Also the original sin in the Bible is Adam and Eve eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The golden gate had an inscription about knowledge bringing suffering...but I forget what exactly.

@@Ironike I believe the quote was something along the lines of “those who learn my knowledge shall perish” which very much sounds like the fruit in Adam and Eve! Which was like a fruit of forbidden knowledge, and what began their descent from paradise…or Dante/Mahito’s entry into the underworld.

This is fascinating, I told my family after we watched it that I felt like I had been watching a Shakespeare play and that it is going to take some study to fully process and understand everything. There are similarities between some of Dante's works and Shakespeare's, of course, Shakespeare was influenced/inspired by many other literary works. All artists borrow from other artists and I'm sure Miyazaki is no different. Thank you for making this video, you have an excellent initial analysis here and you could make another video in the future after you read everyone's comments and make more connections to what everything meant. It was an outstanding, extraordinary film and I can't wait to watch it again.

I like your interpretation but I was thinking on a more esoteric scale: I believe this is Miyazki's love letter to Japan, his home and the Motherland. I feel this is personal parable of a journey for Japan. Miyazki is part of an older generation, as the movie starts after WW2. There is a representation of lost or death of Japan as per depicted by the death of his mother, whom he misses and searches for in the spirit world. The wizard is a half gaijin granduncle - American - is shown to be balancing a stack of rocks that is ready to crumble. A dying pelican was was shown to have said that it was a species eager to live, yet was brought into the world but have with no food (reminiscent of all the weird crazy inventions in Japan that have no value). The heron is divine wisdom or prophet (sorta like in Devine Comedy where Vigil who is the voice of reason) that is guiding Japan on the spiritual journey. I believe Miyazaki's message is a patriotic message, to tell Japan to rise up to the challenge and to reclaim its glory, again. Therefore, the Japanese title, How Do You Live was more appropriate in Japan as it was directed towards his own people.

On the note of original sin/corruption: there is a significant emphasis on Mahito’s “transgression” of entering the delivery room that feels parallel to the “transgression” of Adam and Eve in Eden - both cases of accessing forbidden knowledge and both punished

ooh!! I haven't thought about the irony of being forced to fly, or parakeets giving up their flight. I was also reading elsewhere how...the parakeets could be a symbol of fascism. And the parakeet king was actually a parallel to Mussolini. (the scene with the parade of parakeets has parakeets holding signs saying "Duch" which can loosely be changed to "Duce" which was the nickname of Mussolini). And we know Miyazaki hates fascism like in Porco Rosso. As for how that all fits into the overall themes I've discussed......I'm not quite sure yet! There's so much more of this film I haven't yet explored yet.

@@TheLocalMangakawow, one more detail that I was thinking on came in place. Things like that are kinda easy to read but you still miss them from the first watch

where do u go? asking for a friend (i want to spend an entire semester studying miyazaki)

@@adrielespiritu7750 HAHA I’m a CMU design student! if you go the communications design route, you spend a semester designing a brand around a design “hero” that inspires you, and I did Miyazaki. it’s a really intense project where you make a poster, animation, app, booklet, etc. about your designer but I learned a lot!

@@adrielespiritu7750 Cornell University also has an excellent course that's entirely on anime. They call it "Japanese Society Through Film" (may have changed the course name since I took it though) and you spend the semester analysing classics like Spirited Away and Astro Boy. It's taught by a Japanese professor, which is great because he was able to offer a ton of perspectives that flew right over non-natives' heads (eg. in Spirited Away, the make of Chihiro's family car indicates that they're actually reasonably well-off. Not straight up wealthy, but definitely doing well.)

An interesting thought!!! I also thought the dying pelican reminded me of the dying boar at the beginning of the Princess Mononoke...both the pelican and boar were a dying species with nowhere to go. And both had to resort to violence.

Might be a reference to Palestinians

@@msn219no the fuck it’s not stop reaching lol

@@msn219doubt it , but i see the point you are making

Thank you!!

To me Mahito felt real. He is still grieving. He does not have much to say. I don't know why that makes him a weak protagonist in the eyes of some.

THIS! Literally wrote this like ten minutes before reading this on another video on the film 😂

@@deewrekk7375 I don’t think people are saying he’s weak in his character but rather weak as in his presence and motive in the movie.

@@seljiang Which motivation? The mystical, pestering heron and his Aunt's disappearance were strong motivators for him stepping into the unknown. We definitely do live vicariously through Mahito, it is a surreal labyrinthian journey, but there is too much symbolism and thematic/allegorical content here to imply that Miyazaki meant this to be an experience. That's sort of reductive.

