Studio Ghibli’s The Boy and The Heron First Look Images Released

Studio Ghibli is now making its way through Japan with Hayao Miyazaki’s first new film in a decade, and The Boy and The Heron has dropped the first look images from the very secretive movie! Studio Ghibli decided to buck a major trend with famed creator Hayao Miyazaki’s first new effort in ten years by announcing that beyond the art celebrating the new film’s announcement, they would not be releasing any promotional images, trailers, story synopses, promos or any details about the film until its release in theaters. As it readies for its full international launch, Studio Ghibli has kept up this secretive promotional pattern. 

As The Boy and The Heron makes its way through theaters in Japan, a new promotional booklet has been offered to fans in attendance. It’s here that the first look images from the film have been released, and now fans have their true first look at what this new Hayao Miyazaki movie really is. As GKIDS previously announced they will be upholding the lack of promotional materials for The Boy and The Heron to continue honoring Studio Ghibli’s wishes, these might be the only stills we get to see. Check out the first look at The Boy and The Heron below as shared by Fandango: 

What to Know About The Boy and The Heron

The Boy and The Heron is currently making its way across theaters in Japan (under the title of Kimitachi wa Do Ikiruka, which translates as How Do You Live), and GKIDS has announced they licensed the new movie for a release in North America sometime later in 2023 but have yet to confirm a concrete release date as of this writing. It’s Hayao Miyazaki’s first new film in ten years with the famed director handling the writing and directing duties for The Boy and The Heron with Takeshi Honda serving as animation director, Toshio Suzuki as producer, and Joe Hisaishi composing the music. 

Although it’s had its international debuts and premieres across theaters in Japan, much of the film is still shadowed in secrecy. The voice cast for The Boy and The Heron includes the likes of Soma Santoki, Takuya Kimura, Masaki Suda, Kou Shibasaki, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Keiko Takeshita, Jun Fubuki, Sawako Agawa, Karen Takizawa, Shinobu Otake, Jun Kunimura, Kaoru Kobayashi, Shohei Hino, and more. As the film gets closer to its international release, new looks at The Boy and The Heron will be hard to come by. 

How are you feeling about The Boy and The Heron‘s secretive marketing so far? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!