I honestly haven't seen much Studio Ghibli stuff. I know, I know! It's terrible. I really should watch one. Any recommendations?
This is quite the news though. I've heard many people love their films
Studio Ghibli Recommendations
I honestly haven't seen much Studio Ghibli stuff. I know, I know! It's terrible. I really should watch one. Any recommendations?
This is quite the news though. I've heard many people love their films
Spirited Away is a crowd pleaser.Originally Posted by shion
Kefka's coming, look intimidating!
Have a nice day!!
Yeah, Spirited Away is a great place to start.
I also recommend Ponyo because it is just so cute and charming. :3
No one wanted to recommend Princess Mononoke?
... would not recommend Gedo Senki. If you're not a fan of A Wizard of Earthsea, you probably won't like it. If you are a fan of LeGuin's works, you definitely won't like it.
Here's the MAL list of Ghibli works. The search function has been randomly breaking for the last week, so don't blame me if it brings you a red box.
I tried watching Princess Mononoke once and absolutely hated it.
Jinx.
What.
Jinx.
Why.
*Prepares the stake to burn Jynx at*
I still love Howl's Moving Castle most of all, even though it isn't necessarily the best. And Laputa: Castle in the Sky. I first watched that many years ago as a child without knowing what it was, but I had to visit my grandparents halfway through, and only years later as an adult did I finish it.
Probably one of those people who would try and kill the nature god.
Here are my thoughts on the Studio Ghibli movies I have seen! I know a good number of people that hate Princess Mononoke. I'm a bit indifferent about it at this point... it's just been years since I've seen it. I remember liking it, but I don't remember it too well outside of that.
Laputa: Castle in the Sky is a fun one to watch, especially if you don't want something super serious!
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is possibly my favorite of their movies, but it is really long.
Spirited Away was one I actually didn't enjoy at first, but it's become a movie I like to watch quite a bit now. It's pretty weird, and it honestly feels like you are watching a dream!
Ponyo is one of my least favorites. It's still good though! It's pretty, charming, cute... but yeah.
Howl's Moving Castle was the first Miyazaki movie I actually got into. It's very pretty and just has a lovely world to explore. I enjoy all the characters, and the story is pretty good too!
The Secret World of Arrietty is definitely my least favorite Miyazaki movie. It's essentially just The Borrowers if you've ever read that or seen other versions of it. It's not a bad movie, but I think it lacks a lot of the charm and creativity of a lot of his other works. It was kind of boring honestly.
My Neighbor Totoro is a new favorite of mine. It's actually a pretty slow movie with not much happening at times, but I enjoy all of the characters. The moments with Totoro are excellent though, and this movie has the Catbus. You can never go wrong with Catbus. (Honestly, I find the Catbus kind of terrifiying.)
The Wind Rises is Miyazaki's newest movie, and it is really good! It just has a great story that's based in WWII history, if you are looking for something more historical. It still has a lot of more fantastical moments that are characteristic of Miyazaki, though!
Whisper of the Heart is an okay romantic comedy. It wasn't bad, but it didn't really stand out to me. However, it sort of introduced a character known as The Baron that would be the protagonist in another movie called....
The Cat Returns! This is just a super fun movie about talking cats. If you like cats, you can't go wrong with watching this movie I feel.
From Up on Poppy Hill is another romantic comedy. If you are wanting a romcom, I would recommend this one above Whisper of the Heart. I think it's a lot more interesting and well done. I was really surprised by this one honestly!
Grave of the Fireflies is a pretty good movie. I cannot deny that. However, it is depressing as smurf and I really can't recommend it.
Only Yesterday is a slice of life story that I find pretty charming. I feel like it's a lesser known Studio Ghibli thing, but I think it's really good.
My Neighbors the Yamadas is a movie that's kind of done in a comic strip style almost. It's essentially just a bunch of short vignettes that follow the comedic misfortunes and whatnot of this family. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone's first Ghibli movie as it's very different from all the others. It's also not a particularly pretty movie to watch considering the very simple art style chosen for it.
I just want to point out even though I don't like Princess Mononoke, I have nothing against it. More power to you for liking it! Just, whatever it was didn't really do it for me.
Spirited Away was my first and favorite, but it's closely followed by Howl's Moving Castle. I just watched From Up on Poppy Hill not too long ago and just adored it. Ponyo is great, Totoro is a classic, Princess Mononoke has a big place in my heart.
Rantz can back me up in saying Whisper of the Heart was weird and borderline awful.
I didn't think Whisper of the Heart was awful, but it wasn't really good either. Come to think of it, I really can't remember it very well. It's definitely one of the lesser Ghibli movies though.
Oopsie, whasn't expecting this many suggestions. Didn't meant to derail.
Thanks for the suggestions guys!
Nothing recent. Maybe Arietti. Maybe. It's decent. But there's much better works in the history. Can't honestly recommend anything done by Goro Miyazaki either. Actually it's hard to recommend too many of them that weren't done by Hayao himself. And even his recent stuff has fallen off the ladder in my opinion. Ponyo included
People rave over The Grave of the Fireflies for being a tear-jerker or gut wrenching or whatnot. I haven't had the pleasure. Earthsea was terrible. The newer stuff like When Marnie Was There, or Up On Poppy Hill just look incredibly dull to me
Nausicaa stands out as my favorite, though it's not technically a Ghibli movie, but most of its staff went on to form Ghibli so it's spiritually a Gibli "pre-Ghibli" movie
Mononoke and Castle in the Sky rank pretty high up there as well. Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle failed to capture my heart too much. They had a lot of imagination. But they also had a lot of random fever-dream ADD goings on that kinda ruined the consistency and magic for me. Let alone the drama they tried to evoke
Sadly I believe Ghibli and Miyazaki have been on a downward slope for a while
Totoro was fun and amusing though
But really the only things I'd say you have to watch are the older Miyazaki movies. The rest are "Meh, if you have time"
Also, I can't believe I forgot, but Kiki's Delivery Service is boss. That and Nausicaa are the only ones that get me in the feels towards their endings
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