# The Boy and the Heron

The Boy and the Heron (Japanese: 君たちはどう生きるか, Hepburn: Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka, lit. 'How Do You Live?') is a 2023 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Produced by Studio Ghibli, the film's Japanese title references Genzaburō Yoshino's 1937 novel How Do You Live? but is not an adaptation of it. The film stars the voices of Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Takuya Kimura, Kaoru Kobayashi, and Shinobu Otake. Described as a "big, fantastical film", it follows a boy named Mahito Maki who moves to the countryside after his mother's death, discovers an abandoned tower near his new home, and enters a fantastical world with a talking grey heron.
Miyazaki announced his retirement in September 2013 but later reversed this decision after working on the short film Boro the Caterpillar (2018). He began storyboarding for a new feature-length project in July 2016, and official production began in May 2017. The film's title was announced in October 2017, targeting a release around the 2020 Summer Olympics. By May 2020, 36 minutes of the film had been hand-drawn by 60 animators, with no set deadline. Production spanned approximately seven years, facing delays as it navigated challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic and Miyazaki's slowed animation pace, before nearing completion in October 2022. Financing for the project involved streaming deals for previous Ghibli films. According to producer Toshio Suzuki, The Boy and the Heron is the most expensive film ever produced in Japan. The screenplay draws heavily from Miyazaki's childhood and explores themes of coming of age and coping with a world marked by conflict and loss. Joe Hisaishi composed the film's score, while Kenshi Yonezu wrote and sang the film's theme song "Spinning Globe".
The Boy and the Heron was theatrically released in Japan on July 14, 2023, by Toho, and was screened in both traditional theaters and other premium formats such as IMAX. The release was noted for its intentional absence of any promotion, with Ghibli choosing not to release any trailers, images, synopsis, or casting details of the film in advance of its Japanese premiere except a single poster. The film received critical acclaim and grossed US$294.2 million worldwide, making it the fifth highest-grossing Japanese film of all time. Among its numerous accolades, the film won Best Animated Feature Film at the Academy Awards, the BAFTA Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, and the Japanese Film Academy.

## Plot

During the Pacific War, Mahito Maki loses his hospitalized mother Hisako in the firebombing of Tokyo. Mahito's father Shoichi, an air munitions factory owner, marries his late wife's sister, Natsuko, and they evacuate to her rural estate. Mahito, distant to the pregnant Natsuko, encounters a peculiar grey heron leading him to a sealed tower, the last known location of Natsuko's architect granduncle.
After a school fight, Mahito deliberately injures himself. The heron, now speaking, entices Mahito with promises of finding his mother. Mahito is nearly taken by a swarm of creatures, but Natsuko saves him with a whistling arrow, inspiring him to craft his own bow and arrow. The arrow is magically imbued with true aim after it is fletched with the heron's feather. Mahito's reading of a book left by Hisako is interrupted when an ill Natsuko disappears into the forest. Leading one of the estate's elderly maids, Kiriko, into the tower, Mahito is deceived by a watery imitation of his mother made by the heron, which dissolves at his touch. Affronted, he pierces the heron's beak with his arrow, revealing a flightless creature, the Birdman, living inside it. A wizard appears, ordering the Birdman to guide Mahito and Kiriko as all three sink into the floor.
Mahito descends into an oceanic world. He is rescued from attacking pelicans and a forbidding, megalithic dolmen by a younger Kiriko, an adept fisherwoman who uses fire through a magic wand. They catch and sell a giant fish to bubble-like spirits called Warawara, which fly to the world above to be reborn. A pyrokinetic young woman, Himi, protects Warawara from predation by the pelicans. A dying pelican explains that their species is desperate to survive after being introduced to this world with no other food. Kiriko mediates peace between Mahito and the Birdman, and Mahito plugs the Birdman's beak, restoring his flight. The two are separated by anthropomorphic, man-eating parakeets. Himi saves Mahito and shows him a counterpart of the tower which contains doors to many worlds. They enter a door leading back to Natsuko's estate and are spotted by Shoichi, but Mahito returns through the door to continue his search for Natsuko.
Infiltrating the parakeets' kingdom, Mahito finds Natsuko in a delivery room. Natsuko rebuffs him, and Mahito calls her his mother. Himi incinerates the paper attacking them, but all three are rendered unconscious by the encounter. In a dream, Mahito meets the wizard, Natsuko's granduncle. The wizard, preoccupied with a stack of stone toy blocks representing their dimension, requests Mahito, possessing the power of his bloodline, to succeed in the custodianship of this world. Mahito notices that the blocks are infused with malice. Waking up, he is freed from captivity by the Birdman. They climb the tower to pursue the Parakeet King, who is delivering Himi to the wizard, hoping to convince him to maintain the world. The wizard has collected replacement blocks free of malice for Mahito and implores him to build a better world with them. Mahito refuses, acknowledging his own malice embodied by his self-inflicted scar, and vows instead to embrace those who love him.
The Parakeet King takes the blocks and tries to build a better world himself, but the stack is too unstable and falls. The world begins to collapse and flood, and Mahito, Himi, and the Birdman escape, reuniting with Natsuko and young Kiriko. Learning that Himi is his birth mother, Mahito warns her of her fate, but she returns to her own time without worry. Mahito returns with Natsuko, amidst an exodus of animals that revert to non-anthropomorphic forms. The Birdman notices Mahito keeping a stone of power, and advises him to forget his experiences. A charm doll carried by Mahito transforms back into the old Kiriko. Two years after the war, Mahito moves back to Tokyo with his father, Natsuko, and his new brother.

