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Animated films set in Japan

  • My Neighbor TotoroIn 1950s Japan, a university professor named Tatsuo Kusakabe moves his two daughters into an old house near a hospital. His wife Yasuko stays there to…
  • Spirited AwayTen-year-old Chihiro Ogino and her parents Akio and Yūko travel to their new home. Akio takes a shortcut through a tunnel leading to what appears to be an…
  • The Cat ReturnsIn 1995, Studio Ghibli released a film titled Whisper of the Heart. That project introduced Baron, a cat figurine who came to life within a fantasy sequence.
  • The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (film)In 1960, Isao Takahata prepared a potential adaptation of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter for Toei Animation. That project never came to fruition.
  • Princess MononokeHayao Miyazaki composed the preliminary ideas for what would become Princess Mononoke in 1980 after releasing his first film, The Castle of Cagliostro.
  • Only Yesterday (1991 film)Hotaru Okamoto published the manga Omoide Poro Poro in 1982, establishing a quiet story about a young girl named Taeko. Yuko Tone drew the illustrations that…
  • Pom PokoIn the Tama Hills, a group of tanuki drummed their bellies to create a sound like Pom Poko. This rhythm came from a 1919 poem by Ujō Noguchi that became a…
  • PonyoA five-year-old boy named Sōsuke cuts his finger while shattering a glass jar on the shore of a small fishing town. A goldfish-like creature named Brunhilde…
  • Whisper of the HeartYoshifumi Kondō died in 1998, three years after directing Whisper of the Heart. This film stands as his sole completed work as a director before his passing.
  • Ghost in the Shell (1995 film)Mamoru Oshii originally wanted to direct Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade after he finished Patlabor 2: The Movie in 1993. He proposed the project to Bandai Visual…
  • ArriettyOn the 16th of December 2009, Studio Ghibli announced the film Karigurashi no Arrietty for release in 2010. This announcement marked the feature directorial…
  • The Wind RisesHayao Miyazaki began conceiving the story of The Wind Rises in 2008, marking his first feature film since Ponyo. He published a manga series based on this…
  • Your NameMakoto Shinkai stood in the fishing village of Yuriage on the 14th of July 2011. The ground beneath his feet still trembled from the massive earthquake that…
  • My Neighbors the YamadasIsao Takahata directed My Neighbors the Yamadas in 1999 for Studio Ghibli. The project began as an adaptation of Hisaichi Ishii's Nono-chan manga series.