I finally watched Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy And The Heron (君たちはどう生きるか/2023) at the cinema a little while back, and while I won’t pretend to understand all the rich symbolism and hidden meanings found in the plot and story, I can undoubtably report that I really enjoyed the film, especially Miyazaki’s recurring theme of strong female characters.
Needless to say, the quality of the animation is top-notch, and it is further supported by the amazing art direction, which is evident in the character designs and background art, all of which are extensively covered in this comprehensive 336 paged volume.
The book includes Miyazaki’s expressive water-color imageboards ( イメージボード/concept art sketches ), character design sheets, layouts, a huge collection of just wonderfully beautiful background art plates and also the Japanese voice-over screenplay. The only pre-production element that is missing are the storyboards, which is fully collected in it’s own book that I reviewed here.
(below left) Who else was reminded immediately of the magical tunnel from My Neighbor Totoro when this very similar looking scene came up ?
(image below) While the painted background art pieces certainly look more “completed” and impressive, I am also a big fan of the layout drawings, which is an integral part of the 2D animation process. I definitely recommend checking out the Ghibli Layouts Design Book as well as the ones of Katsuhiro Otomo’s AKIRA.
A decade after his last director role for The Wind Rises (2013), Hayao Miyazaki returns in stunning form with The Boy And The Heron. It is possible I am still swept up in the euphoria of my recent viewing of the film, but I do feel this is one of his best animated films. This art book is everything a fan could have hoped for with it’s comprehensive collection of art, and it gets my highest recommendations.
I also recommend checking out my review for the stunning watercolor storyboard book.
The Art Of The Boy And The Heron Book ジ・アート・オブ 君たちはどう生きるか details :
– Dimensions – 11.69 x 8.27 x 0.79 inches
– 336 pages
– Soft cover
– Full color, in Japanese
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January 15th, 2024 at 4:13 am
Gorgeous. I’m also quite happy to see so many layout drawings (and did I catch some keyframe animation too?) in this. I’ll probably skip, because I imagine Viz Media will publish an English translation at some point?
I too, am convinced that this is one of Miyazaki’s best films. (I know it’s fresh with me too, but it may even be my favourite)
I’ve had some great discussions with the folks I saw this movie with. It invites good conversation, which is a mark of a great film, imo.
It’s full of emotional depth–and yes, a lot of it is confusing, but I think that’s to the film’s credit. You have to work for it, and pay close attention, think about it, give it another viewing.
January 16th, 2024 at 10:30 pm
Hi! Great review, do you expect an english version of the book will be published later?
January 18th, 2024 at 4:03 am
Coffee – I’ve been thinking about the movie quite a lot as well, good movies do that. :]
Paolo- Yes as Coffee mentioned above, Viz Media will likely publish an English edition at some point. ( I have no confirmation, but it is likely )
February 14th, 2024 at 4:27 pm
This is a beautiful preview. Thank you for sharing!
Is the voiceover script similar to what has been published in other Art Books? Or do you happen to have a still picture of what it looks like?
So excited for the English version. Not even sure I can wait, I might have to get this one now!
February 15th, 2024 at 5:44 am
Danielle – Yes the voiceover script is included as well just like the other art of books. I don’t have a picture but you can see the pages in the youtube flip-through video above.