The funny thing, Godoggo, is that I had the exact same reaction on my first viewing. And actually the explanation seemed fine to me. The problem, I think, is that while it's fine, there are many alternatives that are too and that I didn't consider when I first watched it.
Of course that is my opinion... there are many people who disagree and can defend the existence of a clear solution with very well-brought arguments.
Thanks for your comment, Upton, by the way
And now, what about another entry?
7. Whisper of the heart
Yoshifumi Kondo, 1995
The biggest problem
Whisper of the heart has ever had is depicting a teen romance. The amount of times I have read that this movie is just for teen girls is incredibly high; and what I find specially difficult to explain is that it can be put in contrast with the "wider" appeal of
Spirited away, which deals with very similar -I'd say they are the most closely related in Ghibli- themes.
I don't need to say that I disagree with this statement, and I disagree first and firemost because this movie, to me, is not -or more exactly, not
only- a teen romance. The relationship between Seiji and Shizuku moves at its own pace, it is not the main focus in the story. The plot is about Shizuku going through a specific period in her life, and what she finds in this transition.
It is probably idealistic, but it is in the sense that it doesn't let external elements influence on the development of its point. That is, Shizuku seems to have a perfectly healthy life, her family understands and supports her, she has her friends, goes fine at school... however this lack of relevant conflicts in her daily life only helps to reinforce the fact that she's changing, and she needs to deal with this change alone, as a mean of self-demonstration.
Shizuku is one of the most relatable characters I have ever found in a movie. Her perception of her own changes comes off as very easily identifiable through the whole process. Similarly, in the new situations she finds her answers are rather natural and easy to understand. Her decision to take the example of Seiji and try to push her limits to write a tale is not only a perfect follow-up to her naturally curious character, but a rather poetic way to describe her process of maturity.
In general, the biggest quality of this movie is its sense of naturality. There is a specially exhaustive focus on making the scenes and reactions feel real and down-to-earth; the characters change their mood through the events, but they don't change their essence and personality. For example, Shizuku after a depressing situation may feel sad for a while, but she doesn't magically turn into a depressive character for that reason alone.
This focus is translated as well to the level of detail. It is a common thing in many Ghibli movies to depict little instances of gestures and movements that are unnecessary to reach the main point of the scenes they are depicting, and could be considered in that sense a waste of frames, but help a lot on making them look real and relatable through this way too. There is a scene where Shizuku is reading at her bed and decides to switch off the lamp; since she doesn't reach it, she has to get up. That little situation doesn't have any significance in the story or the character development, however it is depicted with the same care that is shown for the rest of the narration.
Contrarily to other Ghibli movies, and specially to Miyazaki, who is responsible for the screenplay in this case, this one has very few instances of fantasy and supernatural elements, and they are always very perfectly delimited as fictional elements; for instance, as a visualization of the tale that Shizuku is writing. These little scenes are of course rich and imaginative, however the biggest artistic quality of this series is in its ability to extract a portrait that feels magic and lively from a perfectly mundane city. The level of detail and embellishment put into describing that setting is mesmerizing.
Technically there is very little to complain about, if there is anything. It is one of the most well-balanced works of animation I have ever seen and is imbued with the naturality and thoroughly descriptive philosophy of the whole movie. The music choice may be surprising, but I think it works as it is very well inserted into the story. The main song,
Country roads, is rare in the sense that it doesn't seem to fit with Japanese themes and culture, but in fact one of my favorite parts of this story is the introductory sequence, which uses this song as we follow a panoramic view of the city at night while getting increasingly closer to the focus of the main character.
Damn, this got a little long. But I can't help it, I'm too fond of this movie, partly due to its high quality of course, but also for very personal reasons.
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