#studioghibli — Public Fediverse posts

I just watched the "CJ the X" YouTube where he explains how the English language dub of #StudioGhibli's classic Kiki' s Delivery Service frames every kindness or exchange as part of a deal, in which something else is proposed in return, forming a closed transaction in which each participant is instantly relieved of the burden of indebtedness by the explicit reciprocity. However in the original Japanese dialog...

I just watched the "CJ the X" YouTube where he explains how the English language dub of #StudioGhibli's classic Kiki' s Delivery Service frames every kindness or exchange as part of a deal, in which something else is proposed in return, forming a closed transaction in which each participant is instantly relieved of the burden of indebtedness by the explicit reciprocity. However in the original Japanese dialog...

I just watched the "CJ the X" YouTube where he explains how the English language dub of #StudioGhibli's classic Kiki' s Delivery Service frames every kindness or exchange as part of a deal, in which something else is proposed in return, forming a closed transaction in which each participant is instantly relieved of the burden of indebtedness by the explicit reciprocity. However in the original Japanese dialog...

I just watched the "CJ the X" YouTube where he explains how the English language dub of #StudioGhibli's classic Kiki' s Delivery Service frames every kindness or exchange as part of a deal, in which something else is proposed in return, forming a closed transaction in which each participant is instantly relieved of the burden of indebtedness by the explicit reciprocity. However in the original Japanese dialog...

I just watched the "CJ the X" YouTube where he explains how the English language dub of #StudioGhibli's classic Kiki' s Delivery Service frames every kindness or exchange as part of a deal, in which something else is proposed in return, forming a closed transaction in which each participant is instantly relieved of the burden of indebtedness by the explicit reciprocity. However in the original Japanese dialog...

La icónica película de animación #NickyLaAprendizDeBruja, producida por #StudioGhibli, volverá a los cines el próximo 24 de julio de la mano de #VértigoFilms en una nueva versión remasterizada en 4K. Dirigida y escrita por Hayao Miyazaki, estamos ante uno de los títulos más emblemáticos y queridos de la animación japonesa, siendo el primer gran éxito comercial de este icónico estudio.

https://noescinetodoloquereluce.com/2026/05/nicky-la-aprendiz-de-bruja-vuelve-a-los-cines-el-24-de-julio-remasterizada-en-4k.html

Watching Kiki's Delivery Service for the first time. This seems quite lovely. Studio Ghibili makes such beautiful movies. I don't always understand there stories, but they're gorgeous. #anime #studioGhibli #movie

Watching Kiki's Delivery Service for the first time. This seems quite lovely. Studio Ghibili makes such beautiful movies. I don't always understand there stories, but they're gorgeous. #anime #studioGhibli #movie

Watching Kiki's Delivery Service for the first time. This seems quite lovely. Studio Ghibili makes such beautiful movies. I don't always understand there stories, but they're gorgeous. #anime #studioGhibli #movie

Watching Kiki's Delivery Service for the first time. This seems quite lovely. Studio Ghibili makes such beautiful movies. I don't always understand there stories, but they're gorgeous. #anime #studioGhibli #movie

Watching Kiki's Delivery Service for the first time. This seems quite lovely. Studio Ghibili makes such beautiful movies. I don't always understand there stories, but they're gorgeous. #anime #studioGhibli #movie

Only Yesterday (1991) – Review

Just because your motion picture is made up of thousands upon thousands of individually hand-drawn pictures, it doesn’t mean you can’t be subtle with the medium you’re working in. While various purveyors of animation – from Walt Disney to Ralph Bakshi to Don Bluth to Katsuhiro Otomo – all utilised the artform to realise everything from lush, impossible fantasy kingdoms to dystopian futures, leave it to Studio Ghibli’s Isao Takahata to do something entirely different.
There’s not many people who would think to use animation to tell a straight drama without a single flying dragon or talking animal in sight, but anyone who saw Takahata’s emotion searing Grave Of The Fireflies (aka. one of the saddest films in the world) already knew that the director didn’t approach the medium in a way quite unlike anybody else. Harnessing numerous animators and countless drawings, Only Yesterday is a relatively simple story about a twenty seven year-old woman thinking back to her childhood as she embarks on a farming holiday, but the emotions it manages to evoke proves just how magical animation can be – even when it isn’t overtly featuring magic.

The year is 1982 and we meet umarried office worker Taeko Okajima as she’s about to go on a two week vacation to the rural countryside in order to help her sister’s in-laws with their safflower harvest. As she leaves Tokyo to Yamagata on a sleeper train she starts experiencing vivid memories from when she was a ten year-old girl back in 1966 that bring back powerful emotions from that time. The youngest of three, Taeko was brought up by somewhat flinty mother and a near-monosylabic father who often struggled with some of their daughter’s various shortcomings. However, as Taeko’s memories come thick and fast, we’re treated to a bunch of experiences that not only stuck with her with absolutely clarity, but seemingly helped make her the woman she would grow up to be. But who is that, exactly?
As she recalls such moments as the first time her family tried pineapple, her baseball playing first crush and the dreaded onset of her first period, Taeko discovers a sort of peace while working on a farm that she rarely seems to find in the city. She’s also starts to form something of a bond with her brother-in-law’s second cousin, Toshio, who passionately believes in people being more in tune with nature as it mutually benefits both. However as the memories keep on coming, we also see the more painful memories come to the fore such as the first time she was slapped by her father as punishment, her inability to grasp maths and a budding love of acting getting quashed by life constantly intervening.
But what does all this mean? Is there a reason her mind keeps her awash with wave after wave of nostalgia both good and bad? Could it be that her holiday has unlocked some yearning within her that city life just can’t sate?

If anyone could (or should) be brought forward as a shining example why animation should be regarded as an art form thar deserves respect, it’s Isao Takahata. By this point in the history of Studio Ghibli, both he and Hayao Miyazaki had fallen into something of a perfect rhythm with Miyazaki delivering achingly poignant flights of fancy that often felt like balm for the soul. However, while his colleague was effortlessly delivering groundbreaking fantasy, Takahata’s wheelhouse seemed to be delving into much more personal affairs, choosing not to hide behind fantastical creatures and mythical world but rather rubbing our face in extraordinarily human stories. After witnessing his previous movie – the unrelentingly moving story of two children slowly dying of malnutrition after the war – I was a little hesitant to approach Only Yesterday, if only because I was understandably gunshy about ugly crying my way through another film. However, after making it through, I found myself once again stunned at how these Ghibli guys know how to write girls so well.
When stripped down to the bare bones, Takahata is expertly detailing the growing divide that occurs as we gradually creep into adulthood that often results in some sort of spiritual upheaval as the added pressures of life make us long for the people we use to be. As Taeko experiences the simple but rewarding pleasures of tending the land, she lists all the growing pains and little traumas that occur that present a billion questions of what might have been. Be it the numerous blush-inducing issues that plague her that stretch from her inability to speak to a crush that rumour suggests actually likes her, to the horror stricken panic of having any of the boys think she’s skipping P.E. because she may be her period (thirty years before Pixar’s Turning Red, by the way), you feel them as if you’ve experienced them yourself – which is quite the feat considering I’m a white male.

