Every Studio Ghibli Movie Ranked 

Schaff: puts howls moving castle 4th worst Everyone else: so you have chosen death

Grave of fireflies is one of those movies you watch once and then never ever again unless you like your heart being torn from your chest.

I love how Earwig didn't even make it to the thumbnail 😭

2:08 Earwig and the Witch 6:04 Tales from Earthsea 8:05 Ocean Waves 10:09 Howl's Moving Castle 14:16 Pom Poko 16:14 The Wind Rises 17:23 My Neighbors, the Yamadas 19:39 The Secret World of Arrietry 20:58 The Cat Returns 22:20 Ponyo 23:20 Nausicaä: Valley of the Wind 24:41 Castle in the Sky 26:17 Porco Rosso 29:24 From Up on Poppy Hill 31:24 My Neighbor, Totoro 32:34 When Marnie Was There 33:46 Princess Mononoke 35:57 Grave of the Fireflies 36:35 Only Yesterday 38:18 Kiki's Delivery Service 39:44 Spirited Away 42:07 The Tale of Princess Kaguya 45:52 Whisper of the Heart

One of the things I love about Ghibli films is that the children actually *ACT* like children. Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo- So many of their movies are made better because their characters act their age and like actual people.

I give James this: He admits problems he has with certain pieces of media are his own problems rather than objective problems with the work itself.

I think Ashitaka taking the time to help the women of Iron Town with their work despite the curse on his arm heavily numbering his days is actually a really effective piece of characterization; it hammers home the compassion he has that allows him to connect with San and her family.

Kiki’s delivery service is my absolute favorite. It’s just so delightful and relatable

Sophie's age fluctuates as her love for herself and self confidence fluctuates. When she's older she feels bad about herself, when she's younger she believes in herself more.

I didn’t think Howls Moving Castle was hard to understand, but it has a lot of metaphorical weight throughout its storyline. Sophie’s appearance changes because her self confidence fluctuates, and if you pay enough attention, her old lady appearance doesn’t look so old as the movie progresses to visualize her characters development. Howl is obsessed with his appearance, it’s what makes him come off as charming and “pleasant”, and his character learns to be happy as just himself. Madam Sullivan ends the war because the neighboring prince was found with love, she was just impressed that Howl learned to love himself and love another person genuinely. It’s definitely not the most straightforward story, but it’s a visual metaphor.

I have a complex relationship with the HMC movie because the BOOK by Diana Wynne Jones is PHENOMENAL. All of the confusion, EVERY single question raised about the film is addressed perfectly in the book. The first 45 minutes of the movie are great because they pull almost directly from the book and then the movie shifts directions completely once Soloman is introduced. If you have any interest in the story at all and want answers, I beg you to read the book. It is far more complex and yet it still wraps everything up into a gorgeous tidy little bow. I have reread it again least three times and I find something new in each read. Please, for the love of god and all that is good, read the book!!!!

Princess Mononoke will always be my favorite (but I recognize Kaguya is probably the objective best). I love that the message of the film isn’t “don’t cut down the trees guys. That’s not nice”. The actual message is how hatred can only grow stronger and stronger unless we try to resolve conflicts through empathy and understanding towards each other. Ashitaka never sides with anyone but instead always tries to act as a diplomat for every faction we meet in the movie

People not understanding Sophie's curse is literally just... I don't understand, even as a little kid I got that the less self-conscious she was about how she looked the younger she looked. Howl literally says, "Sophie you're beautiful" and she becomes self-conscious again, believing he's just being nice and turns old again. The subtext is right there, it's right there!!! The curse is a self reflection of how she feels about herself, not young and spritely nor beautiful like the other girls. By the end she's grown in confidence, been on an adventure and just doesn't dwell on her looks anymore.

"Earwig and the Witch is worse than Cars 2." I actually spit my drink out. That's *BRUTAL* knowing Schaff's thoughts on Cars 2.