## Voice cast

| Character | Voice actor | Voice actor |
| Character | Japanese | English |
| Mahito Maki | Soma Santoki | Luca Padovan |
| The Gray Heron | Masaki Suda | Robert Pattinson |
| Lady Himi | Aimyon | Karen Fukuhara |
| Natsuko | Yoshino Kimura | Gemma Chan |
| Shoichi Maki | Takuya Kimura | Christian Bale |
| Granduncle | Shōhei Hino | Mark Hamill |
| Kiriko | Ko Shibasaki | Florence Pugh |
| Noble Pelican | Kaoru Kobayashi | Willem Dafoe |
| The Parakeet King | Jun Kunimura | Dave Bautista |
| Izumi (Maid #1) | Keiko Takeshita | Denise Pickering |
| Utako (Maid #2) | Jun Fubuki | Barbara Rosenblat |
| Eriko (Maid #3) | Sawako Agawa | Melora Harte |
| Aiko (Maid #4) | Shinobu Otake | Barbara Goodson |
| Warawara | Karen Takizawa | Karen Takizawa |
| Parakeets | — | Mamoudou Athie Tony Revolori Dan Stevens |

## Production

Following the release of The Wind Rises, Miyazaki held a press conference in Venice in September 2013 announcing his retirement from feature animation, saying: "I know I've said I would retire many times in the past. Many of you must think, 'Once again.' But this time I am quite serious." However, Miyazaki later changed his mind after concluding work on the short film Boro the Caterpillar (2018) and decided to come out of retirement to direct another full-length film, a decision which was captured in the 2016 documentary film Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki. He commenced storyboarding for the film in July 2016 and presented a project proposal for it the next month. This proposal included the children's novel The Book of Lost Things by Irish author John Connolly, which formed "a loose framework" for the project. Edogawa Ranpo's Ghost Tower (幽霊塔, Yūrei-tō), which Miyazaki loved as a child, inspired the tower in the film. Toshio Suzuki later approved the project, taking into account Miyazaki's commitment and storyboard work. After Suzuki publicly announced the start of work on Miyazaki's new film in February 2017, the studio's official website posted a call for staff for the new project on May 19, 2017, and production began in earnest. With Miyazaki coming out of retirement, Studio Ghibli reopened with many of its past collaborators working on the project. At an event held at Waseda University in October 2017, Studio Ghibli announced the film would be titled Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka, after the 1937 novel by Genzaburō Yoshino. The release date was not determined, but Miyazaki voiced his desire to release the film around the time of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan. Suzuki said that Miyazaki was working on the film for his grandson as his way of saying "Grandpa is moving on to the next world, but he's leaving behind this film."
Suzuki stated in August 2018 that the film was expected to be completed in 2021 or 2022. The film was confirmed to be 15% complete at the end of October 2019. In a December 2019 interview with NHK, Suzuki explained that the film was not to be expected anytime soon; Miyazaki in his younger age used to produce 10 minutes of animation every month, but now his speed was reduced to 1 minute per month. He contended that Miyazaki was unlikely to retire completely, as idleness would trouble him. Despite talk of Miyazaki's upcoming film being his last, Suzuki doubted it, asserting that as long as Miyazaki lives, he will likely keep making films. Unlike his previous films, Miyazaki did not oversee every single frame