Also creating little, but devestating wounds are the various cuts inflicted by a heavy hand or a careless word of a relative. The only time she’s slapped by her father is because of the shame she inadvertently causes by walking outside without shoes (a sign of poverty in post-war Japan) and her inability to grasp fractions leads her to hearing her mother describe her as “not normal” to her sisters.
But as ripe for drama as this all is, you may be wondering why Isao Takahata bothered to render any of this with countless painstakingly drawn drawings at all and simply just make a normal damn film – well if the director has a deft touch with the story, wait until you see the subtle, yet completely beguiling, tricks he does with the animation. While the sections of the film that take place in the 80s have a more brightly coloured and realistic look about them (it’s initially odd to see Anime characters with nasolabial folds), all the memories of the 60s look less realistic, with the edges of the frame kitted out withba white haze as if we really are viewing these events through the gauze of memory. Some may still wonder while you’d employ a small army of animators to simply draw endless frames of people talking, but the subtly of the “acting” is as superb as the voice work. And then, just as I let my guard down, Studio Ghibli nails me square in the feels once again with a sequence that see Taeko galvanised into making a momentous decision thanks to the memories of herself and her childhood friends urging her to make the leap of faith.

While Takahata’s insistence of only deviating from reality when the story truly calls for it may leave seekers of more fantastical Ghibli fare yearning for a big fuzzy animal or a flying sequence, Only Yesterday remains an impressively controlled piece of work that still manages to yank on our heart strings while mercifully leaving its youthful cast alive this time – seriously guys, Grave Of The Fireflies really did a number on me. Still, watching someone try to find their place in a modern world that proves to be an ill fit for them is still plenty emotional enough – for I too find pineapples a letdown and am randomly haunted by memories of my childhood…
🌟🌟🌟🌟

Only Yesterday (1991) – Review

Just because your motion picture is made up of thousands upon thousands of individually hand-drawn pictures, it doesn’t mean you can’t be subtle with the medium you’re working in. While various purveyors of animation – from Walt Disney to Ralph Bakshi to Don Bluth to Katsuhiro Otomo – all utilised the artform to realise everything from lush, impossible fantasy kingdoms to dystopian futures, leave it to Studio Ghibli’s Isao Takahata to do something entirely different.
There’s not many people who would think to use animation to tell a straight drama without a single flying dragon or talking animal in sight, but anyone who saw Takahata’s emotion searing Grave Of The Fireflies (aka. one of the saddest films in the world) already knew that the director didn’t approach the medium in a way quite unlike anybody else. Harnessing numerous animators and countless drawings, Only Yesterday is a relatively simple story about a twenty seven year-old woman thinking back to her childhood as she embarks on a farming holiday, but the emotions it manages to evoke proves just how magical animation can be – even when it isn’t overtly featuring magic.

The year is 1982 and we meet umarried office worker Taeko Okajima as she’s about to go on a two week vacation to the rural countryside in order to help her sister’s in-laws with their safflower harvest. As she leaves Tokyo to Yamagata on a sleeper train she starts experiencing vivid memories from when she was a ten year-old girl back in 1966 that bring back powerful emotions from that time. The youngest of three, Taeko was brought up by somewhat flinty mother and a near-monosylabic father who often struggled with some of their daughter’s various shortcomings. However, as Taeko’s memories come thick and fast, we’re treated to a bunch of experiences that not only stuck with her with absolutely clarity, but seemingly helped make her the woman she would grow up to be. But who is that, exactly?
As she recalls such moments as the first time her family tried pineapple, her baseball playing first crush and the dreaded onset of her first period, Taeko discovers a sort of peace while working on a farm that she rarely seems to find in the city. She’s also starts to form something of a bond with her brother-in-law’s second cousin, Toshio, who passionately believes in people being more in tune with nature as it mutually benefits both. However as the memories keep on coming, we also see the more painful memories come to the fore such as the first time she was slapped by her father as punishment, her inability to grasp maths and a budding love of acting getting quashed by life constantly intervening.
But what does all this mean? Is there a reason her mind keeps her awash with wave after wave of nostalgia both good and bad? Could it be that her holiday has unlocked some yearning within her that city life just can’t sate?

If anyone could (or should) be brought forward as a shining example why animation should be regarded as an art form thar deserves respect, it’s Isao Takahata. By this point in the history of Studio Ghibli, both he and Hayao Miyazaki had fallen into something of a perfect rhythm with Miyazaki delivering achingly poignant flights of fancy that often felt like balm for the soul. However, while his colleague was effortlessly delivering groundbreaking fantasy, Takahata’s wheelhouse seemed to be delving into much more personal affairs, choosing not to hide behind fantastical creatures and mythical world but rather rubbing our face in extraordinarily human stories. After witnessing his previous movie – the unrelentingly moving story of two children slowly dying of malnutrition after the war – I was a little hesitant to approach Only Yesterday, if only because I was understandably gunshy about ugly crying my way through another film. However, after making it through, I found myself once again stunned at how these Ghibli guys know how to write girls so well.
When stripped down to the bare bones, Takahata is expertly detailing the growing divide that occurs as we gradually creep into adulthood that often results in some sort of spiritual upheaval as the added pressures of life make us long for the people we use to be. As Taeko experiences the simple but rewarding pleasures of tending the land, she lists all the growing pains and little traumas that occur that present a billion questions of what might have been. Be it the numerous blush-inducing issues that plague her that stretch from her inability to speak to a crush that rumour suggests actually likes her, to the horror stricken panic of having any of the boys think she’s skipping P.E. because she may be her period (thirty years before Pixar’s Turning Red, by the way), you feel them as if you’ve experienced them yourself – which is quite the feat considering I’m a white male.

