THE BOY AND THE HERON Every Detail Explained｜Hayao Miyazaki｜*Spoiler*

the boy in the Heron marks miyazaki's departure from the confines of popular entertainment in which he once found Comfort freed from those boundaries he has focused more intensely than ever on creating what truly matters to him it is an extremely rare case of an art animation produced with one of the largest budgets in the history of Japanese Cinema the movie floods the audience with miyazaki's vivid imagery even more intense than Pono on the cliff it immerses you in his surreal World everyone experiences the Miyazaki World intensely but the messages received from this journey are different for each person since the movie leaves a lot up to interpretation I won't go into too much detail about my take to help you build your own opinion I'll explain and order the references scattered throughout the movie The references to history miyazaki's life and previous works and many works of art that influenced Miyazaki including animated films I hope this video will help you on your journey to piece together the mysterious elements in the movie and Find meaning in it this video contains Major Spoilers for the boy and the Heron I suggest you watch the movie first so are you ready let's get started the movie begins with Mido experiencing the loss of his mother hako in a hospital fire some may mistake this for an air raid but this scene is based on miyazaki's childhood memory of witnessing a hospital fire from the second floor of his house the movie is quite autobiographical for Miyazaki mjo's father works as a factory manager in the fighter jet manufacturing business much like miyazaki's father and Uncle founded the Miyazaki aircraft manufacturing company during World War II they made canopies for the zero fighter when the Pacific War Began their Factory moved to utun namia and miyazaki's family was evacuated there mirroring mjo's experience in the movie mahito arrives in a rural town and meets natsuko his father's second wife and his mother's sister mjo's father married natsuko in a so-called solo rap marriage it's a way to preserve the family fortune by marrying the deceased wife's sister such marriages were not uncommon in Japan at that time miyazaki's father had a previous marriage before marrying miyazaki's mother tragically his first wife passed away from tuberculosis within a year of their marriage people worried about him since they were deeply in love yet yet within a year of her death he married miyazaki's mother this aspect of his father might be reflected in the story of mjo's Father remarrying natsuko in one scene the movie shows fighter plane canopies kept at home that resemble U's I shell and nsav the Valley of the wind mahito admires them this is the same sense of beauty as the protagonist Of The Wind Rises Juro miyazaki's philosophy of I detest War but I appreciate the beauty of fighter Plaines is evident throughout his work miyazaki's family was relatively wealthy even during the war much like mjo's family seven old maids swarm around the food that shoichi brings home saying where there's food there's food mido's father donates money to the school and makes sure his family gets accommodations a similar situation existed in miyazaki's own childhood the film places great emphasis on the bond between mjo and his mother reflecting miyazaki's personal experience during his childhood his mother was hospitalized for tuberculosis and remained bedan at home for eight years after her release growing up without her presence shaped Miyazaki longing for motherhood which is evident in my neighbor tooro and his other creations even after his mother's recovery Miyazaki often clashed with her over their differing political views there remains an epic episode where Miyazaki with his leftist views argued with his mother with her conservative views about political issues while crying miyazaki's mother's absence and conflict with his mother may be reflected in each of the two mothers in the boy and the Heron in the movie mjo's mother dies in a hospital fire while mjo cannot accept his stepmother natsuko Miyazaki inscribed his life story Into the movie in a very specific way while The Wind Rises focuses on miyazaki's Life as a Creator overlaying aircraft design with animation the boy in the Heron depicts his life before his creative Journey began mjo struggles to come to terms with his mother's death his father's remarriage and his inability to adjust a school feeling trapped by these circumstances he resorts to self harm by hitting his head with a stone mizaki revealed that his inspiration for making this movie came in part for meeting boys and girls who were self Haring by cutting their wrists in a time of emotional instability the gry Heron appears in front of mjo the Heron stays close and eventually begins to speak in human language help Meo help during this turmoil mahito reads the novel how do you live that his biological mother sent to him how do you live is a children's novel by gabur yosino that Miyazaki read in elementary school the book profoundly impacted him as you may know the Japanese title of this movie translates directly to how do you live Yet the movie has its own story which is completely different from the book The Story of the book is about a boy named Karu he learns a broader perspective that he is part of the world rather than the world revolving around him that's why the boy is nicknamed after Copernicus the first half of the film focuses on mjo's inner struggles and spiritual growth in the real world he experiences Deep Emotions when he reads the book maybe Miyazaki wanted the audience to read it before reading the book mahito doesn't go looking for natsuko even though he sees her going into the forest his spiritual growth is evident when he decides to look for her after reading the book the movie takes its time before mahito enters the other world at about 50 minutes it serves as a substantial first chapter depicting mjo's struggles and spiritual growth in the real world he first grows up in the real world and then goes to rescue his stepmother