Hayao Miyazaki films

Remove this Banner Ad

100action

100action

Norm Smith Medallist
Veteran Western Bulldogs - Christian Howard/Mark Austin Player Sponsor 2013 Shiny Penny Western Bulldogs - Christian Howard/Mark Austin 2012 Player Sponsor
Apr 18, 2009
6,100
6,038
Mogadishu
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
So a while ago I decided to check out Princess Mononoke which I enjoyed immensely and followed it up with Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind and Spirited Away which were both very good but not on the level of Princess IMO.

These films have given me the impetus to delve into other Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli films but im wondering does the quality of the films drop off? because I dont want to waste bandwidth and time on bad stuff. If not can someone recommend me the next few films I should try? Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Whisper of the Heart and Howls Moving Castle* seem to get great reviews.

My neighbour totoro and kiki's delivery service also seem to score great but the names put me off, do they still offer epic tales that takes your mind off to fantasy land?

*i remember this being shown on FTA on SBS but I switched channels because I was caight in the middle of the movie and didnt know what the feck was going on.
 
Laputa is great, steer clear of the dub though. I would recommend My Neighbor Totoro and Ponyo, they don't have the depth or scope of Spirited Away and Mononoke but both are magic.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Laputa is a good film, Whispers of the Heart I enjoyed heaps but it's a bit more 'real world' than the rest of his stuff. A few fantasy sequences but apart from that it's just about a girl and a boy in Tokyo. A very sweet, simple film really. Neither are as good as Mononoke but are good films.

I'd have the manga version of Nausicaa as just about the best thing he's ever done though. To give some perspective to it, the film version is to the manga version what The Hobbit is to The Lord of the Rings.
 
Laputa and porco were made in the late 80's i think and they are very good. IMO Spirited away and Princess are the best you are going to get. Ponyo is the newest one but it is very kiddish and cute. Love Miyazaki's work :thumbsu:
 
Discovered him when I stumbled across Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind on sbs couple of years ago. I've seen Princess Mononoke, Laputa, Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle since then. Nausicaa remains my favourite, Laputa is probably my least favourite, they're all fantastic though.
 
Thanks for the recommendations, i checked out HMC which was a good film. I also checked another studio ghibli film in Grave of the Fireflies which was great but a bit too melodramatic for the sake of it at times and ended up lowering its colors a bit.
 
I know not many around like bothering themselves with manga, but Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind is the single greatest completed manga of all time and is Miyazaki's life work.

The film is a decent if simplified portrayal of the start of the story, and i highly recommend reading it all to anyone who cbf.
 
Saw Laputa on SBS a few years back and instantly fell in love with it. Love Mark Hamil as the evil Colonel.

Immediately went and downloaded all the other Miyazaki films, sheer brilliance.

A few years ago SBS held a week of Miyazaki film festival, hopefully they do it again soon.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Big bump. I watched Spirited Away for the first time today and I feel like my life is changed forever. Probably the greatest movie I've seen, and I went in with low expectations.
 
I don't like to double post but I've followed up by watching Howl's Moving Castle and My Neighbour Toroto. This guy is pure magic!
 
The quality certainly doesn't drop off in most cases. The gap between their best and worst films isn't as huge as you might expect. I'd probably tell you to avoid Goro Miyazaki's films but all the other Ghibli directors are excellent.

My personal favourites are 'Princess Mononoke' and 'Grave of the Fireflies' because they are inherently darker stories. Many of Ghibli's other films are going for a family audience and skew younger. I'd say most of their films fall into the 'made for all ages' category.

I'll list them in order from best to worst and grade them. (my opinion anyway)

1. Princess Mononoke (A)
2. Grave of the Fireflies (A)
3. Nausicaa (A)
4. Spirited Away (A)
5. Porco Rosso (A)
6. Laputa Castle in the Sky (A)
7. Howl's Moving Castle (B)
8. My Neighbour Totoro (B)
9. Ponyo (B)
10. Kiki's Delivery Service (B)
11. Pom Poko (B)
12. The Wind Rises (B)
13.The Secret World of Arrietty (B)
14. The Cat Returns (C)
15. My Neighbours the Yamada's (C)
16. From Up on Poppy Hill (C)
17. Whisper of the Heart (C)
18. Tales from the Earthsea (D)

EDIT: Should mention that Hiyao Miyazaki is a genius and nearly all of his films are great.
 
Last edited:
Miyazaki is most certainly a genius.I'd written off anime for many years because I thought it was 'just for kids'. As soon as I saw Spirited Away, I felt like an idiot. I've now watched Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, My Neighbour Toroto, Kiki's Delivery Service, Ponyo and Porco Rosso. I think Princess Mononoke is next on my list.
 
Bump. Just finished Princess Mononoke.

Wow. Just wow. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top