Strangely, Howl's moving castle being so abstract is the reason i like it so much. The characters struggle to navigate this strange world riveted with magic and ravaged by war, they live in, trying to make sense of it, battling throgh all the challenges that rise up on their way, staring uncertainly in the eyes, all the while learning to accept and love thems. I love how human and flawed all the main characters are, not one is perfect or special or chosen, they just all make their own path, yet none of them are obnoxious or insufferable. I love the picture, the motion, the color palet vibrancy, the theme, the music. I love the flow and the pace of the movie, and I do like it's conclusion. This movie leaves a lot of room for thought and interpretation, yet delivers a very satisfying end. I love the slow burn of romance, without any frustrating love triangles or wavering and self inflicted suffering. All in all, this is one of those abstract stories that i love, but I also understand that it's not for everyone. It reminds of one of those weird yet beautiful dream you sometimes have.

Princess Mononoke is a movie I wish I could experience again. It hits every note of visual storytelling for me. I always tell people Princess Mononoke is the closest thing someone will ever get to a Legend of Zelda Ghibli movie. It's a must watch if your into dark fantasy.

I feel like one of the themes of Howl's Moving Castle is "acting your age," where Sophie acts like an old woman and gets turned into such, only changing back when she starts becoming more cheery. Howl starts off cool and calm until he throws said temper tantrum over something like his hair because he "has the heart of a child," like dub version of Sophie says. Heck, Markl disguises as an old man and keeps the entire shop running while the Witch of the Waste's true age gets revealed after getting yoinked of her powers I can totally understand how you can get confused with the movie, but I think it's a pretty fun ride with beautiful animation and music, with a story I can get behind.

Adding to the sea of Howl’s Moving Castle commentary: Howl is such an unpredictable and emotionally volatile character because he gave his heart up when he was 12. Emotionally, he never matured past that stage in his life, and his behavior reflects this. We don’t really know who he is because, without his heart and the ability to develop any kind of emotional maturity, he doesn’t know who he is either.

i just watched Kaguya for the first time and i was in tears. it’s so beautiful, from the story to the animation to the music. i loved every character. i genuinely wanted the princess to stay on earth at the end and i felt her and her parents’ pain when she had to leave :(

Having Only Yesterday as number 5 and Whisper of the Heart as number 1 is extremely based of you. Those movies don't get enough love. Incredible movies.

To be fair about Howls moving castle the war isn’t just randomly called off, But the reason it’s called off isn’t like explained at length. It’s mentioned that the reason the kingdom with the sorcerer lady is at war with the other kingdom is because they believe they kidnapped their prince. But when it’s revealed that Turnip Head was the missing prince all along, the sorcerer lady calls off the war bc theres no reason for them to keep fighting.

My personal favourite will always be Howl's moving castle. It's impossible to explain why but that movie just fills me with this intense comfy feeling

My favorite is still Nausicaa, it’s got such an incredibly interesting world and I personally loved how it started. Speculative biology is one of the coolest things in fiction and I’m glad that Nausicaa gave me a fully realized ecosystem. It’s also amazing how you can see so much of ghibli’s hallmarks even before it was officially a studio- aircraft, the impact of war, well crafted female protagonists, and heavy environmental messaging.

I think what made Howl's Moving Castle so great is really simple actually. I never *really* cared about the characters, or the magic, or the anti-war sentiment, or the love subplot, or its villains. It's simply the most beautiful move Studio Ghibli has ever made. From the architecture and landscape, to the music and general vibe in the town square. Even the cheerful (and a bit naive) soldiers and the proudful display of flags are one of the most beautiful portrayal of nationalism, which fits perfectly for the early 20th century european societies the movie is heavily based on.

