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From Up On Poppy Hill (2011)
When Umi Matsuzaki (Masami Nagasawa), a girl living in a boarding house that was once a hospital, meets a member of their school’s newspaper club, Shun Kazama (Junichi Okada), in their mutual effort to clean up the school clubhouse, they form a bond and begin to unravel their mysterious past. Set in Yokohama, Japan in 1963, this is a story of determination, friendship, and family. From Up on Poppy Hill was directed by Gorō Miyazaki (also known for directing Tales from Earthsea and Earwig and The Witch), with screenplay written by Hayao Miyazaki (who also wrote and directed Laputa: Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki’s Delivery Service, among others) and…
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Arrietty (2010)
Arrietty, Arrietty the Borrower (JP) or The Secret World of Arrietty (US) is a Studio Ghibli animation about Arrietty, a tiny girl who befriends a human boy, Sho. Arrietty and her tiny family live under the floors of Sho’s house and borrow little things that go unnoticed from the “human beans” who live above them, however they must keep themselves out of human sight in order to survive. The story is based on the book The Borrowers by Mary Norton with screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki and Keiko Niwa. The animation was directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi. Consistent with Studio Ghibli, this is a beautifully animated film with a lovely story, and it is the…
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Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
When a young witch leaves home on a clear night with a full moon, as is customary for witches, she and her cat Jiji start a new life and find new possibilities in the city of Koriko, where Kiki starts a flying delivery service as she becomes independent. This delightful movie, created by Studio Ghibli (My Neighbor Totoro, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, Spirited Away, When Marnie Was There, Grave of the Fireflies, Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle, and more), is the fourth film in my year of watching 50 Japanese movies. Kiki’s Delivery Service (originally titled Majo no takkyûbin) was produced and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and based on the novel Kiki’s…
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My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
A Japanese movie marathon wouldn’t be right without delving into the wonderful world of Japanese animation, and I’m starting with my favorite out of the few that I’ve seen, the beautifully hand-illustrated film My Neighbor Totoro. Set in 1950s Japan, My Neighbor Totoro tells the story of a professor, Tatsuo Kusakabe, and his two daughters, Satsuki and Mei, who move to the countryside to be closer to their mother who is in the hospital recovering from a long-term illness. Once they arrive, the children start to explore the old house that they are moving into, and discover that it’s inhabited by dust bunny-like spirits called “susuwatari” or “soot sprites” that…
