1. Ocean Waves (1993)
The story is pretty simple, there is no huge drama or any fantasy included. It’s a cute relaxing film about a boy reminiscing his time in high school and looking back at the time he used to hang out with this new girl. I love the 90’s vibe that this movie has and how it is overall very relaxing.
2. Spirited Away (2001)
A classic Ghibli movie! It’s in one of my top rankings because I just love the color scheme, the characters, and the soundtrack. It has one of the best soundtracks that Joe Hisaishi has composed for the Ghibli movies. (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) also has a great soundtrack!!)
3. Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
This movie, just like Spirited Away, it is a fantasy. The animation, the drawing, and the cinematography of this film is just beautiful.
4. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
There isn’t much to say about this film other than it is very sad. And make you want to eat Japanese canned candies (the can that the boy is holding in the picture above). This film is about a brother and sister during the Second World War in Japan, it touches on family, survival, and trust in times of great need – it will make you think a lot.
5. When Marnie was There (2014)
When I first watched this movie when I was younger, I did not understand what was happening. I really like how everything is drawn in this movie and even though I think the plot line itself is not as interesting, it’s still a good film.
6. Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
This is just a cute movie where you get to see a girl, Kiki, and her story of growing up. The characters are all cute and lovable! (Especially her black cat!)
7. Whisper of the Heart (1995)
I decided to watch this movie because the cat in this one was really fat and cute. The storyline is pretty simple, nothing too complicated. I liked the vintage 90s vibe in this film. It’s a love story between two young kids, who are trying to figure out what they want to do after they graduate middle school. After this movie, you will definitely start to sing Take Me Home, Country Roads out of the blue.
8. The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)
I remember really loving this movie when it came out. I love the little world Arrietty lives in, and how everything we see in our daily life is drawn out as something as small as our eraser. I also really like the color scheme of this movie and Arrietty’s outfit.
9. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
A very classic Ghibli movie with a pretty simple story line. This was probably the first ever Ghibli movie I ever watched. The story is really easy to understand but the interesting part of this movie is that there are a lot of hidden (scary) meanings. Have fun watching this film and looking for all the Easter Eggs!
10. Ponyo (2008)
This movie is just very cute and the song is super duper catchy. It became very popular in the late 2000’s and was sung everywhere. The song worms into your brain after a while. I still don’t know what or who exactly Ponyo is though… A fish? A kid? It’s really cute and heartwarming and definitley worth watching!
Editor’s Note: Ghibli is short for “Studio Ghibli“, a film production studio located in Tokyo, Japan. The founder and director of the Ghibli films (from the 1980s to 2014) mentioned in Sana’s list is Hayao Miyazaki (宮崎駿), a renowned animator, filmmaker and artist. Many of Miyazaki’s films reached critical acclaim and popularity worldwide, Spirited Away was one of Studio Ghibli’s most successful film features. The movie won the 75th Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature, as well as numerous accolades in Asian and international film festivals and associations.
In 2013, Miyazaki announced his retirement from making film features. The following year, Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki, the other co-founders of Studio Ghibli, also announced their retirement and step down from their managerial and producer roles in the studio respectively. Many were worried of the future of Studio Ghibli with its core founders retiring. After major restructure and changes, Studio Ghibli is still producing films today and now operates under Goro Miyazaki, the eldest son of Miyazaki.