I will admit that it took me a couple of watches to really take in Howl's Moving Castle. I knew I liked the film but the message seemed hazy and unclear. Sophie is a timid woman who sees herself as undesirable and ugly. When she is inflicted with the curse she ages drastically and then we see her slip out of that sometimes. Those moments she becomes younger or looks more like she should, are times in the film when she finds inner courage and strength. She sticks up forherself, she shows up for Howl, she fights for her new acquired family. At the end of the film she has grown so much that she has broken her own curse that was originally thought to only be removed by a wizard. I love Sophie's character so much! Edit: I also had completely forgotten the next subversion of expectations they threw in at the end. When you think of Disney movies, most of the females/princesses are saved by a kiss from their love. In Howl's Moving Castle, Sophie is the one to save her family with a kiss! Turnip head transforms back to his Prince self, Calcifer gets to be free from Howl if he desires, The Witch of the Waste becomes a family member, and Howl comes back from a near deadly beast form. It's so easy to get caught up in the whimsical aspects of the film and watching what Howl does that one could completely miss Sophie's arch. Schaff should definitely view again!

I watched Whisper of the Heart right after watching this. Schaff wasn’t kidding. It’s incredible and you should all watch it. If you’re struggling to find direction or are trying to pursue your passion, you have to see this movie. It will speak to you on a level most films don’t even come close to. It is immersive yet incredibly reflective. It is magical, heartwarming, and uplifting.

My favorite Ghibli film is Princess Mononoke. The visuals, story, and score are so beautiful. Seeing that movie in theaters honestly changed me

I AM SO HAPPY that Whisper of the Heart is getting every bit of praise it deserves (as far as that it's possible, because as good a job you did, no one is every gonna do this movie justice). You took the words right of my soul. I was nineteen years old when I saw this movie and nothing, absolutely nothing before this, had made me fall in love with it in any fashion remotely resembling how I felt watching this movie. Honestly, I can't rewatch it all the time because of how deeply it cuts in into pieces in all the best ways possible. I fucking start tearing up to hearing you talk about it, that's how much Whisper of the Heart moves me. One time a different movie (I'd highly recommend Liz and the Blue Bird btw) came close and I genuinely had a near-crisis at the prospect of me liking another movie in existence on this planet better than Whisper of the Heart, and I finally rewatched it after three years. I was incredibly anxious and worried that I'd overly-romanticized it in that time. I had not. Whisper of the Heart is my favorite movie of all time, my favorite story of all time, and damn near close to my favorite work of art of all time (being a musician that one is too hard to decide on). And like you, this movie drilled Country Roads into my head. Like wtf man, what's John Denver doing in here lol

The ending portion of this video makes me want to see Schaff do a full length analysis on Whisper of the Heart, much like he did for Ratatouille

I have a lot of differing opinions to this list but I adore your top 3.

I recently saw Spirited Away for the first time. It’s one of the greatest animated films I’ve ever seen

How ironic is it that Studio Ghibli made Schaffrillas' least favorite animated movie of all time (Earwig and the Witch) and most favorite animated movie of all time (Whisper of the Heart)?

Challenge: Schaff ranks every Barbie movie from the 2000's (which is 16 total). I have no doubt the animation would irritate him to no end, but I also want him to be pleasantly surprised but how good a lot of them are regarding story, characters, & music. Plus, considering how pleased he was with Tim Curry as the Cat King, I want to hear Schaff's face when he realizes Tim was in not one but *two* Barbie movies, the era beginning *and* ending with him as the villain. 😉😆🥰 I'd let *him* decide whether or not he wants to continue into the 2010's...

Sophie never dips in and out of her curse. Her curse is that she looks like how she feels. When she is sleeping she reverts back because she isn’t dragging along the baggage of being the ugly forgotten little sister. As she opens up to everyone at the castle she feels loved and seen but still struggles sometimes when old feelings boil up again. It is only when she takes initiative with the people she cares about, realizing she is worthy of love, that she takes her final form at the end. The witch puts this curse on her because the witch believes that people are fundamentally ugly on the inside. This also explains the witches changes throughout the film. Seeing Sophie over come the curse slowly makes her realize that people are capable of inner beauty so she ends up mellowing out.

So glad you loved Whisper of the Heart. It's a movie I didn't care for as a child, so dismissed, then watched it again as a teen and it changed me. One of those movies that if you watch at the right time it stays with you forever

I knew exactly what was going to happen in Grave of the Fireflies from watching a review on it, and I still cried like a fountain when I watched for myself.

