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| This was one of those things that I question to myself: "Why haven't I watched this yet?" Amazing from start to finish. |
| It feels like if I grew up in Japan and knew Japanese cutler and religion I would have understood and appreciated this movie way more. That's why I felt they could have done a better job explaining what everything meant. |
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| Fine and enjoyable, yet weird .. its a 1 time movie.. 6/10 |
| What a journey! Fun stuff. |
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| Kaonashi is so cute |
| EL PSY KONGROO!!! |
| An amazing work of art. I really enjoyed it. ^__^ That thing she gave her is still in her hair, huh? (: |
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| I've seen this movie a long time ago but couldn't remember the title. It's good to refresh your memory once in a while. As always Miyazaki delivers the good stuff. |
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| I think I have just been witness to someting I will never witness again. This was such a beautiful movie. There's nothing that I can rant or bitch about here, just, I love it. I don't know how to put it I just love this movie so much. It's sad that it had to end :( 10/10. Ps. ED is one of the most beautiful/sad songs I have ever heard. |
| So awesome movie. I should have watched this a long time ago. 9/10 |
| Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines. |
| This and Yu-Gi-Oh! Were the first anime I ever watched. Whilst this can sometimes fall into the "WTF, Japan?!" Pile, I really enjoyed it, and didn't really question it because I was a kid when I first saw it. If you're willing to sit back and let it tell it's story, it's highly enjoyable. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a masterpiece, because anything rarely is, but it's a wonderfully weird title to watch. Not as weird as, say, FLCL, but it has it's random moments. If you're open-minded, it's a great anime movie to watch. |
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| That was really heartwarming. . . it feels like something was missing from my childhood, but now it feels abit whole now. It was really a cute adventure. I enjoyed it. No doubt. 10/10 for this one. |
| It was okay for what it was. Wasn't as thrilled as most others who watched it. |
| "Let Justice Be Done!" My Theme Fight again, fight again for justice! |
| Weirdly good. 8/10 |
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| The movie had its share of funny, terrifying, and emotional moments. Chihiro is one brave as fuck child. I just wished for more to know about Haku and Lin's story. |
| This is the only movie that has made me feel different after watching it the fourth time in my later years. Before as a child I never fully understood and appreciated the movie. I found it weird and fun. Now as I rewatch it, my eye's are widened as a discover why this is a masterpiece. Every scene, every moment, every detail is extremely well thought out. This time when I watch it I am fully captivated by the whole new world Miyazaki has introduced. I felt attached to the characters, to the unique world. Although Yes it was a fantasy world where everything seemed to work out - but even so I felt sadness when Chihiro left this whole new spectacular world behind as she resumed her normal life. This movie really reached into me. Everything was lovable. 10/10. Truly, this is a masterpiece. |
| Just rewatched it. I watched it a few years back and couldn't enjoy it properly but now I can see it's a really good movie. The fantasy world is great. The OST was fitting greatly and built tension nicely and the whole movie is so atmospheric. Characters were decent too. Good movie, 7/10 |
| Studio Ghibli delivers. The movie is exceptional. |
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| This movie is great in every aspect. Story, visuals, soundtrack etc. One of the best animated movies ever. |
| You know a movie's deep when you see that shit on Sparknotes lol |
| Spirited Away is will be my first Ghibli film I watched that I remember (did I watch Totoro, I had the DVD since I was 6). Long overdue case but that's my baggage out for ya, now I'm gonna set foot to face the scary thought of getting to watch more Ghibli films, but like Chihiro, after that ridiculous traumatic experience of almost having her parents butchered, should have broken everything on her body situations and bullied by various spirits. All I have to say I'm now able to face this forsaken world and dive into my next Ghibli film in another 2 years. Why did I put this on hold for so long after watching 20 min of it? |
| My life is boring cause I'm boring If you're not at school what can you do, you stare at a screen of bright pixels |
| Finally I got around to watch this. Great movie. I loved the atmosphere, the world and everything about this movie 9/10 |
