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| THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE. ---------------------------------------- I wrote in a blog after watching this that this transcends anime and competes with Palme d'Or (or other fancy award) winning films. Just brilliant. Favourite moment: When Taeko puts in an extra performance for the school play, knowing she cant add another line, instead she gives a little wave and sigh, haha. The end credit montage was superb. |
KinetaSep 9, 2012 7:55 PM
"I'm starting to think mal is run by Xinil generating electricity on a bicycle." - idklol |
| Pretty good... |
| My favourite Studio Ghibli film. |
| More people should watch this and not only the fairytale stories from Studio Ghibli... |
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| Where can you watch this btw? :D |
| It took me two and a half weeks to dl the slowest torrent I have ever attempted. Absolutley worth every second. Really wonderful. |
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| This movie alone should be enough to cement Isao Takahata's genius. An artistic masterpiece worthy of being called the best anime movie ever made. |
| This was seriously my first attempt of a really "Slice of Life" anime piece of work, and was I completely stunned by the amazing story this turned out to be... It was enjoyable, interesting and rather thoughtful since the very beggining, simply because the characters were so simple, realistic, well-developed and most important of all, likeable. The ending was outstanding, it showed the romantic side of this story and it was so good and emotional it made me shed some tears, something I almost never do out of Drama. Miyazaki may be the most popular, with the more thrilling and adventurous anime films out there, making absolutely gorgeous and entertaining movies IMO, but with this movie, in my eyes, Takahata proved to be on par with (if not superior to) Miyazaki when it comes to directing a movie with a memorable story and realistc characters. Well done Takahata, you just won yourself a personal Tag in my Anime list. Solid 9/10, one of the best 9s Ive ever seen. |
VeethornNov 6, 2009 9:37 PM
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| I'm so glad to see other people enjoying this. It is a stunningly good film. I think it's one of the few animated movies which is comparable in quality to some of the great works in the upper echelons of the film industry, and I wouldn't even say that about other impressive animated works like Naushika and Totoro. Takahata can blend the surreal with the realistic far better than anyone else in the animation industry. That one scene for instance where Taeko and that pitcher with the baseball team meet up and exchange a few words because of their classmates teasing, then she runs off and up an imaginary staircase and floats home into her bed in a wonderful dreamlike sequence. That is so trademark Takahata. |
MahleriteNov 6, 2009 10:01 PM
| The flashbacks were amazing, some of the closest depictions I've seen to real kids. But WTF poor decision making at the end, don't change your whole lifestyle after one night of thinking. The farm stuff was nice in spite of that, at least. |
| my favorite anime movie |
| This was a wonderful movie. Honestly, it was so endearing watching Taeko recalling memories and feelings of her 10 year old self. I was also envious of that, since most of my memories of when I was that age are not that vivid. Her adult reaction of recalling her chat with Hirota, the pitcher, was so cute and something I can relate to. xD The ending credit scenes were awesome. I was so happy when she decided to give Kazuo a chance. If she would have went back there during the winter, who knows what would have changed by then. |
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| Was I the only one who was bored as hell while watching this movie? |
 "I always take life with a grain of salt, ...plus a slice of lemon, ...and a shot of tequila." |
AidanAK47 said: Was I the only one who was bored as hell while watching this movie? what do you expect a fast paced film from Takahata? Beautiful and ghibli's best... with millenium actress and Innocence my favorite anime film |
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| Nice ride, now i remember my family because of this..T_T |
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bakayaro-dude said: AidanAK47 said: Was I the only one who was bored as hell while watching this movie? what do you expect a fast paced film from Takahata? Beautiful and ghibli's best... with millennium actress and Innocence my favorite anime film Yes. But millennium actress made up for it by being interesting. Now don't get me wrong. I like slice of life anime too. Some of my favorites are slice of life. But this was just.....dull. It's about a boring old woman, who had a boring old life and in the end reaches a boring old conclusion. |
"I always take life with a grain of salt, ...plus a slice of lemon, ...and a shot of tequila." |
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| I gave this an 8. Watched it a month ago I think...over that time I feel I've grown more fond of the movie and I'm just itching to change my rating to a 9. I'm looking for an anime like this these days...a family centric slice of life, with just a little subtle romance.Recommendations people? |
| "...our faces marked by toil, by deceptions, by success, by love; our weary eyes looking still, looking always, looking anxiously for something out of life, that while it is expected is already gone – has passed unseen, in a sigh, in a flash – together with the youth, with the strength, with the romance of illusions.” - Joseph Conrad ('Youth') |
