There are better options.
Summary:
- The Boy and the Heron won an Oscar, which made many people want to watch the movie.
- It might be confusing to watch as an anime newbie.
- There are other movies by Hayao Miyazaki that would be better to start with.
The Boy and the Heron (Kimitachi wa Dou Ikiru ka) has attracted a lot of attention from people who have never even been interested in anime because it won Best Animated Feature at the 96th Academy Awards on March 10, 2024.
It’s natural that viewers from all over the world would like to watch the movie now. But should they?
It’s important to point out that The Boy and the Heron is indeed a great movie, and it does deserve to be seen at least once. However, anime fans have been saying for some time now that it’s not the strongest work by Hayao Miyazaki. But why?
The story is too confusing
When you watch The Boy and the Heron, the feeling of confusion is almost always there. It’s like you understand what’s going on, but understand nothing at the same time.
A lot of scenes make you wonder if you’ve blinked for too long and skipped something crucial for the story. And this feeling doesn’t leave you until the moment you see the credits roll.
It doesn’t mean that the entire thing is completely incomprehensible, no. You understand the key meaning of it, and the goal of the main protagonist is clear: he wants to bring his mother-in-law back. However, it makes you feel so confused at times that you start questioning your mental abilities.
A number of fans compare The Boy and the Heron to a fever dream: it’s colorful, it’s interesting, and you feel like everything should be clear, but then you wake up and cannot understand what just happened.
It lacks clarity
The Boy and the Heron explores a lot of universal themes, such as love, trauma, loss, and grief. These are things that everyone can understand and many can relate to.
However, it does it in a way that’s not so obvious and is often left to interpretation. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it leaves you with a lot of questions and uncertainties that you wish were made clear in the movie.
None of this makes The Boy and the Heron a bad movie. As we’ve said, it’s a pretty enjoyable experience. And watching it in a theater makes it even better due to how stunning the anime looks.
Start with something else
However, it makes it a rather poor choice for an anime newbie to watch. Fans feel like viewers have to watch other movies by Miyazaki first to get used to his style and the themes in his work, and then they will understand The Boy and the Heron better.
They suggest starting with such classics as Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi), Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime), or Howl's Moving Castle (Howl no Ugoku Shiro) and then moving to The Boy and the Heron.