"Only Yesterday" (1991) (Only Yesterday (DVD))

Member Name: jbsabbath

Product:	Only Yesterday (DVD)
Date:	22/08/08 (54 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful animation, perfect for adults with its honest themes

Disadvantages: Lacks much of a plot

I am still very new to anime (Japanese animation), even though I've seen a good few of the movies, because most of these were directed by a mere handful of people.

The first I ever saw was the futuristic "Ghost in the Shell", which I didn't fully understand when I first watched it, and all I can remember about it now is that a woman cyborg somehow beats up a tank.

More recently I watched Katsuhiro Ôtomo's severely over-the-top "Akira" and "Steamboy", both of which blew me away and left me gasping for air by the end, battle-weary and worn (these films have more explosions than any Hollywood action blockbuster).

Then there was the fantastic "Paprika", a full medley of visual goodies that just completely swamps the vision and drowns you in colour.

All four of these films rely on huge explosions, big battles, and some sort of super human, usually a flesh/metal combination, or at least something embedded in the realm of Frankenstein's monster.

The most consistently good set of movies comes from Studio Ghibli and their two most influential directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.

Miyazaki was the first to really get me into anime with one of my favourite films, and Oscar-winner, "Spirited Away".

From then I was devoted to seeking out all of his movies: "Nausicaä", "My Neighbor Totoro", "Kiki's Delivery Service", "Porco Rosso", "Princess Mononoke" and "Howl's Moving Castle".

"Only Yesterday" is one of Takahata's creations, best known for directing "Grave of the Fireflies", a powerful animation about a broken family in Japan during WWII that I found truly disturbing to watch due to its brutal honesty.

This movie, however, doesn't tackle similar plot themes, but it is certainly a much more adult-orientated piece of work than Miyazaki's films, which are aimed at a more youthful audience, enjoyable for children and parents alike.

"Only Yesterday" focuses on Taeko, both as a young girl at school and as an adult coping with her lonely single life when she visits her relatives in the country.

The animation itself is beautiful, and Takahata combines sensitive watercolours for the flashbacks and great panning landscape shots for modern day, showing off a truly masterful piece of work.

I am always amazed at the attention to detail in these anime films, and would gladly watch one over any new Disney or Pixar with their computer-generated trickery.

The film brings up many different issues that affect both the child and the adult Taeko, but it is a shame that the plot itself really doesn't come to much.

In other words, there's plenty of meat, but none of the bones.

And this is what really hindered me from thinking this film to be fantastic, as when you get down to it, very little actually happens and the film suddenly ends, just when it might be moving somewhere, which is something to say for a film nearly two hours long.

However, this film holds up on its artistic merits alone, and while it perhaps doesn't have the power of "Grave of the Fireflies", it has the heart and emotion I've come to expect from Studio Ghibli.

It seems to me that anime is often used to create movies that you could never film live-action, as they would be too stupendously expensive, which is a good thing, while the two films I've seen by Takahata could both be transferred to a live-action format (although with probably varying results).

"Only Yesterday" is a drama overall, not the fantasy/sci-fi/horror/action many anime-directors employ, which truly shows the depths this medium can reach.

So if you're new to Japanese animation, I would suggest you start exploring this brave new world of movies right now, but "Only Yesterday" is perhaps not the first one I would recommend.

Summary: Visually blows you away, but lacks the excitement of other Studio Ghibli efforts