Anime Eiga Review: My Neighbors the Yamadas

Film Synopsis

Meet the Yamadas, just your average suburban family.

Now to some average may be too strong of a word, but what is average anyway. Every family has its quirks and this one’s no different. These guys are simply a little bit louder about it.

Leading the lot are the husband and wife pair of Takashi (voiced by Touru Masuoka) and Matsuko (voiced by Yukiji Asaoka). Together for the past twenty years, these two have their hands full. Not only with the household, but with each other; in most loving of ways of course.

Ensuring their parents never get bored are Noboru (voiced by Hayato Isobata) and his little sister Nonoko (voiced by Naomi Uno). Noboru doesn't have any reservations about expressing his annoyance with the usual teenage problems one would face at his age and Nonoko is five so she pretty much does what she’s going to do.

Finally theirs Grandma Shige (voiced by Masako Araki) who’s always happy to share her words of wisdom; or her two cents depending on who you ask.

Life is made up of many little events. Stress at work, chores, general laziness, you name it and the Yamada family has to go through it too. However, no matter how hard, annoying, or frustrating things get, this group will always come together at the end of the day.

Film Positives

While Porco Rosso and Pom Poko may have been Ghibli’s first true attempts at a theatrical comedy, there were still many serious and dramatic moments which kept them going all out. My Neighbors the Yamadas didn't have those limitations. This movie is as light hearted as it gets.

It’s hard to imagine this is from the same director who gave us Grave of the Fireflies. It makes it all the more surprising considering this movie gets pretty damn hilarious.

Before moving on, I have to quickly break what I said I wasn't going to do at the beginning of the month because the visual style of this movie is unlike any other Ghibli production thus far. This film looks like it was pulled straight from a comic strip. Kind of on point since that's exactly where My Neighbors the Yamadas came from.

This style contributes to a lot of the film’s charm and I cannot see the usual Ghibli animation working; as hard as that might be to believe.

So in fewer words, I liked this one a lot.

The Yamadas

This family is close. They’ll never admit it, but nothing is going to tear them apart.

They’re not lovey-dovey, words of encouragement are rare, and they're not what you would call sensitive. In fact they're ass holes to each other. Never in malicious way, but they will twist a situation to better benefit themselves and inconvenience someone else.

This never goes too far since everyone's doing it to everyone; no one is immune. It doesn’t matter if its old woman Shige or tiny little Nonoko, they’re going to take it and fire it right back.

In one scene everyone's watching TV and mama Matsuko is stuck in the kitchen with the dishes. Since no one has any sympathy, they start asking for favors from Matsuko, who is naturally getting fed up. To paraphrase, she eventually yells back, “Why don't one of you jerk get in here and help me?”

They all look at each other, realizing that they probably went a little too far, but they’re not the one who’s going to get up. Therefore, rock, paper, scissors.

Son Noboru loses and goes to help. Matsuko tells him to quickly wash his cup, but this was a trick. The second he gets to the sink, Matsuko turns around and says, “Dishes are you problem now,” and proceeds to join everyone around the TV. All the Yamadas are looking for the easy out. But like I said, this is still a family that will come together.

One day, papa Takashi gets stuck in the rain. He calls home to ask someone to bring a spare umbrella to him, but no one is willing to do it. Frustrated, Takashi says he’ll just buy one. For one more jab, Matsuko asks him to pick up some meat while he's doing that. Out of spite, he tells her to shove it.

While at the store however, Takashi does pick up dinner and heads back. To his shock, coming down the street are Matsuko and his two kids carrying an umbrella. They meet up and all four of them walk home.

The words “I love you” are not the only way to say it.

Film Negatives

When they say My Neighbors the Yamadas, they really mean Takashi, Matsuko, and Shige. Noboru does contribute on occasion and there were times I forgot Nonoko was even in the movie. Don’t even get me started on the dog, especially since this is the first time I’m mentioning him.

While the back and forth between the adults was great, when the kids were on screen they were never extra baggage. Whenever they were a family they were at they’re absolute best.

The Yamadas were out shopping one day and on the way home they realize they accidentally left Nonoko at the mall. The subsequent freak out was hilarious and we got to see both sides of the story. It was a great introduction to the family, which is all the more weird since this is one of the few times all five of the Yamadas were working together.

Too Long

This movie had no business being almost two hours.

My Neighbors the Yamadas isn’t a single story, but a collection of events. This is a four episode anime shown back to back. That got me thinking; why not just make this an anime? When I thought that I hadn’t realized that’s exactly what ended up happening.

While that makes the prospects of a future review exciting, the film’s overall length is a little too long.

There are a lot of good jokes, but they’re not all good. There are a few duds dragging down the movie. The full hundred-minute run time takes its toll since there’s not enough to justify it. So know that you might want to take a pause every now and then.

Final Thoughts

Do you want something completely different from Ghibli? That’s precisely what My Neighbors the Yamadas provides. It shows that the studio can do other genres and other things. You can have your breathtaking animation, ambiguous storylines, and epic adventures. Or you can just sit down and have a good laugh.

My Neighbors the Yamadas is a lot of fun and very funny at times. It’s a great look into the daily lives of a loud, but loving family. A little on the longer end, but it never gets to the point where you want to turn it off. Here’s something a little fresh, but with same level of Ghibli charm you have come to expect.

Ghibli Month will continue tomorrow with 2001’s Spirited Away.

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