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| I always wondered why there were pigs on the cover. I was like "oh a girl and her cute pigs!" Boy was that a wake-up call. It amazes me how I've seen hundreds of anime titles and yet I never stopped to watch a Miyazaki film until today. Aside from the critical acclaim and high praise I'd seen this receive over the years, I came in with no expectations and still took away an experience I never would have imagined in wildest dreams. Creativity is the word I'd use to describe Spirited Away, but it doesn't just stop there. It stretched the imagination far beyond the realms of magical. Truly an enchanting one of a kind adventure through what the human mind is capable of producing. Splendid imagery that invoked senses of smell, taste, and feeling through sheer imagination. Edit: After reflecting on it for a bit, I had to come back and revise my opinion on this film. Despite my words of praise, I'll have to admit that I was rather underwhelmed by the plot. It was surprisingly straight-forward, which isn't bad in and of itself. It flowed organically and was easy to stay focused on (I normally take breaks watching anime movies). My only real gripe, however, is how the end conflicts were resolved. Haku's relation to Chihiro literally came out of left-nowhere-field. It felt like a sappy advertisement when he kept repeating the river's name, like "come visit us at the Kohaku yada yada!" It also felt like they could have literally inserted any backstory for Haku and it would have played out the same. "Oh you tripped and I'm that pillow that cushioned your fall" woooow how emotional! Well I suppose it at least made the idea of Chihiro unknowingly paying Haku back more sincere. Anyway, second problem with the end was how Chihiro was able to return home with a guessing game. It just felt rather lackluster considering the wild ride up to that point. Well as for characters, I have nothing but good things to say about them. There was certainly far more showing than telling. At first, I tried to describe Chihiro in one sentence. As I puzzled and thought of adjectives for her, it started to dawn on me that she really was a layered, organic character. I remember reading an article featuring Miyazaki about how important it is for storytellers to observe real people to create natural characters. It really felt like he put this into play, Chihiro had an air of normalcy about her and felt like a regular girl who wasn't preset with any archetype or set in stone personality. She was a bit spoiled and timid, but also very perceptive and determined. She also took directions very well, as she never once made a peep about Yubaba's work. Another demonstration of her character was how she wanted to lure No Face away from the resort. She understood the vices that were corrupting him and that lends insight into why she wasn't interested in the gold. It was also interesting how, at the end, it seemed like she wanted to look back to see if the magic had really ended. However, she did as Haku told her and didn't look back. It's through these specific situations that I could infer aspects of her character and it really did turn into a treat to figure out more about her. At first I finished this a bit disappointed that I didn't take anything meaningful away from it. There's nothing wrong with anime that's pure entertainment, but I do like to find themes and values to enrich my own perspective with. After some contemplation, I think the one thing I really noticed in Spirited Away was how it's often easy to lose sight of what's important to the quest for material wealth. It's not necessarily heavy-handed, but it felt like Chihiro did embody the importance of what's really important - taking care of others and making reparations for wrongdoings. I don't usually mention tech, but when it's a film of this standing I just can't help it. What I liked about the art is how simplistic and yet extravagantly detailed it was. The biggest contrast I can think of is Chihiro and Yubaba's faces. Chihiro's smooth face was often filled with the curiosity and anxiety of a child whereas all of the wrinkles on Yubaba just seemed to animate her cranky character all of the more.The ost was very nostalgic. The beginning actually brought back memories of when I used to move around frequently just like Chihiro when I was her age. Being trapped in a stuffy car on the sweltering hot summer days. I was thinking a 7/10 before, but after reflecting on it more and rewatching certain scenes to get a feel of these thoughts, I'm going to say 8/10. I can certainly see why it's been praised and Miyazaki's credibility, albeit I still feel it's highly overrated. |
ZekkenshinOct 29, 2015 7:42 PM
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| Another visually stunning offering from Ghibli and Miyazaki, it definitely lived up to the hype. I really enjoyed the integration of Japanese folklore and spirits into this and the characters were great. Admittedly the plot itself wasn't anything incredible but it didn't have to be for some reason. Overall 9.5/10. |
