What is the iRankMovies score for The Boy and the Heron?

Name: The Boy and the Heron
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Genre: animation, drama, fantasy
Released: 2023
Duration: 2 h 4 min
Rating: 7.3

The Boy and the Heron has an iRankMovies score of 82.9/100, based on a weighted combination of IMDb (×3.0), Rotten Tomatoes (×2.0), Metacritic (×1.5), and TMDb (×1.0).

The Boy and the Heron (2023)

君たちはどう生きるか

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

Release:2023

Runtime:2h 4m

Country:Japan

Director:Hayao Miyazaki

Language:Japanese

Genre

AnimationDramaFantasy

See the best animation movies →

Keywords

Loss Of Loved One World War Ii supernaturalEducationComing Of AgeSpiritualityPovertyTeenage Boy

iRank83

The Boy and the Heron rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb7.3/10· 124K votes

Rotten Tomatoes96%

Metacritic91%

TMDb7.4/10· 3K votes

With 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 7.3/10 on IMDb and 91/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been very positive.

About The Boy and the Heron

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."

Cast of The Boy and the Heron

Soma Santoki
as Mahito Maki (voice)
Masaki Suda
as Gray Heron (voice)
Ko Shibasaki
as Kiriko (voice)
Aimyon
as Lady Himi (voice)
Yoshino Kimura
as Natsuko (voice)
Takuya Kimura
as Shoichi Maki (voice)
Keiko Takeshita
as Izumi (voice)
Jun Fubuki
as Utako (voice)
Sawako Agawa
as Eriko (voice)
Karen Takizawa
as Warawara (voice)
Shinobu Otake
as Aiko (voice)
Jun Kunimura
as The Parakeet King (voice)

The Boy and the Heron facts

Original title: 君たちはどう生きるか
Budget: $50M
Box office: $294.2M

Ranked by the iRankMovies editorial teamUpdated August 2026Methodology Data sources

Audience opinions

What the audience liked

•Animation technique demonstrates breathtaking attention to detail throughout
•Narrative structure weaves coming of age themes with genuine emotional resonance
•Miyazaki creates mythological atmosphere through sound design and visual symbolism

What the audience disliked

•Pacing meanders deliberately which some audiences find tedious overall
•Abstract storytelling may confound viewers expecting straightforward narrative clarity