Review of Only Yesterday (1991)
Takahata Isao (director), Suzuki Toshio (producer).
An adult woman remembers the aspirations and adventures of her childhood, and tries to decide what to do with her life. Has she been putting on a happy face and following a normal career because it is expected?
Mundane parallel plots separated by 16 years. Introspective romance? Is understatement a genre? There are two scenes in this that would have looked a little odd in a live-action version. Low-key stuff, and wonderful.
References here: Ghibli movie titles, “Ghiblies” (2000), Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation (2001/2005), The Consolidated Design of the Creating Process for Mini Pato (2003).