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| CHIHIRO, STOP CRYING AND STAND UP FOR YOURSELF!!!! I would prank her, hit her with a spoon and kill that girl! |
| Numbuh 3, you've got to get off the couch, you cannot sit in that tree house, girl you like Rainbow Monkeys so grab your little shit and then swing! Hand tracks be tracking me to different doorways. In a maze, and I don't know what to do. Guaranteed though, Ima find the emeralds. |
| One trip that was. But Mononoke Hime is still a whole lot better. 1. Characters: +1 | Chihiro in particular makes me give a point here, everybody else's characterization is way too vague. Overall score: 6/102. Atmosphere: +1 | One of the anime's selling points for me. 3. OST: +1 | A few really good(and well-timed) themes and the overall OST isn't tad too bad. 4. Animation: +1 | Our typical Ghibli animation, it fitted pretty well the story. 5. Background story: 6. Storyline: +0.5 | An overall expected plot development given the premise of the story, although a bit too uneventful for my taste. 7. Ending: +0.5 | Decent, given the story development it concludes. 8. Drama: 9. Overall affect: +0.5 | I liked the story for it's feeling despite the uneventful development. It's the movie you want to watch in the quiet afternoon. |
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| Although I watched it English dubbed. I enjoyed it. I know this movie has a special place among anime watchers and I can imagine why. It was wonderful. I loved and te next time I watch I'll go for the Japanese version |
If you are going to disagree with me, don't bother talking to me. I will seriously hurt you! |
| Finally got to watch this movie , i heard it 's good let's see like the ost in the beginning where they where exploring that place , lol pigs man they were variety of spirits but not creepy as ghost hunt or natsume that was beautiful ending. |
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| I fucking loved this movie. The art and all the weird spirits/creatures were spectacular. I got lost in this weird, trippy world that Miyazaki made. Probably my favorite world in a Ghibli film so far, even if Totoro is still my favorite movie. Made my Mom watch it too and she loved it. That final scene with the purple hair-tie gleaming was perfect. Also that outro song reminded me a lot of Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro". The melody sounds really similar to me 0.o |
| ~ The world is not beautiful, therefore it is. |
| I had this movie on my watch list for quite some time but never had got around it. Finally I was able to watch and damn did I enjoy it. I kinda wished that the girl who helped Chihiro also returned to the real world because she looked like a human. |
| First time watching this movie and wow! It was awesome. Loved the animation, music, and cute little characters. I can see why this movie is considered a classic. Something about this anime made me feel like i was in that world and experiencing the magic for myself. |
animegirlxo95Jun 1, 2016 7:37 PM
By: Gasara @ DeviantArt.com <3 |
| I think it's overrated, I don't think it's the best ghibli movie ,princess mononoke and nausica of the valley of the wind are way better at least for me |
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| I watched it for the first time a long time ago and what I remember the most is that it scared me a lot (Noface, the parents becoming pigs, the baby so huge, etc everything so huge and so huge that they overflow of everything). Now I rewatched it and I really loved it! You can see the quality imo when you imagine all the flaws it coulds easily have. Like : the world is very weird and new elements keep coming without explanations (because not needed and it's simply how this wolrd works) and there are very weird things but you (I say you but I mean I) never find it unappropriate, it simply fits perfectly to the world and you just accept it. Such an extravagant world could have been unrealistic (yes I'm saying it's realistic...) but it isn't, the proof is that not once I questioned it, or thought "no they haven't do it have they?!" or "what's that again?!". Ps: also they put the exact same tunnel scene when they come in and when they come out. I haven't but I think there is so much to analyze in this movie, even in the symbolic (like the two Baba) I read it a lot but I believe too the movie is (not only but partly) about the limit between "enough" and "too much". Like the two Babas : one has this huge home, this huge baby, this huge love for money, so many people working for her and still she only loves her baby ANd more importantly she stole something from her sister : 1/ what she has is never enough 2/ she envy her sister for something (we don't know what the object Haku stole was supposed to be or do, but it doesn't matter, it simply belongs to the sister and Baba wants it : we could see it as the idea that Baba envies her sister, perhaps her tranquility, her hapiness due to her simple life. Because indeed, this second Baba is happy, what her sister isn'tn she lives alone but when someone come