Everything you said about Whisper of the Heart is exactly what Kiki's Delivery Service means to me. To be so passionate about something. To be challenged on that thing you love. To question yourself on if you were even meant to do it. If you're good enough. To go on a self realizing journey till you ultimately beat your self doubt. Kiki's journey is how I feel about my art and artists block and my own self doubt. To see Kiki be able to fly again gives me hope that I will too.

I think the magic in Ghibli films is how their films feel like we’re watching actual people’s lives. There’s moments of nothing that still feel charming with good animation and characters that we’ve grown to relate to. They make you romanticize life and the little things in it

I just wanted to come here and say because of this video, I got around to watching Only Yesterday and Whisper of the Heart, back to back, and they're both so stunning. Thank you for getting me to finally get around to them.

Oh my god! Just finished the video. I’m so happy with your number one choice. I felt 100% the exact same way. It’s been my favourite by far since I first saw it in high school. I needed it then and now it is my comfort movie beyond a shadow of a doubt. I’m so happy to finally see someone else place this at their top as well. Thank you. I feel so seen!

Honestly, Howl's Moving Castle is more about the ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* V I B E S *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ than anything else

It was always my understanding that in Howl’s Moving Castle, Suliman calls off the war because Prince Justin (TurnipHead) was discovered. It’s said in the beginning of the movie that the missing prince is what caused the war since Justin’s country blamed the other countries for his disappearance when in reality, he was just cursed.

Your videos are so hilarious and well made. This was a great ranking. Your opinions are always interesting. Thank you so much

I’ve put this video off for so long, I am glad of the list you made. Whisper of the Heart always has my heart. For a teenage girl, I saw myself as Shizuku and have sat through that film 8-9 different time and always feel inspired to be great afterwards

a note on howls moving castle: the war was about Turnip Head. He's the missing prince that Kingsbury thinks a neighboring country kidnapped. It's mentioned in a blink-and-you-miss-it line. I love Howl's Moving Castle but for the moodiness of howl. It's hard for me to explain I relate to him a lot. I have autism and some days when the smallest change is there it can make me super upset to the point life feels like it's not worth living but after returning to my schedule all is ok and my sunny disposition returns. I also need people with me in places where I'm uncomfortable.

Schaff: Howl's Moving Castle is my fourth worst Ghibli film The comments: *That was a mistake* EDIT: Everybody thinks I was making a reference to Big Hero 6 for this. It was actually intended to be a reference to Thanos's line in Infinity War when Loki attempts to kill him. The BH6 line seemed too obvious 😆

I love Kiki’s delivery service. I’m an artist and a designer, and it embodies so much of what I love as both of those things. The city is ideal, and it has so much life and love put into it. It’s magical and whimsical, and it shows how people should really be living. And the ending was so fantastic, when she relearns how to fly and the people she’s met are cheering her on. I choked up, and as a young man I really felt something

fun fact: studio ghibli is officially pronounced “jiblie” while “giblie” is the correct pronunciation of the word. a founder and director of the studio hayao miyazaki made a mispronunciation of the word and it stuck. so when speaking about the studio, it’s “jiblie”

I felt so seen this with video… your explanations of Kaguya and Whisper of the Heart especially are precisely how I feel about those movies, with both movies not necessarily being my personal absolute favourites (Mononoke is my favourite) but both of them hitting me SO HARD in the deepest part of my heart that they stayed with me for so long after I watched them. Great video, I agreed with all of it!

Howl's moving castle is a story about self-acceptance. Sophie's spell broke bc howl helped her feel young and beautiful again. Howl was self-conscious and obsessed with his appearance, so he lost it when his hair color changed. Sophie and Howl help each other love themselves. The first time i watched it, i loved the ugly dog and the scenery and calcifer, but i had no idea what was going on. After watching a couple of times, i started to pick up on it. It's not my absolute favorite studio ghibli film, but it is high on my list. I haven't seen all of them, however.