Also creating little, but devestating wounds are the various cuts inflicted by a heavy hand or a careless word of a relative. The only time she’s slapped by her father is because of the shame she inadvertently causes by walking outside without shoes (a sign of poverty in post-war Japan) and her inability to grasp fractions leads her to hearing her mother describe her as “not normal” to her sisters.
But as ripe for drama as this all is, you may be wondering why Isao Takahata bothered to render any of this with countless painstakingly drawn drawings at all and simply just make a normal damn film – well if the director has a deft touch with the story, wait until you see the subtle, yet completely beguiling, tricks he does with the animation. While the sections of the film that take place in the 80s have a more brightly coloured and realistic look about them (it’s initially odd to see Anime characters with nasolabial folds), all the memories of the 60s look less realistic, with the edges of the frame kitted out withba white haze as if we really are viewing these events through the gauze of memory. Some may still wonder while you’d employ a small army of animators to simply draw endless frames of people talking, but the subtly of the “acting” is as superb as the voice work. And then, just as I let my guard down, Studio Ghibli nails me square in the feels once again with a sequence that see Taeko galvanised into making a momentous decision thanks to the memories of herself and her childhood friends urging her to make the leap of faith.

While Takahata’s insistence of only deviating from reality when the story truly calls for it may leave seekers of more fantastical Ghibli fare yearning for a big fuzzy animal or a flying sequence, Only Yesterday remains an impressively controlled piece of work that still manages to yank on our heart strings while mercifully leaving its youthful cast alive this time – seriously guys, Grave Of The Fireflies really did a number on me. Still, watching someone try to find their place in a modern world that proves to be an ill fit for them is still plenty emotional enough – for I too find pineapples a letdown and am randomly haunted by memories of my childhood…
🌟🌟🌟🌟

Only Yesterday (1991) – Review

Just because your motion picture is made up of thousands upon thousands of individually hand-drawn pictures, it doesn’t mean you can’t be subtle with the medium you’re working in. While various purveyors of animation – from Walt Disney to Ralph Bakshi to Don Bluth to Katsuhiro Otomo – all utilised the artform to realise everything from lush, impossible fantasy kingdoms to dystopian futures, leave it to Studio Ghibli’s Isao Takahata to do something entirely different.
There’s not many people who would think to use animation to tell a straight drama without a single flying dragon or talking animal in sight, but anyone who saw Takahata’s emotion searing Grave Of The Fireflies (aka. one of the saddest films in the world) already knew that the director didn’t approach the medium in a way quite unlike anybody else. Harnessing numerous animators and countless drawings, Only Yesterday is a relatively simple story about a twenty seven year-old woman thinking back to her childhood as she embarks on a farming holiday, but the emotions it manages to evoke proves just how magical animation can be – even when it isn’t overtly featuring magic.

The year is 1982 and we meet umarried office worker Taeko Okajima as she’s about to go on a two week vacation to the rural countryside in order to help her sister’s in-laws with their safflower harvest. As she leaves Tokyo to Yamagata on a sleeper train she starts experiencing vivid memories from when she was a ten year-old girl back in 1966 that bring back powerful emotions from that time. The youngest of three, Taeko was brought up by somewhat flinty mother and a near-monosylabic father who often struggled with some of their daughter’s various shortcomings. However, as Taeko’s memories come thick and fast, we’re treated to a bunch of experiences that not only stuck with her with absolutely clarity, but seemingly helped make her the woman she would grow up to be. But who is that, exactly?
As she recalls such moments as the first time her family tried pineapple, her baseball playing first crush and the dreaded onset of her first period, Taeko discovers a sort of peace while working on a farm that she rarely seems to find in the city. She’s also starts to form something of a bond with her brother-in-law’s second cousin, Toshio, who passionately believes in people being more in tune with nature as it mutually benefits both. However as the memories keep on coming, we also see the more painful memories come to the fore such as the first time she was slapped by her father as punishment, her inability to grasp maths and a budding love of acting getting quashed by life constantly intervening.
But what does all this mean? Is there a reason her mind keeps her awash with wave after wave of nostalgia both good and bad? Could it be that her holiday has unlocked some yearning within her that city life just can’t sate?

If anyone could (or should) be brought forward as a shining example why animation should be regarded as an art form thar deserves respect, it’s Isao Takahata. By this point in the history of Studio Ghibli, both he and Hayao Miyazaki had fallen into something of a perfect rhythm with Miyazaki delivering achingly poignant flights of fancy that often felt like balm for the soul. However, while his colleague was effortlessly delivering groundbreaking fantasy, Takahata’s wheelhouse seemed to be delving into much more personal affairs, choosing not to hide behind fantastical creatures and mythical world but rather rubbing our face in extraordinarily human stories. After witnessing his previous movie – the unrelentingly moving story of two children slowly dying of malnutrition after the war – I was a little hesitant to approach Only Yesterday, if only because I was understandably gunshy about ugly crying my way through another film. However, after making it through, I found myself once again stunned at how these Ghibli guys know how to write girls so well.
When stripped down to the bare bones, Takahata is expertly detailing the growing divide that occurs as we gradually creep into adulthood that often results in some sort of spiritual upheaval as the added pressures of life make us long for the people we use to be. As Taeko experiences the simple but rewarding pleasures of tending the land, she lists all the growing pains and little traumas that occur that present a billion questions of what might have been. Be it the numerous blush-inducing issues that plague her that stretch from her inability to speak to a crush that rumour suggests actually likes her, to the horror stricken panic of having any of the boys think she’s skipping P.E. because she may be her period (thirty years before Pixar’s Turning Red, by the way), you feel them as if you’ve experienced them yourself – which is quite the feat considering I’m a white male.

Also creating little, but devestating wounds are the various cuts inflicted by a heavy hand or a careless word of a relative. The only time she’s slapped by her father is because of the shame she inadvertently causes by walking outside without shoes (a sign of poverty in post-war Japan) and her inability to grasp fractions leads her to hearing her mother describe her as “not normal” to her sisters.
But as ripe for drama as this all is, you may be wondering why Isao Takahata bothered to render any of this with countless painstakingly drawn drawings at all and simply just make a normal damn film – well if the director has a deft touch with the story, wait until you see the subtle, yet completely beguiling, tricks he does with the animation. While the sections of the film that take place in the 80s have a more brightly coloured and realistic look about them (it’s initially odd to see Anime characters with nasolabial folds), all the memories of the 60s look less realistic, with the edges of the frame kitted out withba white haze as if we really are viewing these events through the gauze of memory. Some may still wonder while you’d employ a small army of animators to simply draw endless frames of people talking, but the subtly of the “acting” is as superb as the voice work. And then, just as I let my guard down, Studio Ghibli nails me square in the feels once again with a sequence that see Taeko galvanised into making a momentous decision thanks to the memories of herself and her childhood friends urging her to make the leap of faith.

