TOP 5 TAKAHATA STUDIO
GHIBLI FILMS
April, 9 2018
Tragically, one of anime’s top directors, Isao Takahata died last week. He was one of the co-founders of the biggest Japanese animation house, Studio Ghibli. His contributions towards the industry are many and his legacy includes a nomination for an Academy Award.
His style allowed for Studio Ghibli to develop in many different ways, differing from the animation house’s usual artistic style into many different forms with Princess Kaguya’s traditional Japanese ink-wash painting style to the comedic drawings of My Neighbours The Yamadas.
All his works are a must-watch, but which is the best of his work for the studio?
5. Pom Poko
​
Famous for hitting hard topics, Isao Takahata in this hit choose to tackle the issues of environmentalism. But in his creative ways, he chooses to show a different perspective from mythical creatures who live in the forest known as tanuki, with their land being taken away for a residential neighbour.
Through the power of illusion, they would do anything to keep humans away from their land. The film is about nature’s battle in its struggle against human development. However, the film does struggle in its tone as it appears downbeat, despite being upbeat overall.
4. My Neighbours the Yamadas
Anybody can relate to this film as it follows the daily life of an average family and their comedic shenanigans. The art is wonderfully creative in a traditional Japanese newspaper comic-styled illustration. This was the first film to be drawn completely digital by the studio.
The overriding theme through the film is touching as the family's love for each other shines through, despite their flaws and the parents always trying to do their best for the children, even if they end up going wrong along the way.
One flaw of the film is that the sketches could have been divided into a series of short animated series rather than shoving it all into one film to allow for each segment to truly shine on its own. But this is great for a light-hearted watch.
3. Only Yesterday
This tale follows an office girl’s recollection of her childhood in the late 1960s, as she returns to where she grew up in the Yamagata area. This is one of few Studio Ghibli’s realistic films as most of them are wondrously imaginative, but this film stands out as one of the most relatable, particularly to adult women.
This is one of the most underrated hits from the studio. The character’s progress from childhood to adulthood is amazingly handled. The coming-of-age story contains nostalgia and her position of being in a job she neither loves or hates, while yearning for the countryside, shows her struggles to find herself.
This slow rediscovery shows something anyone would feel about adulthood, with unfulfilled dreams or just how quickly time truly passes by. It's a slow movie but makes for a great slice-of-life watch.
2. The Tale of Princess Kaguya
Nominated for an Academy Award, this film gained a lot of attention from the Western audience. Uniquely, the art style of the film is based on traditional Japanese ink art illustrating the story The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.
The plot follows bamboo cutter discovering a ‘Thumberilla’ type character in the forest, and this girl transformed into a baby in front of the cutter and his wife. Later, he finds gold and fabric which leads the family heading to the capital to gain noble status for the girl. Life changes drastically for Kaguya from a simple country girl to a beautiful princess trapped in her own home.
Differing from the studio’s usual style, the water coloured hand-drawn backgrounds and the charcoal lines convey all the complex emotion simply. The pacing of this movie is slower compared to Takahata’s other films, but it is worth the ride. This film by no means is a fairytale with that happily-ever-after. Maybe not one for children.
1. Grave of the Fireflies
As a boy who grew up drawing World War 2, Isao Takahata was certainly not afraid to show the horrors the war had on Japanese society. The story follows two children as they attempt to survive after the consequences of the war.
They have lost everything: their family, their home and their daily lives. Determined 14-year-old Seita takes the responsibility of looking after his younger sister. A lot of his fault as a character allows for a tragic spiral of events to occur. This is a powerful anti-war story with moments of childhood naivety to the chilling reality of post-war Japan.
The film shows the darkest sides of human nature and the film holds an underlying sadness throughout as you know the fate of the children. A tough watch to see childhood innocence affected by the consequences of war but necessary none the less.