| This is one of the most boring, messed up slice of life series I have come across. I picked this up expecting a timeless snapshot of one woman's life as the youngest of three. Instead, I was given the opportunity to spend just shy of two hours of some 27 year old female virgin munching on her dreams of her glorified childhood because she had nothing interesting happen between the ages of 10 and 27. **Spoilers** I simply can't believe that this woman marries the first guy who socializes with her and gives her the average boy's perspective about her rosied up childhood. Apart from that, there is nothing outstanding about this anime except the voice acting, which distinguishes each character and his/her mannerisms. The movie also had a good sense of late 80s/early 90s nostalgia. It's simply a pity that there was no interesting story apart from an average woman's path to the inevitable marriage due to peer/societal pressure with her impulsion brought on by her only meaningful contact with one guy she met for a week. Messed up. 6/10 (Decent yet fatally flawed) Check out Ocean Waves. It's one of the best romance, slice of life movies in anime by Studio Ghibli that has a balanced boy/girl relationship unlike Only Yesterday, which features a sparse story with almost no content featuring an idiotic woman. |
| This floored me with how beautiful and reflective it was, having just (finally) seen it. Also, Taeko is not an idiot at all. |
GoodEnoughForMe said: This floored me with how beautiful and reflective it was, having just (finally) seen it. Also, Taeko is not an idiot at all. Really? At the age of 27, she decides on a whim to marry a guy within weeks of meeting him. Marriage usually is for life and this woman has some fetish over childhood nostalgia so she agrees to spend the REST OF HER LIFE with a man who simply unlocked the reason why a boy was bullying her when she was a kid? This is nothing more than misogynistic tranditionalism that makes me puke at how simple minded the women are in this movie. Fortunately, I do not run into these types of people in real life. Apart from my subjective view of the content. The art direction of the characters is nothing more than boring and repetitive, including the music. |
| Man, and I thought I saw misogyny in everything. ;P I did not read that into her choice at all. She's still got some of the city life in her; some instinctual, impatient personality that wants things satisfied now. Perhaps not the best habit for self-survival, but I see her choice to settle down as a continuation of wanting something that seems perhaps grander than it really is, right now. And who can fault her? Her douchey father shut her out of acting, and she had older sisters who seemed, to her at least, to have it better. I also found the art direction great because it was so subtle. No beautification. Seeing a protagonist with dimples seems small but it's so refreshing. |
GoodEnoughForMeSep 16, 2010 7:44 PM
GoodEnoughForMe said: And who can fault her? Her douchey father shut her out of acting, and she had older sisters who seemed, to her at least, to have it better. This is why I greatly dislike the character. Instead of responsibly taking her issues into her own hands in university, she decides to blame all her life choices on her parents. Her parents might be at fault for her not pursuing English (well, it's not discussed) but she still is given so much freedom to do whatever she wants. She's just boring and average with nothing that can define her life apart from her naive view of going back to working on farms in the country side, which is a step back in the cultural evolution. Following one's heart is one thing but the female lead in this movie simply strolls around like a 5 year old child on visit to her grandmother's house. It's quite disturbing. Scary thought: We know that the female lead has no friends to speak of apart from her acquaintances at work and in the countryside she visits. How awful would it be see her struggle in a real world situation when she's out of her comfort box of childhood lala land that glorifies her middle school memories and childish "let me go help these people pick corn because I have no one to talk to and nothing else I have experienced in life except this for the past 6 years out of university" lifestyle. /ends deep analysis of this tragically and fatally flawed character due to her simplicity |
arimakenshinSep 16, 2010 9:39 PM
arimakenshin said: GoodEnoughForMe said: And who can fault her? Her douchey father shut her out of acting, and she had older sisters who seemed, to her at least, to have it better. This is why I greatly dislike the character. Instead of responsibly taking her issues into her own hands in university, she decides to blame all her life choices on her parents. Her parents might be at fault for her not pursuing English (well, it's not discussed) but she still is given so much freedom to do whatever she wants. That really makes no sense to me. I think the problem here is that you viewed the character as running away from a life full of bad choices and that she blamed it on her parents. Thats not what happened from my perspective. She never blamed anything on her parents, and she WAS nostalgic about her childhood because she had a very lovely time when she was a kid. If you were expecting a step by step development, that might have worked out better, but the choice was made by the writer to compare two different phases of life that the main character was going through. I dont think it ruins the character but puts her life in perspective. |
eyerokSep 17, 2010 11:15 AM
