Michael Leader

A love letter to Studio Ghibli, the people who run it, and the movies they've created. There is a lot of care and passion for the subject, but not enough focus and clarity, making it hard to determine for whom this book is intended.

This book tries to be too many things at once and clearly needs more space to contain all the ideas it wants to explore. There is an attempt to capture Ghibli's essence and understand what makes its films so special. There is a chronicle of the studio's evolution show more and business results. There is a suggestion of its influence on filmmaking. There are diary-like recollections from the authors recounting their "first" with Ghibli movies. And finally, there are reviews of all the movies made by the studio so far.

The question is: Is it any good? The answer: It depends on your expectations and familiarity with the subject. If you are a hardcore fan, you'll know most of it, but comparing your take on the presented subjects with the authors' might be a worthwhile experience. If you are Ghibli-curious, it might help you decide which movies to watch next and which ones to skip. However, the reviews are the most dangerous part of the book. They are very uneven, ranging from descriptions of the vibe and feel of the movie to detailed summaries of the entire plot. Unfortunately, both tend to spoil the ending or important plot twists without any warnings.

You'll enjoy this book a lot if you want to learn more about people behind Ghibli studio - founders, directors, and key business people. It presents their relationships, struggles, failures, successes, and inspirations for movies they created. If you're interested in box office results and how issues with distribution prevented some films from gaining popularity until streaming platforms made them available to a global audience - you'll find these stories here. If you are looking for in-depth analysis of the movies, their historical and cultural nuances, symbolism, messages... you'll most likely leave with more questions than answers.

The book is truly a labor of love, evident in both its form and content. I deeply appreciate it. However, much like those who are in love, the book struggles to describe its love subject in a structured and deliberate manner, rambling about many things that are obvious for authors but might be cryptic for some readers. show less