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Studio Ghibli

G

Galisenae

Planetoid
Joined
Oct 27, 2021
Curious, favorite film under thier banner? Mine appears to be The Secret World of Arrietty, followed closely by Kiki's Delivery Service.
 
That's a tough question. I love them all, lol. XD
But if I have to choose, I'd say Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, and My Neighbor Totoro are my top 3.
 
My Top 3 would be :

1)Spirited Away. The first one I ever saw back when I was 6 or so. I remember being both mesmerized and terrified by certain parts of it, but a scene will always stick with me : the Sixth Station. When the camera pans over to the vast ocean that surrounds the track, with Joe Hisaishi's soundtrack backing it up, I always stare at the screen with my jaw wide open. One of the best scenes in cinema history, no doubts about it.

2)Howl's Moving Castle. The main character is just a captivating presence (and also lowkey hot) anytime he's shown, the animation and art is very fluid an intricate, plus I just adore the Castle itself as a mecha nerd. I also find it to be one of the few movies with a very competent female lead, Sophie (old or young) never really struck me as the 'damsel in distress' archetype.

3)Princess Mononoke. One of the most violent Ghibli movies no doubt, which also has very interesting leads and monster designs. The feudal Japan feel always has me coming back for more at least a few times a year, coupled with the action itself.

Passing the ball to my homie @Mint_Tea who I know loves Ghibli movies just as much as I do.
 
Unpopular pick, but Lupin III and the Castle of Cagliostro. I just love the aesthetic and the sense of adventure it has. That and I'd say probably Spirited Away. So the most obscure Ghibli movie and the most famous one
 
Rusty of Shackleford said:
Unpopular pick, but Lupin III and the Castle of Cagliostro. I just love the aesthetic and the sense of adventure it has. That and I'd say probably Spirited Away. So the most obscure Ghibli movie and the most famous one
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I remember loving it as a kid when I watched a very low-quality copy of the dub we got, probably ripped straight off of EMule or something when that was still kicking. Wasn't it also one of the first experiences of Miyazaki as a director? There definitely are a lot of things he ended up incorporating in his other works.

Edit: Checked, it was indeed his first work after animating and directing parts of the original 2 series of Lupin III. Still holds up, even if I don't know how popular it is outside of Europe. Lupin, Jigen, Goemon and Inspector Zenigata are cultural icons over here.
 
BlooBlanket said:
I remember loving it as a kid when I watched a very low-quality copy of the dub we got, probably ripped straight off of EMule or something when that was still kicking. Wasn't it also one of the first experiences of Miyazaki as a director? There definitely are a lot of things he ended up incorporating in his other works.
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It was Miyazaki's first ever movie that he directed. It has a ton of stuff you'd see in later Ghibli films. Hell, one of the chase scenes was so good Stephen Spielberg said it was the greatest chase scene ever made. I highly reccomend it, even if it is the bad dub where they change the main character's name to Wolf because copyright
 
Rusty of Shackleford said:
It was Miyazaki's first ever movie that he directed. It has a ton of stuff you'd see in later Ghibli films. Hell, one of the chase scenes was so good Stephen Spielberg said it was the greatest chase scene ever made. I highly reccomend it, even if it is the bad dub where they change the main character's name to Wolf because copyright
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Believe me, I'm very much a fan of Lupin III. Even have two shirts of it : a Jigen one and a Lupin one. Never liked Goemon as a kid, and Jigen just resonates with me as a young adult more than ever lmao.
 
BlooBlanket said:
Believe me, I'm very much a fan of Lupin III. Even have two shirts of it : a Jigen one and a Lupin one. Never liked Goemon as a kid, and Jigen just resonates with me as a young adult more than ever lmao.
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I'm seriously jealous. I recently got into the series and I'm obsessed with it. I especially love Jigen in the Part II dub
 
Rusty of Shackleford said:
I'm seriously jealous. I recently got into the series and I'm obsessed with it. I especially love Jigen in the Part II dub
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I still remember that Rose Of Versailles crossover during the series, even though Oscar wasn't actually Oscar. It was a cool episode, especially since the two usually aired one after the other on Friday nights.
 
