I watched all Studio Ghibli Films and here's the problem...

Photo credit: https://bit.ly/2CAtBgh

This is a long overdue post but because of my jampacked schedule these past few weeks, I'm only writing this blog now. It's only Tuesday but it seems like this week has been heavy and tiring. I guess I should blame myself for not resting during the weekend which made me start my week with low energy. Well, in a lighter note, I'm happy to share with you guys that I finally fixed my desk over the weekend and it is ready for a desk tour soon. Aside from that, I also started a new book that keeps me awake for hours at night again... but that's for another blog. 😉


However, as you've read in the title, this blog is not about my weekend activities. I'm just proud to share that I finished all the Studio Ghibli films on Netflix and included 1 movie that's not on the streaming site. So that's 22 films in total. If I am not mistaken, the movie I watched that's not on Netflix is technically not under Studio Ghibli but it belongs to the publishing company Tokuma Shoten which explains why there are only 21 Ghibli films in total.

Anyway, the first Studio Ghibli film that I ever watched is *pause for a dramatic effect* SPIRITED AWAY. Haha, yeah, I am that basic. But mind you, that movie is a good pick to kickstart my little Ghibli adventure. It's charming, heartwarming, and intelligently made. If you are love watching movies just for the sake of entertainment, you'll see the surface level moral lessons that the movie showed. However, if you are like me who has a lot of ~hanash~ and internalizes a movie well, you can dig dipper to see more meaning and symbolism in the movie. After Spirited Away, I at least watched 1 Ghibli movie per week. My top favorites are Whisper of the Heart, Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro, and Only Yesterday. I also love the other movies like Howl's Moving Castle, Porco Rosso, Spirited Away of course, and Arriety! However, my least favorites are Tales From Earthsea (sorry but mejo inantok ako with this one), and The Cat Returns (underwhelming).

As you can see from my top favorites, most of them are those films that are simple. The characters have simple lives every day and they do the most mundane things that even I do regularly. But I guess what makes Studio Ghibli films charming is how in each character that they present to their audience, at one point in the film, you can find yourself being able to relate to them easily. It's not about how boring or simple their stories are... it's about how their stories are all unique from each other. Studio Ghibli has this power to create something so simple, become special. Like for my all-time favorite Whisper of the Heart... it has a straightforward and simple storyline BUT watching them the characters have fun, sing, and live their lives make me so drawn to the film that I found myself singing "Kantri Ruddd" for a solid two weeks.

When it comes to their elaborate, adventure-fantasy films, I love how they don't focus on the effects. Yes, the visual effects make their films more beautiful but if you remove all those effects and magic from the movie, I love how it can still stand alone and be watchable. It's like ordering a Halo-Halo in a shop. You can eat Halo Halo without ice cream and Leche flan. The flavor will always be there. But when you put the ice cream and leche flan on top, it adds flavor to it making your dessert complete. That's how Studio Ghibli works for me. No matter what they produce, may it be a magical, adventure, or as what the Japanese call it: Slice of Life kind of film, everything is uniquely special. No two films are the same. You can get thousands of moral lessons from all the movies as long as you keep your eyes, mind, and heart open when you watch them.

To be honest, the people behind Studio Ghibli are geniuses. I've always been critical when it comes to watching films and with Ghibli, I was the one who is begging them to give me one disappointing film just so I can complete my movie experience. Unfortunately, they did not give it to me because all the films they made are amazing. It's frustrating because I cannot choose one favorite movie from their line up. Those two movies that I said were my least favorites are not that bad at all. I only didn't like watching The Cat Returns as my last Ghibli movie because it was a little underwhelming for me and it was not that "save the best for last" kind of film but it was not disappointing in any sense. For the Tales From Earthsea, I just find some scenes a little too dragging for my attention span so there are parts that I felt sleepy but overall, it was an okay film too. See my dilemma here? I can't find a bad movie from them!!!

Lastly, what made me fall deeply in love with Studio Ghibli films are their strong and empowered characters. Especially the girls! They have been empowering young girls since the 80s and I think that's what makes their films extra special. I love how women characters in Studio Ghibli can always stand on their own. They may have their respective partners in the film but they never depended on anyone to save themselves. They know what they want and they were made equally to shine along with their counterparts. Both male and female Ghibli characters show their strong and weak side giving balance to each character arcs and for me, that's how you should present a character to a young audience. It is realistic and it teaches their audience that not everyone... even anime characters could be perfect.

Anyway, I'm looking for more anime series to watch since I think I'm ready to commit to another series. The first anime series that I finished this year is Assassination Classroom which was recommended by a friend (I'm not even sure if that person considers me as a friend because I just randomly messaged him asking for recos HAHA!) and I loveeeeeeedddddd it!!!! I cried so hard in the end so I like to find other series as good as that but hopefully not something that will make me cry again. I just want something feel-good and funny with a dose of action and adventure.

If you know any anime films or series that I can check out, just hit me up and I will 100% look into it.

Have you watched any Studio Ghibli films? If you haven't, try watching at least 1 film now and let me know what you think!

PS:
Here's a reco on how you should watch Studio Ghibli films: watch the slice of life themed films first with a little adventure-themed in between so you can have some variation. Then, make the famous ones your last few films to watch so you can feel that you saved the best for last and you won't find the other films underwhelming.