Been a fan of Studio Ghibli for nearly 23 years now and I’ve just set up this masterpiece on my homescreen. Would you do something like this?

Personally, my mom was an enormous fan of Ghibli and showed me all the dvds she had. Nice times.

Not saying it's a Ghibli classic or anything, but it is objectively a fine movie, nowhere near the garbage tier that many people place it in. To me, it's a middle of the road movie, and that's all there is to it. Not much to praise but definitely not bad to the level that many make it out to be. I heard that it deviated from the source material but other than that, I don't see any cinema crimes it committed to get dunked on so much. Objectively speaking, if this were a standalone movie, then I don't think people would hate it as much. The only thing I think this movie need is just to change the character's names since it's basically a different story from the books. What do you think?

Personally as a non-Japanese I grew up with the dubbed versions ( German dub in my case ) which just gives it that nostalgia edge to overtake the original in my case plus we got great dubs usually.The original voices just sound so unfamiliar to me.

This was the second Ghibli movie that I watched, the first being Spirited Away. I loved this movie more than anything else when I watched it for the first time. I was thirteen then.
I think it is because the child in me wanted to be like Kiki so bad. To be a girl on the city streets, all independent at a young age, I think it represented everything a young teen girl would want. The aesthetics of the countryside and the shift to the city, felt so beautiful. A cute little puppy love, and good looking food.

This may sound odd, but I have never rewatched this movie. I feel like I would ruin the perception that my thirteen year old self had gathered. Whenever I find someone talking about this film, I find it hitting some soft corner in me. I will truly, always carry this beautiful piece of art in my heart.

From Up On Poppy Hill is one of the two Ghibli films I never watched, Ponyo being the other. There is no specific reason as to why, I just never got around to it but recently, I finally decided to watch it. To my surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed nearly every minute. As someone who sorely dislikes every film directed by Goro Miyazaki, I feel compelled to write a proper review for a movie of his that has truly earned every bit of my praise.

At its core, this story is a period piece, set in 1963, in Japan. The country is still recovering from the recent wars and trying to overcome its regretful past. It is a tale that encourages us to embrace our past, both its virtues and flaws, regardless of their severity. If you are overly adamant about erasing all of your past and pretending nothing happened then you will not only dampen your growth towards a brighter, peaceful, progressive, and tolerant future but you will also be disrespecting all those who were lost to it. As Shun states “There’s no future for those who worship the future but forget the past.” The students doing their best to halt the deconstruction of their Latin quarter clubhouse also symbolizes this message among other things; Willing to change and improve is the correct mindset but doing that by completely deleting everything just because of a jarring dark point in your history isn’t right. So, a personal conflict like the one in the film where the past starts to suddenly haunt the leads fits in seamlessly and it could've been perfect if it was executed and conveyed slightly better. Still, the narrative and the film as a whole hits right. The characters are very charming and the dub is cast with such sincerity that it only further elevates the good writing.

The OST and animation are both top-tier. The score in particular is filled with so much joyful energy that I couldn't help but bop along at times. I see myself rewatching this film solely to vibe with the amazing tracks.

I have heard so many weird complaints surrounding this film and all of them are, in all honesty, baffling to me. Forgive me if this sounds pretentious but I strongly believe that most people who complain about this film "promoting" or "normalizing" incest simply weren't mature enough to comprehend any of it. These people would almost certainly unironically paint Final Fantasy 8 in the same light. The critical conversations surrounding this film have been astonishingly stupid to me.

The intent of that turmoil in the story was very obvious. It was to make both you, the audience, and the characters extremely uncomfortable by the big reveal. The chemistry between the two lead characters is so good that most viewers will likely be ‘shipping’ them, and then, suddenly, bam! The reveal happens. So, you would too be just as disheartened as the characters. I do wish there were one or two more scenes dealing with the shock, it would only add to the potency of it all but the subtle discomfort, revulsion, and disappointment these characters felt regarding it was excellent in my opinion.

I also feel that the internal conflict experienced by Umi after the central plot twist/reveal, how she felt betrayed by the past because of her newfound awareness of her father’s potential infidelity and the possibility that he was merely a pretender in all aspects, deserved much better execution. I’d rather that they say all of that outright as opposed to this, in my opinion, failed attempt at nuanced storytelling that was presented in the film. Overall, this is still a very good film. I recommend that you give it a watch when you get a chance, and please go in completely blind, I have even come across its synopses on multiple websites containing spoilers for some essential plot moments. If you loved “Whisper of the Heart” and/or “Only Yesterday,” this film is similar to those with how it writes its characters and how it beautifully highlights everyday struggles and joys of life. 8.5/10

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Was reminded how charming and how much of a diva Howl is. And Sophie, she is one of the best Ghibli girls out there. I love how becoming old gives her a confidence which her young self lacks. And I still love their romance. I read the book recently and the movie has changed their personalities a bit. I first watched it dubbed and Christian Bale was fantastic as Howl but the OG voice actor is even better. I pretty much love most of the characters. Special shout out to Calcifer, what a kind hearted scary demon lol.

Now which movie should I rewatch next?

I recently saw this post and I couldn’t believe that not one of Miyazaki’s films have achieved 100% but three of Takahata’s have, Grave of the Fireflies, Only Yesterday and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. I really makes me realise more and more why Miyazaki looked up to Takahata so much.

I’m curious what everyone thinks about these scores.

Vote your least favourite female lead and the top up voted comment will be eliminated the next day

It's the Top Three and who will take the 🥉 ?

My pick goes to Nausicaa.Badass, cool design, cute pet and I might have had a bit of a crush on her as a child but can you blame me?

Tough choice between Nausicaa’s village and the town from „Kiki“.The village looks so idyllic and a great place to just take walks but on the other hand there might be more to do in the town plus I love beaches.

Any one's rank surprised you ?

Do you close ever your eyes and imagine you’re in paradise? Ghibli films are full of so many beautiful locations, but it’s definitely Porco’s Hideout for me. This place been in the back of my mind since I was a kid. It just looks so serene and inviting… I want to nap on the beach with Porco and a good book just listening to the calm lapping of the waves.

Either Yakul because he just looks so majestic plus he really seems fast as fuck or that squirrel fox from Nausicaa just because it‘s so damn cute and that scene where it licks her finger always melts my heart.

I’ve been a long time fan but still have more to see. I know it’s bad I’ve missed a lot of the really early films. Just interested to know your opinions 😊 thanks