I love anime for its individuality, creativity, boldness, and how thought-provoking it is, not to mention how fun it is to watch! While I have not delved as much into anime or Japanese film as I would like to, when I found Hayao Miyazaki’s work a few years ago, the fascination I had held for Japan grew as I found films that felt handmade in their quirkiness and were filled with folklore and the essence of Japan because their creator loved his country so much.

Everyone has the capability to love Studio Ghibli films, not just people who like anime. The films capture humanity in a refreshingly honest way with beautiful art, powerful scores, and meaningful storylines that can reach anyone. If you have never heard of Hayao Miyazaki and his work, I hope this helps open your mind to a new art form and a wonderful filmmaker.

Second, I admire Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli films for their representation of people. He cares about the representation of people in general. He creates characters that are neither all good nor all bad. They are just people who are complex and multifaceted with flaws as well as admirable qualities. He especially strives for the female characters he creates to have this level of complexity because he knows that the people watching his movies (especially children) need to see female characters who are strong and still have moments of weakness, brave and yet still get scared, love people and yet still have moments of selfishness. Female characters tend to be the ones who get one strict set of qualities. His characters are all different and he strives to communicate what real people are like by infusing real-life facial expressions from real emotions. He always adds the "handmade" feel to his films. Each film is thought through, individualized, and never manufactured. Miyzaki wants the best for his audience.

I hope this tells you why I love Studio Ghibli films so much and I hope you will try some out. You may change your mind about anime!