BlooBlanket said:
I still remember that Rose Of Versailles crossover during the series, even though Oscar wasn't actually Oscar. It was a cool episode, especially since the two usually aired one after the other on Friday nights.
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Didn't know that! I'll have to check it out!
 
Rusty of Shackleford said:
Didn't know that! I'll have to check it out!
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I believe it was the second series, but I may be mistaken, they didn't air that too often. The movies were pretty good as well, even if most of my attention was captivated by DBZ, YGO GX/5D's and other series.
 
BlooBlanket said:
I believe it was the second series, but I may be mistaken, they didn't air that too often. The movies were pretty good as well, even if most of my attention was captivated by DBZ, YGO GX/5D's and other series.
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I still need to watch The First. The animation looks so damn good
 
Oh where to begin with Ghibli, thanks for the tag Bloo.

For me my top three would have to be as follows:

3) Kiki's Delivery Service: This one holds a special place in my heart. TO THIS DAY-- I still have 'A Town With An Ocean View' as my alarm waking up in the morning, I always got a bit of Kiki's Delivery Service on my mind! I even named my two black cats Kiki and Gigi <3 This movie makes me feel comforted and at 'home' I guess. When I feel lonely or homesick I put this one on and I just feel... happy. This one hits me different as an adult, because as a child I always could relate to Kiki more but now as I get older I start vibing with Ursula-- I mean, I'd love to just be some random chick drawing out in the woods with my crows, that's the life. Kiki's Delivery Service teaches a lot on how to handle burnout too, so not only a great one to watch as a kid but a fantastic one to watch as an adult in a creative field of work. Also do yourself a favor if you haven't listened to the soundtrack-- Osono's Request is an absolutely beautiful piece.

2) Spirited Away: This is the one that started it all for me. I think I was like 6 years old when I first watched this movie and I was so scared of it! But gosh, I'm glad I got started on this kick. This was what introduced me to Japanese media, animation and fantasy all at once. I think it's safe to assume this movie shaped me as a person in a lot of ways. The visuals are truly some of the most stunning I've ever seen to this day, the soundtrack is fire, and the characters are what make the film. I hold each one fondly, and I absolutely love Yubaba. The Sixth Station is one of the most powerful scenes in a film I've ever seen, it's just... I don't know how to explain how good it is but it just is. I remember so badly wanting to make a sequel to Spirited Away I tried writing fanfiction for years!

1) Howl's Moving Castle: Honestly, my favorite movie of all time. Ghibli or no, this movie is just that good. The visuals are truly breathtaking and gorgeous, I actually traveled to Colmar in France just because of this movie-- as the main town Sophie grew up in was just like a dream destination for me to visit and it's safe to say they captured the beauty of Eastern France perfectly. Not just the main town, but Kingsbury and so many other locations such as the wastes-- it's just a visual orgasm all around. Don't even get me started on the wonderfully compelling characters. Sophie is one of my favorite protagonists to this day, I absolutely love Howl-- and Calcifer is just amazing too. The SOUNDTRACK THOUGH-- is quite literally the best thing I've ever heard in my life. I don't think I can go a few weeks without listening to Merry-Go Round of Life in the background because the piece is just that good. Out of the soundtrack I would highly recommend listening to 'Sophie in Exile', the accordion pops off. All in all, my favorite film of all time and I'm gonna shut up now cause I'll never stop praising it.

I would say some honorable mentions are Ponyo-- cause I love the aesthetic, Arietty cause the soundtrack is gorgeous, and Castle in the Sky because I love the pirate family. I think I've seen almost all of them to this day though-- best movies!
 
Princess Mononoke
Howl's Moving Castle
Spirited Away

Grave of the Fireflies ruined me. I can never go back and watch it.
 
