Anime: Only Yesterday (Omoide Poroporo)
The second movie in Two Weeks and Two Days of Studio Ghibli
Studio: Studio Ghibli
Source / Writer: Manga/Hotaru Okamoto and Yuko Tone.
Genres: Drama, romance, slice-of-life.
Type: Movie
Story: Taeko Okajima is a typical “office lady” in a big company in a big city. When she takes a sabbatical to the countryside in Yamagata Prefecture, the hometown of her brother-in-law, the journey recalled her memory of her 5th grade year. During her stay in Yamagata, she works hard and happily as a farmer and is surrounded by friendly relatives and villagers, bringing up more memories. Their hospitality makes her to reconsider her choice of life.
(Source: ANN)
Story
Only Yesterday is pure slice-of-life, and it was actually sort of boring. Sure, the characters were interesting enough to keep me watching, but I could literally leave it on and not pay any attention and then come back and understand everything that’s going on. It does have a profound and wise meaning though, and it’s a profound and sweet tale.
I think I could probably enjoy Only Yesterday a whole lot more if I were a bit older and able to relate with Taeko’s thoughts and reminiscing. It really is an interesting story with so much development and a surprising amount of layers, but comes across as being sort of boring, though not uneventful.
There was a large portion of the movie spent on Taeko’s memories of fifth grade and dealing with learning about periods, and not only was it awkward (even though I myself am a girl) but it was also a bit unrealistic. I mean, I don’t remember anybody making that big a deal about periods. Other than this part, the rest of the movie was scarily realistic in many ways, and easy for even me to relate to. Though, like I said before, it’s better for the more mature adults out there.
Animation
The animation in Only Yesterday is beautiful, especially for something made in 1991. There are a few scenes where the outlining looks a bit odd, or the faces look a bit off, but it’s still quite impressive. What really caught my attention is the backgrounds, which are amazingly detailed water colors. It contrasted really well with the soft art style and made for a very appealing aesthetic.
Sound
There were completely silent parts with no music. This really bothered me. The music that was there wasn’t anything special, and everything was almost always silent when there was dialogue. WATCH AS THIS FAMILY TRIES PINEAPPLE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. IN COMPLETE SILENCE. Sounds like fun, am I right? (It bothers me that this family doesn’t like pineapple. PINEAPPLE IS THE KING OF THE FRUITS).
Characters
The characters are a mixed bag, but I believe they were meant to be that way. On the good side, we have Taeko and her family in the country. Taeko is a wise, friendly, hardworking and profound woman who works an office job, while working at a farm during her vacations. She is a wonderful role model, and I really enjoyed watching her interact with others. Only Yesterday is different in the way that the main character has already developed, and they are looking back at these memories of what they used to be. This also allows for Taeko to be a very deep and fleshed out character, something I love to see in any form of entertainment.
Her “country family,” as I call them, are the classic country folk, kind, hardworking, and welcoming. Her actual “city family,” on the other hand, is horrible. The dad works all day, and when he’s home he doesn’t even talk to his family. The only parts when he really interacted with Taeko are when he slaps her because she goes outside without her shoes (horrible reason to slap somebody), and when he tells her she can’t be in a play because “show biz people are no good,” or something like that. The mom does a lot for the family, but doesn’t seem to care about what her children want or really need. She’s not exactly the nurturing type. Hell, she doesn’t even seem to care when Taeko’s older sister is being a bully. I guess this family setup really bothers me, but it makes that country seem a whole lot better, and I think it was meant to do that.
Enjoyment
Only Yesterday has great artistic and even philosophical value, but isn’t very entertaining. Eh, maybe I’ll enjoy it someday.
Recommendation: I recommend Only Yesterday to mature adults looking for something to change the way they look at things.
Final Conclusion: 8/10