Like “Kaguya,” it functions as a highly sensitive and empathetic consideration of the situation of women in Japanese society—but it’s also a breathtaking work of art on its own.
Only Yesterday(おもひでぽろぽろ)
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Japan · 1991
Rated PG · 1h 58m
Director Isao Takahata
Starring Miki Imai, Toshirō Yanagiba, Yoko Honna, Mayumi Iizuka
Genre Animation, Drama, Romance
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
Taeko is 27 years old, unmarried, and a career woman through and through. While visiting her family in the countryside, she finds herself daydreaming about her childhood. As memories of her youth come flooding back to her, she wonders if she's living the life her childhood self would have wanted.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
The Playlist by Kevin Jagernauth
With Only Yesterday, Takahata not only succeeds in transmitting how years can flash by, but also the way that passage of time makes clearer the moments that define our character, and go on to influence how we choose to live later.
Austin Chronicle by Marc Savlov
Only Yesterday is a little-seen gem in the crown of Japanese animation powerhouse Studio Ghibli.
Washington Post by Michael O'Sullivan
Small moments take on larger meaning in this exquisite memoir. That’s as true of the plot — in which nothing terribly significant happens, except life — as it is of the visuals.
The Film Stage by Michael Snydel
Only Yesterday is unabashedly modest, but in its twin dialogues between the past and the present, and the undying lure of the country and the city, it’s a singularly specific story whose message echoes decades later.
The New York Times by Nicolas Rapold
Mr. Takahata’s psychologically acute film, which was based on a manga, seems to grow in impact, too, as the adult Takao comes to a richer understanding of what she wants and how she wants to live.
Only Yesterday is animated, but rarely cartoony, in either its design or its storytelling.
It uses the trappings of the family melodrama to reveal the subtle social constraints that inhibit people, particularly women, from attaining full self-realization.
Village Voice by Sherilyn Connelly
It's both an important part of Ghibli's history and a gem in its own right.
Takahata and his animators balance aspects of nostalgia and the present day, urban modernity and rural timelessness, love and regret with a visual and aural sensitivity that draws a viewer in from the first frames.
Users who liked this film also liked
Princess Mononoke
(もののけ姫)
The fate of the world rests on the courage of one warrior.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1997
- Director Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast Yōji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yūko Tanaka, Kaoru Kobayashi, Masahiko Nishimura, Tsunehiko Kamijô
- Genre Adventure, Animation, Fantasy
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Spirited Away
(千と千尋の神隠し)
A ten-year-old girl must save her parents from hostile spirits.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2001
- Director Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki, Bunta Sugawara, Yumi Tamai, Ryunosuke Kamiki
- Genre Animation, Family, Fantasy
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Castle in the Sky
(天空の城ラピュタ)
Two kids race to find a lost civilization and keep a magic crystal out of the wrong hands.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1986
- Director Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast Keiko Yokozawa, Mayumi Tanaka, Minori Terada, Kotoe Hatsui, Fujio Tokita, Ichirō Nagai
- Genre Adventure, Fantasy, Animation, Action, Family, Romance
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Porco Rosso
(紅の豚)
When pigs fly...
