The Boy and the Heron is breathtakingly beautiful but so dense with autobiographical and literary references that it risks feeling like a dream you respect more than you love.
9.5/10 for the top tier; 8/10 for the lesser works (still better than most directors' best). studio ghibli movies directed by hayao miyazaki
From Nausicaä to Chihiro to Kiki, Miyazaki's leads rarely wield swords for revenge. They solve problems through empathy, persistence, and work. They cry, fail, and grow—unlike the passive princesses of Western animation at the time. The Boy and the Heron is breathtakingly beautiful