While Takahata’s insistence of only deviating from reality when the story truly calls for it may leave seekers of more fantastical Ghibli fare yearning for a big fuzzy animal or a flying sequence, Only Yesterday remains an impressively controlled piece of work that still manages to yank on our heart strings while mercifully leaving its youthful cast alive this time – seriously guys, Grave Of The Fireflies really did a number on me. Still, watching someone try to find their place in a modern world that proves to be an ill fit for them is still plenty emotional enough – for I too find pineapples a letdown and am randomly haunted by memories of my childhood…
🌟🌟🌟🌟

Only Yesterday (1991) – Review

Just because your motion picture is made up of thousands upon thousands of individually hand-drawn pictures, it doesn’t mean you can’t be subtle with the medium you’re working in. While various purveyors of animation – from Walt Disney to Ralph Bakshi to Don Bluth to Katsuhiro Otomo – all utilised the artform to realise everything from lush, impossible fantasy kingdoms to dystopian futures, leave it to Studio Ghibli’s Isao Takahata to do something entirely different.
There’s not many people who would think to use animation to tell a straight drama without a single flying dragon or talking animal in sight, but anyone who saw Takahata’s emotion searing Grave Of The Fireflies (aka. one of the saddest films in the world) already knew that the director didn’t approach the medium in a way quite unlike anybody else. Harnessing numerous animators and countless drawings, Only Yesterday is a relatively simple story about a twenty seven year-old woman thinking back to her childhood as she embarks on a farming holiday, but the emotions it manages to evoke proves just how magical animation can be – even when it isn’t overtly featuring magic.

The year is 1982 and we meet umarried office worker Taeko Okajima as she’s about to go on a two week vacation to the rural countryside in order to help her sister’s in-laws with their safflower harvest. As she leaves Tokyo to Yamagata on a sleeper train she starts experiencing vivid memories from when she was a ten year-old girl back in 1966 that bring back powerful emotions from that time. The youngest of three, Taeko was brought up by somewhat flinty mother and a near-monosylabic father who often struggled with some of their daughter’s various shortcomings. However, as Taeko’s memories come thick and fast, we’re treated to a bunch of experiences that not only stuck with her with absolutely clarity, but seemingly helped make her the woman she would grow up to be. But who is that, exactly?
As she recalls such moments as the first time her family tried pineapple, her baseball playing first crush and the dreaded onset of her first period, Taeko discovers a sort of peace while working on a farm that she rarely seems to find in the city. She’s also starts to form something of a bond with her brother-in-law’s second cousin, Toshio, who passionately believes in people being more in tune with nature as it mutually benefits both. However as the memories keep on coming, we also see the more painful memories come to the fore such as the first time she was slapped by her father as punishment, her inability to grasp maths and a budding love of acting getting quashed by life constantly intervening.
But what does all this mean? Is there a reason her mind keeps her awash with wave after wave of nostalgia both good and bad? Could it be that her holiday has unlocked some yearning within her that city life just can’t sate?

If anyone could (or should) be brought forward as a shining example why animation should be regarded as an art form thar deserves respect, it’s Isao Takahata. By this point in the history of Studio Ghibli, both he and Hayao Miyazaki had fallen into something of a perfect rhythm with Miyazaki delivering achingly poignant flights of fancy that often felt like balm for the soul. However, while his colleague was effortlessly delivering groundbreaking fantasy, Takahata’s wheelhouse seemed to be delving into much more personal affairs, choosing not to hide behind fantastical creatures and mythical world but rather rubbing our face in extraordinarily human stories. After witnessing his previous movie – the unrelentingly moving story of two children slowly dying of malnutrition after the war – I was a little hesitant to approach Only Yesterday, if only because I was understandably gunshy about ugly crying my way through another film. However, after making it through, I found myself once again stunned at how these Ghibli guys know how to write girls so well.
When stripped down to the bare bones, Takahata is expertly detailing the growing divide that occurs as we gradually creep into adulthood that often results in some sort of spiritual upheaval as the added pressures of life make us long for the people we use to be. As Taeko experiences the simple but rewarding pleasures of tending the land, she lists all the growing pains and little traumas that occur that present a billion questions of what might have been. Be it the numerous blush-inducing issues that plague her that stretch from her inability to speak to a crush that rumour suggests actually likes her, to the horror stricken panic of having any of the boys think she’s skipping P.E. because she may be her period (thirty years before Pixar’s Turning Red, by the way), you feel them as if you’ve experienced them yourself – which is quite the feat considering I’m a white male.

Also creating little, but devestating wounds are the various cuts inflicted by a heavy hand or a careless word of a relative. The only time she’s slapped by her father is because of the shame she inadvertently causes by walking outside without shoes (a sign of poverty in post-war Japan) and her inability to grasp fractions leads her to hearing her mother describe her as “not normal” to her sisters.
But as ripe for drama as this all is, you may be wondering why Isao Takahata bothered to render any of this with countless painstakingly drawn drawings at all and simply just make a normal damn film – well if the director has a deft touch with the story, wait until you see the subtle, yet completely beguiling, tricks he does with the animation. While the sections of the film that take place in the 80s have a more brightly coloured and realistic look about them (it’s initially odd to see Anime characters with nasolabial folds), all the memories of the 60s look less realistic, with the edges of the frame kitted out withba white haze as if we really are viewing these events through the gauze of memory. Some may still wonder while you’d employ a small army of animators to simply draw endless frames of people talking, but the subtly of the “acting” is as superb as the voice work. And then, just as I let my guard down, Studio Ghibli nails me square in the feels once again with a sequence that see Taeko galvanised into making a momentous decision thanks to the memories of herself and her childhood friends urging her to make the leap of faith.

While Takahata’s insistence of only deviating from reality when the story truly calls for it may leave seekers of more fantastical Ghibli fare yearning for a big fuzzy animal or a flying sequence, Only Yesterday remains an impressively controlled piece of work that still manages to yank on our heart strings while mercifully leaving its youthful cast alive this time – seriously guys, Grave Of The Fireflies really did a number on me. Still, watching someone try to find their place in a modern world that proves to be an ill fit for them is still plenty emotional enough – for I too find pineapples a letdown and am randomly haunted by memories of my childhood…
🌟🌟🌟🌟

Only Yesterday (1991) – Review

Just because your motion picture is made up of thousands upon thousands of individually hand-drawn pictures, it doesn’t mean you can’t be subtle with the medium you’re working in. While various purveyors of animation – from Walt Disney to Ralph Bakshi to Don Bluth to Katsuhiro Otomo – all utilised the artform to realise everything from lush, impossible fantasy kingdoms to dystopian futures, leave it to Studio Ghibli’s Isao Takahata to do something entirely different.
There’s not many people who would think to use animation to tell a straight drama without a single flying dragon or talking animal in sight, but anyone who saw Takahata’s emotion searing Grave Of The Fireflies (aka. one of the saddest films in the world) already knew that the director didn’t approach the medium in a way quite unlike anybody else. Harnessing numerous animators and countless drawings, Only Yesterday is a relatively simple story about a twenty seven year-old woman thinking back to her childhood as she embarks on a farming holiday, but the emotions it manages to evoke proves just how magical animation can be – even when it isn’t overtly featuring magic.

