The incredibly touching reason Hayao Miyazaki won’t actually retire, according to his son

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki has become a household name in both the entertainment industry and the ever-growing community of anime enthusiasts. To this day, his creations have continued to shape the world of animation with many illustrators and filmmakers citing him as an inspiration for their own marvelous works. His renowned status remains untouched, unsullied, and unmatched both now and, arguably, forevermore.

In 2013, Miyazaki announced his retirement to the world, which certainly came as a shock to fans everywhere. However, what was even more shocking was the fact that years later, the filmmaker announced that grew to dislike retirement and eventually rescinded his initial declaration. Not too long after, the announcing and un-announcing of Miyazaki’s retirement happened a few times more, leaving the world perplexed about when they will have to officially bid a somber farewell to the creator. While the answer is still anyone’s guess, it seems that our final goodbye is contingent upon one very special person in Hayao Miyazaki’s life.

Hayao Miyazaki postpones retirement for his grandson

Mental Floss tells us that Hayao Miyazaki has come out of retirement once more to create a final project titled, How Do You Live?, which will detail the life of the Studio Ghibli founder from his humble beginnings to his many global successes. Miyazaki’s last creation will serve as a gift to his young grandson to help him remember the time his grandfather walked this earth after he eventually “moves on to next world”—a gift that is, without a doubt, touching.

Goro Miyazaki, the son of Hayao and the father of Hayao’s grandson, commented on his recent decision to create one last masterpiece, stating:

"He needed to create something in order to live, so he started with making a short film for the [Ghibli] museum, and then he went on to making his new feature-length film."

Just like Goro, those closest to Miyazaki also believe that there is no end to his creativity, which certainly makes many question if his alleged final project is truly the last time we will ever see new creations from the esteemed creator.

Perhaps he has a few more tricks up his sleeve. Perhaps this is, indeed, his parting gift to the world. We’ll have to wait and see to know for sure, but, in the meantime, he is rather preoccupied with the making of How Do You Live?, a film that may not release until 2023 or, latest, 2024. It’s safe to say that fans have a couple of more years to go before they see Hayao Miyazaki throw in the towel.