While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."
| Directing | Hayao Miyazaki | Director |
| Production | Toshio Suzuki | Producer |
| Sound | Joe Hisaishi | Original Music Composer |
| Visual Effects | Toshiyuki Inoue | Key Animation |
| Art | Hayao Miyazaki | Storyboard Artist |
| Production | Koji Hoshino | Executive Producer |
| Art | Yoji Takeshige | Art Direction |
| Art | Noboru Yoshida | Art Direction |
| Visual Effects | Takeshi Honda | Animation Director |
| Camera | Atsushi Okui | Director of Photography |
| Visual Effects | Takeshi Honda | Character Designer |
| Sound | Kenshi Yonezu | Theme Song Performance |
| Visual Effects | Akihiko Yamashita | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Shinji Otsuka | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Hiromasa Yonebayashi | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Ei Inoue | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Michiyo Suzuki | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Yoshimichi Kameda | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Kiyotaka Oshiyama | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Shinya Ohira | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Masashi Ando | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Megumi Kagawa | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Katsuya Kondo | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Kitarou Kousaka | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Hideki Hamasu | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Ai Takashi | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Yoshimi Itazu | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Atsuko Fukushima | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Atsuko Otani | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Atsuko Tanaka | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Eiji Yamamori | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Hiroomi Yamakawa | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Susumu Mitsunaka | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Takayuki Hamada | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Takeshi Inamura | Key Animation |
| Visual Effects | Yuuga Tokuno | Key Animation |
| Production | Kiyofumi Nakajima | Executive Producer |
| Directing | Kazuyoshi Katayama | Assistant Director |
| Production | Goro Miyazaki | Executive Producer |
| Visual Effects | Yumi Handa | Key Animation |
| Sound | Koji Kasamatsu | Sound Director |
| Sound | Mika Yamaguchi | Foley Artist |
| Editing | Takeshi Seyama | Editor |
| Editing | Akane Shiraishi | Editor |
| Editing | Rie Matsubara | Editor |
| Sound | Koji Kasamatsu | Sound Mixer |
| Visual Effects | Junji Yabuta | Compositing Artist |
| Visual Effects | Fumiko Numahata | Color Designer |
| Visual Effects | Kanako Takayanagi | Color Designer |
| Art | Noboru Yoshida | Background Designer |
| Art | Kazuo Oga | Background Designer |
| Art | Yoichi Nishikawa | Background Designer |
| Art | Yumi Ishii | Background Designer |
| Art | Minori Takayama | Background Designer |
| Art | Yui Onodera | Background Designer |
| Art | Kosuke Hayashi | Background Designer |
| Art | Ai Omori | Background Designer |
| Art | Ayahi Shimomura | Background Designer |
| Art | Saki Kurobe | Background Designer |
| Art | Nanako Yagi | Background Designer |
| Directing | Shintarou Nakazawa | Second Unit First Assistant Director |
| Directing | Chihiro Okada | Second Unit First Assistant Director |
| Production | Yoshiaki Nishimura | Co-Producer |
| Writing | Hayao Miyazaki | Writer |
| Writing | Hayao Miyazaki | Original Story |