I can’t describe how happy I am that your Number one and two are Whisper of the Heart and Kaguya. WotH was my ‘on repeat’ through university and I’ll never not be thankful to it for showing me how easy it is to get conflicted in our own heads about our written works-and I’m not alone in that! Reality says one thing, but our characters try to lead us to tell their story! How amazing it is when you find supportive people in your life who don’t first say ‘how will you pay the bills’? I agree, agree, agree! Great list!

Thank you for making this list! I haven’t seen all of the studio’s movies and this has helped me alot

This video is an entire experience Also when schaff uses that “about to cry” voice I prepare myself for something 👀

About Howl's moving castle: Its about the war. Sophie turning old is about how the war turns kids into old people. Thats why she gets younger, cursed, when she is happy. Even in the end, when the curse is over, the experience of the war keeps her hair white, because she will never be the same

Good to see some love for Only Yesterday.

saw this video last night, went out to buy Wisper of The Heart today, and after watching it, WOW omg it's just so good and inspiring! as an aspiring writer who feels imposter syndrome around my other creative friends, it hit me so so hard!!! Thanks Shaffrillas Productions for the recommendation

Literally everyone is just talking about Howl’s moving castle, NOTHING ELSE

In HMC the war ends because the guy the turnip scarecrow turns into is the other kingdoms prince. The whole war was about his disappearance so his return ends it. Also, I love how Sophie tells baby Howl to find her in the future and the first line he says to her is “There you are, Sweetheart, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Because he really has… for like a decade!

as a kikis delivery service mega fan, i am very offended that it was NUMBER 4! this is a joke. I STILL LOVE KIKIS DELIVERY SERVICE THO

I just watched Whisper of the Heart yesterday, and it was so beautiful. It touched me so deeply. It might actually be better than Spirited Away for me.

Much like Schaff, I didn’t grow up with a LOT of these movies. But boy, am I glad I’ve seen more of them now. Whisper of the Heart and Princess Mononoke have cemented themselves as all time favs for me

For me Howls moving castle is all about self love. We see Sophie as the second daughter, and we know by the beginning how she don’t take risks. She learn to have self love becoming old woman mentality, because she learned she should take risks in life. Howl didn’t had is heart, He was unstable emotionally, and he learned how to self love by focusing on the people that are important to him…. For me Is a really great movie that I saw with 9 years old and fell in love over the time…. And the war ended not because howl and Sophie fell in love, but because the prince that was disapeared was actually the Tornip head xD

THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. YOU ARE THE FIRST PERSON IVE DISCOVERED WHO HOLDS WHISPER OF THE HEART IN AS HIGH OF A REGARD AS I DO AND IM SO EXCITED. THANK YOU SO MUCH I FEEL SO SEEN

Thanks for the video. I have never seen a single film from this studio, now I know which ones I should watch :)

Me turning this on: boy I can’t wait for Schafrillas to rate Howl’s Moving Castle number 1 Narrator: he didn’t

I feel like people never acknowledge or talk about princess Kaguya when they talk about ghibli, so I was pleased to see you give it the recognition it deserves! Such an underrated masterpiece, and a beautiful film.

I adore Pom Poko, it's a gut-wrenching story that really ambitiously juggles a whole cast of characters that you root for (my favorite is Kincho). The yokai parade scene is absolutely breathtaking, and the scene where they turn their home back the way it used to be makes me cry. It's tied with My Neighbor Totoro for my favorite Studio Ghibli movie.

I watched The Tale of the Princess Kaguya today, and while the moment-to-moment experience wasn't my thing (possibly due to watching with the English dub so my parents could keep up with what was going on), the moment the movie was over and it was time to think about what I just witnessed, I was a changed person It's one of those movies that leans hard into the "makes you think after it's over" aspect that movies can have, and I don't think I'll ever forget this movie even if I never watch it again

