Japanese Animation and Film
Animation and Films I've seen. Lots of Studio Ghibli--and director Hayao Miyazaki isn't the only star.
List activity
3.7K views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
39 titles
- DirectorYoshifumi KondôStarsYoko HonnaIssei TakahashiTakashi TachibanaA love story between a girl who loves reading books, and a boy who has previously checked out all of the library books she chooses.Undoubtedly the best work of animation I've ever seen, with a whimsical but unusually realistic story and characters. Directed by Yoshifumi Kondou, written by Hayao Miyazaki.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsYasuo YamadaEiko MasuyamaKiyoshi KobayashiA dashing thief, his gang of desperadoes and an intrepid cop struggle to free a princess from an evil count, and learn the secret of a treasure that she holds part of the key to.Miyazaki's first work as director. It's like a mix of Castle in the Sky, the Princess Bride, and James Bond. Lupin is the star of a 60s anime.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsSumi ShimamotoMahito TsujimuraHisako KyôdaWarrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsMayumi TanakaKeiko YokozawaKotoe HatsuiA young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.Classic, soaring adventure with colorful characters and an unforgettable setting.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsTsutomu TatsumiAyano ShiraishiAkemi YamaguchiA young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsHitoshi TakagiNoriko HidakaChika SakamotoWhen two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsKirsten DunstMinami TakayamaRei SakumaA young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsMiki ImaiToshirô YanagibaYoko HonnaA twenty-seven-year-old office worker travels to the countryside while reminiscing about her childhood in Tokyo.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsShûichirô MoriyamaTokiko KatôBunshi Katsura VIIn 1930s Italy, a veteran World War I pilot is cursed to look like an anthropomorphic pig.Set in Italy between the world wars, Porco Rosso follows the adventures of a middle-aged ace pilot who has a pig's head. There's plenty of humor, pathos, planes, and gorgeous scenery, but to be honest, I didn't see a compelling reason for the guy's...pigheadedness.
- DirectorTomomi MochizukiStarsNobuo TobitaToshihiko SekiYoko SakamotoAs a young man returns home after his first year away at college he recalls his senior year of high school and the iron-willed, big city girl that turned his world upside down.This is my least favorite Ghibli film. I didn't find the plot or the characters very appealing.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsShinchô KokonteiMakoto NonomuraYuriko IshidaA community of magical shape-shifting raccoon dogs struggle to prevent their forest home from being destroyed by urban development.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsYôji MatsudaYuriko IshidaYûko TanakaOn a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsYukiji AsaokaTôru MasuokaMasako ArakiThe life and misadventures of a family in contemporary Japan.Takahata experimented with a totally different animation style, which I didn't like as much as Ghibli's usual fare. Instead of an elaborate plot, there's a series of everyday vignettes with a lesson for each. It's charming, but not especially thrilling.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsDaveigh ChaseSuzanne PleshetteMiyu IrinoDuring her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.Truly bizarre and dreamlike plot. Has a good dose of creepy, but some beautiful moments as well. The score is fabulous as always, courtesy of Joe Hisaishi.
- DirectorHiroyuki MoritaStarsChizuru IkewakiYoshihiko HakamadaAki MaedaAfter helping a cat, a seventeen-year-old girl finds herself involuntarily engaged to a cat Prince in a magical world where her only hope of freedom lies with a dapper cat statuette come to life.A "sequel" to Whisper of the Heart. It isn't really, as there's a new heroine (Haru) and the story is outright fantastical, a la Alice in Wonderland. Only the Tokyo setting and Baron and Muta provide connection to WotH. Nonetheless, it's an entertaining film.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsChieko BaishôTakuya KimuraTatsuya GashûinWhen an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.
- DirectorGorô MiyazakiStarsTimothy DaltonWillem DafoeMariska HargitayIn a mythical land, a man and a young boy investigate a series of unusual occurrences.Gorou Miyazaki's first work as director. (Miyazaki's son.) Glorious animation, less glorious plot construction.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsCate BlanchettMatt DamonLiam NeesonA five-year-old boy develops a relationship with Ponyo, a young goldfish princess who longs to become a human after falling in love with him.
- DirectorHiromasa YonebayashiStarsBridgit MendlerAmy PoehlerWill ArnettThe Clock family are four-inch-tall people who live anonymously in another family's residence, borrowing simple items to make their home. Life changes for the Clocks when their teenage daughter Arrietty is discovered.Lots of lush and green animation, with endearing characters.
- DirectorGorô MiyazakiStarsSarah BolgerChris NothAnton YelchinA group of Yokohama teens look to save their school's clubhouse from the wrecking ball in preparations for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.Gorou Miyazaki's second work as director. Better constructed than Earthsea.
- DirectorMakoto ShinkaiStarsHisako KanemotoMiyu IrinoKazuhiko InoueA coming of age story involving young love and a mysterious music, coming from a crystal radio left as a memento by an absent father, that leads a young heroine deep into a hidden world.
- DirectorMakoto ShinkaiYoshio SuzukiStarsHidetaka YoshiokaMasato HagiwaraYuka NanriIn an alternate postwar timeline, Japan is divided into the Union-controlled North and the US-controlled South.Animation is shiny and dreamlike, plot is fuzzy and unsatisfying.
- DirectorMamoru HosodaStarsRiisa NakaTakuya IshidaMitsutaka ItakuraA high-school girl named Makoto acquires the power to travel back in time, and decides to use it for her own personal benefits. Little does she know that she is affecting the lives of others just as much as she is her own.
- DirectorSatoshi KonStarsMegumi HayashibaraTôru EmoriKatsunosuke HoriWhen a machine that allows therapists to enter their patients' dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist, Paprika, can stop it.Psychedelic beyond belief---Inception, which was inspired by this film, seems almost quotidian in comparison. It can be very disturbing, so it deserves the R, but there's something touching about it too. It's a case of birds flying from the underground: if you could see it you'd understand.
- DirectorTetsuya NomuraTakeshi NozueStarsTakahiro SakuraiAyumi ItoShôtarô MorikuboAn ex-mercenary is forced out of isolation when three mysterious men kidnap and brainwash the city's children afflicted with the Geostigma disease.