other Miyazaki films and hit familiar beats, but I did not think about what that meant thematically or meta-texually. The 13 blocks being his 13 projects is great. And I love the reading that he is the old man who gifted these works to us. Because that is so true isn't it? "Create beautiful worlds" what a great message

It is a great work, for which I thank you so much. Your essay gives me the words to say it: the metaphors that are proposed allow a deeper and more profound appreciation of a beatiful piece of art, that otherwise wouldn't have happened in me

I watched the movie yesterday. Thank you for the catharsis and the sincerity.

28:30 I think going off of this beautiful metaphor you’ve illustrated, Fire can also represent the act of creation that turns raw creativity into something to be shared and consumed. I think that’s why Himi embraces, uses, and is destroyed by fire, and why Mahito has been so harmed and afraid of fire, because he’s watched his coworkers overwork themselves to injury and death. I think it represents how artists fear the act of creating because they fear *burnout.* Absolutely wonderful essay by the way, I had no idea what was going on in the film until this essay but now I appreciate it even more. You deserve much *much* more subs Edit: And Himi is Mahito conversing with his younger mother through the act of creation that is her book to Mahito, as she literally takes him from the cutting board to a better place through her fire, just like how fond memories take people from difficult situations to a place of improved wellbeing. Also I think this intertwines with the granny dolls at his bedside metaphor and how the memory of their unconditional attentiveness and fondness for Mahito “protects him” somehow? Also earlier I felt like the rearranging of the blocks was interpreting his movies and the meaning you derive from Ghibli when you rearrange the connections between movies, as an example for rearranging experiences to create a better or worse world through your outlook? There’s something there about interpretation and deriving meaning in your block metaphor Seriously the algorithm needs to get its stuff together this is beautifully written, presented, and read c’mon RU-vid

This video essay is absolutely incredible. I came to the same realization of your interpretation as I watched the film, and for this I had goosebumps all of the remaining day. Lots of details of the movies i couldn’t realize by myself, but the core meaning of Miyasaki giving us the mission to succeed him was clear. Thank you so much for this masterpiece.

I have never watched a video from you, but this was so beauty, so so so beautiful. I received an email regarding an opening to an animation course at my uni, and while listening to you I sent an email to ask a professor how I can better prepare for the course. I don't think I would have done that without this video, at least I would have delayed it. So thank you for making this video, and I hope you learn that you may have supported another artist's growth to animation.

Fantastic video, your final interpretation of the film was very moving while i reflected on what I'd seen in it.

Thank you for putting the pieces together for us so we can better appreciate this masterpiece. I love that Miyazaki never gives in to malice and is always genuine and pure with his work. He doesn’t care about the sort of things most studios today seem to care about (money, deadlines, merchandise, reviews, awards, etc.). He understands that once you start caring more about that stuff than the art itself then the tower will start to crumble. Disney, take note!

That was thoroughly illuminating and a fantastic analysis! I'm glad that I'm not alone in thinking that the movie felt a little self-indulgent and wondering if that was the whole "point". I settled on a slightly different conclusion though - as Mahito aka "real person" chooses to reject inheriting this fantasy world and perpetuate the act of creation, and instead returns back to the real world which is full of warts and bird poop and difficult relationships, and that abrupt end where life is shown to go on for Mahito - for lack of a better term, its like Miyazaki coming to terms with himself, and asking us to go "touch grass" - not stay cooped up in these fantastical worlds - but instead, focus on creating these beautiful, untainted worlds in our real life instead. Of course, like how he brings Kiriko along the journey, we can bring a block back as a memento :D

thank you so much for this video 😭it's almost making me tear up. I just watched the movie on theaters (it launched late in brazil) and watching this made me appreciate it so much more

Please make more video essays, this was amazing!!! Loved your analysis

I'm ugly crying. This video essay touched my soul. Thanks you

I watched the movie last night, and like everyone else, I felt like I was missing something. I put off watching any video essays until now; I wanted to try to puzzle out what it meant on my own, without someone spoon feeding a meaning to me. I caught some- but not all, of the nods to previous titles, but I couldn’t make sense of the birds, and the father, and so many other details. But as soon as the great uncle asked Mahito to uphold his world it clicked for me; that this is a movie about nobody being able to fill Miyazaki’s shoes. I am one of those creatives that not only grew up with, but was heavily inspired by Miyazaki’s work. As a teen I struggled a lot with creating something that felt definitively my own and not derivative of the ghibli movies I liked (or anything else, for that matter). Over the years I’ve cultivated a semi-successful online presence as an artist and world builder, in no small part thanks to the awe inspired in me by Miyazaki’s immersive worlds. I left the theater with a sense of melancholy, but also an overwhelming urge to go home and create something beautiful. It’s not the first time a ghibli movie has made me feel that way. Though this movie had a heavy air of finality to it, I hope it won’t be the last. Thanks for this analysis, I’m glad to know I wasn’t alone in feeling this way, and was delighted to see how much deeper the metaphor goes.

This is an incredible video that illuminates so many things I only felt like I was glimpsing during the film

This was lovely - thank you for taking the time to make it.

Maybe im just overly emotional but when you tied together the titles with the 13 blocks, tears started to form. This movie is so profound, and i feel as though i understood it through the lens of grief and death. it never was an indescript movie, the signs were always there. What a pleasure to have been able to experience it and thank you for this beautiful video♡

thank you so much for your work. I actually cried too at the end because i understood the end the same way as you did; when i create smt with my art i think at this film. How can my art make this world better, inspire beauty and hope ? Its what miyasaki succeeded to do and I'm so grateful to have grown up with his film. thank you for putting into words this feeling.

This is beautiful, and beautifully delivered. Princess Mononoke was my first non-"cartoon" animated film, and while I did not become an artist, it awoke within me a passion for film, for allegory and symbolism.

It’s a lovely film I enjoyed it very much. I am pretty sure any man that had a loving mother would want to see her one more time and talk to her. The part where she told her son that he was a good boy brought tears to my eyes. Love, honor and respect your parents, the respect the young boy had in this film (a little rebellious) is lost in today’s society. I will forever cherish and love Studio Ghibli films and I hope the art of storytelling through animation will not be lost for future generations.

Thank you so much for this video. Here in Brazil, we just received The Boy and the Heron and as soon as I left the movie theater today I felt the necessity to hear others ideas about this masterpiece. Your video helped a lot to gather all the scattered presumptions fomented by myself as I watched it. Thank you so much for adding so much meaning through all the hails Miyazaki gave us!