and focused solely on creating the film's blueprint through storyboarding, while the animation director Takeshi Honda took charge of the animation process. In March 2020, Suzuki disclosed that since the new film required a significant amount of time and money, the studio planned to finance the production by showcasing their previously released films on streaming platforms like Netflix. Miyazaki did not use a computer or smartphone and was unaware of online streaming, so Suzuki convinced him to make this deal to cover the costs, especially considering that the project differed from their previous endeavours.
In May 2020, Suzuki recounted to Entertainment Weekly that the film was a "big, fantastical" film. He said that 60 animators were working on the film and that an estimated 36 minutes had been completed after three years of production, saying "we are still hand-drawing everything, but it takes us more time to complete a film because we're drawing more frames", and they were "hoping it will finish in the next three years". In December 2020, Suzuki stated that the production was working with no deadlines, similarly to The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013), which took eight years to make. He said that the animation was half-finished, that COVID-19 restrictions had not stopped production, and that the film would be 125 minutes long. He also revealed that Miyazaki wanted to adapt Diana Wynne Jones's Earwig and the Witch during development, but his son Goro, an executive-producer of Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka alongside Koji Hoshino and Kiyofumi Nakajima, directed the adaptation instead. Cinematographer Atsushi Okui introduced the idea of utilizing Dolby Cinema to Miyazaki during the production of Earwig and the Witch, which received the director's approval. Okui was particularly drawn to the technology's ability to maintain image sharpness in bright scenes while preventing dark areas from becoming overly black. In October 2021, the director conveyed to T that he was making the film because he did not have an answer to the question Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka, while the producer characterized the forthcoming release as an ambitious fantasy project. In October 2022, Hoshino mentioned during a press conference that the production of the film had progressed quite smoothly, even during the pandemic, and was nearing completion. Hoshino did not specify the exact release date for the film but added that it would "indeed be Miyazaki's final film". In December 2022, Takuya Kimura, who voiced Howl in Howl's Moving Castle, "hinted" that he was in the film with a post on social media. Suzuki considered The Boy and the Heron to be the most expensive film ever produced in Japan. The production timeline spanned approximately seven years, comprising two and a half years dedicated to pre-production activities and about five years for the production phase. In June 2023, Suzuki clarified that the novel is not related to the film beyond inspiring the title.
GKIDS managed casting for the English version in collaboration with Studio Ghibli, adhering to the SAG-AFTRA Foreign Dubbing Agreement during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. The dub was directed by Michael Sinterniklaas at NYAV Post, and Stephanie Sheh wrote the English script. The English cast, unveiled on October 17, features Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson and Florence Pugh.