to see her she knows how to enjoy their company, she knows them, she prefers knocking to magic and her home is simple and in the nature, far away from all the city's troubles. She knows she has the best way of living, while her sister wants something from her and simply can't be satysfied. Besides, it's said that the two of them were only one (of course theyre twins) so it might mean that anyone has those both aspects in him/her, the two sisters are the same and the fact that Chihiro calls Yubaba "granny" in the ends, just after meeting the sister and being calling her Granny imo shows it. That's maybe why Baba isn't the villain, neither does she looses at the end, Chihiro isn't scared of her anymore (not very clear but well something like that imo). Second common flaw the movie has dodged : nothing is forced. I haven't cry but the movie made me feel somehow sad. Nothing is said or explained very clearly, just a phrase that you get or not, it's free to be interpreted, it's like everything is meaningful and it probably is, the movie is very artistic and don't let you down, like any art the movie isn't just the movie, it has a lot to say for who wills to search. You can be fascinated by Noface or you can feel sorry for him and his loneliness and his difficulty to communicate. EDIT : I just thought about it while reading the title but actually maybe the movie is more about "twins" than I thought : -spoiled Chihiro becomes brave Sen -> result : brave Chihiro - nice Kohaku becomes dark and thief Haku -> result : free Haku - greedy Yubaba // content Zeniba but mostly all the main character go through something like that : Noface/ big Noface ; Huge baby Boh / small rat baby Boh ; three normal heads / eating a lot three heads turned into huge baby Boh ; the parents/the pigs ; even the fact that it is BATHS (you get in dirty, you leave different and clean : the place is a transformation place, and it's not nothing that the setting is such a place, transformation is a huge motif in the movie) But it seems more obvious in Chihiro, Haku and Yubaba because it's the same person, one face with two names. (besides why a Noface then? It could have been any other mythical creature, I wonder why Miyazaki chose a Noface then) The more you stay in this world (like Haku and Yubaba who become darker than their other self) the unhappier you become. It doesn't work on Chihiro tho, maybe because she is human and as it is made very clear in the beginning she is not like them, so perhaps the process in reversed for her. I believe it's not meaningless that Yuababa has a twin sister, that the tiltle is "Sen to Chihiro", it might provide a important key to really understand the movie. => IMO that's where the quality is : can you say so much about any anime? I personaly couldn't. At first it's true it's hard to get everything, the plot is simple etc while other anime have such incredible plots but is has a lot to say and it's very worked, and let's agree we can't say that about every anime, a few but it's still rare when almost everything has a meaning. (just so you know I love both those kinds of anime) |
AmyltiaJul 16, 2016 5:43 AM
| I just saw this movie recently, and it filled me with a real excitement and joy to finally see the cultural event that brought Miyazaki and Ghibli roaring to the Western World. And what a fantastic movie to do it with. I think Kiki and Porco Rosso are still my favorite Miyazaki films but I also firmly believe this one and Mononoke stand as the best. Still this is a complex and deeply metaphorical work, one that was widely viewed and has a lot of analysis around it since its release. I feel there's very little insightful and new I could bring to a discussion of this film. So I'm going to focus on the narrative of this film I take the greatest issue with. The persistent notion among some viewers that Chihiro it's protagonist is some spoiled sullen brat that has to be taught a lesson by the end. This is just a baffling take away from this movie, because I never once viewing it felt this way about Chihiro. For starters we see very little of her before being whisked into the Spirit World, just a brief scene in the beginning in a car. If she seems fussy or ungrateful, we are literally joining her as she is in the act of leaving her old home and moving to a new one. This is an upsetting event for people of any age or status and more importantly nothing she says or does in this scene is particularly bratty or ungrateful! Seriously maybe I'm too defensive of this character I liked her a lot and certainly felt an attachment to her by the end but this kind of stuff pisses me off. It's a totally unfair read of her and not the one I think Miyazaki would endorse. There are two major reasons I disagree with it. For starters she may seem sullen or ill tempered when telling off her parents for eating at the beginning. But she was right! They shouldn't have eaten the food, and their callousness leads to the events and Chihiro's suffering throughout the film. It's more about careless parents than bratty kids I believe. Second, I don't think Chihiro truly changes by the end of the movie. Rather I think she adapts to the situations and hardships and rises to them. Maybe she learns a little something about herself but she is not a fundamentally different person when she walks out of the tunnel from when she walks in. We just see how the person who walked in was capable of more than we might have expected from them. So that's it, my brief, ranting and maybe a little incoherent defense of Chihiro. She's one of my favorite animated film protagonists of all time and has been maligned by viewers of this film for too long. |
