Rank the Ghibli Films!

1. Princess Mononoke
2. Whisper of the Heart
3. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
4. Laputa: Castle in the Sky
5. Spirited Away
6. Arrietty
7. Grave of the Fireflies
8. The Cat Returns
9. My Neighbour Totoro
10. Ponyo
11. Howl's Moving Castle
12. Tales from Earthsea
13. Kiki's Delivery Service
14. Porco Rosso
15. My Neighbour the Yamadas
16. Pom Poko
17. Only Yesterday
18. Ocean Waves

A few a little changeable in the middle order, but the top 4 and the bottom 6 are pretty much permanent.
 
Updated list

1. My Neighbour Totoro
2. Ponyo (New entry)
3. Pom Poko
4. The Cat Returns
5. My Neighbours the Yamadas
6. Grave of the Fireflies
7. Nausicca
8. Spirited Away
9. Howl's Moving Castle
10. Princes Mononoke
11. Whisper of the Heart
12. Laputa
13. Porco Rosso
14. Kiki's Delivery Service

Haven't yet seen:

Only Yesterday
Ocean Waves
Tales of Earthsea
Arrietty
From Up on Poppy Hill
The Castle of Cagliostro
Little Norse Prince
 
Oh yeah, how could I forget:

Lowest place on my list (pretty much no matter what). Earthsea

:p Sorry, I just did that to tease you Warmaster, as I vaguely remember debating the film with you at some point. Good to see you back around anyway, and good to see Mononoke at the top of your list :)


On a serious note though. The most interesting thing I've learned from this thread is that Only Yesterday isn't universally loved like I thought it was, in fact judging from this thread it's actually the most divisive Ghibli. It's seems to almost exclusively feature in either the top few of the list or at the very tail end. Interesting, I can't wait to see how I feel about it, although I suspect I will like it.
 
vashdaman said:
Oh yeah, how could I forget:

Lowest place on my list (pretty much no matter what). Earthsea

:p Sorry, I just did that to tease you Warmaster, as I vaguely remember debating the film with you at some point. Good to see you back around anyway, and good to see Mononoke at the top of your list :)


On a serious note though. The most interesting thing I've learned from this thread is that Only Yesterday isn't universally loved like I thought it was, in fact judging from this thread it's actually the most divisive Ghibli. It's seems to almost exclusively feature in either the top few of the list or at the very tail end. Interesting, I can't wait to see how I feel about it, although I suspect I will like it.
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Although it depends on the poster, not all last films at the bottom of the lists are hated. I for one can't say i hate a Ghibli film but as it's a list something is always going to be at the bottom. I would say the lowest rating I would give a Ghibli film would be around 6-7.
 
vashdaman said:
Oh yeah, how could I forget:

Lowest place on my list (pretty much no matter what). Earthsea

:p Sorry, I just did that to tease you Warmaster, as I vaguely remember debating the film with you at some point. Good to see you back around anyway, and good to see Mononoke at the top of your list :)


On a serious note though. The most interesting thing I've learned from this thread is that Only Yesterday isn't universally loved like I thought it was, in fact judging from this thread it's actually the most divisive Ghibli. It's seems to almost exclusively feature in either the top few of the list or at the very tail end. Interesting, I can't wait to see how I feel about it, although I suspect I will like it.
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I'm always here, I just lurk a lot :p Plus not had much time to watch Anime of late so not too much to say.

Mononoke is the top of my list as always, a truly wonderful film. Though if it included manga, the Nausicaa Manga would top the lot (The film, while extremely good, does lack the sheer depth of the manga, and I agree with Miyazaki himself who thought the ending of the film was a little Deus Ex Machina)

Few of the Ghibli films I could ever say I 'hate' Ocean waves and Only Yesterday are not really my cup of tea and there are plenty of other similar anime out there. Pom Poko just is a little too 'out there' for most audiences (Hell from what I have read most younger Japanese seem to think much the same!) Yamada's is a little hit and miss on humour (Sometimes it works brilliantly, other times the jokes do not translate) and Porco Rosso is far too short and hurt by the overly tame nature forced upon it (Miyazaki was told no crashes = overly tame)

However none of them really hit 'terrible' for me, just 'average'

And yeah, I remember the Earthsea debate. Doesn't matter, I hold some different opinions in many subjects (Still think Evangelion is absolutely terrible, Ocarina of Time is still to me, the best game ever made, etc)
 
^
Heh, no worries, it takes a more confident person to hold an un-popular opinion anyway. I also actually agree with you to an extent on Evangelion and I also love OoT (though I didn't know that one was controversial).

