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I'm writing this as a spoiler-free review.

I rated this a 9 solely because of my own personal enjoyment, however please be warned that the story and characters aren't that special. As some background, this is the second Ghibli movie I've watched (the first being Grave of the Fireflies) and honestly going into it I did not know what to expect. I had heard that Howl's Moving Castle was an excellent movie, but now after watching it I'd say that's mostly due to the stunning visuals and fitting ost, not because of a well-written story or characters with depth.

Art 10/10
I mean it's a Ghibli ... movie so what more can I say. Since Howl's is only the second Ghibli movie I've seen I was especially blown away by the art. In Grave of the Fireflies I was more enraptured by the story rather than the art (though the visuals were still amazing) so this was really my first foray into the stunning visuals of Studio Ghibli. So yeah the art was top notch.

Sound 10/10
The soundtrack matched perfectly with the art and created a masterpiece for the senses. No singular track stuck out to me but all of the music suited the film and I had no complaints.

As an aside, I'm not sure what is was but this film (having never seen it before) just gave me a lot of nostalgia. I have no clue why, but it just struck a chord in me. I just felt very peaceful and almost in awe. Even thought the story was not perfect (and more on that later) I just was very happy and enraptured while watching it.

Story 6/10
Full disclosure, if you are looking for a great, well thought-out plot, you're not going to find it in this film. I did find the conclusion satisfying but that was mostly due to this feeling of awe and nostalgia rather than a cohesive story. Truthfully, the story was a hot mess and reflecting on it now, I am left with a lot of unanswered questions and confusion over what the story even was LOL. So if you're looking so a great story and you do not care about the visuals, don't bother watching this film because the art and ost are what make it.

Characters 7/10
The characters were alright, but they weren't anything special. They were quite flat and some of their motivations were hard to understand. There was not really any character development but I can't be too hard on it because it's harder to do a great deal of character development in such a short period of time. Though I do think the characters could have been more fleshed out. I watched the dub and all the voice acting was solid. I think it's a movie where I'd wholeheartedly suggest watching the dub the first time you see it because the you can really focus on the visuals. Though I'm sure the sub is great too. I really enjoyed Billy Crystal as Calcifer and Christian Bale as Howl and the rest of the dub cast was good.

So overall, I think people who care about the art and music of a movie and those who get nostalgic or emotional over a marvellous piece of art will love this movie. However, if you're looking for great characters with interesting motives and a good storyline, this is probably not the film for you. So it really depends on who you are. But if you're on the fence I'd say just watch it, because as someone who normally cares a lot about the characters and plot of a show or movie I enjoyed Howl's Moving Castle immensely (even though it falls short in those aspects).