2:10 - Earwing and the Witch (2020) 6:07 - Tale of Earthsea (2006) 8:07 - Ocean Waves (1993) 10:11 - Howl's Moving Castle (2004) 14:19 - Pom Poko (1994) 16:17 - The Wind Rises (2013) 17:25 - My Neighbors The Yamadas (1999) 19:41 - Arrietty (2010) 21:01 - The Cat Returns (2002) 22:22 - Poyno (2008) 23:21 - Nausicca: The Valley of The Wind (1984) 24:22 - Laputa: Castle in The Sky (1986) 26:20 - Porco Rosso (1992) 29:27 - From up on Puppy Hill (2011) 31:27 - My Neighbor Totoro (1988) 32:36 - When Marnie Was There (2014) 33:49 - Prnicess Mononoke (1997) 36:00 - Grave of the Fireflies (1988) 36:38 - Only Yesterday (1991) 38:20 - Kiki's Delivary Service (1989) 39:45 - Spirited Away (2001) 42:11 - The Tale of Princess Kagyuya (2013) 45:56 - Whisper of The Heart (1995)

I checked out Whispers of the Heart after seeing your letterboxd review of it, and I have to firmly agree with everything you said about it. It's such a wonderful experience and has also climbed into my top 5 favorite films. And it actually instantly inspired me in ways no film has before. I've been wanting to write stories for years and never could finish anything I started. Then the very moment the film ended, I pulled out my phone and wrote a full short story and a screenplay. They're obviously rough drafts, but I never experienced satisfaction on this level before.

The grave of the fireflies is my number one movie in this list, it is just too perfect.

I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU RANKED WHISPER OF THE HEART LIKE THAT, I LOVE YOU

The thing about Mononoke is that there are no antagonists, so Lady Eboshi is not actually a real antagonist. They're all different people who took their own paths for survival, she's someone who's looked upon in her village. What we have is a film whose plot is engaging but without a clear antagonist. What Princess Mononoke has is a conflict. A conflict that has led both parties to commit incommensurable atrocities.

I never grew up watching them, but I’m glad that I got to watch a lot of these as an adult. You get have a unique experience when you watch these films, and I’d personally struggle in ranking them because they’re all too good tbh.

Revisiting this masterpiece vid bc I recently finished a through-watch of all the Ghibli projects and this list is so close to mine and really articulated what I feel about the top movies. The tale of princess kaguya made me ache in a way no other ghibli movie has, spirited away is the perfectly told story and uses magic in the best way ive ever seen (a story and character mechanism to represent maturing, etc) and whisper of the heart features a character (shizuku) whose perspectives and experiences with imposter syndrome, feeling left behind, and the urgency to create something that almost swallows you whole...absolute magic

the reason everyone loves howl's moving castle because howl is hot

Gotta give Schaff props for “SUBVERTING MY EXPECTATIONS”, cause I definitely didn’t expect Ghibli to be the next studio he would rank after dreamworks and Pixar .

I love Whisperer of the Heart. It is criminally underrated and blows me away every time. I can't even explain why! It's so darn heartwarming.

I am so glad to come across another Only Yesterday enjoyer, it's my favorite Ghibli film. The narration is one of the best parts, I love how it deals with childhood through good and bad ad self discovery and acceptance. I also found that if you read the Howls Moving Castle book a lot more of the stuff in the movie is less confusing (I had to do that to understand Sophie's curse).

you made me watch whisper of the heart and i loved it so much thank you

Howls' moving castle: First of all, it's beautiful animation. And almost all the characters are likeable in their own ways (Sophie's character progression, Markl is adorable, the dog is cute, Calcifer is funny, Howl... exists. He's at least not terrible). But you missed the most important aspect that makes the film much more understandable. Sophie isn't "dipping" in and out of her curse, it's explicitly tied into her self esteem. You'll notice that even when she first turns old she says "well at least your clothes finally suit you." She LIKES being old because it matches how she feels about herself. As the movie progresses she gains confidence and the curse weakening during those moments of assuredness and action--but it comes back again right away when she starts feeling bad about herself. In the beginning the curse is only weak when she's asleep and not conscious at all to think about herself--by the end of the film she's broken the curse even when awake because she's become completely confident and capable. Sophie is the one who reunites Howl with his heart for two reasons. 1) in the book she actually has a magical ability to make things live by talking to them, so Calcifer only survives at all because she talked to him so much. The movie didn't include that part so you could theoretically interpret as "Sophie owns Howl's heart" (he loves her) so she's the only one who can return it. "Why did Howl give Calcifer his heart in the first place" the movie implies that part very vaguely, book actually explained it. The stars die when they hit the ground, and Howl was very sad by this. He was trying to save one of the stars and the only way to do that was giving it his heart. The movie only sort of shows this by the very short scene of the stars fading away after they land. It's extremely subtle but there if you look. I agree the war part is confusing. There's a very tiny line (that you'd only see with subtitles on) about "the prince from the neighboring kingdom is missing and they blame us" but if you missed that ONE LINE (like I did when I first saw it), you're just totally confused. xD The war ends because Turnipface was the prince, he's been healed and he's going back to tell his country to knock it off. I agree this is the weakest part of the film, it's basically just there to give our characters conflict.

