I’ve been debunking the Totoro-as-shinigami theory for years, most recently in my #SeedTalks all over the UK. It’s nice to have official Studio Ghibli confirmation, and see them emphasise the importance of the end credits to the continuing story (long before MCU did tagscenes.)
Also, it’s good to have this cleared up officially before the 40th anniversary of the film, coming up faster than you think in 2028. if ever a single year in anime deserves to be celebrated, it is surely the year that gave us three defining examples of the anime movie (or as Miyazaki prefers to call it, the manga eiga) – My Neighbour Totoro, Grave of the Fireflies and Akira.
Podcasters, broadcasters, vloggers, publishers, TV producers, galleries and museums who want to talk to me and my writer/scholar colleagues about commemorating this epic year – start making contact now because our schedules fill up fast and trust me, all of us would hate to turn down any chance to talk about these films and their context.
https://www.cbr.com/studio-ghibli-my-neighbor-totoro-death-god-theory-debunk/
beside them.