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.

RogerEbert.com by Glenn Kenny

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.

Time Out London by Tom Huddleston

[A] calm, reflective, gorgeously uneventful slice of nostalgic romance.

Entertainment Weekly by Devan Coggan

Only Yesterday may have been released in 1991 and take place in 1982 and 1966, but Taeko’s reflection on girlhood is truly timeless.

The A.V. Club by Noel Murray

Only Yesterday is animated, but rarely cartoony, in either its design or its storytelling.

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.

Village Voice by Sherilyn Connelly

It's both an important part of Ghibli's history and a gem in its own right.

Arizona Republic by Bill Goodykoontz

Only Yesterday is a mature work of art, no matter what the genre, no matter what the format, no matter what.

The Verge by Sam Byford

It might have come out in Japan in 1991, but you could think of it as a new film — Only Yesterday is truly timeless.

Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan

Only Yesterday is a realistic, personal story made universal in a delicate way.

Boston Globe by Ty Burr

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.

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.

Slant Magazine by Oleg Ivanov

It uses the trappings of the family melodrama to reveal the subtle social constraints that inhibit people, particularly women, from attaining full self-realization.

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.