Hayao Miyazaki Shares Details About His “Final” Anime Film

Hayao Miyazaki may have been ready to retire at one point, but the Studio Ghibli legend just cannot rest until he finishes one last film. The director left retirement to finish his very last movie, and Miyazaki just revealed its title to the world.

Earlier this weekend, Miyazaki confirmed his final film will be title Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka or How Do You Live? in English (via ANN). According to the new update, Miyazaki expects the film to take 3-4 more years of work before it is completed. If all goes well, the director’s last film could premiere just in time to usher in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

If the title of Miyazaki’s film sounds familiar to you, then you probably know a lot about Japanese literature. The name is taken from a children’s story written by Yoshino Genzaburo in 1937. The piece is widely said to be a classic within Japanese literature, and the tale is a sober one.

The tale itself is centered around a middle school boy named Honda Junichi. The student lives a quiet life and comes to learn more about adolescence as he exchanges letters with his uncle. The pair grow and learn from one another as Honda grows bored of his pristine life. However, the uncle’s wise words manage to challenge Honda into doing more with his life than what has come to be expected.

 

Fans who have kept up with Miyazaki since his leave of retirement may be surprised by the director’s film. After all, the Studio Ghibli icon did hint he wanted to make a full-length film of Kemushi no Boro, but the caterpillar-friendly project has not been approved. Instead, it seems as if Miyazaki is putting all of is resources into How Do You Live? in hopes of it being released in a timely fashion. With a deadline on his shoulders, Miyazaki will have plenty of work to do over the next few years, but the director seems determined to see the project through. In a recent report, one of Studio Ghibli’s execs confirmed the director was tackling his final film as a gift for his grandson, so fans should already expect to need tissues for when Miyazaki’s last film finally debuts.