Movie Review: Only Yesterday

Movie Review: Only Yesterday                                                                                                  10-24-16

Before Studio Ghibli became popular worldwide, they were first popular nationwide in Japan with four different and unique animated films: Castle in the Sky, Grave of the Fireflies, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki's Delivery Service. Another early addition to the Ghibli library was Only Yesterday, directed by Isao Takahata. Originally released in Japan in 1991, Disney refused to release this movie in the US because it had several references to menstruation. 25 years later, however, Only Yesterday would be released through G-Kids, who distributed foreign animated films like The Secret of Kells 🇮🇪, Boy and the World 🇧🇷, Ernest and Celestine 🇫🇷, and Ghibli's own The Tale of Princess Kaguya 🇯🇵. Daisy Ridley and Dev Patel voice the lead characters in the English dub.

Only Yesterday is about a 27-year-old woman named Taeko, who reminisces about her childhood in 1966. During that time, Takeo learned about many things, like trying pineapples, multiplication, child stardom, and most importantly, puberty. While not nearly as good as later Ghibli films, like Spirited Away or The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, Only Yesterday is an enjoyable film with fluid, albeit a bit dated, animation, solid storytelling, and some enjoyable music from Masaru Hoshi. However, there are moments in the film in which the story drags a bit, but diehard Ghibli fans will get a kick out of it.

Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5