“Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” is a post-apocalyptic fantasy that takes place 1,000 years in the future after a devastating conflict has left the world’s ecosystem in ruins. With the release of “The Boy and the Heron,” here are all of Miyazaki’s films in chronological order. “We must be idealistic realists,” said Miyazaki in the documentary “10 Years With Miyazaki.” For decades, he has been passionately conveying the belief of love and hopes to the audience, emphasizing that what collapses can be rebuilt (“Princess Mononoke”), what’s lost can be found (“Spirited Away”), and no matter how cruel the world is, there are always parts worth experiencing and people to walk alongside (“The Wind Rises” and “Howl’s Moving Castle”). His top-grossing films include beloved classics such as “My Neighbor Totoro,” “Howl’s Moving Castle” and the Oscar winner “Spirited Away,” which have all brought joy and nostalgia to generations of viewers. Throughout his career, his name has become inseparable from Japanese animation.

The filmmaker began his career working in television at Toei Animation in 1963, and he made his directorial debut with the animated film “The Castle of Cagliostro” in 1979. After each time, he withdrew from his retirement to make another film. 5, 2023, has once again declared that “The Boy and the Heron” will be the culmination of his career – which he said seven previous times in 1986, 1992, 1997, 2001, 2004, 20. The film, which released with little promotional material, follows the journey of a 12-year-old boy named Mahito Maki as he stumbles upon a fantasy world with a talking grey heron. Released in Japan on July 14 under the title “How Do You Live?,” the latest film takes its name from a best-selling novel of the same name penned by Japanese author Genzaburo Yoshino. Hayao Miyazaki is back! It’s been 10 years since the release of his last film, “The Wind Rises,” and now the acclaimed Studio Ghibli director returns with his supposedly final film, “The Boy and the Heron.”

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