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.

I've always liked anime, but have only ever scraped the very surface when it comes to watching any. While going through one of life's rough patches I visited my good friend Josh Keighley (of the books podcast on here) and we watched The Wind Rises together. The beautiful animation, the messages, the music, it was like a warm hug, I felt instantly better. I decided there and then I was going to make it my mission over the next few months or so to watch all the Studio Ghibli films in release order, to keep chasing that high. I'll be presenting them here in sets of three, and attempting to rank them as I go along (hey, I just like ranking things). Let us begin with the first three Studio Ghibli movies.

Officially, Laputa: Castle in the Sky is the first Studio Ghibli film, though I know there are others before made by Ghibli directors before the studio was formed. Castle in the Sky follows a young orphan named Sheeta who gets kidnapped by one of the film's best characters, the pirate leader Dola, and meets fellow orphan Pazu. Together they try to find the magical city of Laputa, which allegedly floats in the sky.

This film surprised me. It's an action packed adventure that rarely lets up over its 2 hour 15 minute running time. The animation is absolutely gorgeous, the soundtrack suitably epic and yet pretty, but what really set the film apart for me was the character interactions. I loved Pazu and Sheeta's relationship, and any scene featuring Dola's pirate gang was a complete joy. The film definitely has themes of protecting the nature in our world and has the common anti-corporation/big business angle which I expect will come up in future Ghibli films too. Honestly, this is just a great action-adventure film, and I'd say pretty much anyone would enjoy this film. It's just a damn good time.

8/10

Directed by Isao Takahata The Grave of the Fireflies follows Seita who is left to look after his little sister Setsuo as a result of the war. It's a heartbreaking tale of children having to grow up too fast, homelessness and the futility of war.

This was by no means an easy watch and certainly not one I'll be rewatching in a hurry because of just how heavy it is. However I firmly believe that anyone with even a slight interest in anime should not miss this. The animation is stunning as always and the story is paced beautifully. A delicate and yet emotionally brutal look at the effects of war. I cried, possibly twice.

9/10

We're back to Hayao Miyazaki directing. This one features Ghibli's iconic mascot Totoro! The premise is a simple one: a father and his two daughters move into an old house in the country to be closer to their mother who is in hospital. It's a slice-of-life type film where the family settle into their new home and soon meet some mysterious forest creatures.

What can I say? This is one of my very favourite films and one of the few Ghibli films I've seen before. I love how there's no real plot, villain or good guy. The interactions when they first get to the farmhouse are so spot on I was taken right back to my own childhood, a crazy feeling of nostalgia, even when I'd never seen this film before. From then on we're taken on a fantastical journey with themes of nature and community, and the fact that the very things that most define us, are what we're losing. I can't think of another film that nails that feeling of being a child as well as this one. A warm hug of a film (yes I know that's the second time I've said that, but it's just true) that kept a stupid childish grin on my face for its entire duration. A truly magical masterpiece.

10/10

So here we are. 3 films down. I promised I'd rank them as I go along so here goes:

1. My Neighbour Totoro

2. Grave of the Fireflies

3. Laputa: Castle in the Sky

Thanks for reading and I'll catch you next time for the next 3 Ghibli films: Kiki's Delivery Service, Only Yesterday and Porco Rosso.

Clive Watches Ghibli: Part 2 (1989-1992)

Clive Watches Ghibli: Part 1 (1986-1988)