| "...our faces marked by toil, by deceptions, by success, by love; our weary eyes looking still, looking always, looking anxiously for something out of life, that while it is expected is already gone – has passed unseen, in a sigh, in a flash – together with the youth, with the strength, with the romance of illusions.” - Joseph Conrad ('Youth') |
| arimakenshin, I don't think there's anything naive or childish about her going to the farm; she expresses throughout that section that she feels at home there. |
eyerok said: I could make a better reply but knowing what age you are would make it easier for me. (Not being sarcastic) Please refrain from insulting me for my polarizing opinion. It's quite immature to impolitely call me "shallow" then pursue an irrelevant query of my age to further your unnecessary attempt to humiliate me. GoodEnoughForMe said: arimakenshin, I don't think there's anything naive or childish about her going to the farm; she expresses throughout that section that she feels at home there. I do understand and respect your perspective. I was just annoyed by the character's choice to marry so quickly because to me; it was inconsistent since she spent years thinking of the different moments of her life until then because of her loneliness. Same painting, different colors perceived by the passerby. I appreciate the conversation, GoodEnoughForMe. |
| Double post. Desolee. |
arimakenshinSep 17, 2010 12:21 PM
| sorry about that...I've been trying to edit it for hours but the forums messing up. Or maybe its my internet. My point is you're over-analyzing the whole thing EDIT: speaking before thinking is an inherent personality flaw I've been struggling with for some time. I hope you accept my apology |
eyerokSep 17, 2010 1:20 PM
| "...our faces marked by toil, by deceptions, by success, by love; our weary eyes looking still, looking always, looking anxiously for something out of life, that while it is expected is already gone – has passed unseen, in a sigh, in a flash – together with the youth, with the strength, with the romance of illusions.” - Joseph Conrad ('Youth') |
arimakenshin said: I appreciate the conversation, GoodEnoughForMe. Same here. Always open to and interested in different perspective analysis. :) |
eyerok said: EDIT: speaking before thinking is an inherent personality flaw I've been struggling with for some time. I hope you accept my apology Don't worry about it. It's all good. |
| Meh for 10 bucks, this wasn't too bad of a movie. Quite a good buy. I give a 7. Found myself quite bored during some bits of the movie but smiling whilst watching other scenes with her as a kid. |
Sucrose said: Meh for 10 bucks, this wasn't too bad of a movie. Quite a good buy. I give a 7. Found myself quite bored during some bits of the movie but smiling whilst watching other scenes with her as a kid. if you liked her childhood part, then definitely check out 'my neighbor the yamadas'. Its by the same director who did this movie, and its quite different in theme, but the family comedy part is a stronger focus of yamadas |
eyerokDec 29, 2010 4:28 AM
| "...our faces marked by toil, by deceptions, by success, by love; our weary eyes looking still, looking always, looking anxiously for something out of life, that while it is expected is already gone – has passed unseen, in a sigh, in a flash – together with the youth, with the strength, with the romance of illusions.” - Joseph Conrad ('Youth') |
AidanAK47 said: bakayaro-dude said: AidanAK47 said: Was I the only one who was bored as hell while watching this movie? what do you expect a fast paced film from Takahata? Beautiful and ghibli's best... with millennium actress and Innocence my favorite anime film Yes. But millennium actress made up for it by being interesting. Now don't get me wrong. I like slice of life anime too. Some of my favorites are slice of life. But this was just.....dull. It's about a boring old woman, who had a boring old life and in the end reaches a boring old conclusion. I know I'm late here but I only saw millennium actress recently and rewatched only yesterday, and I thought millennium actress was boring and repetitive; and the conclusion the protagonist came up with was anti-climatic and utterly stupid (she basically spent her whole life chasing someone she only met for a few days, just for the sake of 'chasing' itself. SERIOUSLY? I really liked the first 30 minutes though. Also, referring to arimakenshins comment, there is no clue in the whole movie that Taeko blamed her parents or went back and married that guy. She only got off the bus and went back. I don't remember them getting married. I'm sure that wasnt the point either. The movie is not a romcom or even a romance story, since its primarily a story about someone who feels there could be something more to life than te 9-5 job and mindless everyday hectic city-life stuff. It is essentially about breaking from that boring routine life and living a life that you feel in peace with. So comparisons to films such as ocean waves, which is more of a normal pubescent crush/love story, really miss the point. She did not marry the guy, she only fell in love with him. That can happen in a matter of days (in this case, two weeks). She may or may not marry, but it is clear she likes him and would like to spend more time at the farm and with him. Its easy to jump the gun if you think of the movie primarily from the "romance" angle. There is nothing idiotic or wrong with that. I personally know some people who are like that, but they never take the step that Taeko did at the end or are unable to make the choice (life seems pretty easy when you're in college, but you dont always have that freedom). Farming may seem a step back form the cultural evolution to all those who have sold their souls to the boring old 9-5 capitalist devil, but every human being has