The year is 1982 and we meet umarried office worker Taeko Okajima as she’s about to go on a two week vacation to the rural countryside in order to help her sister’s in-laws with their safflower harvest. As she leaves Tokyo to Yamagata on a sleeper train she starts experiencing vivid memories from when she was a ten year-old girl back in 1966 that bring back powerful emotions from that time. The youngest of three, Taeko was brought up by somewhat flinty mother and a near-monosylabic father who often struggled with some of their daughter’s various shortcomings. However, as Taeko’s memories come thick and fast, we’re treated to a bunch of experiences that not only stuck with her with absolutely clarity, but seemingly helped make her the woman she would grow up to be. But who is that, exactly?
As she recalls such moments as the first time her family tried pineapple, her baseball playing first crush and the dreaded onset of her first period, Taeko discovers a sort of peace while working on a farm that she rarely seems to find in the city. She’s also starts to form something of a bond with her brother-in-law’s second cousin, Toshio, who passionately believes in people being more in tune with nature as it mutually benefits both. However as the memories keep on coming, we also see the more painful memories come to the fore such as the first time she was slapped by her father as punishment, her inability to grasp maths and a budding love of acting getting quashed by life constantly intervening.
But what does all this mean? Is there a reason her mind keeps her awash with wave after wave of nostalgia both good and bad? Could it be that her holiday has unlocked some yearning within her that city life just can’t sate?

If anyone could (or should) be brought forward as a shining example why animation should be regarded as an art form thar deserves respect, it’s Isao Takahata. By this point in the history of Studio Ghibli, both he and Hayao Miyazaki had fallen into something of a perfect rhythm with Miyazaki delivering achingly poignant flights of fancy that often felt like balm for the soul. However, while his colleague was effortlessly delivering groundbreaking fantasy, Takahata’s wheelhouse seemed to be delving into much more personal affairs, choosing not to hide behind fantastical creatures and mythical world but rather rubbing our face in extraordinarily human stories. After witnessing his previous movie – the unrelentingly moving story of two children slowly dying of malnutrition after the war – I was a little hesitant to approach Only Yesterday, if only because I was understandably gunshy about ugly crying my way through another film. However, after making it through, I found myself once again stunned at how these Ghibli guys know how to write girls so well.
When stripped down to the bare bones, Takahata is expertly detailing the growing divide that occurs as we gradually creep into adulthood that often results in some sort of spiritual upheaval as the added pressures of life make us long for the people we use to be. As Taeko experiences the simple but rewarding pleasures of tending the land, she lists all the growing pains and little traumas that occur that present a billion questions of what might have been. Be it the numerous blush-inducing issues that plague her that stretch from her inability to speak to a crush that rumour suggests actually likes her, to the horror stricken panic of having any of the boys think she’s skipping P.E. because she may be her period (thirty years before Pixar’s Turning Red, by the way), you feel them as if you’ve experienced them yourself – which is quite the feat considering I’m a white male.

Also creating little, but devestating wounds are the various cuts inflicted by a heavy hand or a careless word of a relative. The only time she’s slapped by her father is because of the shame she inadvertently causes by walking outside without shoes (a sign of poverty in post-war Japan) and her inability to grasp fractions leads her to hearing her mother describe her as “not normal” to her sisters.
But as ripe for drama as this all is, you may be wondering why Isao Takahata bothered to render any of this with countless painstakingly drawn drawings at all and simply just make a normal damn film – well if the director has a deft touch with the story, wait until you see the subtle, yet completely beguiling, tricks he does with the animation. While the sections of the film that take place in the 80s have a more brightly coloured and realistic look about them (it’s initially odd to see Anime characters with nasolabial folds), all the memories of the 60s look less realistic, with the edges of the frame kitted out withba white haze as if we really are viewing these events through the gauze of memory. Some may still wonder while you’d employ a small army of animators to simply draw endless frames of people talking, but the subtly of the “acting” is as superb as the voice work. And then, just as I let my guard down, Studio Ghibli nails me square in the feels once again with a sequence that see Taeko galvanised into making a momentous decision thanks to the memories of herself and her childhood friends urging her to make the leap of faith.

While Takahata’s insistence of only deviating from reality when the story truly calls for it may leave seekers of more fantastical Ghibli fare yearning for a big fuzzy animal or a flying sequence, Only Yesterday remains an impressively controlled piece of work that still manages to yank on our heart strings while mercifully leaving its youthful cast alive this time – seriously guys, Grave Of The Fireflies really did a number on me. Still, watching someone try to find their place in a modern world that proves to be an ill fit for them is still plenty emotional enough – for I too find pineapples a letdown and am randomly haunted by memories of my childhood…
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Anime food has a unique power to make viewers hungry even when they are full. Whether it is Naruto’s ramen, One Piece meat-on-the-bone or comforting Studio Ghibli meals, these dishes combine perfect visuals with emotional storytelling to create unforgettable cravings https://english.mathrubhumi.com/lifestyle/food/why-anime-food-looks-better-than-real-food-naruto-ramen-one-piece-recipes-p2ftqzge?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #AnimeFood #Naruto #OnePiece #StudioGhibli #FoodLovers

Anime food has a unique power to make viewers hungry even when they are full. Whether it is Naruto’s ramen, One Piece meat-on-the-bone or comforting Studio Ghibli meals, these dishes combine perfect visuals with emotional storytelling to create unforgettable cravings https://english.mathrubhumi.com/lifestyle/food/why-anime-food-looks-better-than-real-food-naruto-ramen-one-piece-recipes-p2ftqzge?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #AnimeFood #Naruto #OnePiece #StudioGhibli #FoodLovers

Anime food has a unique power to make viewers hungry even when they are full. Whether it is Naruto’s ramen, One Piece meat-on-the-bone or comforting Studio Ghibli meals, these dishes combine perfect visuals with emotional storytelling to create unforgettable cravings https://english.mathrubhumi.com/lifestyle/food/why-anime-food-looks-better-than-real-food-naruto-ramen-one-piece-recipes-p2ftqzge?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #AnimeFood #Naruto #OnePiece #StudioGhibli #FoodLovers