## Themes

The Boy and the Heron has autobiographical features. The protagonist, Mahito Maki, mirrors Miyazaki's childhood. Miyazaki's father, like Mahito's father, was employed by a company involved in the manufacturing of fighter plane components. Additionally, Miyazaki's family had to evacuate from the city to the countryside during the war. The hospital fire at the beginning of the film evokes personal parallels with Miyazaki's loss of his mother, who was known for her strong opinions and is believed to have been a source of inspiration for several of the director's female characters. Mahito's emotional connection with his mother parallels Miyazaki's love for his mother. The BBC defined the film as "a coming-of-age tale in which a child must overcome his selfishness and learn to live for others."
Suzuki spoke of Miyazaki's desire to create the film based on personal experiences and relationships when he proposed it in 2016. He was initially taken aback, given Miyazaki's avoidance of highly personal themes. The narrative is inspired by Miyazaki's (Mahito) professional relationships with Isao Takahata (Granduncle) and Suzuki (Heron), and integrates themes of destruction, reconstruction and imagination. Following Takahata's death in 2018, revisions were made to the film, shifting the focus from the Granduncle to the relationship between Mahito and Heron. Suzuki observed that Miyazaki's storytelling choices were deeply influenced by the memories shared between him and Miyazaki.
Taichiro Yoshino, the grandson of Genzaburō Yoshino, confessed to being somewhat bewildered by the film's messages. He also mentioned a meeting he had attended at Studio Ghibli's offices in 2017, during which Miyazaki articulated his intention to create the film and reminisced about his past works, primarily featuring cheerful and optimistic male protagonists, and contrasted them with his perception of boys as complex individuals. Miyazaki aimed to depict a protagonist who grapples with inner conflicts and insecurities, emphasizing the transformative power of overcoming personal challenges. Yoshino drew a distinction between The Boy and the Heron and Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka as separate works, yet highlighted their shared central theme—how individuals navigate and come to terms with a world characterized by strife and loss.
The film contains the message of creating "a world without conflict with your own hands." According to The Japan Times, Miyazaki's faith in children's potential to surpass previous generations under challenging circumstances is exemplified in the film's Japanese title, which offers children a choice between emulating the chaos of Japan's past war or forging a better path, and thus demonstrates the "continued optimism" that serves as the "greatest testament" to the director's imagination. The Hollywood Reporter noted that the film retains elements of the book that emphasize the theme of spiritual growth. The film, open to diverse interpretations, fundamentally conveys resilience in the face of conflict and grief, while advocating for the cultivation of meaningful friendships and trustworthy alliances, ultimately promoting progress and fostering "humanity and understanding to the world." IndieWire's analysis argues that the film weaves together various thematic layers and tonal elements drawn from Miyazaki's past work. It draws attention to the film's departure from the conventional children's genre, instead aligning more closely with the "violent" style of Princess Mononoke rather than the "cuddly charm" of My Neighbor Totoro, with the exception of the Warawara characters.
A review on RogerEbert.com asserts that the film's narrative explores themes of "acceptance, redemption, and the power of creation", drawing explicit connections between Miyazaki's youthful inspirations and his hopes of inspiring others over four decades. The film delves into the juxtaposition of life and death, wherein childhood and the end of life can serve as reflective counterparts. As highlighted by Unseen Japan, the film's themes make the viewer reflect on their role in a world marked by violence and uncertainty, their obligations to future generations and their connection to their ancestors. This view is shared by some publications, commenting that Miyazaki's recurring exploration of mortality and the aftermath of profound loss is a central theme in the film, showing the importance of everyday choices and depicting a journey of self-discovery and the search for meaning amidst the uncertainties of life, and underlining the film's open-ended approach, in contrast to the book, which is centered on the moral development of adolescent boys. The narrative imparts various moral lessons but centers on an "impassioned plea" from an aging master (Granduncle) to his descendants, emphasizing the urgency of their tasks as time passes quickly.
For Nikkei Asia, the primary emotional driver in the film is the yearning for a mother's presence. This emotion fuels the narrative, occasionally diverting into adventures involving fantastical creatures. Mahito's father marries Hisako's sister, evoking significant Freudian undertones. Miyazaki emphasizes the child's perspective, sometimes with quasi-sexual elements, as seen in encounters with frogs. Such moments, though evocative, are brief and dreamlike. The film stands as one of Miyazaki's less textured works, focusing on Mahito's mission to save his mother and stepmother, emblematic of Miyazaki's recurring theme of worthiness. Fiction Horizon referred to Mahito as resonant and inspiring, associating these traits with his resilience, vulnerability, and transformative growth.
Vulture noted that despite the serious narrative of the multi-themed film, it deliberately includes scenes of bird droppings, which provides comic relief, and which it felt were in line with Miyazaki's broader message about the messy and natural aspects of life as opposed to the oppressive order of Imperial Japan depicted in the film.