Although it depends on the poster, not all last films at the bottom of the lists are hated. I for one can't say i hate a Ghibli film but as it's a list something is always going to be at the bottom. I would say the lowest rating I would give a Ghibli film would be around 6-7.
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True, but still I thought for some reason that it was one of the most highly rated Ghibli's.
 
vashdaman said:
On a serious note though. The most interesting thing I've learned from this thread is that Only Yesterday isn't universally loved like I thought it was, in fact judging from this thread it's actually the most divisive Ghibli. It's seems to almost exclusively feature in either the top few of the list or at the very tail end. Interesting, I can't wait to see how I feel about it, although I suspect I will like it.
Click to expand...

I actually haven't seen a lot of Ghibli, I know shame on me, but out of the ones I've seen, Only Yesterday is probably my least favourite.

Not because it's necessarily a bad film, but, perhaps because of it's perspective and viewpoint, I found it much harder to connect with or relate to than say the charm of Whisper of the Heart, or the soundtrack of Arriety.

It's the only Ghibli I've seen so far where I've found myself looking at my clock, simply because whilst even I had moments where I did quite enjoy it or laugh, there were other sections where I just couldn't quite get into it.
And I think part of that might be down to the fact that a lot of it is looking at times and eras, and even thoughts of years gone by, and as a young person, I find it somewhat harder to connect with those elements that soneone who might have lived nearer that time period, not to mention it's the most culturally rooted of the films I've seen so far, which again makes it a little harder to connect with.

Even with the heavy asian elements of the films, I found a little more to connect with in the other films :)
I'm not sure I'm even saying or explaining well quite what I felt when I was watching it, as it's not exactly the cultural roots are a problem, it's just I think I always felt a slight disattachment to the film as I was watching, in a way I didn't feel with the other films.

Saying this my viewpoint might be somewhat controversial in this thread anyways, as although I enjoyed Laputa, I'd also probably say its amongst my least favourites; and I could almost 'feel' it was an older film, and something about it seemed to have dated slightly.
 
alexrose1uk said:
And I think part of that might be down to the fact that a lot of it is looking at times and eras, and even thoughts of years gone by, and as a young person, I find it somewhat harder to connect with those elements that soneone who might have lived nearer that time period, not to mention it's the most culturally rooted of the films I've seen so far, which again makes it a little harder to connect with.
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I think you hit the point here. Only Yesterday is a movie that deals with the will to follow our own way of living, and to overcome the nostalgia of times past. I suppose it would be quite difficult to get into the spirit of the movie if you were 25 or less, it's more of a movie for people over 30.



Teo
 
teonzo said:
alexrose1uk said:
And I think part of that might be down to the fact that a lot of it is looking at times and eras, and even thoughts of years gone by, and as a young person, I find it somewhat harder to connect with those elements that soneone who might have lived nearer that time period, not to mention it's the most culturally rooted of the films I've seen so far, which again makes it a little harder to connect with.
Click to expand...

I think you hit the point here. Only Yesterday is a movie that deals with the will to follow our own way of living, and to overcome the nostalgia of times past. I suppose it would be quite difficult to get into the spirit of the movie if you were 25 or less, it's more of a movie for people over 30.
Teo
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How come it's in the lower part of my list then as I'm in my 30's.
 
mangaman74 said:
How come it's in the lower part of my list then as I'm in my 30's.
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You are the only one who can know the answer to this... tastes are personal.
About what I wrote, it was just a general and personal supposition, not an absolute rule.



Teo
 
teonzo said:
mangaman74 said:
How come it's in the lower part of my list then as I'm in my 30's.
Click to expand...

You are the only one who can know the answer to this... tastes are personal.
About what I wrote, it was just a general and personal supposition, not an absolute rule.



Teo
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Well for me it was the city vs countryside (city bad countryside good) that didn't work for me.
 
mangaman74 said:
teonzo said:
mangaman74 said:
How come it's in the lower part of my list then as I'm in my 30's.
Click to expand...
You are the only one who can know the answer to this... tastes are personal.
About what I wrote, it was just a general and personal supposition, not an absolute rule.
Click to expand...
Well for me it was the city vs countryside (city bad countryside good) that didn't work for me.
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I didn't take that message from it at all.
Taeko decides the countryside (but more the man from the countryside, really) is for her
, but I don't think it ever painted the city in a particularly bad light. Before I read Teo's thoughts I was about to post a similar thing; that Only Yesterday likely appeals more to those of us who are... not necessarily older but well, it's a film for romantics, really. Romantics who are old / wise enough to acknowledge the realities of life (and to be able to reminisce about childhood, of course). Anyone not inclined towards romanticism in the slightest isn't likely to take much from it, regardless of age.

For me it was above all else about a woman examining her past and her present, finding and admitting to herself what she wanted, and moving on (strangely like therapy). And the fact that I well up at the end of Only Yesterday every time makes me feel I might not necessarily be the harsh, unfeeling bastard I often envision myself as. Reminding me of my humanity is a good enough reason for it to get top marks from me.
 
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