Nausicaa has a special place for me as it was one of the first two anime movies I saw. It was purely in Japanese, no subtitles or anything but it was gorgeous. Just picking up what I could through context clues.
Grave of the Fireflies I've only been able to watch the one time. I sat down to watch it alone, then my buddies gf came in asked if she could watch it with me. When the movie was over we just sat in silence for several minutes trying not to cry in front of one another. Eventually I excused myself to another room so we could both sob.
Lastly Pom Poko I just love for the three different styles of character designs, the story, the humor, everything. A brilliant movie and it was my high bar for background building illustrations until Makoto Shinkai showed up with all of his films.
 
I like most of what Studio Ghibli has made, but some kind of TOP 5 starting from my favorite would be:
1. Grave of the Fireflies
2. Princess Mononoke
3. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
4. The Wind Rises
5. Porco Rosso

Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle were also candidates from the fifth spot, but after rewatching loads of Ghibli I enjoyed Porco Rosso a little more than those three.
 
Spirited Away is my hands down favorite movie of all time.

It really inspired me and left a strong impression when I was a kid, so it has a special place in my heart.

While I know it will never happen, and probably for the better, I always wanted a second movie. Even when I first watched the movie and to today, I find myself wanting some kind of official confirmation that Haku and Chihiro would find each other again. 💔
 
Tove said:
Grave of the Fireflies ruined me. I can never go back and watch it.
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SAME ;~; I warn all of my friends.



I've always loved Princess Mononoke the most.
I have a Totoro wallet, plushies and Totoro decals on my car as well.
I loved Howl's so much that when I found the books, I purchased them. ​
 
Spirited Away holds the #1 spot. I watched its debut on Cartoon Network and still recall the day clearly. Castle in the Sky comes second. And I've enjoyed the other movies mentioned above too!
 
I watched Spirited Away in Japanese because my father put it on a USB drive not knowing what language it was in, and even without subtitles enjoyed every God-damn second of it. The visuals alone told the story and were so absolutely mind-blowing I couldn't turn my attention from the screen. The exact same thing happened in China with Howl's Moving Castle, where the entire film was in Japanese with Chinese subtitles; and I still understood what was going on and enjoyed it. Great, great film-making, honestly.
 
While I normally don't like that style, Mononoke and spirited away!
I boycott Fireflies. I'm never watching this.
 
Forgot to mention in my reply that Nausicaä Valley of the Wind-manga, in which the movie is adapted/based on is easily one of my favorite works from Miyazaki, and even though the movie is one of my favorite Ghibli-films I prefer the manga over it any day. It dives more deep into the themes presented in the movie, and the world + lore-building is absolutely amazing. Of course I have to mention that Miyazaki's art is absolutely stunning.

If there's anyone who's been thinking of picking the manga up I can absolutely recommend it with all my heart. Read it again before the Christmas and it was as good as I remembered it to be.
 
RedRose said:
While I normally don't like that style, Mononoke and spirited away!
I boycott Fireflies. I'm never watching this.
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It's a hard movie to watch for sure. Then you think about the fact stuff like what is depicted in it happened then, and still happens now in many parts of the world and it gets even more depressing. Still beautifully shot and powerful, it doesn't shy away from complex themes.

I saw it twice, once on my own and once for its' anniversary re-run and I doubt I could do it again. It's drastically different from the fairytale tone of every other Ghibli movie and probably the most heartfelt one.
 
Solo said:
I have a huge soft spot for Ponyo and Spirited Away.
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Me too! I can watch Ponyo anytime and probably on repeat. It’s such a beautiful setting and animation. The precocious kids melt my heart every time.

Spirited Away feels like a masterpiece of imagination. I feel like I catch some new intricacy with the bathhouse every time I see it. I love how they highlight all the bustling staff and their unique personalities.

Nauticaa and Kiki are some other of my favorites. The sense of feeling and exploring the sky when they’re flying coupled with the music in those two is divine.

Only Yesterday is a lesser celebrated one that I really adore. The end of that movie makes me absolutely lose my shit 😭
 
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