I was going to say, this movie really feels like he was telling his son. “All of this was mine and it will die with me. You don’t have to be me and that’s okay.” I think that it’s not only telling us to live and move on but telling Goro that Hayao Miyazaki knew he wasn’t the best father but realized that he has to let go the thought of continuing on the magical world and that he was sorry.

Wow that's really interesting!! Glad to have heard your perspective!!

Beautiful perspective 😊

That is really interesting!! Thanks for sharing. Regardless of whether Miyazaki chose a heron for the same reason, it's definitely part of my headcanon now. :)

Totally agree with you. Although neither of us can know the exact relationship they have together, I feel like this movie was Miyazaki trying to tell his son that he doesn't need to carry his father's legacy on his shoulders. It’s passive-aggressive, but also gentle in its own way.

@@samspotz8r8s that's a really great perspective. Come to think of it I think your spot on

"never gave him the acknowlagement his son was looking for." Not true. In the longer documentary floating around, Miyazaki eventually expresses approval for Goro's second film. Goro - who comes across as quite a funny and likeable guy - kind of smirks and gives a sardonic response when the cameraman asks him about it, but it's clear the approval was given.

@@anthonythorne8708 this is in the NHK hayao miyazaki 4 part documentary right? I agree. Hayao did give him approval, he just had to earn it.

not like the son really wanted to make the film and the pressure on him wasn't good

Like Osamu Tezuka, Miyazaki will die saying "please...let me draw more!!!" (Although fun fact, Miyazaki, like many modern animators, dislike Osamu Tezuka because he was responsible for setting terrible working conditions as the standard in the animation industry)

Well he's directed 12 films (including this one) and the great uncle mentions finding 13 stones. I think theres also some articles out that say he's said he'll make another film after this one

@@johndobson8016 To be honest, after rewatching the movie for a 2nd time, I'm starting to lean towards that this could very well be his final film, just purely because of how the great uncle talks about finding a replacement but none is found. While I have issues with the story and how it is told, Miyazaki is clearly telling us that his reign of creativity is at an end and there will never be another person like him, because there can only be one Miyazaki. But that isn't a bad thing, because to try and be a replacement for Miyazaki would go against what creativity is supposed to be. There will always be creatives out there who will be known for their craft, but we should appreciate and enjoy the time of their creativity before their time is done. Right now, this could very well be the end of Miyazaki's time as a creative and I want to enjoy his newest creative art in theaters before its time is done. Even if he does one more, this movie got the message across that there will never be a replacement for him because there can never be one. And with that in mind, that means this could very well be Studio Ghibli's final film as well.

@@tjjordan4207 I think its definitely written that way, to be a final goodbye love letter to his fans. I think you're totally right that its supposed to be him saying that he couldn't find a successor but thats okay (Studio Ghibli was expected to go to his son but his son refused and the studio was bought by another company). To add to that theory, I think the magic stone floating is supposed to be graphite (for pencils) and the blocks are supposed to represent simple shapes artists use to illustrate with, along with a number of other things like the movies I mentioned earlier and possibly also his health (the stacked stones swaying) as he's getting older in years and I'm sure he's seeing the writing on the wall that this may be his last film. In the film he says that the world will only last 1 more day and also he mentions finding 13 blocks, I think he's saying he's feeling hopeful that theres one more film in him but he knows he could go any day these days. That definitely appears to be his mentality at the moment as his producer said in an article that he's already moved on to making another film and is obsessed with it.

Suzuki already said Miyazaki is working on his next film. He can not retire. Like the old man in the film.

interesting!! yeah I haven't thought too much about what the Parakeet King specifically symbolizes yet (other than that he provides a focal character to kind of represent all the birds). It would be extremely unfortunate if Ghibli's IP was overtaken by greedy execs and we got....idk, a Ghibli Cinematic Universe hahaha. That would be truly a destruction of Miyazaki's vision!! Also yeah thats a great point of Miyazaki needing to trust others for this film!!

Since the movie was based around the time of WWII I felt the parakeet king and the parakeets kind of represented the people living in those fascist states. Not depicted as outright evil just a product of their times and ideologies and also victims of their circumstance. There was a lot of symbolism of nationalism with the parakeet parade and the people blindly following their leaders. And the parakeet king was willing to destroy the world to save his empire. Almost how Hitler, Mussolini and Hideki Tojo were willing to destroy their countries and the world for their empires.

That’s a really great interpretation

This is a great interpretation! Love it!

