A tiny Borrower named Arrietty risks everything her family fears by letting herself be seen by a sickly human boy. Hiromasa Yonebayashi's 2010 directorial debut, based on Mary Norton's novel, trades Ghibli's usual scale for something quieter and more contained.
After his mother dies in wartime Japan, Mahito Maki moves to the countryside, follows a talking grey heron into an abandoned tower, and enters a fantastical realm governed by its own private logic. Hayao Miyazaki spent roughly seven years making the film, released in Japan with no trailers, stills or synopsis beyond a single poster.
A fictionalised account of aeronautical engineer Jiro Horikoshi, who dreamed of flight but could only design the machines rather than pilot them himself. Hayao Miyazaki's 2013 film pairs a delicate romance with the uncomfortable fact of what Horikoshi's designs became.