Have you heard of Studio Ghibli? It is a famous Japanese animation studio found by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. This studio has produced 17 feature films which some of them have been directed by Hayao Miyazaki himself.

Beginning with Castle in the Sky in 1986. Followed by Grave of the Fireflies (1988), My Neighbour Totoro (1988), Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), Only Yesterday (1991), Porco Rosso (1992), Pom Poko  (1994), Whisper of the Heart (1995), Princess Mononoke (1997), My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999), Spirited Away (2001), The Cat Returns (2002), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), Tales from Earthsea (2006), Ponyo (2008), Arrietty (2010), and From Up on Poppy Hill  (2011).

I have watched all of them except From Up on Poppy Hill. I won’t spoil you with too much detail about these movies and these are among my favourites:

Kiki’s Delivery Service – It is a tradition for her kind to live one year alone when they reach 13 years old. Kiki, a witch-in-training who has only one skill: ability to fly on a broom, takes off to a big city to find her own experience.

Spirited Away – A ten-year-old girl and her parents are travelling to their new home when her father takes a wrong turning. Thinking they have found an abandoned amusement park. Her parents found an empty restaurant with full of food and decided to eat there. While she goes on explore the park and finds an exquisite bathhouse.

Ponyo – Brunhilde, a fish-girl who is capable of turning herself into a human-girl. Her father was a once-human wizard. Driven by the desire to see the out world, she ends up stuck in a bottle and was saved by a human-boy. She then falls in love with the boy.

Howl’s Moving Castle - On her way to visit her sister, an 18-year old girl has encoutered a mysterious wizard. Later at night she is visited by a witch and found herself transformed into an old lady. Seeking to cure the curse, she travels to the Wastes and ends up in Howl’s Castle.