I had previously only seen 2 of his films, and thought they were good, but didn’t think much of it. This was due to my lack of appreciation for the art that goes behind these films and my inability to see these in a critical eye. I have improved, but not mastered these skill. Yet, I decided it was high time I take the time to watch all his movies in the order it came out and understand why he is so well praised in the anime community.
Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind (1984) grabbed my attention within the first few shots. Beautiful yet un-nerving. You don’t get an exposition dumb explaining where or when you are, but the films makes you wonder. You can see a lot of common threads in all his movies. One such being the weird mix between advanced aircraft, historic weapons and nature spirits. The hand drawn animation is amazing and each frame is wallpaper material. This is also a trait which continued till his last movie, and one which I will be praising often.
Castle in the Skies (1986) starts off hectic and flaunts the amazing animation skills of its animators. This movie takes a departure from the very serious tone of Nausicaa to a goofy and unrealistic tone, which still works. Unfortunately, the movie slows down from the mid way point and doesn’t reach the bombastic heights of its first half.
My Fried Totoro (1988) is probably one of the most beloved Ghibli movies, second only to Spirited Away. The film takes a step back in its grand animation pieces, instead focusing on the mundane. This is by no extent a flaw, but what I enjoyed most about the movie. It takes so much care in showing off the authentic Japanese lifestyle from the littlest of actions. I couldn’t help but have a smile on my face throughout the film.
Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) had more to say but settled for less. I was drawn to the premise from the start, a coming of age story about a witch, who has to move out of her house and find her identity. The movie itself is great in terms of animation and story, but even when the credits rolled, I wanted more from this world. More about witches, this world, her delivery business, the forest painter and more.
Proco Rosso (1992) was something I vaguely remembered because I had watched it, years back. I wasn’t fond of it the first time and I’m an idiot for that. This film has a lot going for it, like its great animation, underlying theme about love and war and its witty and sharp writing, which has some of the most memorable dialogues in a Ghibli movie. This movie also has one of my favorite endings among all his works, which I’m obviously not going to spoil here.
Princess Mononoke (1997) is my favorite from the bunch. It has a similar gritty tone as Nausicaa and it isn’t afraid to show some blood and guts, which I respect. The animation feels different somehow, but as always, is great. I love the characters, as each has their own motive and reasons. The strong female leads are here as well, like in all of Hayao Miyazaki’s movies, which I can’t get enough of.
Spirited Away (2001) is his magnum opus. The animation is the best among all his movies and I can’t imagine the time and effort it took for them to create this spectacle. The whole setting is so weird, so odd. All the creatures, how they act, how they move about, the film doesn’t waste time explaining them, but just, lets us witness it. There are probably many Japanese beliefs and traditions that completely blew past my head, which is another reason why this movie is so re-watchable.
Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) was my least favorite among all his works. I wasn’t motivated by Sophie’s journey, as she was in no hurry to lift her curse which totally ruined the pacing for me. Even Howl’s character seemed inconsistent, which made me unsympathetic towards him. Miyazaki also started using 3D animations in a lot of his shots for this movie, which was a departure from the fully hand drawn 2D art of his previous movies.
Ponyo (2008) is a weird movie when you look at it with adult eyes, but a cute wholesome movie when you view it with kids eyes. At first glance, you might be made to believe this wasn’t a Ghibli movie, as it looks completely different. Simple environment and character design, instead of heavily detailed ones, flat colors, instead of detailed shading and very simple dialogues. I don’t want to judge this the same way I judged the other movies, as it’s obviously aimed for a very, very young audience. Therefore, I’ll let it slide.
The Wind Rises (2013) was a surprise. After the first 10 minutes, I thought it would be a slog but then out of nowhere the earthquake scene happened and it pulled me right in. I was really surprised by how much everything felt real, and to my surprise, this is true because it is a fictionalized biographical of its main character Jiro. I was put off by this at first, since I didn’t know how much of this was real and how much fiction. But keeping that thought aside, the movie is actually great with themes of passion, political power struggle, respectful friendship and mature love. I really liked it, and wouldn’t mind giving it another watch.
You can clearly distinguish Hayao Miyazak’s work by his love for traditional Japanese lifestyle and beliefs, his love for animating clouds and planes, his views on war and nature and his appreciation for strong female leads, which is bundled with great animation, good human values, an awesome soundtrack and a promised happy ending. Like that, 10 movies and an appreciation for 2D animation and Hayao Miyazaki later, I’m happy to say, these are some of the best anime movies you can watch, and I’m glad I spent my time with each.
