After some anon went in detail about his son in a "Boy and the Heron" review, I went down a Google rabbit hole. I was only vaguely aware of their relationship and had no idea the extent of how much he's failed to live up to his dad's expectations. I feel bad for the guy. The CGI film looks like sh*t but if he doesn't try new things he'll always be compared to an animation god. And I guess the other "Tales from Earthsea" movie he made had too many scene-for-scene rip offs from his dad. Also, it's an adaptation of a book Hayao loved, but Goro didn't stay true to the story at all.

Anyways, just watching clip after clip of him being a stereotypical Asian patriarch, with brutal work ethic and unachievable standards made me appreciate the conclusion in "Boy and the Heron" more.

He literally walked out in the middle of "Tales form Earthsea" and embarrassed him publicly.

Comparison of Goro and Hayao Miyazaki works. Video essay

And if you watch this documentary it follows him at the beginning of his 3rd retirement announcement. (Or whichever # it was idk.) However, he's such a workaholic that he can't stop himself. So he finds a loophole to creating art and desperately tries to find a successor. So he hires a young CGI team to make a short film. Semi-retirement. But it's a nonstop battle with technology and others not being nearly as good as an old OCD kook. And when the staff brings up the possibility of eventually replacing humans with competent tech, the thought disturbs Hayao deeply. Very relatable now that A.I. has become more real in our lives. And his inner struggle is very relatable for fellow Type A / OCD autists. If you're into documentaries definitely check it out.

It's free on YouTube but if you have HBO Max give them an official view for support:

Gonna' watch the other documentaries about him next:
"Kingdom of Dreams and Madness" & "10 Years With Hayao Miyazaki"

But yeah, that anon & MondoMirth are right about rushed endings and poor storytelling. However, that's true of 99% of Japanese art. They are the most creative Asian  imo, but they still lack the holistic zoomed out view of things for good story arcs. Most anime will have good dialogue in terms of philosophical questions they ask or themes explored, and nuanced characters, but there's never really an answer or point to it all. Like, they'll have a good premise as you see with "The Promised Neverland" then just aimlessly wander for a few seasons. At least Miyazaki doesn't end every story with a naked girl in a giant test tube...