Despite me heavily disagreeing with some of your placements (that Howl's one stung lol), it also makes me appreciate seeing how diverse everyone's top Ghibli films can be.

i like how during the ponyo section you perfectly used a heart full of love as the backing track, awesome pick!

The sad thing about Earwig is that Ghibli actually has worked with 3D before, for their short film called Boro the Caterpillar, and it was incredibly well-executed. I saw it at the museum in Mitaka and I was thoroughly impressed by how good and unique it looked while still resembling the studio's usual style

Have to feel bad for Goro Miyazaki: the guy clearly isn’t interested in cinema. He is just expected to be his father regardless of what he actually _wants_ to do…

Im so happy you put Whisper Of The Heart as number one. It means a lot to me

I will never forget watching an older brother pull a glass marble from his sister’s mouth in Grave of the Fireflies. The quickest I’ve ever burst into tears.

A couple interesting facts about Grave of the fireflies. It's based on a book by a man who grew up during the war and suffered survivors guilt after his sister died of malnutrition. Isao Takahata and studio ghibli made the movie in hopes that it would dispel a teenage crime wave spike caused by the children/grandchildren of the survivors of the war by showing them the hardships of their parents when they were their age. This movie is also the only movie by Ghibli that Disney hasn't distributed in the US themselves.

This is not my meme, however I love how in the Howl's Moving Castle movie the black door leads to a war thorn apocalyptic scenario Where in the book the most dangerous thing behind that door is Howl's Welsh sister

I’m so happy by your #1 pick! I really connected with that choice being in the creative field.

Shaff, you're probably not reading this, but you convienced me to watch them all so I actually get to grow up with them, thank you

Sophie's curse in Howl's is to look the age that she feels and it's reflective of her self-confidence. In the beginning of the movie she has no confidence and feels about as desirable as an old woman. That's why when she's asleep she is young again and her hair is brown. As the movie goes on you can see her growing younger as she falls in love with Howl, grows more confident and happy, and generally feels younger and like there are good things in her life. You can see her slip up after Howl calls her beautiful in the flower field and her lack of self confidence comes crashing back in again. At the end of the movie she's basically back to being her young self, except her hair remains white as a symbol of the maturity she's gained -- personally I like to think it specifically refers to how she realizes the responsibility and difficulty required to love someone and embraces it. She is confident enough in herself to love Howl completely.

Man, I just feel bad for Goro Miyazaki, directing the commonly thought to be pair of worst Ghibli movies with Earthsea and Earwig, while also living in the shadow of his dad

I'd love to see you go in depth on Whisper of the Heart. I really enjoy hearing people talk about something they love.

so here's a little storytime for y'all: my high school art teacher once put on grave of the fireflies (we watched it dubbed by the way) during a class, not knowing what it was about, because she knew of ghibli and liked the art style of their films. most of the students didn't know what it was about either, so we were completely unprepared for how brutally DEVASTATING it would be. when we got near the end (trying to keep it vague to avoid spoilers), specifically THAT scene, pretty much everyone was shocked, sobbing, having an emotional breakdown, all the heartbroken feels. obviously, no one was working on what we were supposed to be, i don't even remember what it was. we just sat in stunned silence, letting the weight of what we'd all just seen sink in. all the people who saw us walk out of that class looking like emotionally scarred wrecks must have been so confused, like "what was she DOING to you guys?" so that was an experience i'll probably never forget. thank you to my tenth grade art teacher for introducing me to ghibli, and also emotional trauma! fun times :D

