On Taking Fate Into Your Own Hands

A Tentative Study of Hayao Miyazaki's Lateness

Abstract

Hayao Miyazaki’s films have been a pillar of animation for over four decades, with a reputation that extends far beyond Japan's borders. Over those four decades, his work at Studio Ghibli has been recognized for its colorful aesthetics, fantastical twists on popular folklore, and orchestral soundtracks. The aim of this paper is to identify a potential break or trend in the late stage of Miyazaki’s career, as he is now 85 years old, by analyzing his last feature film to date: The Boy and the Heron. The first point I raise in this discussion is the film's backdrop, and how, despite its initial, naturalistic appearance, The Boy and the Heron reuses the trope of a passage between two worlds. In this liminal relationship, we uncover ecological and social concerns that are common to Miyazaki’s filmography. However, the film also introduces the notion of legacy and reflects quite pointedly the director’s repeated refusal to part ways with filmmaking. At this point, I circle back around to questioning the term “lateness” itself, with the support of Theodor W. Adorno’s theory on late works. Here I raise the blend of violent and ethereal imageries as an argument the film makes for accepting the world as it is without changing it, despite all the gripes one might have with it. I ultimately argue that the defining factor of Hayao Miyazaki’s late phase is, in fact, his resistance to being pinned down as anything at all, and that the real point of interest lies in the discourse surrounding his career.