There was two animes that stood out straight away for me as my movie of 1988, My Neighbor Totoro and Akira. Whilst one of the first animes I was ever introduced to in my teen years was Akira, I simply enjoy the cuteness of Totoro more.
Or it is that I enjoy the relationship me and my own younger sister have with this movie. I first introduced her to Studio Ghibli with 'Spirited Away', much as I had been, and when she had wanted more I went with Totoro, knowing she'd never, at her then young age, give Grave of the Fireflies or Princess Mononoke a go.
She often blames me if she hasn't seen a movie, and its about time now she should watch more movies from the studio, but she's gravitated to the cute ones, Ponyo included in the former ones I have mentioned.
Let me mark the movie itself on merit, not on just my relationship with it. It's Hayao Miyazaki's most personal film, with albeighit not much of a plot, though that has never bothered me. It's lovely to watch. It's more about the characters, their interactions and the unfamiliar world they inhabit. The two leads, young sisters Satsuki and Mei feel like children.
The way they move, behave, explore and talk feels so real in this beautifully drawn animated world, and its so joyful to watch, that the lack of tension and plot do not come into my overall enjoyment of the piece.
So which do you prefer Totoro or Akira? Or is there a movie I should have considered from 1988 that is neither of these two?
Hasta Luego
@Fake_Shemp
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