Demon Slayer: Mugen Train is continuing to break box office records in Japan. As of this writing, it has surpassed Howl's Moving Castle's box office total to become the fifth biggest hit movie ever in Japan, with only your name., Frozen, Titanic and Spirited Away ahead of it. As the possibility of it possibly overtaking Spirited Away's record grows more and more likely, a reporter for Smart FLASH asked Hayao Miyazaki how he felt about the competition. The director's answers were hilarious and exactly what you'd expect from the beloved Ghibli auteur.
When asked if he had seen the Demon Slayer film, Miyazaki's response translates to, "I don't watch TV, I don't watch movies. I'm a retired old man picking up trash." When asked how he feels about it possibly grossing more than Spirited Away, he says, "That sort of thing isn’t worth worrying about. There’s always inflation in the world. Right now, I have to pick up trash…"
The only thing that is somewhat surprising about this answer is the fact Miyazaki describes himself as "retired." Technically he has "retired" from filmmaking at least three times, only to end up returning for another film. Miyazaki has been working on what will likely be his actual final film, How Do You Live? Miyazaki describes the production of the film as something he's "doing while retired" before brushing off the interviewer with yet another repetition of "I have to go around and pick up trash."
Beyond that, the response is classic Miyazaki. The director is known for his iconoclastic views, curmudgeonly attitude and complete disinterest in what the rest of the film and anime industry is doing. While his movies have found huge financial success, he's decidedly not preoccupied with money and is in fact actively opposed to turning Ghibli into a profit-centric operation. In fact, he and his producer Toshio Suzuki actively oppose the idea of making more than ¥10 billion from merchandise.
That Miyazaki's concern has nothing to do with the reporter's questions but is instead about picking up trash is just part of what makes him so lovable. He's a humorously blunt and grumpy old man, but one with his heart in exactly the right place. Given that Miyazaki's films focus so heavily on environmentalist concerns, it's only fitting that he's focused on keeping his own environment clean. The world needs artists of Miyazaki's caliber, but it also needs way more old men picking up trash.
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train will be released in American theaters in 2021. Hayao Miyazaki's next film How Do You Live? is currently in production and is expected to release in 2022.
