The Boy and the Heron

Three years into the war, Mahito Maki loses his mother in a tragic hospital fire. Soon after, his father marries Natsuko, Mahito's late mother's younger sister, and the family moves from Tokyo to his mother's childhood home in the countryside. There, Mahito is haunted by a peculiar gray heron that seems fixated on him. Struggling with grief and the upheaval of his life, Mahito is further unsettled when he learns Natsuko is pregnant. Then the heron speaks-claiming his mother is still alive and leading him to an eerie tower on the property. The heron insists Mahito can save her, but he remains skeptical. When Natsuko vanishes, Mahito sees her enter the tower and feels compelled to follow. Inside, he tumbles into a strange world where life and death blur together. As he searches for Natsuko in this uncanny realm, Mahito must grapple with the meaning of survival if he ever hopes to make it back.