## Music

The film score was composed and conducted by Miyazaki's longtime collaborator Joe Hisaishi. The soundtrack, consisting of 37 songs, was released in Japan on August 9, 2023, by Tokuma Japan Communications. Kenshi Yonezu was in charge of the theme song, titled "Chikyūgi" (地球儀, lit. "Globe") in Japan and "Spinning Globe" internationally. Yonezu's first visit to Studio Ghibli in 2018 led to his collaboration with Miyazaki, driven by his composition of "Paprika" for the 2020 Summer Olympics. Suzuki witnessed Miyazaki singing the song with children at Ghibli's nursery school, and the director approved the composition after reviewing a demo recording. Yonezu, shown storyboards and provided with project details, engaged in a five-year creative process with Miyazaki and Suzuki, resulting in the completion of the musical composition.

## Release
### Theatrical

On December 13, 2022, Toho declared that The Boy and the Heron would be released theatrically in Japan on July 14, 2023. The film was released in Japan without any traditional marketing campaign, with no trailers or promotional stills of the film released before its premiere with the exception of a single poster. The decision to do so came from Suzuki, who opted to eschew traditional marketing methods due to concerns about over-revealing film content, in response to what he believed to be a fundamental preference among moviegoers for a more enigmatic cinematic experience. The cast and crew were kept largely undisclosed until the release date. After the preview screening held in late February 2023, where strict confidentiality measures were in place, a message from Miyazaki was read out following the end credits, saying, "Perhaps you didn't understand it. I myself don't understand it." On June 29, 2023, during the opening day of Friday Road Show [ja] and Ghibli Exhibition Tokyo 2023, Speaking publicly on how Miyazaki was "worried" over the lack of publicity for the film, Suzuki said that he trusted the work behind it and believed it is best for the film. It is the first Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki film to have a simultaneous release on IMAX, as well as other high-end formats like Dolby Atmos, Dolby Cinema, and DTS:X.
The film was pre-sold overseas with no concrete release date. Goodfellas, formerly known as Wild Bunch International, served as the sales agent for the film's distribution. Upon the film's release in Japan, the North American rights were acquired by distributor GKIDS, making it the widest film release in the company's 15-year history. Internationally titled The Boy and the Heron, it was screened in special previews on November 22 ahead of its theatrical United States release on December 8, 2023. The first photos from the film were published in the theater pamphlets distributed by Ghibli on August 11. The film had its international premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival as its opening film on September 7, becoming the first animated film in history to open the festival and the festival's "strongest opening night film in decades". The film was also shown at the 71st San Sebastián International Film Festival, the 2023 New York Film Festival, the 56th Sitges Film Festival and the 42nd Vancouver International Film Festival.
Studio Ghibli granted promotional control to GKIDS for the American release, leading GKIDS to adapt a new marketing strategy, including the release of a teaser trailer in advance of the film's international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, to reach a wider audience while preserving Ghibli's branding and integrity. At the international premiere, where the director Guillermo del Toro introduced the film at its gala presentation, Studio Ghibli's Vice President Junichi Nishioka said that, contrary to rumors of retirement, Ghibli did not consider The Boy and the Heron to be Miyazaki's final film, and that Miyazaki is developing ideas for a new film and maintains a daily presence at his office, dispelling any notions of retirement. He said that Studio Ghibli did not envisage this film as a contender in award competitions and rejects the notion of associating films with wins or losses, and that Miyazaki's primary aim is for the audience to watch and enjoy the film. Suzuki reiterated Nishioka's statement about Miyazaki's next project in October 2023, saying that Miyazaki has already moved on from The Boy and the Heron and is thinking about his new film every day. Later in the same month, the official guidebook for the film was released, showing behind-the-scenes featurettes such as interviews, roundtable discussions and storyboards.

### Home media

The Boy and the Heron was released in Japan on DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray on July 3, 2024, by Walt Disney Japan. It is the first 4K release for a Studio Ghibli film. In North America, it was released by GKIDS and Shout! Studios on the same formats on July 9, preceded by a digital release on June 25 and followed by a streaming release on Max on September 6. It was released on Netflix in territories outside the US and Japan on October 7.