​@jaysonhuckaby6323 I think the pelicans are meant to be those people, or perhaps unwilling soldiers forced to fight for their country. I, for one, view the parakeets as those who support those fascist states. I say this because they hold up signs directly support the king with "DUCH" (presumably a reference to Il Duce, aka Mussolini) and a parakeet symbol that reminds me of the Nazi Eagle.

That makes sense, but why would Himi and Kiriko go through a separate door where they will eventually meet/give birth to Mahito? I guess there are many doors for different times within the same universe?

@@TheBlueGoldenHawk thats what i was thinking. maybe its like hotel floors where the front number(s) represent the floor, whereas these represent the universe.

Thank you!!! i mentioned this in other comments but lots of my friends said the same thing, being confused by their first watches. And so seeing that common sentiment actually inspired me to make this video!! And so I'm glad it's being able to reach more people!! Thanks for watching!

Yes! And also reminded me the paper dolls attacking Haku in Spirited Away!

@@1000_questions_ I can't believe I didn't also think of that 🤣

The fire at the beginning reminded me so much of the earthquake at the beginning of the wind rises, too.

Good coconnections

Ive seen some people say "12 feature films" and then include "Future Boy Conan" the TV series as the thirteenth block. So that might be it? I'm not too sure about this one. Surely, with 13 being an unlucky number, there are lots of other feelings associated with 13. I very recently learned (and thus didn't mention in the video) that the movie very much follows Dante's "The Divine Comedy". It even includes a quote in the movie "fecemi la divina potestate" inscribed on the tunnel in the underworld. And so maybe a closer reading of "The Divine Comedy" might provide an explanation of the thirteen blocks. Maybe.

Thank you!!! Whenever it comes out on Blu Ray maybe!! I'm very fickle about the types of videos I make haha

Thanks!!! I'm really glad this video has been of some help to a lot of people!!

....why do I have a feeling you've seen my old AKIRA video haha. This comment reminded me of some things I said in that video. Interesting take!! It makes us feel a even personally more connected to Miyazaki

Hahahah might have been me & I just didn’t know it! Can’t recall but feels vaguely familiar? Anyway, stellar breakdown!

My greatest dream is to be an animator like Miyazaki, the understand life to its fullest and create worlds of wonder while also showing the malice in the world few capture as brilliantly as Studio Ghibli does. I want to keep that spark alive in every way I can, and hope to find artists that have that same spark.

my first was spirited away! also yeah, like many ghibli movies, i can also see myself rewatching this movie many more times in the future!

apparently this won't be his last (assuming he lives long enough for another). That 'retirement' rumor was just blown way out of proportion.

Thank you!! I’m glad you liked it!!

Thank you!!!! I'm glad you liked it!!

The guilt over providing escapism... this feels very Hideaki Anno/Evangelion-like!!! I remember when I first watched this movie, I thought... "This is Miyazaki's Evangelion 3.0+1.0!!!!" Both took a long time to make and were delayed over the pandemic. Both are each creators kind of saying goodbye to their series. And both are kind of telling us... "Go outside and live your life!!!"

No shame there. I missed most of it aswell. I think if I had gone into it looking for Miyazaki's meta narrative I would have picked most of it, but I was looking at it from a different perspective. I caught the narrative in The Wind Rises, but if you know anything about Miyazaki you see from his perspective from the start. You don't in this movie.

I’m glad you liked it!! I will admit I probably went in expecting the meta narrative because I’m like a border line religious follower of Miyazaki LOL. I didn’t go into it that much in this video but I think a lot of other people could have more strongly interpreted the movie in its more universal themes of mourning and grief. Which would have been just as valid!

I didn't catch it right away either and I am a diehard fan. I think this movie just requires more than one watch. It will be easier when it becomes available digitally, so we can rewind and rewatch certain parts. So much happens in this movie so fast, so just like actively reading a dense piece of writing, this film needs us to use our "active watching" skills, which is hard to do in a dark movie theater.

Thanks so much!!! And yeah, lots of my friends said the same thing, being confused by their first watches. And so seeing that common sentiment actually inspired me to make this video!! And so I'm glad it's being able to reach more people!! Thanks for watching!

Thank you for your very kind comment!! May you live a wonderful life too!!

Thank you for such a kind comment!!

Thank you!! I'm glad you enjoyed it!!

Thank you!!!! My Your Name essay is maybe my favorite video I've made so far, if you're interested in my other content!!

Thank you for your kind comment!!

Thank you!!! And thanks for watching!

Thank you for your kind comment!! And for the cat box emoji!

