Hello hello how are you all~
Summer is ending and for most of us school is starting.
It's only been 2 weeks since I started going back to uni, even though last week we had a few more holidays and the weekends, I'm still dragging myself out of bed every morning.
The reason being I've been so obsessed with Japanese animated movies lately! (Sorry-not-sorry for being a geek hahahahahaha)
So today I have some recommendations to save yourselves from back-to-school depression.
Almost all of these movies are family-oriented and perfect for summer.
I've loved animation for as long as I can remember, so I hope you can check out some of these and share with me what you think!
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Hotarubi no Mori e - Into the Forest of Firefly Lights (2011)
Intrigued by the tale of a mountain god,
six-year-old Hotaru Takegawa loses her way in the ancient forest while
visiting her uncle. Exhausted and desperate for help, Hotaru is thrilled
to find a masked forest spirit named Gin. She learns the hard way that
she should not touch the boy, or he would disappear. In spite of this,
Gin leads Hotaru out of the forest and warns her never to return when
she promises to come again with a gift.
Comment: I don't know why, this movie touches me. I legit cried at the last part. It's beautiful and yet so sad.
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Koe no Katachi - A Silent Voice (2016)
Ishida Shouya bullies a deaf girl,
Nishimiya Shouko, to the point that she transfers to another school. As a
result, he is ostracized and bullied himself with no friends to speak
of and no plans for the future.
Comment: I haven't watched this yet, but I've seen the trailer. It was released 2 days ago (17 Sept) and I'm still waiting for subtitles hehe I have a feeling that I will love this movie so much.
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Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki - Wolf Children (2012)
Hana, a hard-working college student, falls
in love with a mysterious man who attends one of her classes though he
is not an actual student. As it turns out, he is not truly human either.
On a full moon night, he transforms, revealing that he is the last
werewolf alive. Despite this, Hana's love remains strong, and the two
ultimately decide to start a family.
Comment: This movie is legit so good, teaches me a lot of things (I don't wanna spoil anything lol) and a definite recommendation for everyone!
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Bakemono no Ko - The Boy and The Beast (2015)
Bakemono no Ko is the tale of a boy
and a beast: both lonely, both stubborn, and both strong. For
nine-year-old Ren, things could hardly be worse. His mother has passed
away in a traffic accident, his father is nowhere to be found, and his
extended family is cold and distant. Desperate, Ren runs away to the
mean streets of Shibuya to try and survive on his own.
Comment: Some of you might think that this story-line is very mainstream and will get the whole moral after the first half an hour, but I still love this. The animation itself is so good!
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Summer Wars (2009)
Kenji Koiso is a 17-year-old math genius
and part-time OZ moderator who is invited by his crush Natsuki Shinohara
on a summer trip. But unbeknownst to him, this adventure requires him
to act as her fiancé. Shortly after arriving at Natsuki's family's
estate, which is preparing for her great-grandmother's 90th birthday, he
receives a strange, coded message on his cell phone from an unknown
sender who challenges him to solve it. Kenji is able to crack the code,
but little does he know that his math expertise has just put Earth in
great danger.
Comment: If you're a gamer (or was), all that knowledge might help while watching this haha!
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To add to the list, any Studio Ghibli Movies!
My favorites are:
Howl no Ugoku Shiro - Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
That jumbled piece of architecture, that
cacophony of hissing steam and creaking joints, with smoke billowing
from it as it moves on its own... That castle is home to the magnificent
wizard Howl, infamous for both his magical prowess and for being a
womanizer—or so the rumor goes in Sophie Hatter's small town. Sophie, as
the plain daughter of a hatmaker, does not expect much from her future
and is content with working hard in the shop.
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Karigurashi no Arrietty - The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)
The world can be a very scary place when
you’re small. For Arrietty, though, the only real fear in life is in
missing out on a big adventure. 14-year-old Arrietty and her parents
live in the small spaces of a human garden. They are what some might
call “borrowers”; they take items from the human world to eke out a
living amidst the shadows.
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Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi - Spirited Away (2001)
Stubborn, spoiled, and naïve, 10-year-old
Chihiro Ogino is less than pleased when she and her parents discover an
abandoned amusement park on the way to their new house. Cautiously
venturing inside, she realizes that there is more to this place than
meets the eye, as strange things begin to happen once dusk falls.
Ghostly apparitions and food that turns her parents into pigs are just
the start—Chihiro has unwittingly crossed over into the spirit world.
Now trapped, she must summon the courage to live and work amongst
spirits, with the help of the enigmatic Haku and the cast of unique
characters she meets along the way.
Comment: Yep, most of us probably already watched this one. This movie is literally what made my childhood. A classic favorite!
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I highly recommend watching them in Japanese with English subtitles.
It's not that I have anything against English dubs, but I feel like the expressions used are clearer and it just feels right lol
If you have any recommendations on other movies and anime (especially action-fantasy-romance-related stuff), please let me know!
I hope you get to check these out AND FANGIRL WITH ME HAHAHA
Good luck for all of you in school and with work, don't be too sad that summer is almost over!
See you in the next one~
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CREDITS :
Images - owners
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