Boy and see the end, explained

Key takeaways

• The Boy and the Heron is Hayao Miyazaki's final film, marking his departure to create new stories for the world.
• The movie revolves around a magical world where blocks of a tower survive.
• Despite returning to reality, the characters, including Mahito and his family, forget the existence of the magical world over time.

The boy and the heron is Hayao Miyazaki's last film. This is his swan song. His last gift to humanity. Studio Ghibli will produce many more movies and TV series in the future, but we won't be seeing any new stories from Mr. Miyazaki, one of the most beloved, respected and influential directors the world has ever seen. The man is already well into his twilight years and the time has finally come for him to put down his pencil, relax and spend his precious time with his loved ones.

The boy and the heron The “timeless beauty” we all know and love from the works of Hayao Miyazaki is still there. It is said to be Hayao Miyazaki's most cryptic film. You can immerse yourself in the story for over 2 hours and still be confused by what you just saw. So with that in mind, here are some explanations for the ending The boy and the heron.

A fragile world, explained

• Character Name: Mahito Maki
• Voice Actors: Soma Santoki (JP) / Luca Padovan (EN)

Mahito's main purpose in going to the mysterious world is to find his stepmother Natsuko. But in the process of doing so, he unwittingly begins a journey that leads him to his Great Granduncle, the creator of the world. As it turns out, it was Grandfather who created this strange and fascinating world, and he is the one who has kept it alive all this time.

Once every three days, this frail old man must stack blocks to form a tower of blocks. If the tower remains intact, the world and everything in it will live to see another day. If he messed up and the tower block fell, however, then this fragile world would immediately begin to return to nothingness.

The fall of the magical world, explained

• Character Name: Granduncle
• Voice Actors: Shohei Hino (JP) / Mark Hamill (EN)

Grandma knows that she is nearing the end of her life, so she needs to pass on the responsibility of maintaining her creation to an heir. Unfortunately for her, only her blood relatives can take her mantle. Fortunately for him, his grandson Mahito suddenly arrives from the real world.

Naturally, the grandmother asks Mahito to be her successor and take on the responsibility of the pillar that holds this strange world together. Mahito refused. He just wants to find his stepmother and go out into the real world together. No one adds new blocks to the tower, everything falls apart quickly. The ground shakes, the sky cracks, and within minutes, this magical world ceases to exist.

Different timelines, interpretations

• Character Name: Lady Himi
• Voice actors: Aimyon (JP) / Karen Fukuhara (EN)

One of the people who helps Mahto a lot during his short stay in the magical world is a girl named Lady Himi. As it turns out, she is actually Mahito's mother. Decades ago, when she was just a teenager, she entered a mysterious tower in the forest and was stranded in this magical world. Since then she has been living here.

So how is it possible for Mahito to meet the younger version of his late mother? Well, think of this magical world as the Time Variation Authority (TVA) from the MCU Loki TV series. As in TVA, time flows differently in that magical place. It has doors that connect to every place at every time, but once inside the tower and into the magical world, everything exists on the same plane of existence. So teenage Himi can meet her teenage son, which gives Mahito a chance to say a proper goodbye to his mother.

Back to real life, explained

• Character Name: Shoichi Maki
• Voice Actors: Takuya Kimura (JP) / Christian Bale (EN)

When the magical world collapses, manic pelicans, a man-eating parakeet, and four humans from this magical realm—Mahito, Natsuko, Lady Hime, and Kiriko—run to the door that returns them to Earth. During this time, the Parakeet King and his deranged citizens not only try to overcome the destruction but also try to kill the one who caused the disaster, which is Mahito who refuses to take his role as Granduncle.

However, the moment they enter the door and are sent back to Earth, giant parakeets, talking pelicans and other magical animals return to their original form. They got those weird looks because Mahito's grandfather wanted them to. Now that he and his magical world have ceased to exist, the animals are free from the effects of his magic, so they have returned to their true form.

Back in Tokyo, explained

• Character Name: Gray Heron
• Voice Actors: Masaki Suda (JP) / Robert Pattinson (EN)

In the final scene of the movie, we see Mahito and his family preparing to leave home to return to Tokyo, and then the screen fades to black. There is no mention of the magical world. There are two explanations for this. First, the war is finally over, so they can finally return to their home in Tokyo. Since her father's main factory is in Tokyo, it makes sense for them to come back since everything has calmed down.

The second reason is that Mahito and Natsuko have forgotten the existence of the magical world and everything that happened while there. As they escape the explosion, the Gray Heron tells Mahito that he forgets the magical world. The same happened to those who came back to Earth like Mahito's mother. Even if Mahito keeps a piece of his grandfather's creation block, the memory of that world and the significance of that piece will inevitably be forgotten over time.

“Forgetting is normal. You will forget in time. You must. So long, friend!”

These are the explanations of some important events that happen at the end of the movie. Note that these are only surface-level explanations. There is more than meets the eye The boy and the heron. So we request you to put on your philosopher's cap and watch this movie once. You'll find more meaningful questions that lead you to more meaningful answers. And this applies to all of Hayao Miyazaki's films.

The boy and the heron Available to stream on Netflix.