their own perspective of life. Our lives have turned into a cage thanks to industrialization and the world after, and hence many of us end up facing a mid-life crisis. For Taeko, its a good thing she discovers how she wants to live before she turns 50 and realizes all her life was wasted away on nothing but a boring desk-job and bringing up her kids in a boring city. The way I saw it, the ending was just a dramatic and fictional representation of that. I guess its the same with most takahata films, you cant appreciate them unless you understand the social and cultural norms that he tries to represent in the movie; which in this case is one among many people living in Japan at the height of its urbanization when cities became more important than the quiet rural areas. But at the same time the generations growing up at that time were in the process of synchronizing their hectic western-influenced city-lives with their culture and background, as reflected in the story and heavily present pop-culture references in the movie, which most of us will likely miss since our lives are far-removed from that time and place). It isn't surprising that this movie was the greatest hit of its year in Japan; and (perhaps) due to its audience-specific content, there has been no official dub release so far. This movie also represented an important juncture in Studio Ghiblis history...but I'd rather set that aside for my review of the movie I'm going to write. One of these days maybe. |
eyerokFeb 10, 2011 9:58 PM
| "...our faces marked by toil, by deceptions, by success, by love; our weary eyes looking still, looking always, looking anxiously for something out of life, that while it is expected is already gone – has passed unseen, in a sigh, in a flash – together with the youth, with the strength, with the romance of illusions.” - Joseph Conrad ('Youth') |
| Great film, I don't think I can say anymore than koreye already has. How can you possibly blame someone for deciding to live where they WANT to.. I just don't get that. My favorite scene was probably towards the end in the care while it's raining where Taneko talks about the little boy who wouldn't shake her hand..I thought that scene did a great job at depicting human nature. |
| "Yes, I have been deprived of emotion. But not completely. Whoever did it, botched the job." - Geralt of Rivia |
| This was such a nostalgic film . All the flashbacks,the story,the characters,the music IT WAS SO GOOODDDD !!!!! |
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| Beautiful movie. Porco Rosso maybe always be my favourite Ghibli, but this could be their (and Takahata's) best. That ending is about as perfect an ending I've ever seen. I was loving it even before, but the sudden turnaround was well . . . perfection. Superbly sidestepped any cliche I was initially fearful of. |
| For reasons I'm not sure of, I got really angry when she was talking about the boy who wouldn't shake her hand. Not at anyone in particular just... yeah. Random mood swing I guess. Maybe I was still fuming from how ridiculously mean her family seemed to be. I mean my family was strict, but I don't recall them sitting around discussing whether or not I was brain damaged because I failed a math test (which happened often). This movie was a bit too slow for me, but I also went in thinking it was going to turn out a certain way, which is just bad of me. As a general rule, preconceived notions ruin everything. There were parts that I absolutely adored though. The first few flashbacks to her childhood were oddly magical. I just sat here grinning like an idiot and feeling at peace with the world. Then that part where Toshio meets her at the train? Oh god I loved that scene so much. Something about the way they spoke and their body language just struck me as so...real. I was a little taken aback at first and I actually replayed it a few times. The winner though is that very moment at the end, when Toshio is running to meet her after she came back and this random dream boy runs out and rolls in front of his feet causing him to stumble. Just... beautiful. I hope she doesn't regret her decision to stay. I mean while I doubt they ran to the nearest wedding chapel, she did only know him about ten days. |
| 10/10. This is a good one. |
| It's amazing what can be fit into a 2 hour movie. The ending was very underwhelming, or so I thought until suddenly the kids appeared on the train and I realised this awesome movie really does have an awesome ending. |
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| The music made me feel such a odd feeling. This movie was great 10/10 no 100/100 |
I have two sides - The kind, shy Hina The CRAZY, weapon-lover Hina ! |
| Wow, that was actually pretty good. |
| Even when I was in crowd, I was always alone |
| Big fan of Ghibli, but to my chagrin I realized how little of their older works I've actually tried. I absolutely loved Miyazaki's oldest work, Nausicaa, so I was eager to try another oldie. Unfortunately, Only Yesterday just wasn't for me. Unlike Ghibli's usual bright, strong, and dynamic characters, the characters here were just bland and static. Maybe I'm missing some deeper meanings here, but I was bored of Taeko reminiscing on what I found to be the dullest and most pointless of memories (except for her first crush memory, but the plot left it hanging, never really completing it). And maybe I'm just not a romantic, but I found the romance iffy and way too impulsive at the end. Overall, it was a tad too slow and boring for a two-hour movie. Of course, Miyazaki wasn't at the helm on this title, so maybe I just need to stick to the ones he directs. |
FauxAznJun 17, 2012 12:26 PM
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