So here we are with part 2 (read part 1 here) of my watch-all-the-Studio-Ghibli-films-in-order adventure. The more I watch the more I'm beginning to appreciate the stunning animation these films have. Each shot is like a work of art that has people living in it, they truly are some of the most beautiful films I've ever seen. Anyway, without further ado, here's the next 3 films, my thoughts on them, and how well they rank against the others I've seen so far.

Kiki is a 13-year-old witch, and 13-year-old witches have to leave home during a full moon to find their purpose. Kiki decides her time is now. She flies with her black cat Jiji, to a wonderful coastal town, and sets up her own delivery service. After all, witches' flying abilities make them pretty efficient postladies.

Kiki is adorable, her cat Jiji is adorable (in a kind of dry sarcastic way), heck, this whole film is adorable. An absolute delight from start to finish, I fell in love instantly. At this point, it seems pointless to say the animation is gorgeous (it's a Ghibli film after all) but it is. This is a wonderful coming-of-age story about leaving home, finding a purpose, and forging an identity among a larger community. Not only that, but it has a strong, independent girl protagonist whose main aim in life is definitely not to be wooed by a guy. I loved this film, it's going up there with my Ghibli favourites.

9/10

Takahata's Only Yesterday is one of those Ghibli films that I can't imagine a child enjoying. It's a very slow and realistic adult drama about a woman named Taeko who has lived all her life in Tokyo. She decides to spend the Summer out in the country with the brother of her brother-in-law helping with a safflower harvest as she did the year before. On her way there she begins having flashbacks about some of the most memorable events in her childhood, the ones that have shaped who she is now.

I really enjoyed this film. It's a quiet meditation on how our childhoods form who we are and how often, as we grow up, we move away from what we wanted to be as children, which isn't always a good thing. This isn't going to rank among my favourites as it doesn't quite have the magic of some of the other films I've seen on this adventure but there's no doubt this is a very accomplished drama that tells its story affectionately and beautifully.

8/10

Porco Rosso is about a famous pilot who is turned into a pig by a curse after he flees a battle in which many of his friends die. It's an action-packed adventure that follows our charismatic protagonist Porco Rosso as he battles air pirates and smokes cigars in his beautiful, bright red plane. It features a more standard plot with a good guy (our aforementioned protagonist), his awesome mechanic prodigy sidekick Fio, and a cocky, power-hungry villain.

Porco Rosso is a really fun action film. To me, it didn't really have the thematic depth or discussable quality that most Ghibli films have, with the only real theme being Porco Rosso's journey of coming to terms with who he is, but it's thoroughly entertaining, full of fun characters, and stands out even among Ghibli's catalogue for how well the action scenes are animated, particularly the air battles.

7/10

So now we're 6 films down. Here's how I'd rank them all so far. With the ones reviewed in this particular post in bold italics.

1. My Neighbour Totoro

2. Grave of the Fireflies

3. Kiki's Delivery Service

4. Laputa: Castle in the Sky

5. Only Yesterday

6. Porco Rosso

Thanks for reading, the journey will continue next time with Pom Poko, Whisper of the Heart and Princess Mononoke.