## Reception
### Box office

| Date | Tickets sold | Gross (¥) | Gross (US$) |
| Jul 16 | — | ¥1.8 billion | $13.2 million |
| Jul 18 | 1.35 million | ¥2.1 billion | $15.2 million |
| Jul 24 | 2.3 million | ¥3.6 billion | $25.5 million |
| Jul 31 | 3.0 million | ¥4.7 billion | $33.2 million |
| Aug 7 | 3.6 million | ¥5.5 billion | $38.7 million |
| Aug 14 | 4.1 million | ¥6.2 billion | $43.0 million |
| Aug 21 | 4.6 million | ¥6.9 billion | $48.0 million |
| Aug 28 | 4.9 million | ¥7.4 billion | $50.6 million |
| Sep 4 | 5.1 million | ¥7.7 billion | $52.9 million |
| Sep 11 | — | ¥7.9 billion | $53.8 million |
| Sep 18 | 5.5 million | ¥8.16 billion | $55.0 million |
| Sep 25 | 5.5 million | ¥8.3 billion | $55.6 million |
| Oct 2 | — | ¥8.3 billion | $55.8 million |
| Oct 9 | — | ¥8.4 billion | $56.2 million |
In Japan, The Boy and the Heron grossed US$13.2 million (¥1.8 billion) in its opening weekend, becoming Studio Ghibli's biggest opening and surpassing Howl's Moving Castle's ¥1.5 billion debut in 2004. The film earned US$1.7 million from 44 IMAX screens, setting a new 3-day record. It attracted 1.35 million viewers and exceeded ¥2.1 billion (US$15.2 million) in box office revenue in its first four days. On September 11, the film became the 20th highest-grossing anime in Japan. It dropped out of the top 10 grossing films for the first time in its thirteenth weekend. The gross amount increased by about one to three hundred thousand yen each week, from ¥8.44 billion on October 15 to ¥8.66 billion on December 24. By March 17, 2024, the gross in Japan reached ¥8.98 billion ($61 million).
Film journalist Hiroo Ōtaka noted the industry's astonishment at the rapid box office success for the film's unconventional "minimalist promotion" strategy. The achievement has evoked mixed feelings among industry insiders, with distribution representatives expressing concerns to Ōtaka, fearing the challenge of this no-promotion strategy on their livelihoods and the necessity of traditional advertising methods. In addition to this marketing strategy, Ōtaka identified two important aspects of the film's commercial success. The first is that the deliberate approach of leaving the film by itself capitalized on its existing fan base by generating discussion and interaction on social media. He also mentioned Ghibli's earlier works, regularly featured on Friday Road Show for a decade, indirectly promoted the film.
As of April 15, 2024, the film grossed US$294.2 million. It became the first original anime film and Miyazaki's first film to reach number one at the box office in Canada and the United States, opening with US$5.2 million and grossing US$12.8 million over its first weekend. In China, the film broke a record for foreign animated films, collecting US$23.7 million (CN¥171.5 million) in a single day; it has earned a cumulative US$94 million as of April 15, 2024.

