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Hayao Miyazaki's mysterious final film, How Do You Live?, has been released in Japan, and the first wave of reviews is in for Studio Ghibli filmmaker's latest.
How Do You Live? is about a boy who finds an abandoned house after the loss of his mother and is transported to a fantastical world upon entering it.
One of the BBC's critics, Matt Schley, reported from Japan and says that How Do You Live? is full of Miyazaki's signature tropes and says that the visuals are “primarily hand-drawn and moving with the fluidity and sense of weight that mark the master animator's work.”
A review from Anime News Network, which awarded the film an overall grade of A, praised the Studio Ghibli joint. Critic Richard Eisenbels claimed that the film “succeeds at what it's trying to be—a roadmap for dealing with the loss of a loved one couched within a fantastical tale.” Eisenbels' review also praised Joe Hisaishi's score for its “whimsey and tension.” However, the critic noted that the film's twists and character arcs “can be rather predictable.”
While How Do You Live? — Miyazaki's final film — has yet to receive a domestic release date, you can expect it'll come later this year once a dubbed version is ready to go. Studio Ghibli has taken a unique approach to the film's release — no trailers or stills were released outside of a lone poster. We'll see if the risk paid off when box office receipts begin coming in, but it's a big swing from the lauded animation studio nonetheless.
Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most influential filmmakers ever — especially in the animation sphere. His Studio Ghibli classics like Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, and Spirited Away have set the standard for the genre. Prior to How Do You Live?, his last film was thought to be 2013's The Wind Rises. But more Miyazaki is never a bad thing.