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| wow what a great anime and a perfect example of character development...JUST WOW |
| I just re watched this movie for the 8th, 9th or 10th time. This is what really got me into anime. I remember seeing this movie as a child and loving it, while my mom said it was weird. When I was 13 or 14, I bought the movie, being super exited as I remembered how much I loved it, and my mom was like "Do you still like this weird movie?". Last year, about a month before or so before, I watched the movie again, being absolutely terrified of ghost and spirits, but remembering how much I had enjoyed it in the past, and I can sincerely tell you that it helped me overcome many fears and barriers in my life. Now, one year has past. Tomorrow is my first year anniversary since I started willingly watching anime (Sword Art Online on Netflix. Whatever you want to say... SHHH!), and I cannot express how much my life has changed since then, in the best way possible. This movie will always have a space in my heart, I truly love it and dare to say it's my favorite movie of all time. <3 |
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| I can see why this is a classic, but at the same time I feel like there wasn't much happening and there was no point to this movie. The music and animation are on point, but the story and character are lacking quite a bit. The ending/resolution could have been more conclusive too. Overall a decently fun movie that could use some room for improvement. Surprised to see that this movie ranks at 13th to be honest. |
| Honobono Log - best slice of life short -------------------------------------------- most kawaii loli overlord ---------------------------- Donquixote Doflamingo AMV - Control |
| WOW! I never gets bored while watching this anime 10/10 |
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| I feel this needed a bit more of world building explanation and a more in depth approach to some of the side characters. Also, a better, conclusive ending would be good. I think the way the curtains closed was too anticlimactic. |
WintoviskyFeb 11, 2017 4:10 AM
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| Well I would say that the ending could have been much better. But overall I love this anime because its so much entertaining and thrilling. The spirits and ghosts are shown in such a great way. I am so happy to watch it ~^^~ |
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| I haven't been posting my thoughts in detail for the various Ghibli films I've been watching the past few days-- not even the one I gave a 10-- but although this isn't my favorite Ghibli film so far nor the one I'd rate the highest I feel compelled to commend it for the sheer amount of creative force that went into it. Indeed, upon reflection Spirited Away is possibly the most creative animated work I've seen, from the world itself and its inhabitants to what is unquestionably the best character acting animation I have ever seen until now. Said character acting factored greatly into the characterization and made the movie very easy to watch. Chihiro especially felt so much like a real person that it in some senses even toppled Space Brother's magnificent characterization, and I do not say that easily. I can't say there was a heavy message in this movie; there were some light themes highlighting the foolishness of greed, gluttony, and other forms of selfishness, but on the whole it struck me as more of an entertainment tale than a moral one, which is rather interesting when you consider again the setting. Perhaps that is in part why I can't bring myself to rate this higher than I will-- even if I do feel bad about it certain respects-- but on the whole I thought that for what it was, this film was excellent. This is definitely my best Miyazaki experience thus far. |
TripleSRankJul 28, 2017 3:31 AM
| Really nice movie, took me a while to get to it, but here I am. I do feel like the ending was rushed, was expecting a very emotional reunion between Chihiro and her parents, but it was kinda like "oh hi let's get back to the car CREDIT SONG THE END", and it could also be a little shorter, 2 hours is pretty exhausting. Other than that, well done. Animation and visual quality is absolutely insane, judging how it's from 2001. It looked like it could've been released tomorrow. |
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