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1992
- Director Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast Shûichirô Moriyama, Tokiko Katô, Sanshi Katsura, Tsunehiko Kamijô, Akemi Okamura, Akio Otsuka
- Genre Comedy, Animation, Adventure
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Grave of the Fireflies
(火垂るの墓)
Can these two siblings beat the odds?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1988
- Director Isao Takahata
- Cast Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Yoshiko Shinohara, Akemi Yamaguchi
- Genre Animation, Drama, War
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Pom Poko
(平成狸合戦ぽんぽこ)
A community of magical racoon dogs fight back against urban development — with hilarious results.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1994
- Director Isao Takahata
- Cast Shinchou Kokontei, Makoto Nonomura, Nijiko Kiyokawa, Shigeru Izumiya, Kosan Yanagiya, Norihei Miki
- Genre Adventure, Animation, Fantasy
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
My Neighbors the Yamadas
(ホーホケキョとなりの山田くん)
The Yamadas are a Japanese family in Tokyo, and we see them cope with life's little conflicts in their own way.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1999
- Director Isao Takahata
- Cast Hayato Isohata, Masako Araki, Naomi Uno, Tôru Masuoka, Yukiji Asaoka
- Genre Animation, Family
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Kiki's Delivery Service
(魔女の宅急便)
A young witch goes on fantastic adventures as she runs her own delivery service.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1989
- Director Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma, Kappei Yamaguchi, Keiko Toda, Mieko Nobusawa, Kôichi Miura
- Genre Animation, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Family
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store
Ocean Waves
(海がきこえる)
Taku glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite boarding a train and recounts the events that brought them together.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1993
- Director Tomomi Mochizuki
- Cast Nobuo Tobita, Toshihiko Seki, Youko Sakamoto, Yuri Amano, Kae Araki, Jun'ichi Kanemaru
- Genre Animation, Drama, Romance, TV Movie
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Whisperer of the Heart
(耳をすませば)
Shizuki lives a simple life, dominated by her love of stories and writing, until one day she meets her “Prince of Books.”
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1995
- Director Yoshifumi Kondou
- Cast Yoko Honna, Issey Takahashi, Takashi Tachibana, Shigeru Muroi, Shigeru Tsuyuguchi, Keiju Kobayashi
- Genre Animation, Drama, Family
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
The Secret World of Arrietty
(借りぐらしのアリエッティ)
Do not be seen by humans. That's been the law of children of the underfloor.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2010
- Director Hiromasa Yonebayashi
- Cast Mirai Shida, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Tomokazu Miura, Keiko Takeshita, Kirin Kiki, Shinobu Ōtake
- Genre Fantasy, Animation, Family
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
From Up on Poppy Hill
(コクリコ坂から)
A group of Yokohama students fight to save their school's clubhouse from the wrecking ball during preparations for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2011
- Director Gorô Miyazaki
- Cast Masami Nagasawa, Junichi Okada, Keiko Takeshita, Yuriko Ishida, Rumi Hiiragi, Jun Fubuki
- Genre Animation, Drama
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
The Wind Rises
(風立ちぬ)
We must live.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2013
- Director Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast Hideaki Anno, Miori Takimoto, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Masahiko Nishimura, Stephen Alpert, Morio Kazama
- Genre Animation
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
(かぐや姫の物語)
A princess's crime and punishment
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2013
- Director Isao Takahata
- Cast Aki Asakura, Kengo Kora, Nobuko Miyamoto, Atsuko Takahata
- Genre Animation, Drama, Fantasy
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
When Marnie Was There
(思い出のマーニー)
Upon being sent to live with relatives in the countryside due to an illness, an emotionally distant adolescent girl becomes obsessed with an abandoned mansion and infatuated with a girl who lives there - a girl who may or may not be real.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2014
- Director Hiromasa Yonebayashi
- Cast Sara Takatsuki, Kasumi Arimura, Nanako Matsushima, Susumu Terajima, Toshie Negishi, Ryôko Moriyama
- Genre Animation, Drama
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
A Silent Voice: The Movie
(映画 聲の形
)
A high-school boy seeks forgiveness from the deaf girl he bullied in elementary school.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2016
- Director Naoko Yamada
- Cast Miyu Irino, Saori Hayami, Aoi Yuki, Kensho Ono, Yuki Kaneko, Yui Ishikawa
- Genre Animation, Drama, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Parasite
(기생충)
A poor family lies and schemes their way into the employ of a wealthy household — successfully, but with great consequences.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2019
- Director Bong Joon-ho
- Cast Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Chang Hyae-jin
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
Jojo Rabbit
It takes the friendship with a young girl to change this boy's mind about the tyrannical leader of his country.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, United States • 2019
- Director Taika Waititi
- Cast Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Scarlett Johansson, Taika Waititi, Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson
- Genre Comedy, War, Drama
- Available on FXNow, fuboTV, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand