On December 13th, 2022, internationally renowned Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli posted a single image on its official website giving the world its first glimpse of Hayao Miyazaki's upcoming anime film 君たちはどう生きる kimi-tachi wa dō ikiru (How Do You Live?).

The poster shows a mysterious bird-like character covered in what seems to be feathers, with a yellow beak and a blue eye, along with the film's title.

Earlier in the day, the studio held a press conference in Tokyo, revealing that Hayao Miyazaki was not only directing but also writing the original story and script for the film. According to Sankei Sports, the film is scheduled to premiere in Japanese theaters on July 14th, 2023.

This will be Miyazaki's first animated film in a decade, his previous directorial effort being The Wind Rises in 2013.

Several years ago, Miyazaki had revealed the name of his upcoming film but it was still in the very preliminary stages. In 2017, he commented that it would take three to four years to complete.

With a title taken from a 1937 book by the late journalist 吉野源三郎 Genzaburō Yoshino, How Do You Live? has been announced to be an "adventure-action fantasy" for today's youth.

This major development from Studio Ghibli was greeted online with joy and excitement from fans all over the world, who left comments such as:

Although the content of the film and the other staff members have not been announced yet, now that the lead-up to How Do You Live? has begun in earnest, details will be gradually revealed.

When it comes out, 15 years will have transpired since Hayao Miyazaki's last fantasy film Ponyo in 2008. With this new image to fuel their imagination, fans are surely now more excited than ever to see a Miyazaki fantasy film in theaters again.