Anime food has a unique power to make viewers hungry even when they are full. Whether it is Naruto’s ramen, One Piece meat-on-the-bone or comforting Studio Ghibli meals, these dishes combine perfect visuals with emotional storytelling to create unforgettable cravings https://english.mathrubhumi.com/lifestyle/food/why-anime-food-looks-better-than-real-food-naruto-ramen-one-piece-recipes-p2ftqzge?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #AnimeFood #Naruto #OnePiece #StudioGhibli #FoodLovers

Anime food has a unique power to make viewers hungry even when they are full. Whether it is Naruto’s ramen, One Piece meat-on-the-bone or comforting Studio Ghibli meals, these dishes combine perfect visuals with emotional storytelling to create unforgettable cravings https://english.mathrubhumi.com/lifestyle/food/why-anime-food-looks-better-than-real-food-naruto-ramen-one-piece-recipes-p2ftqzge?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #AnimeFood #Naruto #OnePiece #StudioGhibli #FoodLovers

Studio Ghibli has announced that Nippon TV exec Kenichi Yoda will take over as President & CEO, succeeding Hiroyuki Fukuda.

#StudioGhibli #KenichiYoda #HiroyukiFukuda
https://www.animationmagazine.net/2026/05/kenichi-yoda-taking-over-as-studio-ghibli-president-ceo-in-june/

Studio Ghibli has announced that Nippon TV exec Kenichi Yoda will take over as President & CEO, succeeding Hiroyuki Fukuda.

#StudioGhibli #KenichiYoda #HiroyukiFukuda
https://www.animationmagazine.net/2026/05/kenichi-yoda-taking-over-as-studio-ghibli-president-ceo-in-june/

Studio Ghibli has announced that Nippon TV exec Kenichi Yoda will take over as President & CEO, succeeding Hiroyuki Fukuda.

#StudioGhibli #KenichiYoda #HiroyukiFukuda
https://www.animationmagazine.net/2026/05/kenichi-yoda-taking-over-as-studio-ghibli-president-ceo-in-june/

تقديم موعد عرض فيلم The Legend of Zelda إلى أبريل 2027 بدأتصويرالفيلم فيNew Zealand خلال نوفمبر 2025. #games #ألعاب # #Legendofzelda #Link #Nintendo #ShigeruMiyamato #StudioGhibli #Zelda https://www.saudigamer.com/after-being-delayed-the-legend-of-zelda-movie-has-now-been-brought-forward/

Cosmo | Lost Sheroes | Makiko Futaki – Die Anime-Zeichnerin von Studio Ghibli
https://www1.wdr.de/mediathek/audio/cosmo/lost-sheroes/audio-makiko-futaki-die-anime-zeichnerin-von-studio-ghibli-100.html

#AudioMMM #MakikoFukaki #StudioGhibli #Ghibli #Gainax #Akira #Anime #二木真希子

Cosmo | Lost Sheroes | Makiko Futaki – Die Anime-Zeichnerin von Studio Ghibli
https://www1.wdr.de/mediathek/audio/cosmo/lost-sheroes/audio-makiko-futaki-die-anime-zeichnerin-von-studio-ghibli-100.html

#AudioMMM #MakikoFukaki #StudioGhibli #Ghibli #Gainax #Akira #Anime #二木真希子

What I'm listening to while I work...

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4pQ0C9ZbvM&list=RDzTUoRSB6SFs&index=2

#StudioGhibli #VioletEvergarden #Frieren #ApothecaryDiaries #Soundtrack #Music

What I'm listening to while I work...

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4pQ0C9ZbvM&list=RDzTUoRSB6SFs&index=2

#StudioGhibli #VioletEvergarden #Frieren #ApothecaryDiaries #Soundtrack #Music

What I'm listening to while I work...

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4pQ0C9ZbvM&list=RDzTUoRSB6SFs&index=2

#StudioGhibli #VioletEvergarden #Frieren #ApothecaryDiaries #Soundtrack #Music

What I'm listening to while I work...

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4pQ0C9ZbvM&list=RDzTUoRSB6SFs&index=2

#StudioGhibli #VioletEvergarden #Frieren #ApothecaryDiaries #Soundtrack #Music

GKIDS and Fathom Entertainment Return to U.S. Cinemas Nationwide with Seven Feature Lineup from Legendary Studio Ghibli

Tickets are now on sale for STUDIO GHIBLI FEST 2026, featuring a seven-film lineup from the esteemed animated catalog of Studio Ghibli.

http://lesleysanimeandmangacorner.com/2026/05/15/gkids-and-fathom-entertainment-return-to-u-s-cinemas-nationwide-with-seven-feature-lineup-from-legendary-studio-ghibli/

#Anime, #StudioGhibli, #GKids, #FathomEntertainment

GKIDS and Fathom Entertainment Return to U.S. Cinemas Nationwide with Seven Feature Lineup from Legendary Studio Ghibli

Tickets are now on sale for STUDIO GHIBLI FEST 2026, featuring a seven-film lineup from the esteemed animated catalog of Studio Ghibli.

http://lesleysanimeandmangacorner.com/2026/05/15/gkids-and-fathom-entertainment-return-to-u-s-cinemas-nationwide-with-seven-feature-lineup-from-legendary-studio-ghibli/

#Anime, #StudioGhibli, #GKids, #FathomEntertainment

GKIDS and Fathom Entertainment Return to U.S. Cinemas Nationwide with Seven Feature Lineup from Legendary Studio Ghibli

Tickets are now on sale for STUDIO GHIBLI FEST 2026, featuring a seven-film lineup from the esteemed animated catalog of Studio Ghibli.

http://lesleysanimeandmangacorner.com/2026/05/15/gkids-and-fathom-entertainment-return-to-u-s-cinemas-nationwide-with-seven-feature-lineup-from-legendary-studio-ghibli/

#Anime, #StudioGhibli, #GKids, #FathomEntertainment

GKIDS and Fathom Entertainment Return to U.S. Cinemas Nationwide with Seven Feature Lineup from Legendary Studio Ghibli

Tickets are now on sale for STUDIO GHIBLI FEST 2026, featuring a seven-film lineup from the esteemed animated catalog of Studio Ghibli.

http://lesleysanimeandmangacorner.com/2026/05/15/gkids-and-fathom-entertainment-return-to-u-s-cinemas-nationwide-with-seven-feature-lineup-from-legendary-studio-ghibli/

#Anime, #StudioGhibli, #GKids, #FathomEntertainment

GKIDS and Fathom Entertainment Return to U.S. Cinemas Nationwide with Seven Feature Lineup from Legendary Studio Ghibli

Tickets are now on sale for STUDIO GHIBLI FEST 2026, featuring a seven-film lineup from the esteemed animated catalog of Studio Ghibli.

http://lesleysanimeandmangacorner.com/2026/05/15/gkids-and-fathom-entertainment-return-to-u-s-cinemas-nationwide-with-seven-feature-lineup-from-legendary-studio-ghibli/

#Anime, #StudioGhibli, #GKids, #FathomEntertainment

This evening's viewing: more #StudioGhibli magic with the utterly gorgeous Laputa, Castle in the Sky

.