and his young biological mother lady HEI who were both trapped in the other world Miyazaki shared his motivation for creating the boy and the Heron with the main staff it's easy for me to portray a bright energetic girl or boy with a sense of justice and physical strength the real me is not like that I thought I couldn't deal with what's been nestled in my heart since birth that's why I've never made made such movies but one book inspired Mi aaki to delve into the aspect that he had kept hidden it is the book of lost things by John Connelly published in 2006 Miyazaki was particularly inspired by the way the novel delves into a boy's edus complex he felt he needed to step into that essential aspect of his life before completing his creative Journey the book and the boy in the her and Shar similarities especially in the first part of the stories to put it simply the book of lost things unfolds in World War II era England following a young boy named David after losing his wife to illness David's father remarries a woman named Rose she soon becomes pregnant with David's brother suffering from mental instability David begins to see the Crooked Man and hears his late mother's voice the Crooked Man then leads David to a beautiful yet cruel otherw world the other similarities include the extensive first chapter chapter in the real world before entering the other world the protagonist's self-injury and the true identity of the lord of the other world in the film The Heron man draws the protagonist into another world just like the Crooked Man in The Book of lost things why is the Heron man a gray Heron in the book of lost things David sees the Crooked Man in his room and calls his father but when the father enters the room he finds only a magpie a bird in the boy and the Heron the Heron man acts as a character that's a bit outside the story's confines his motives and identity aren't entirely clear he appears abruptly when the narrative slows down and helps mahito when he's in trouble he functions almost as a metac character in this sense the Heron man resembles a bird character in The 1952 French animated film The King and the Mockingbird the influence of this film can be seen in many of miyazaki's Works including the castle of calostro particularly the king and the Mockingbird inspired miyazaki's vertical storytelling in which the main character moves from the bottom to the top and vice versa in the film when the main characters call out bird bird a bird appears out of nowhere to rescue them so the bird is quite an opportunistic character just like the Heron man also as suggested by the title The King and the Mocking Bird features a dictatorial King similar to the parakeet King in the boy and the Heron the Heron man has a complex personality and travels with Mido but they argue constantly in that sense I would say the character is also a homage to two important figures at jibli director ASA takaha miyazaki's rival and Ally and film producer toshio Suzuki also the Heron man's appearance resembles saruda who appears in several Osamu tzuka manga the Heron man's prominent nose Bears a strong resemblance to cudas before becoming an animator Miyazaki aspired to be a cartoonist and was greatly influenced by tzuka mahito and the old made Kiko venture to the tower that connects to the other world in search of natsuko above the tower's entrance there's an inscription in French it's part of the inscription on the Gates of Hell from Dante to Divine Comedy it continues with it means the Divine omnipotence the highest wisdom and the Primal love created me when mjo shoots an arrow at the Heron man it hits him under the grand uncle's Guidance the Heron man guides mahito to where natsuko is at that moment the grand Uncle drops aose where mahito is the language of the Rose is you are the only one this may represent the grand uncle wish to make mjo the air of the world he has created the floor of the tower dissolves and mjo falls into the other world the first Sandy Beach he lands on as a hell yet strangely Serene although the film Ventures into a fantasy world it presents a subdued worldview that is markedly different from miyazaki's previous Works tons of phantom ships float along the beach the scene would have reminded many viewers of the airplane graveyard in por oaso mahito stumbled into this Tower during World War II maybe the ghosts of the war dead are haunting the Phantom ship the aisle of the Grave nearby when mjo descends to the otherw world resembles Arnold bachan's painting is of the Dead both the movie and the painting feature cypress trees which symbolize death mourning immortality and rebirth this other world is a fusion of the art that influenced Miyazaki in his youth the Golden Gate on this grave Al may have been inspired by the 1957 Soviet animated film The Snow Queen in the snow queen Gates appear as the main character travels from place to place the influence of the movie can also be seen in the character design of the grand Uncle the lonely King Of Another World the inscription on the Golden Gate reads meaning the one who learns from me will die this proverb comes from from the Chinese martial arts it means that learning and creating from teachings leads to life while mere imitation leads to death a Japanese novelist faho Hayashi quoted this saying in his mystery novel called four characters in the novel The main character a politician knows that his government in Nan Jing is shaky but he does nothing and eventually perishes along with the government at the end of the story that phrase is quoted to mean if you become like me me you will die these words probably reflect miyazaki's philosophy there's the show called the never-ending man about hayo Miyazaki in one part Miyazaki is storyboarding the boy in the Heron while looking at this manga by soji yamakawa called bakudan Saku yamakawa soji was an artist known for the picture story genre that gained popularity after World War II he created stories about an active boy who helps people and solves conflicts in the forest mjo's Adventure in the boy and the Heron is inspired by