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Thursday, July 7, 2016

Anime Eiga Review: Only Yesterday

Film Synopsis


Taeko Okajime (voiced by Miki Imai) has always fantasied about the countryside. Having lived in Tokyo her whole life, a simpler, quieter existence promised by a rural farming community has been her dream. These feeling go as far back as her elementary school days when her classmates would leave the city for holiday.

As an adult, Taeko decides to take a visit to her brother-in-law’s family 's farm in Yamagata. While traveling, she begins recalling her ten year old self (voiced by Yoko Honna). Strong waves of nostalgia rush in and the events of her current life stir many memories that were once forgotten.

Arriving at her destination, Taeko is met at the station by a cousin of her brother-in-law named Toshio (voiced by Toshiro Yanagiba), who is there to bring her to the family farm. Before this meeting these two were barely acquaintances, but they really hit it off.

Taeko’s short stay is rewarding, enjoyable, and appears to be exactly what she was looking for. However, reality has a way of changing our outlook without warning. As the story drifts between past and present, the older Taeko must come to terms with weather she is meeting the expectation of her younger self.

Film Positives


Is there anything about this film that warrants it being animated? Not really. Could this movie have been made in live action with little to no problem? Perhaps. Would I have preferred live actors and settings over this one? Hell no. Only Yesterday is perfectly fine the way it is.

Taeko (Older)
In the Kiki’s Delivery Service review, I said it was the cinematic form of a slice of life. I spoke to soon because Only Yesterday fully personifies this, no question. Having now looked at stories with elements of fantasy, magic, adventure, and World War II, for this one to come along and be set in the contemporary world, I say knowing the film takes place in the early 80's, was a little jarring. It’s not bad; it just took a second to adjust. 
Taeko (Younger)

I absolutely loved this movie; more than I ever would've expected. I figured I probably would because Ghibli, but we’ve already seen some of the more well know entries in the studio’s filmography and there are some pretty big ones coming down the line. Only Yesterday was very pleasant surprise.

Realism

There's no magic, no mythical creatures, and no vast barren wastelands to take epic journeys in; only a farm community in rural Japan. What made this movie so interesting to me was how real it was.

Nothing was grand or uncommon. Everyone will have to or has gone through most if not all of the things Taeko has gone through; first crushes, careers, family arguments. I want someone to give me an example of another movie where puberty is treated as an important time in a kid’s life that simply happens; you know, like it is in real life.

It didn’t matter if the plot was looking at Taeko as an adult or as a child, both were fascinating for their own reasons.

The first scene, out of many, that portrayed this occured when Taeko was in grade school and a rumor got out about a boy from another class who liked her. Sure enough there was some teasing, but there was also a good amount of support. To make it even cuter, Taeko and the boy didn’t really seem to mind the situation. Nothing came of it, but the entire exchange was stupidly sweet.

The entire first half of the film was mostly focused on ten year old Taeko. The adult version had her moments, especially when she met Toshio; resulting in an amazing back and forth between the two characters. This changed suddenly when Taeko remembered the first and only time her father ever struck her.

It was a pretty abrupt jump back to reality because of how out of the blue it was. Taeko did break a rule, but her father clearly overacted. This felt deliberate on the part of the filmmakers because of how awkward the scene got for everyone involved. There's no lingering resentment from it, but it's defiantly not a happy memory.

Another great moment came near the end of the film and served as the start of the amazing final act. Taeko loved her time spend on the farm, but she never once took a moment to consider living there. When the prospect of doing just that came up, and it came up in the most uncomfortably direct way, it threw Taeko’s mind into a spin.

This entire scene was hilarious because of how fast it spirals out of control and was a good representation of people who don’t know when to shut the hell up. But it’s also very important because it forces Taeko to actually think about what she wants to do with her life.

Only Yesterday went from charming, to cute, to thought provoking, to reflective, and then a whole lot more. It never got nasty or mean, but things weren’t always perfect. Can I believe somewhere there’s a person who's living Taeko’s life right now; I'd actually bet money on it.



Film Negatives


There's a lot of eye candy in this movie; most of it not pertaining to the story what so ever.

For example, Taeko arrives at the farm right as sun is rising. The music gets insanely epic and the scenery and imagery is absolutely gorgeous. Everything looks and sounds amazing. Could it have been taken out; easily, but I’m really glad it wasn’t.

I could say the same for many shots and scenes in the film. There are times when it seemed like the animators were just showing off. I don’t blame them. If I could make what they made, I’d do the same thing. There's a lot of unneeded fluff, but that’s totally okay.

One thing that might put some people off is the fact that this is a dialogue heavy movie. This means long conversations and venting. If you’re the kind of person that doesn’t enjoy that kind of storytelling, sadly this is probably not a movie for you.

A shame because good engaging dialogue is hard to do for a scene, much less a two hour film. Only Yesterday makes it look easy.



Final Thoughts


Before starting Ghibli month, I had never even heard of Only Yesterday. There are actually many Ghibli films where that's true. While names like Totoro are giants, this one stands firmly side by side.

This is a wonderful story that looks into the life of your typical twenty-seven year old. However, everything is powerfully relatable and it hits at many of the experiences many of us have had.

Be sure to throw Only Yesturday on your must watch list.

Ghibli Month will continue tomorrow with 1992’s Porco Rosso.


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