User:Ilikecomputers/sandbox/How Do You Live? (anime)

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


How Do You Live? (Japanese 君たちはどう生きるか , Hepburn Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka) is a 2023 film directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by the beloved Studio Ghibli. It is based on the 1937 novel of the same name, written by Yoshino Genzaburo.

In July 2016, animation work was commenced, with Miyazaki starting work on the storyboards before the film's production was approved. Ghibli, struggling for direction after Miyazaki's Ten-Minute Retirement in 2013, reopened its previously shut animation department, and reached out to past contributors. The film was originally scheduled for release in 2020, coinciding with the Tokyo Olympics, although production issues pushed the release date back. In 2020, producer Toshio Suzuki revealed that thirty-six minutes of animation were complete, and that production is going slow due to the increased detail, more frames a second, and Miyazaki's age. Suzuki announced that, each month, only one minute of completed footage was produced. The lack of a deadline for the film meant that the leisure pace was possible. It's clear that the studio has since sped up production, as in December 2022, Studio Ghibli announced that the film will be released in July 2023 in Japan. The film is 125 minutes long.

The film centers around the real-world novel How Do You Live?, which features significantly in the protagonist's life.

Tropes used in Ilikecomputers/sandbox/How Do You Live? (anime) include:
  • Minimalistic Cover Art: The teaser poster gives away very little information. Although a large amount of the space is used, the images filling in that space is draw with little detail and coarse outlines.
  • Questioning Title?: So, how do you live anyway? It's difficult to answer, especially considering how director Miyazaki and producer Suzuki gave the Shrug of God in interviews before the film's release.
  • Story Within a Story: A real story within a story, as the book How Do You Live? is central in the protagonist's life.