yamakawa works basically the grand uncle's world is a mix of things that inspired Miyazaki back in the day it's kind of like a place straight out of miyazaki's childhood dreams there is a bit of a debate in Japan as to whether the grand Uncle reflects hisa takaha or hayo Miyazaki I'll get to that later but it makes more sense to me that mjo represents the younger Miyazaki and the grand Uncle represents the current older Miyazaki meanwhile as for the character design of the grand Uncle I believe that LFC oarn is the model for the character LFC Oar also known as kizumi akumo was an Irish Greek scholar who introduced Japanese culture and literature to the West natsuko mentions that the grand unle was quite well read and the photo suggests that he was a Westerner who settled in Japan the old mention that the grand Uncle built this Tower based on a meteorite that fell after the Magi restoration Hearn also came to Japan at that time and married a Japanese woman the crest of his Japanese family was a grey Heron his most famous work is quian an English translation of Japanese ghost stories when the old lady's maid tells mjo's father a story about this pagota he says is a quian meaning is it a ghost story Hearn was fascinated by the Paranormal much much like his Grand uncle's interest in the meteorite Hearn traveled extensively from Ireland to France the United States the West Indies and Japan this may explain why birds from different parts of the world inhabit his Grand uncle's world the landscapes in this world may remind us of Greece where lafcadio was born Stonehenge located on the aisle of grave is also a world heritage site in hearn's Native England I mentioned earlier that Arnold bachan's painting aisle of the Dead resembles the aisle of grave some say the painting was based on the English Cemetery where bachan's infant daughter Maria was buried the parakeet May symbolize people who act collectively without much thinking unlike mjo who thinks independently Miyazaki portrays the parakeets as those who follow the crowd they eat work and drink alcohol in the grand uncle's Tower with their greed fueled by this Mass consumption the parakeet won everything fascinated by their leader the parakeet King they try to rest control of the world from the grand uncle mahito and Lady HEI break the taboo of entering the maternity house the king uses lady HEI as a bargaining chip to rest control of the world from the grand Uncle the parakeet crowd holds up signs praising the parakeet King with the word Duke the Italian pronunciation of the word is similar to Du which has been associated with the Italian dictator musolini this is probably a metaphor that the flock of parakeets represents a fascist party and the parakeet King symbolizes musolini in miyazaki's Porco raso the main character Porco is being hunted by the secret police and the Air Force because he refuses to cooperate with the Italian fascist regime the worldview of the grand Uncle Pagoda where does it come from miyazaki's storytelling philosophy is similar ilar to that of Haruki morakami when storyboarding Miyazaki delves into the unconscious so some aspects of his stories defy logic yet there are still some aspects of the grand uncle's world that can be explained where mahito landed is the hell realm of this world also since war war are born into the real world it seems that the concept of reincarnation exists in this world perhaps this world reflects the Six Paths of reincarnation in Buddhism Buddhism teaches that after death Good Deeds during life lead to a world without suffering while bad Deeds lead to a world of suffering the six Realms of reincarnation are heaven human demigod animal Hungry Ghost In Hell in the movie mjo first descends to the hell realm next is the world where Pelicans War and the shadow people are looking for food in the Buddhist teachings those who have gone to the hungry ghost realm will always suffer from hunger and dryness the next place where the parakeet live is the animal realm where non-human animals go the human realm is a world of human suffering the demigod realm is a place of constant conflict a world of hatred and envy the real Japan during World War II where mjo lives may fall under the human and demigod Realms and then there is the Heavenly realm there is a Starry Sky behind the grand unle when first sees him it's implied in the movie that the grand Uncle made a deal with a stone in the heaven realm and created this other world the Heron man leads mjo in the other world much like virilus leads Dante in Dante's Divine Comedy similarly lady HEI leads mjo to the Grand Uncle as beatric leads Dante to Heaven finally Dante dialogues with a Celestial being in the Divine realm just as mjo dialogues with the grand uncle in heaven when the grand uncle's heaven collapses in the Final Act the ground gives way revealing a Starry Sky below now let me summarize the positional relationship of the different Realms in this world there is the human world and below that is the realm of hell and hungry Souls above that is the animal realm the world of the parakeet and then Heaven the tower that connects these Realms stands in different places in the world at the same time the grand uncle's world is probably composed in such a positional relationship the parakeet King collapses the Tower of building blocks and causes the entire other world to crumble this other world is built of blocks which may symbolize frames it's basically revealing this world is Cinema or animation itself while mahito reflects miyazaki's childhood the grand Uncle represents the current older Miyazaki the grand uncle has striven to create his Ideal World his ideal work just like Miyazaki the grand uncle has continued to stabilize his world with a pencil but in the end he could not find his successor As Time Runs Out Miyazaki brings his younger self face to face with his present self the grand Uncle offers Maho 13 building blocks these may represent the 13 feature films Miyazaki has directed to date feder Rico felini film 8 and A2 also has the title with the number of films the director had made up