A Beginner’s Guide To Japanese Animation Movies, And Why I Stopped Believing In Disney’s Perfect Endings
As a child, I grew up watching Disney movies. But that was until I found the truer, deeper, and much more realistic Japanese animation movies.
Initially, I was really into Disney Princess movies, until I understood that most of them promoted a girl’s beauty as her best asset, and set appearance standards that many girls did not necessarily meet (and they didn’t have to). Disney itself seems to notice the hot button issue, as its relatively newer princesses such as Rapunzel, Merida, or Elsa aren’t as overly generous, docile, and men-dependant. Indeed, it is true to say that Disney is in the process of diversifying its characters by getting rid of the ridiculously small waist of princesses like Aurora for example.
The study “Pretty As A Princess”, published by Brigham Young university’s Sarah M. Coyne, shows that the girls who initially are self-conscious about their body are likely to “engage more with the Disney Princesses over time”. Just like me, most girls unconsciously adhere to female gender stereotypes around their behavior, appearance, and careers. “They’re not as confident that they can do well in math and science. They don’t like getting dirty, so they’re less likely to try and experiment with things.” Coyne said.
Nevertheless, I got lucky enough not to have strong body-esteem issues while growing up, and I’m so grateful for that. But I must admit: how many times have we seen an empowered girl in STEM in a Disney movie? How many times were we taught that we do not necessarily need a man’s “true love kiss” to be healthy and happy? I mean come on.
Needless to say, my Generation Z self made her research, and here’s what I found: there are other animation film studios that make OUTSTANDINGLY beautiful movies, such as my ultimate favorite: Studio Ghibli. The only question that I was left to ask myself was… “Where the fudge do I start?”
After years of exploring what the Japanese Animation universe has to offer, I can fairly tell you all that the rivers of ✨pure happiness✨ flowing from my eyes each time I watch one of those films made me the perfect candidate to show you the path of wisdom, to enlighten your way towards the heaven of movies-that-don’t-necessarily-need-cliché-endings-to-be-heartbreakingly-beautiful-and-truly-relatable.
Here is what you all have been waiting for, my one and only 🎊Beginner’s Guide To Japanese Animation Movies! 🎊
Do you feel underrepresented in Disney Channel’s great-but-unrealistic shows? Do animation movies misrepresent what living in a consumerism-based society feels like? Are you experiencing a one-sided love story? Are your feet human-sized? Are you not a perfect candidate for a Prince Charming’s insanely small shoe contest getting the tiniest and thinnest girl to be his Princess? Well, you knocked at the right door!
Here are some movies to watch…
🎞 When you’re tired from society’s expectations, relationship goals standards on Instagram, and the over-sexualization of women (and men too, only less often luckily for them): “Howl’s Moving Castle” by Hayao Miyazaki, 2004. Trust me, this is one of the most beautiful movies that I have ever watched.
🎞 When you need a beautiful old-school type of romance movie, but without the cliché ending: “The Wind Rises” by Hayao Miyazaki, 2013. This is the animated biographical film of the most famous Japanese WWII airplane engineer, Jiro Horikoshi. The story is about him dedicating his life both to his work and to the woman that he will love until the last second. Fun fact about the film’s title: it’s actually a quote by Paul Valery: “Le vent se lève!… il faut tenter de vivre!”, which translates “The wind is rising!… we must try to live!”.
🎞 When you’re tired from society and just want to take a breath away from it: “When Marnie Was There” by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, 2014. This is one of my most favorite movies in the world. I relate so much to Anna, one of the two main characters.
🎞 When you experience a one-sided love, but you still want to fight for it no matter how bad it hurts. “A Whisker Away” by Junichi Sato and Tomotaka Shibayama, 2020. The way that she discovers herself and learns to love herself little by little, just like she loves the boy… it’s so beautiful.
🎞 When you start losing faith in humanity and see nothing more in humans than selfish and violent creatures that don’t respect the absolute beauty of the world: “Princess Mononoke” by Hayao Miyazaki, 1997. It portrays nature splendidly and shows that bonding with it is one of the deepest and most wonderful ways to find back the kind-hearted humans that we once were.
🎞 When everyone is greedy and lost in materialism, and you need to rise up again, connect truly to people’s souls: “Spirited Away” by Hayao Miyazaki, 2001. This is (and 100% deserves to be) known as the number one best animated movie of all time, the film that generated this quote “Disney movies touch the heart, but Studio Ghibli films touch the soul.” to go all over Tumblr a few years ago. Trust me, may it be on an artistic, musical, or even plot level, this film will hit you differently.
🎞 When you need to awaken your imagination again, to allow that dreamer child hidden deep down inside of you to get out and to show you that there’s so much more to the world than what is visible to us. When you just need a bright place again: “My Neighbor Totoro” by Hayao Miyazaki, 1988. A bliss.
🎞 When you feel ready to spread your wings and embrace a big change in your life, to just go out there and try: “Kiki’s Delivery Service” by Hayao Miyazaki, 1989. It’s about a strong and adorable girl that goes to a new city by herself to begin her career — basically a woman entrepreneur. Beautiful.
🎞 When you’re a woman in a man’s world, but you’re passionate about the path that you decided to pursue, and are not willing to let go of your dream, no matter what: “Porco Rosso” by Hayao Miyazaki, 1992. It’s about women engineers, and much more. I loved that film so much.
🎞 When you just can’t / don't want to fit in a society based on fake appearances and private interest: “The Tale of Princess Kaguya” by Isao Takahata, 2013. This exquisite film is based on a Japanese Tale called “The Bamboo Cutter Tale” that dates back to the tenth century. The art in this movie is unique, very different from all the other ones that I listed, giving it kind of an ethereal vibe.
🎞 When you are truly in love, yet somehow, you feel both deeply connected and painfully far from your loved one: “Your Name.” by Makoto Shinkai, 2016. This film’s art is otherworldly. The story portrays a real connection that even time can’t break. It’s absolutely lovely. (You will cry probably though, but it’s so beautiful that you won’t even mind that.)
🎞 When you feel nostalgic for the memory of a place, of a person, or maybe it’s about a feeling: “Flavors Of Youth” by Yoshitaka Takeuchi, Haoling Li, and Jiaoshou Yi Xiaoxing, 2018. We often get attached to small moments in our lives, to a specific place, time, or even dish. Perhaps it’s because it reminds us of a person we used to have a crush on, of a happy memory we share with someone we love… This is a soothing, comfortable, and light movie that never fails to make me smile.
Thank you for reading, I hope you liked my article. ⭐️
I post new articles every now and then, and am open to topic suggestions! Follow me to stay updated :) You can contact me on Instagram and Twitter at @upatthestars0.
With love, Lina Tlemcani.
