We independently assess all our recommendations. Purchases through our links may earn us a commission.
Home-cooked food, meditational tranquility, the open sky, and the rustic countryside. If only we could have those all at once– oh wait, we can with Hayao Miyazaki movies. It’s only in digital space, sadly, but the best Hayao Miyazaki movies capture what every worn-out adult truly wants after the chaos and cacophony of modern society.
Watching Hayao Miyazaki movies, or Studio Ghibli films for some of them, is like peering into a window of an alternate world where every single negative thought and notion can be washed away with a therapeutic rumination and well-animated gourmet.
It would thus be a shame for any person to miss out on any Hayao Miyazaki movie. Before you perish of overworking yourself, old age, or other causes we’d hope you’d steer clear of, we recommend watching these movies first to be reminded of the beauty of life.
Howl’s Moving Castle
Hayao Miyazaki’s movies are more definitive when they dabble into serious political issues and then bury them under a metaphor of artistry and allegories. You’d then be compelled to watch such films several times for the message. That’s the case for Howl’s Moving Castle, which was Miyazaki’s subtle statement against the US War on Terror, specifically during the 2003 Iraq War.
The story between the sorcerer Howl and his inadvertent love interest Sophie at times becomes a backdrop for how Hayao Miyazaki wanted to criticize the US invasion of Iraq and his other anti-war sentiments.
Technically, the film is based on Dianny Wyunne Jones’ novel of the same name; it’s a love story between Sophie Hatter and Howl– the former being cursed to age into a 90-year-old woman by an evil witch. Miyazaki, however, transformed the second half of the film to reflect some important overarching message within a beautiful romance tale.
My Neighbor Totoro
My Neighbor Totoro doesn’t exactly dabble into heavy allegories or politics; in fact, it’s one of the most literal and direct Hayao Miyazaki stories (though it still incorporated some symbolisms).
The movie is about two sisters whose parents had to leave them alone and must now learn to live with themselves while navigating the anxieties of separation and abandonment. The anthropomorphic beast, Totoro, suddenly makes his way into the sisters’ lives ambiguously, either as an imaginary friend or a real creature to act as some kind of guardian.
It’s a simple movie, yet any person who has had a hard-working or busy parent leave them behind in the house will relate to My Neighbor Totoro’s sisters. It evokes emotions associated with being forced to mature early on due to familial circumstances.
Princess Mononoke
As we mentioned earlier, a Hayao Miyazaki film is more memorable and can withstand the test of time if it mirrors some heavy political issues. This time around, Princess Mononoke is, quite obviously, environmentalist and anti-industry.
The movie explores how an ecosystem is interconnected and how destructive changes to a seemingly unrelated sphere can impact even the perpetrators. Princess Mononoke imparts this message encased in a mystical capsule of hand-drawn animations that were ahead of their time.
As for the narrative, it’s about a hunter and warrior named Ashitaka who was infected by an animal attack. While seeking a cure from a god, he witnessed how his fellow humans kept encroaching on nature’s boundaries for the sake of industry and profit. Only the beautiful and fierce Princess Mononoke stood to oppose humanity’s industrial onslaught. It’s up to Ashitaka to broker a balanced peace between the two.
Surprisingly, Hollywood hasn’t adapted this tale yet despite its relevance and epicness.
The Wind Rises
Yet another anti-war story from Hayao Miyazaki, The Wind Rises, is more direct in its attempts to convey a heartfelt and innocent romance wrecked apart by war.
The notion was explored through the lens of a World War 2 aircraft engineer named Jiro, who sacrificed time with his dying wife to create a fighter plane that could help Imperial Japan ‘win the war.’ But alas, Japan lost the war, and Jiro’s efforts were all for nothing, with his wife dying without witnessing the fruits of his sacrifice for his country.
It’s a poignant and somber tale that ought to remind all the viewers of what’s truly important and more fulfilling in life than chasing achievements.
Kiki’s Delivery Service
Kiki’s Delivery Service, like My Neighbor Totoro, is an evocative parallel disguised as a simple story. It explores the usual predicaments and cultural shock of a provincial person moving into a more intimidating environment where they are forced to become independent.
The movie dissects this idea through the titular witch character, Kiki, who moves out of her hometown into a seaside city in accordance with her village’s training tradition. Kiki suddenly starts losing her witch abilities as self-doubt creeps into her psyche—something she has to overcome.
Needless to say, this Ghibli movie paints a relatable subject for anyone who has had their fill of adulthood and independence.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is similar to Princess Mononoke. This time around, Princess Nausicaä must find a way to bring peace to two warring factions before they destroy what’s left of their post-apocalyptic world. Helping her is her ability to communicate with the seemingly hostile enemy faction and find out that they’re also living, feeling beings like her kind.
That’s as direct as it can get, and it even draws similarities between Disney tales like Pocahontas, where a conflict between two drastically different civilizations can be prevented if only they made an effort to understand each other.
Nausicaä is one of Miyazaki’s underrated attempts in his anti-war portfolio.
Spirited Away
Of course, this wouldn’t be a Hayao Miyazaki movies list without featuring his most popular work, Spirited Away, also known as Hayao Miyazaki’s magnum opus.
On the surface, Spirited Away follows Chihiro’s reluctant tale of servitude in a spiritual bathhouse after her parents disrespected some supernatural beings. Chihiro now has to overwork herself in order to get her parents back.
Underneath the surface, however, Spirited Away paints an indignant message of the toxicity of work culture and capitalism and how it slaves away anything it touches. There are also metaphorical subtexts here, such as child prostitution and child labor.
This profound message wrapped in a lovely animation and charming art style will inevitably and gradually make its way into even the most oblivious of minds, especially after several viewings.
More importantly, Spirited Away somehow teaches its viewers to appreciate life and freedom and to not work or dedicate their youth away to a twisted establishment that only seeks to milk them for profit.