to that point counting a co-directed film is half a film his eighth and a half film is 8 and a half mizaki saw eight and a half during the production of the boy in the Heron after watching it Miyazaki said who is this guy he thinks the same thing I do the boy and the Heron and eight and a half share the same theme both deal with the agony and Chaos of filmmaking the grand Uncle advises mjo to stack a block every 3 days this seems to symbolize Studio jbl's cycle of releasing films roughly every 3 years through the dialogue between mahito and the grand Uncle Miyazaki engages with his younger self he Ponders how his younger self would perceive the work he has created the ideal world and what choices he would make mjo does not choose the accumulation of the past acknowledging his malice he chooses to return to the real world where people kill and Rob each other the world that will eventually be become the Sea of Fire the rich Serene and Beautiful World created by the grand Uncle resembles the garden and the Manga version of nasak Cav the Valley of the wind or the purified lunar World in ASA takah hatas the tale of the princess kaguya a realm free of impurity and wrongdoing yet nasat chooses to live in the real world which is filled with malice impurity and contradiction in fact when mjo returns to the real world he is covered in bird droppings an obvious metaphor for the impurity of the real world nonetheless mjo chooses to return to the real world to make friends and rescue his two mothers from the fictional world even though he knows his own Mother's inevitable fate in the animated films that inspired Miyazaki in his youth a bird often serves as a guiding figure in the boy in the Heron Miyazaki frees the birds trapped in the tower the world of fiction when natsuko sees the birds return to their natural state she says cute in this film Miyazaki has his younger self Deni the ideal world he created a manifestation of total self-denial at the same time he as mjo choose the same path he did living in the real world making friends and creating art while suffering in a way Miyazaki is validating the way he has lived to this day mahito picks up a piece of Stone from the pile of rubble and brings it back to the real world he chooses to create a new story in the difficult real world Miyazaki may be saying this is how I lived I stacked 13 blocks it didn't work despite his efforts to promote harmony with nature and among people through his films the real world seems to be growing more divided and polarized the 14th new work is yours to create in the real world mizaki may be calling to the audience since mahito reflects miyazaki's life experience he also represents Miyazaki himself this movie is at the same time miyazaki's Declaration of a new beginning an attempt to break down his previous creations and be reborn a new in the end credits the kanji character saki in miyazaki's name has been changed to another character with the same sound this may suggest Miyazaki has been reborn as a new animation Creator at the end mjo picks up a stone from a pile of rubble the rubble May symbolize projects or ideas that were previously rejected mahito picking up a stone may suggest miyazaki's desire to pursue those ideas for new projects the lyrics of the film's theme song The Globe by yanis zeni reads as follows opening the door now as if revealing a secret the joy of touching hands the sadness of Letting Go endlessly I'll sketch these like spinning a globe every jibli movie has the sign of the end at the end but in how do you live this sign is not there it suggests that our lives go on even after the movie ends or I heard that Miyazaki had already submitted the proposal for the next project while working on this movie what an incredible energy it could also mean that Miyazaki is not finished yet the legendary crew in the history of Japanese anim served as the main crew of the boy and the Heron those who had previously worked with Miyazaki reunited to produce what may be his final film also the list of Animation companies credited in the end credits makes me cry Studio ponic which Carries On The jibli Legacy with staff from jibli Studio color by hied akano of Evangelion Studio chisu by mamaru o soda who was originally slated to direct how's Moving Castle Comics wave film by Makoto shinai of your name production IG by mamashi you photable of Demon Slayer Studio 4° cus of children of the sea and more Miyazaki may not have found a direct successor to jibli but his influence has nourished the fertile ground of the animation industry when mjo reads the book how do you live the first page shows millets painting the sewer this painting is the trade Mark of the books publisher yanami shoden yet the image of the sewer appears so large on the screen that I cannot help but feel its meaning the boy in the Heron is far from the entertainment films Miyazaki had been making but oozes powerful artistic qualities developed over seven years with one of Japan's largest film budgets and the collaboration of legendary animators the very existence of this film is a miracle that only the most accomplished animation director can achieve it's not just the achievement of a master it is a new frontier in the movie Miyazaki reveals the darker facets of his inner World a side he has rarely shown before he blly rejects the Miyazaki world he spent 60 years building this film is more Miyazaki than any of his previous works and at the same time it's a departure from any of his previous works it's a surprisingly fresh Masterpiece that resonates with miyazaki's philosophy of life his Eternal Quest for transformation so that's it I can't wait to hear your thoughts on the movie please let me know in the comments and don't forget to hit the like button if you really like this video please support me with a super thanks so I can make better videos for my next project thanks for watching thanks for subscribing see you in the next video

Channel: Cinema Tokyo

Views: 120,724

Keywords:

Id: 23H3Ea1HtvE

Length: 27min 38sec (1658 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 07 2023