Oh thank you!!! I'm glad you both enjoyed it!!

Thank you for watching!!

Thank you!!! i'm glad you liked it! I think interpreting the movie as a story of grief is an extremely valid interpretation that, in retrospect, I wish I went into more detail on in the video. Instead I just included a small blip of text at 3:30 then continued editing, cuz I didn't want to interrupt the flow of what I already recorded LOL. Recently I learned that there's a quote inscribed above a tunnel to the underworld in the movie saying "fecemi la divina postentate"...which is a reference to Dante's Divine Comedy!!! And if you're familiar with that story...you'll realize the movie is very similar!!!

That's an amazing interpretation of that last scene!!! I was thinking about how Miyazaki can be grumpy and have a pessimistic view of his own films. And maybe he's telling us to "forget his films" and go outside and touch grass or something lol...but I can never do that!! But yeah, I was thinking about that last quote for a while too!

@@TheLocalMangaka hey! I wanted to come back to this comment to thank you so much for your video. I went to see the film again yesterday afternoon (this time in Japanese), and everything clicked this time around. I can confidently say this movie is now in my top 3 Ghibli movies (behind Spirited Away and Whisper of the Heart) and it was thanks to your video that I was able to walk away with a much better understanding. I chocked up when Himi thanks him for these worlds. Surprisingly I also found the movie to go by much faster this time around. I know some people were saying the pacing at the beginning was dragging a bit, I didn’t mind it since to me it felt like time staying still when you are experiencing grief, but the pacing felt just right this second time.

Thank you for such a nice comment!! Have a great day!

Thank you!!! I'm glad you liked it!

Thank you!!!

Thanks so much!!

thank you!!!!!

Thank you!!

Glad you liked it!!!

Thank you for watching!!

Thank you!!

Thank you for watching!!

Thanks!!! Im glad you liked it!!

Thank you!!!! Also it's a Howl's Moving Castle-inspired sweater from a brand called Yitai! it's my favorite sweater haha

@@TheLocalMangaka Oh cool! 😊 I will have to check them out! Thanks again ✌🏻

Thank you!!

Thank you!! Glad I could be of help!!

Thank you for watching!! And yes, may you find your path too!!

Thanks!! I'm glad this video is able to reach people.

Thanks!! I'm glad you liked it!

Thank you!!!

I have not read that book! But interesting that, judging from the title, it also involves an uncle!!! Anyways thanks for watching!!

Thank you!!!

Thank you!!! And thanks for the shout out!!

What an incredibly kind first comment to have on my video!!! Thanks!!! I'm glad you liked it!!

Thank you for watching!!

thanks!!!!

thank you!!!

Thank you!!! Comments like these are exactly why I made this video

LOL although there have been minor cases of cameos of ghibli characters in other movies! Nausicaa’s fox squirrels appear in Castle in the Sky. Totoro soot spirits appear in spirited away. But yeah the vibe of those are definitely not of the nostalgia bait cash grabs other movies might use!

Glad i could be of help!!

LOOL I feel bad for ragging on Miyazaki for his age haha

My guess is that in Japan the title might immediately spark a connection with the existing 1937 novel. But outside of Japan, that connection won’t be made. And maybe publicists thought the title by itself might feel too vague. But I agree the original title conveys the themes of the movie so much better-and the new title probably misleads audiences into thinking this is a movie primarily between Mahito and the heron…when really the main conflict and drives the plot of the whole movie is between Mahito and his great grand uncle.

@@TheLocalMangaka I thought the movie was named after the book called "The boy and the blue heron", A childrens book in which a boy meets a heron at the lake side, who takes him to a fantastical world. The book is made for kids to give them a opertunity to explore emotions. in my mind this would be a perfect connection with the topics in How do you live. And the way you the movie made you feel like it was something created for Miayzaki's grandson, or lineage.

@@ClydeStarke​​⁠original Japanese title is 君たちはどう生きるか？ which is named after the aforementioned novel and means How Do You (all) Live? The movie is loosely based on that book and is from Miyazaki’s childhood. The book even appears in the film too. I tried to find the blue heron book you mentioned and can’t find it. Do you know the author?

@@TheBlueGoldenHawk had a better look, but the book i mentioned is from may 2022. So by that time the movie had been in production for a some years.

Yeah!! I don't think many people want to risk doing an in-depth analysis this early into the release haha (it def benefits a lot to have an at-home copy you can pause and replay through)...but i felt i was confident enough in my interpretation to make a video

glad i could be of help!!

Thank you!!!

Thank you!!