### Critical response

On review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 268 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 8.5 out of 10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Soulfully exploring thought-provoking themes through a beautifully animated lens, The Boy and the Heron is another Miyazaki masterpiece." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 91 out of 100 based on 55 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the English-dubbed version of the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.
Although initial reactions to the film were described as "mixed", with reviewers finding it abundantly detailed and laden with meaning, the film quickly garnered critical acclaim in Japan. Film site Eiga Channel praised the film as one of Ghibli's finest in terms of visuals and storytelling, but pointed out that non-Ghibli enthusiasts might find the rapid scene transitions confusing. Film and culture magazine Cinemas+ observed that the film draws on motifs and characters from throughout Miyazaki's career, embedding them in a narrative that is somewhat darker, more complex, and more personal than many of his works. Similarly, Time Out Japan hailed the film as "a mature, complex masterpiece, weaving together the director's past, present, and future – a beautiful enigma that promises to be worth the wait." Cezary Jan Strusiewicz from Polygon found the fantasy elements to be "absolutely beautiful, and they naturally include shots of the classic impossibly delicious-looking Ghibli food", and wrote that people "can watch this movie over and over, always finding something new and exciting in it". He stated that there is a nostalgic longing for the past that evokes the impression of a director reflecting on their career before stepping away, and this underlines "the makings of a perfect swan song". In his review for The Japan Times, Matt Schley awarded the film a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars, expressing that while its position within his list of favorite Miyazaki works remains uncertain, there were moments that left him breathless. While acknowledging the film's complexity and potential to not resonate with all viewers, Full Frontal author Matteo Watzky regarded these qualities as its best aspects, showcasing Miyazaki's talent, subtlety, and imagination.
First international reviews were "unanimously positive". Caryn James of the BBC, who rated it 5 out of 5 stars, felt the film is the culmination of Miyazaki's career and therefore may require multiple viewings to fully absorb the narrative's unwavering pace and the rich tapestry of imagery. She opined that the film presents a narrative blending wartime tragedy and supernatural exploration through the character Mahito, characterized by Miyazaki's meticulous attention to detail, a vibrant palette, and the seamless interplay between reality and the otherworldly, with characters assuming dreamlike forms that exemplify Miyazaki's innovative storytelling and visual prowess. Tomris Laffly, writing for TheWrap, epitomized the film as a "swan song so personal, artful and ultimately timeless" and thought it was "the deepest and darkest Studio Ghibli film" since Grave of the Fireflies. David Ehrlich of IndieWire, who gave the film an "A" rating, wrote that the film "finds Miyazaki so nakedly bidding adieu—to us, and to the crumbling kingdom of dreams and madness that he'll soon leave behind—that it somehow resolves into an even more fitting goodbye [than The Wind Rises], one graced with the divine awe and heart-stopping wistfulness of watching a true immortal make peace with their own death." IGN's Rafael Motamayor reviewed The Boy and the Heron as Ghibli's "most visually complex film" and awarded it a score of 9 out of 10, where he expressed how Miyazaki has delivered an exceptional conclusion to his distinguished career through a "stunning animated adventure" that reminds audiences of their fortune to witness Studio Ghibli's cinematic creations. On a less positive side, The Guardian writer Radheyan Simonpillai, assigning the film 3 out of 5 stars, saw it as "a gentler and slower though no less soulful addition to his canon."
The film is featured in lists of best anime films by several publications. Looper ranked it number 10 on its list of top fifty PG-13 films and Collider named it the best fantasy film of the 2020s.

### Accolades

| Award ceremony | Date of ceremony | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| Toronto International Film Festival | September 17, 2023 | People's Choice Award | The Boy and the Heron | 2nd Runner-up |
| Golden Globe Awards | January 7, 2024 | Best Animated Feature Film | The Boy and the Heron | Won |
| Golden Globe Awards | January 7, 2024 | Best Original Score | Joe Hisaishi | Nominated |
| Annie Awards | February 17, 2024 | Best Animated Feature | The Boy and the Heron | Nominated |
| Annie Awards | February 17, 2024 | Outstanding Achievement for Directing in a Feature Production | Hayao Miyazaki | Nominated |
| Annie Awards | February 17, 2024 | Outstanding Achievement for Writing in a Feature Production | Hayao Miyazaki | Nominated |
| Annie Awards | February 17, 2024 | Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in a Feature Production | Hayao Miyazaki | Won |
| Annie Awards | February 17, 2024 | Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production | Takeshi Honda | Won |
| Annie Awards | February 17, 2024 | Outstanding Achievement for Music in a Feature Production | Joe Hisaishi | Nominated |
| Annie Awards | February 17, 2024 | Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Feature Production | Yōji Takeshige | Nominated |
| British Academy Film Awards | February 18, 2024 | Best Animated Film | Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki | Won |
| Academy Awards | March 10, 2024 | Best Animated Feature | Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki | Won |

## Impact

After the film's release, the novel How Do You Live? was temporarily in short supply due to the "synergy" with the film. The publisher decided to reprint the book, while the volumes were listed in large quantities on Mercari marketplace app. On July 20, Iwanami Shoten announced on its official Twitter account that the total circulation of the book had reached 1.8 million copies, making it the number one book published by Iwanami Bunko in its history. The Hollywood Reporter's Gavin J Blair felt that The Boy and the Heron is a significant contributor to the recent revival of Japanese popular culture in the West, alongside Godzilla Minus One (2023), the first season of One Piece (2023), and the first season of Shōgun (2024).