One of my missions for 2024 was to watch all the films considered ‘Ghibli movies’. And as many of those as I can with friends, and yes, that includes those that I’ve seen before and those that I’ve seen many times already. Below, I chronologically chronicle my experience with each as I watched them throughout the year, complete with some small anecdotes. Note that this list is far from complete, and I’ve transitioned my movie reviewing to the service Letterboxd.

Castle of Cagliostro (1979) (1/13 with Thomas) - My first of the year, and aptly, Miyazaki’s directorial feature debut, though Studio Ghibli wasn’t established yet. Before our day out in the cold browsing the shelves of _Books-A-Million _and playing the Scott Pilgrim beat ‘em up game, I watched Castle of Cagliostro with my friend Thomas, a fella who has also written an article here—about Scott Pilgrim funnily enough. He had it on DVD from years ago, so we gained a bit of artificial nostalgia from its lower video quality. It follows the crew of the Lupin franchise, which I knew to be popular, though I hadn’t seen any Lupin properties until then. I noticed a lot in the movie that screamed Miyazaki: the flying machines, the goofy contraptions, the distinct facial features, the gorgeous environments. There’s also a Miyazaki vibe that I can’t quite put into words; you’d have to watch the movie to believe me. Overall, it was a lovely, silly, heist movie with that Miyazaki flair, and maybe I should watch more Lupin; the 2019 movie does look striking.

Ocean Waves (1993) (2/14 by myself) - A lovely, sunny Valentine’s Day. I had half a mind to watch these movies in order of release, but that wouldn’t be that practical or fun. I didn’t do much for the day; I had no Valentine and no job, so I thought it would be fitting to watch the romance/drama Ocean Waves. I’d seen it before, and I always remember the iconic still from near the beginning, to which people often falsely attribute the caption: “Better days will come.” (pictured above). Although, that is a mantra that I still use in my own life. Ocean Waves isn’t as outwardly magical as one would think a Ghibli movie would be, but it emits the same magic in other ways. The soundtrack is light and playful, often with only one or two instruments at a time, which leans a lot into the slice-of-life tone of the movie. There’s a very “romantic” aesthetic as well, but not romantic as in love, but as in romanticized. It puts a lot of detail in its backgrounds and the expressions of its characters, as Ghibli tends to do, but there are also moments where the screen backs away, then pulls forward to transition between scenes or memories, almost like a wave. I had to pause the movie with 20 minutes left, because my friends wanted to watch some more JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, so I had to finish the next morning. I realized as the ending credits song played how magical the movie was. The magic of showing us such a small slice of our characters’ lives, presented like a nostalgic revisiting of memories, and then telling us how our world is so small, is a treat to realize. With how real and flawed the characters are, there’s a relatable trait for nearly everyone watching. There’s a lot of water and ocean imagery, and I’ve garnered a new meaning for the title; Ocean Waves is a story about how things in our lives ebb and flow and opportunities can leave us, but sometimes they can come back to us too. A nice Valentine’s message.

On Your Mark (1995) - (4/7 by myself) I just got back from a weekend trip, up to revisit my college town to see the friends who still call there home, and to meet some new friends as well. With memories of the fun weekend still fresh in my mind, I watched a short music video. about 7 minutes long, featuring the song "On Your Mark" by the Japanese rock duo Chage & Aska. Two policemen stumble upon the unconscious body of a small angel, wings still intact. She’s taken in for testing, but the two can’t bear to imagine her confined, so they break her out. Many give chase, but they’re able to escape and set the angel free, as her wings spread in the sky at the end of the video.

Spirited Away (2001) (4/27 with my sister) - Today was a jam-packed day. I had picked up my sister to go to a festival in town. We saw a steel pan band, perused the local art vendors, got tacos and donuts, and sweltered in the sun. On the drive back home, only then did we realize that "Ghiblifest" had started that day, and that Spirited Away was showing in an hour. We went home to drop stuff off and refresh ourselves, then went to see it. It was as whimsical and magical as I remember. The little touches to all the animation are always lovely; the individual papers, the water, how the clothes fold and move. I’ll never get tired of how the music swells in the scenes jam-packed with the most characters and with the most detailed background. Chihiro’s a great character, the movie is full of love, and it stays at my second-favorite Ghibli movie. If you haven’t seen it, go watch it.

Castle in the Sky (1986) (5/20 with my sister and her friends) - After a very busy weekend, filled with friends' birthday parties, beer pong clutches, long drives, and game jams, our last night visiting our hometown ends with me seeing Castle in the Sky with my sister and her friends. I’d seen it before for class, but of course, I’d long since forgotten the finer details. A story of nature vs. technology, war vs. love, and creation vs. destruction. Pazu and Sheeta meet with a one-in-a-million chance, a moment anyone in wanderlust could only dream of, your love falling from the sky into your arms (pictured above). I feel that it’s more cartoony than most other Ghibli movies, but magical all the same. Our hearts sway many times throughout the movie, as we learn to love many characters that were earlier portrayed as villains. As the castle flies up and away, it leaves love behind. After the movie, we listened to vibey music and drove on the back roads home, lost in thought, our heads in the clouds.

Since then, the only new Ghibli movie I’ve logged is From Up on Poppy Hill. I’m sure I’ll watch the rest of my unwatched Ghibli movies eventually. They’re always magical escapes into ideal worlds, yet they inspire me to be better with every one I watch.