#film #animation #LaputaCastleInTheSky #AnimatedFilm #ClassicFilm #1980sFilm

This evening's viewing: more #StudioGhibli magic with the utterly gorgeous Laputa, Castle in the Sky

.

#film #animation #LaputaCastleInTheSky #AnimatedFilm #ClassicFilm #1980sFilm

This evening's viewing: more #StudioGhibli magic with the utterly gorgeous Laputa, Castle in the Sky

.

#film #animation #LaputaCastleInTheSky #AnimatedFilm #ClassicFilm #1980sFilm

This evening's viewing: more #StudioGhibli magic with the utterly gorgeous Laputa, Castle in the Sky

.

#film #animation #LaputaCastleInTheSky #AnimatedFilm #ClassicFilm #1980sFilm

This evening's viewing: more #StudioGhibli magic with the utterly gorgeous Laputa, Castle in the Sky

.

#film #animation #LaputaCastleInTheSky #AnimatedFilm #ClassicFilm #1980sFilm

Moving to a new instance is a sly excuse to write an #introduction post (I never did one before).

I'm Drew, pleased to meet you. I'm male, middle aged, child-free, a Brit but don't feel like one, living in 🇵🇭 for the last few years. I'm #neurodivergent with quite severe #CPTSD. You can ask me about it, I'm trying to get better at discussing it. I'm married, I work in #tech and I love animals and nature.

I post about (takes deep breath): #DogsOfMastodon #WebDev #Linux #Fedora #RaspberryPi #Apple #NoAI #FuckAI #BanAI #Enshittification #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #ADHD #ChildhoodTrauma #MentalHealth #Stroke #PTSD #ModelRailway #NGauge #Philippines #SilentSunday #Bookstodon #Music

Edit: Almost forgot! I have a single-page personal profile website at https://drewtowler.me which expands on all this.

Edit: Other things I like but probably won't post about: #OldMaps #AnimeArt #StudioGhibli

Moving to a new instance is a sly excuse to write an #introduction post (I never did one before).

I'm Drew, pleased to meet you. I'm male, middle aged, child-free, a Brit but don't feel like one, living in 🇵🇭 for the last few years. I'm #neurodivergent with quite severe #CPTSD. You can ask me about it, I'm trying to get better at discussing it. I'm married, I work in #tech and I love animals and nature.

I post about (takes deep breath): #DogsOfMastodon #WebDev #Linux #Fedora #RaspberryPi #Apple #NoAI #FuckAI #BanAI #Enshittification #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #ADHD #ChildhoodTrauma #MentalHealth #Stroke #PTSD #ModelRailway #NGauge #Philippines #SilentSunday #Bookstodon #Music

Edit: Almost forgot! I have a single-page personal profile website at https://drewtowler.me which expands on all this.

Edit: Other things I like but probably won't post about: #OldMaps #AnimeArt #StudioGhibli

Moving to a new instance is a sly excuse to write an #introduction post (I never did one before).

I'm Drew, pleased to meet you. I'm male, middle aged, child-free, a Brit but don't feel like one, living in 🇵🇭 for the last few years. I'm #neurodivergent with quite severe #CPTSD. You can ask me about it, I'm trying to get better at discussing it. I'm married, I work in #tech and I love animals and nature.

I post about (takes deep breath): #DogsOfMastodon #WebDev #Linux #Fedora #RaspberryPi #Apple #NoAI #FuckAI #BanAI #Enshittification #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #ADHD #ChildhoodTrauma #MentalHealth #Stroke #PTSD #ModelRailway #NGauge #Philippines #SilentSunday #Bookstodon #Music

Edit: Almost forgot! I have a single-page personal profile website at https://drewtowler.me which expands on all this.

Edit: Other things I like but probably won't post about: #OldMaps #AnimeArt #StudioGhibli

Moving to a new instance is a sly excuse to write an #introduction post (I never did one before).

I'm Drew, pleased to meet you. I'm male, middle aged, child-free, a Brit but don't feel like one, living in 🇵🇭 for the last few years. I'm #neurodivergent with quite severe #CPTSD. You can ask me about it, I'm trying to get better at discussing it. I'm married, I work in #tech and I love animals and nature.

I post about (takes deep breath): #DogsOfMastodon #WebDev #Linux #Fedora #RaspberryPi #Apple #NoAI #FuckAI #BanAI #Enshittification #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #ADHD #ChildhoodTrauma #MentalHealth #Stroke #PTSD #ModelRailway #NGauge #Philippines #SilentSunday #Bookstodon #Music

Edit: Almost forgot! I have a single-page personal profile website at https://drewtowler.me which expands on all this.

Edit: Other things I like but probably won't post about: #OldMaps #AnimeArt #StudioGhibli

Moving to a new instance is a sly excuse to write an #introduction post (I never did one before).

I'm Drew, pleased to meet you. I'm male, middle aged, child-free, a Brit but don't feel like one, living in 🇵🇭 for the last few years. I'm #neurodivergent with quite severe #CPTSD. You can ask me about it, I'm trying to get better at discussing it. I'm married, I work in #tech and I love animals and nature.

I post about (takes deep breath): #DogsOfMastodon #WebDev #Linux #Fedora #RaspberryPi #Apple #NoAI #FuckAI #BanAI #Enshittification #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #ADHD #ChildhoodTrauma #MentalHealth #Stroke #PTSD #ModelRailway #NGauge #Philippines #SilentSunday #Bookstodon #Music

Edit: Almost forgot! I have a single-page personal profile website at https://drewtowler.me which expands on all this.

