The Boy and the Heron 2023

Where death comes to an end, life finds a new beginning.

While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."

AnimationFantasyDramaloss of loved oneworld war iisupernaturaleducationcoming of agespiritualitypovertyteenage boyparallel worldtroubled childhoodsemi autobiographicalbased on myths, legends or folklore