Hayao Miyazaki, the main creative force behind legendary Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli, has been suggesting for years that he’s just on the verge of retiring. Last year, Studio Ghibli apparently decided to start taking his comments seriously, and it joined in the suggesting by saying that if Miyazaki goes, it’ll probably either shut down or completely restructure itself. All of that is to say that Studio Ghibli’s next film, an adaptation of Joan G. Robinson’s When Marnie Was There, might also be its last.
If that backstory isn’t enough to get anime fans teary-eyed, then this trailer might finish the job. When Marnie Was There is about a lonely girl whose foster parents send her to live with some relatives in the country. There, she discovers a mysterious-yet-familiar mansion and a strange girl who lives inside. When Marnie Was There is already on DVD in Japan, but the English dubbed version will hit American theaters on May 22.