Edit: Other things I like but probably won't post about: #OldMaps #AnimeArt #StudioGhibli

SOL.de | Diese märchenhafte Stadt im Elsass inspirierte einen der größten Anime-Klassiker
https://www.sol.de/unterhaltung/diese-maerchenhafte-stadt-im-elsass-inspirierte-einen-der-groessten-anime-klassiker,701094.html

#Colmar #Ghibli #StudioGhibli #DasWandelndeSchloss #ハウルの動く城

SOL.de | Diese märchenhafte Stadt im Elsass inspirierte einen der größten Anime-Klassiker
https://www.sol.de/unterhaltung/diese-maerchenhafte-stadt-im-elsass-inspirierte-einen-der-groessten-anime-klassiker,701094.html

#Colmar #Ghibli #StudioGhibli #DasWandelndeSchloss #ハウルの動く城

37 Years Later, Studio Ghibli Producer Resolves a Beloved Fantasy’s Biggest Mystery

Studio Ghibli is a renowned animation studio in Japan, known for its beautifully crafted animated films, rich storytelling,…
#NewsBeep #News #Movies #Entertainment #Kiki'sDeliveryService #RegularNews #StudioGhibli #UK #UnitedKingdom
https://www.newsbeep.com/uk/579911/

Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) – Review

By the end of the 80s, Studio Ghibli was cooking, creatively speaking, but was still finding it tough to get the appropriate amount of traction at the box office. While disscussing something as crass as money when dealing with the type of creative alchemy that have given audiences back to back movies that casually enriched the soul, the simple fact of the matter is, Ghibli was still in its relative infancy and anime had yet to make that relentless, worldwide breakout that still wouldn’t occur for a few couple of years yet. However, with Kiki’s Delivery Service, the studio would finally enjoy financial success to go with the fact that in under a decade, they’d been doling out straight-up masterpieces while other animation houses (cough * Disney * cough) had noticably struggled during the decade.
Let’s not forget that Ghibli released both My Neighbour Totoro and Grave Of The Fireflies in the same year, a feat that showed the emotional dexterity of filmmakers who delivered polar opposite assaults on our emotional well-being. But what did it take to help the house of Totoro get flush? Nothing much, just a thirteen year-old witch and a flying broom.

In a world where witches live alongside humans in harmony despite being relatively rare, we meet Kiki, a thirteen year-old girl who decides its time for her to attempt the tradition all witches her age must do – leave home and live an independent life for a year. While that seems a little much to ask any child, Kiki not only is kind and resourceful, but she has the ability to soar through the sky on her broom and has Jiji, her feline familiar, to keep her company. However, after leaving home she soon encounters a number of minor obstacles such as another, pretentious witch and a rain storm that causes her to first drift off course and then take refuge in a box car until the rain chooses to relent.
However, upon waking up, Kiki finds that she and Jiji have arrived in the city of Koriko and decides to stay and try to make a life for herself – but while she’s enamored of the view of the ocean that she has, her small town upbringing leaves her unprepared for how tough life and lonely can be in a bustling city. Still, the plucky child manages to find a place to live with a kindly woman and her husband who own a bakery and so figures out how to channel her paranormal talents into a form of self employment.
Using her talents of flying on her broomstick, Kiki starts up her own small scale delivery service as she can simply zip across the sky with a parcel and drop it off at it’s destination in no time at all. However, despite the kindness of a lot of her early customers and the constant attention of a local boy named Tombo, Kiki soon finds that forging a life in a big city can be fairly trying and as isolation and depression sets in, she finds that some of her witchy gifts are starting to leave her as the day to day pressures take their toll.

The irony of Ghibli’s first financially successful film being about a thirteen year-old going out and starting her own business isn’t lost on me, but there was always a danger that anything that attempted to follow Isao Takahata’s emotion-flaying Grave Of The Fireflies was going to come across as unbelievably twee – after all, the lethally sad wartime drama had been repeatedly hailed as one of the greatest animated movies ever made and proved to be an unforgettable experience. However, the magic of Hayao Miyazaki is that he’s able to benevolently weaponise things that are ridiculously nice in ways that make even the most basic plots warm your heart. For example, on the surface, My Neighbour Totoro wasn’t really about anything really and just followed the lives of two young girls who were excited about moving house and casually had low-energy adventures with a burly, sleepy forest spirit. And yet, despite having no antagonist, no jokes and no action sequences to speak of, Miyazaki turned such unassuming touch points into genuine chicken soup for the soul.
Well, with Kiki’s Delivery Service pulls off the same trick by adapting Eiko Kadono’s novel into yet another beguiling fantasy that, technically speaking, doesn’t fall back on the majority of animated tropes popular at the time. Once again, Miyazaki shrewdly tells another tale that not only proves that he accurately can put himself (and the viewer) in the shoes of a prepubescent girl encountering the world for the first time, but he impressively doesn’t make it creepy either. On top of this, the movie scatters numerous instances about the film that sees a lot of good advice and protection offered to Kiki by an arry of vastly different, but all equally strong women. From Osono the baker generously giving our heroine a place to stay, to the kindly old women who call Kiki to deliver pies baked with pure love to ungrateful grandchildren on their birthdays, to her encounter with jean-short wearing artist, Ursula who lives in the nearby forest, the young witch is given countless life advice by strong mature women to counteract the rather cold and vapid reaction she gets from girls her own age.

Once again, detailing how rich and glorious the animation is is now starting to feel somewhat redundant, but I’ll still say that no one in animation can animate grass blowing on a strong breeze quite like the hard working scribblers who work under the Ghibli umbrella – and if that looks good, imagine how good the flying stuff looks. Yep, Miyazaki’s documented weakness for all things that fly gets yet another outing, although its amusing that for all the high flying heroines that’s populated his films, Kiki has moments where her broom flying is actually quite ungainly due to external forces or the fact that has to improvise at one moment with a brush.
But for all the dazzling wonder and memorable characters (Jiji the sassy cat is effortlessly the movie’s MVP), once again it’s those deftly buried life lessons that hit the hardest and while Kiki finds that the confidence sapping effects of modern life is draining her powers as depression set in, it’s remarkable that Miyazaki’s simple message of being true to yourself is delivered so organically when other animation houses would probably base an entire six minute musical number about it. Most remarkable of all is the fact that I would argue that Kiki’s Delivery Service actually does low-key fantasy and growing pains even better than My Neighbour Totoro did and while that final rescue sequence seems a little tacked on compared to how organic Ghibli usually is, it makes the likes of Sabrina The Teenage Witch look like purest trash in comparison.

Zipping out from under the emotional heft of Grave Of The Fireflies with yet another delightful flight of fancy, Kiki’s Delivery Service not only cemented Ghibli’s standing at the box office, but delivered yet another overwhelmingly warm cinematic endevor to boot. While the titular witch may not have too many spells of her own, her movie spins more than enough magic to compensate.
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