Studio Ghibli's latest film had me reopen my Souls toolshed

I watched Studio Ghibli's latest film The Boy And The Heron the other day, having gone in basically blind. I knew it would be the case, but I left the cinema and said to my mate, "I don't really know what just happened but what happened was great". It was a lot of things! A visual feast. Surprisingly goofy. Unsettling. But above all, a challenge. We walked back to our cars and tried - my mate was thrilled to have identified who Dave Bautista likely voiced in the dub (we watched sub) - to unpack what we saw.

Since then, we've listened to podcasts, read interviews, and engaged in some back and forth. It's all brought me back to my uni days, where Dark Souls made me get my shovel out for the first time and mine the internet for meaning. Much like Souls, Ghibli's latest only expands as you reflect on it.