Hayao Miyazaki, is the animation genius behind My Neighbor Totoro and the Oscar-winning Spirited Away. (Source: Bloomberg)
Step aside “Barbenheimer.” The true blockbuster movie of Japan’s summer is here — and no one knows the first thing about it.
The latest movie from Hayao Miyazaki, the animation genius behind My Neighbor Totoro and the Oscar-winning Spirited Away, will be a complete mystery to the audiences when it opens today. His Studio Ghibli has taken the unusual decision not to promote the film in any form — no trailers, no commercials, not so much as a tweet in months. We don’t know who the voice actors are or if there’s a theme song. Whatever about the plot, we don’t even know the genre. Signs seem to point toward it being a classic Miyazaki fantasy like Princess Mononoke or Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, but there seems every chance it is a curious wartime period piece like his last movie, The Wind Rises.Ghibli has shown just two things: a poster of what appears to be a birdlike creature and the title, Kimitachi wa Do Ikiru Ka, which translates as How Do You Live?, although an official English title has yet to be revealed. The title, if anything, only adds to the appeal. Miyazaki chose it from a book published in 1937, but the studio stresses the movie isn’t based on the novel, just that Miyazaki liked its title.
In a summer where Barbieand Oppenheimer are pulling out all the stops in the battle for social media dominance, this is the ultimate anti-social media movie. And for an era of identikit superhero films, where the audience knows the conclusion before the story has even been written, it’s an esoteric move even for studio that’s always danced to its own beat.
A handful of media appearances from producer and Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki is all we’ve seen. “With so much information available these days, entertainment might come from not having information,” Suzuki said in one appearance, before adding, “I don’t know if it will be successful or not.”
For Hollywood, a decision to reduce a movie’s advertising budget is usually a desperate studio’s attempt to cut its losses on a likely flop. That’s not the case here. Nor is it some anti-capitalist stance, though Miyazaki has been known for his sometimes outspoken views on issues such as the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s moves to expand security legislation. Promotion for his last film was unavoidable when it opened a decade ago. Miyazaki is big business, having directed three of the top 10 grossing movies of all time in Japan, the world’s third-largest movie market.
Instead, according to Suzuki, the lack of promotion for this new film is an attempt to recreate the sense of wonder of going to the movies in his youth, when all one knew was a title and a poster.
Despite often being termed Japan’s Walt Disney Co., the differences between Ghibli and the House of Mouse couldn’t be more distinct; in many ways, they encapsulate how cultural and business mores diverge between the US and Japan. While Disney in 2009 abandoned the classic hand-drawn animation that made it famous in favor of computer-generated movies, Ghibli is proudly analog. With no shareholders to answer to, sequels and remakes are anathema, even as Disney plunders its classics for live-action remakes. (Not all Japanese firms are so opposed to cashing in, however; Toei Animation Co., a stock market star of recent years, has increased profits 10-fold in the past decade thanks to its usage of properties such as One Piece.)
At times, Ghibli almost seems to have an aversion to making money; only recently has it leaned further into selling merchandise, establishing tie-ups with Lucasfilm, and opening a theme park in Nagoya, though many more commercial opportunities would be available for a more profit-hungry firm. Even the theme park is expected to bring in just 6.1 billion yen ($44 million) in revenue next fiscal year, a fraction of the nearly 400 billion yen the operator of Tokyo’s Disney parks generates.
This brand strength, hard-won over nearly four decades, will be put to the ultimate test with this weekend’s release. But perhaps all the audience should know is the only other thing written on that poster besides the arresting title: “A work directed by Hayao Miyazaki.”
In terms of critical and commercial success, Ghibli movies can be broadly split into two types: those directed by Miyazaki, and the rest, even if that includes some classics such as 1988’s Grave of the Fireflies. A decade ago, after the release of The Wind Rises, Miyazaki announced his retirement, only to retract it shortly after. But at 82, and considering his recent pace, this might truly be his last big work.
It also comes during a golden age for animation in Japan, where audiences are tiring of Hollywood content; four of the top-five grossing movies in Japan last year were local animated fare, with only Paramount Pictures’ Top Gun: Maverick breaking the trend. Directors such as the prolific Makoto Shinkai, the visionary behind Your Name and 2022’s Suzume, are being hailed as Miyazaki’s successors.
And that’s why How Do You Live? might succeed. Audiences know they’re privileged to live in a world where such an auteur still exists; his like won’t soon come again. Despite the fascination, or perhaps because of it, I already have my tickets; even if the weekend box office disappoints, once word of mouth spreads I suspect many others will have too.
Gearoid Reidy is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.
Credit: Bloomberg
Gearoid Reidy is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.
