The Miyazaki Film Rankings are a comprehensive and ongoing attempt to review and rank the collected works of Hayao Miyazaki. I will only be covering the feature length films that Miyazaki both wrote and directed.

These rankings are a work in progress. Additional films are being added as their reviews are added to the site. Make sure to check back regularly to see what’s new.

Hayao Miyazaki’s directorial debut is still a delight 40 years after its initial release. However, the weight of age is apparent, as certain sequences aren’t quite on par with modern expectations for an animated feature.

Castle is a bombastic adventure story through a steampunk world. It’s also an incredibly fun ride, and it’s had a substantial impact on pop culture. However, it lacks the thematic richness of some other entries on the Miyazaki Film Rankings, and isn’t quite on par with Miyazaki’s later animation quality, so it doesn’t fit at the top.

Porco Rosso is an entrancing journey through a pre-WWII Italy and Adriatic Sea drenched in magical realism. It’s also a visual delight. However, it lacks focus in both its plot and its themes, meaning I can’t rank it at the absolute apex.

Drawing inspiration from the Little Mermaid, Ponyo is a wonderful fairytale for the modern age. It’s one of the most visually appealing works in Miyazaki’s oeuvre. However, the relative simplicity of the writing holds it back from greatness.

Studio Ghibli’s most iconic production is an excellent production by any metric. However, a lack of overall narrative focus in the plot prevents it from ascending any further in these Miyazaki Film Rankings.

Kiki’s is an all-around immaculately crafted work. It’s gorgeous, well-structured, and well-paced. It’s one of the all-time great coming of age narratives. Though showing some age, Kiki’s represents the point where these Rankings jump from great films to exemplars of the medium.

Miyazaki’s most recent film tackles tough questions about Japan’s wartime past, and not quite as effectively as it could have. However, it’s still a gorgeous and moving film.

Nausicaä is a seminal work in film, full-stop. Not in anime. Not in science fiction. In film. The film still looks amazing despite its age, and the story and themes hold up incredibly well. It also has had one of the biggest impacts on the genre ever, both on its own and due to it leading Miyazaki to found Studio Ghibli. If you haven’t seen Nausicaä, fix that.

Princess Mononoke hits a lot of the same notes as Nausicaä. What little it loses by being derivative, it gains in Miyazaki’s increased grasp of storytelling, as well as general improvements in animation in the intervening decade and change.

This film encapsulates everything I like about Miyazaki’s work, synthesizing the coming-of-age bona fides of Kiki’s Delivery Service with the mystical whimsy of My Neighbor Totoro, the animist/environmentalist themes of Nausicaä, and the nuanced character and theme work of Princess Mononoke.

Ultimately, I’m a sucker for a love story. And on top of that, this film revisits the anti-war themes that have supported some of Miyazaki’s greatest hits. Add in an execution that’s smooth as butter, and you get a winner.

Final Note:

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