Studio Ghibli is no stranger to adorable sidekicks, and The Boy and the Heron is just as committed to delivering a serious dose of cute as its predecessors with the introduction of the Warawara. But what are the Warawara in The Boy and the Heron, exactly?
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An Overview of Studio Ghibli's Small and Cute Sidekicks
Tiny, adorable side characters are one of the signature features of Studio Ghibli.
Even if you found the Kodama from Princess Mononoke a bit unnerving, you can't help thinking of them tenderly in retrospect.
In Spirited Away, we're treated to an adorable scene involving the Susuwatari, fuzzy little creatures with ant-like strength!
These lovable sooty spirits are also present in My Neighbor Totoro, as Satsuki, Mei, and their father move into a house full of them!
With the Warawara, The Boy and the Heron proves that Studio Ghibli is not done with all that cuteness.
Is There Mythology or Folklore Around the Warawara?
The term "Warawara" is one you are likely to encounter in the Japanese language, but there are no known accounts of supernatural creatures of that name.
"Warawara" can mean bustling, shuffling, squirming, or even creepy-crawly, according to several Japanese dictionaries.
These terms might sound a bit too ominous for The Boy and the Heron's cute little guys.
Of course, given that the Warawara's origins are a bit more sinister than originally suspected, we can see why "creepy-crawly" might not be such a bad term for them.
The Surprisingly Sinister Origins of The Boy and the Heron's Warawara
In The Boy and the Heron, the Warawara are bubble-like spirits that represent the souls of the unborn. Their exact nature is not elaborated upon, but their presence alludes to abortion or pregnancy loss through miscarriage.
The Warawara are carried by pelicans, who, in the context of The Boy and the Heron, are considered to act as intermediaries between the physical world of the living and the supernatural world of the dead.
While the Warawara are seriously cute, their association with death is inevitable.
Given the movie's anti-war theme — a common one in many Miyazaki films — the Warawara could symbolize the lost potential of children who were not born during World War II due to malnutrition, violence, and disease.
As a deeply spiritual movie, The Boy and the Heron showcases the horrors of war without being hopeless.
If anything, the happy faces of the Warawara suggest that they are content in their plane of existence despite the sad connotations.
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