I love Howl's moving Castle, and I didn't entirely understand it either but I watched it again recently and I understood it better. Some things still don't entirely make sense but I'm fine with letting it remain a mystery. From why I understand, Howl is a confident man who likes to be in control of the situation. When he used the wrong potion because of Sophie, he lost control of him image. At this point he lost a lot of control of things, his heart, his rights to not go to war, his entire being because of the very magic he uses. His image was the last thing that he had control over, it kept him safe, it made him confident. Having that taken away right in front of him broke him. After his tantrum he gained control of himself with the comfort of knowing that he looks like his old self again, while he can't hide anymore at least he is himself. Sophie at the beginning was just going on with life, no ambitions or relations outside of her family. She was living but she wasn't exactly enjoying life to its fullest. Her curse took away the comfort of having all of the time in the world making her take every chance and opportunity before her to do something about her situation. Times when she thinks like a old person or loses hope or confidence in her self, you can visibly see the increase in wrinkles. When she is asleep is when she is completely young again because her mind is free of all of her anxiety, self doubt and contempt with her life. When she is the most happy, hopefull, cheerful, determined and full of love self is when she can be young. The last bit of the movie does annoy me tho, because it was just so rushed. From what I understand, Howl knew about Sophie because of time travel so he's waiting for her essentially to help him. Practically giving up to trying to do anything by putting faith in someone else who said they know the answer. And I think that Howl and the fire demon knew that his heart was in the fire but was too afraid to do anything with it. The scarecrow Turniphead was cursed, only to be free by the kiss of his true love who happened to be Sophie. Think of it as soul mates. I think he was a diversion to the true love trope. Yes Turniphead and Sophie were meant to be but love doesn't happen automatically, it had to be planted, to grow and bloom like Sophie's relationship with Howl. The Queen? Idfk, she was so hung strung on Howl that she just gave up and saw the error of her ways when he is shown to be happy with his heart back. Plus the neighbouring kingdom gets their Prince back aka Turniphead. What's the point anymore to continue fighting except more death? The witch of the waste is a horrible woman we shouldn't try to ruin, no matter how Despicable. But we shouldn't ignore her but help her out in her time of need. That doesn't mean though to let her push you around and to let her get her way. She's basically a old mean woman at a retirement home. Many of the conclusions happened in the last 10 minutes that it seems like it came out of nowhere. Where most of the movie was slow, relaxing and enjoyable the last bit was like the movie was steamrolling the movie's conclusion. I love the movie, doesn't mean I don't have some issues with it.

Whisper of the heart has been my favorite movie since i was a little kid. Ive never met anyone else whos seen it, let alone considers it ghibli's best. I'm so glad you're guiding more people to it. It's an amazing movie.

Hey. So you seem to get pretty down on yourself about the things you make sometimes and I just wanted to say that I stumbled on this video when I was thinking about which new Ghibli film I should try out, found myself in total agreement with you about he ones I'd seen, and have been working my way through the rest based on your recs. I come back here after each one I watch to see if we still agree, and your commentary is so relatable and charming and spot on that it's like gossiping about it with a friend. Anyway, I think your content is really good and your point of view and voice in this kind of space is unique and interesting and way better than reading some professional critic. I hope you keep it up and or keep developing towards whatever it is you want to be putting out in the world.

My favorite movie out of all of these is Porco Rosso hands down. There's just something magical about the idea of an Italian WW1 veteran flying across the Adriatic sea, working as a bounty hunter to make a living. I honestly feel like Porco is one of the most underrated films produced by Studio Ghibli.

The Tale of Princess Kaguya is a cinematic masterpiece. I can't believe it lost against "That was his mistake !" at the Oscars. Seriously, this is unforgivable.