You might not know this, but Studio Ghibli’s next movie will release in Japan next month. Titled How Do You Live?, the movie has been billed as director Hayao Miyazaki’s last film that he will direct. In a twist, Ghibli has decided to release no trailers and/or promotional material of any kind before the film’s release, making for quite a departure in the movie business. However, it would seem that Miyazaki might be having second thoughts when it comes to what might be his last movie.
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When it comes to the decision to not reveal anything other than one poster for How Do You Live?, Studio Ghibli’s president Toshio Suzuki had this to say, “Let’s go with just this one poster for the marketing.’ So, no trailers or TV commercials at all. No newspaper ads either. Deep down, I think this is what moviegoers latently desire. In my opinion, in this age of so much information, the lack of information is entertainment. I don’t know if this will work. But as for me, I believe in it, so this is what I’m trying to do.”
What Does Hayao Miyazaki Think?
In response to the Ghibli’s President at the opening of the Ghibli Exhibiti at Warehouse Terrada in Tokyo, Japan, Miyazaki stated, “I wonder if it’ll be okay without publicity. I am beginning to worry. I do believe in you, Mr Suzuki. But I’m concerned, that’s all.”
How Do You Live? will be released in Japan on July 14th, though there has yet to be confirmation of when the movie will arrive in North America. As Ghibli has become one of the most popular animation studios when it comes to anime movies, it wouldn’t come as too much of a surprise if we see Miyazaki’s latest come to the West at some point this year.
Luckily, since How Do You Live? is based on a novel of the same name that was printed in 1937, anime fans have something of an understanding of the movie’s subject matter. The official description of the original novel reads as such, “How Do You Live? begins with fifteen-year-old Copper, who has recently suffered the loss of his father, gazing out over his hometown of Tokyo, watching the thousands of people below, and beginning to ponder life’s big questions. How many people are in the world? What do their lives look like? Are humans really made of molecules? The book moves between Copper’s story and his uncle’s journal entries, in which he gives advice and helps Copper learn pivotal truths about the way the world works.”
