Ranking Studio Ghibli Movies

As someone who grew up on Disney I had heard of Studio Ghibli throughout my adult life but I had never seen any of the films until I met my husband. He is a huge Miyazaki fan and as such I have seen most of the Miyazaki - Studio Ghibli movies. So as someone who is new to the genre of anime I wanted to rank the Studio Ghibli movies I have seen from my most to least favorite. I also want to preface this by saying I didn't think any of these movies are bad, they are all beautiful and wonderful stories. I just clearly liked some more than others.

Kiki’s Delivery Service is my number 1. It's like getting a hug every time I watch it. It's sweet, relatable and adorable. I dressed up as Kiki for Halloween last year. I have a little stuffed jiji on my nightstand. I love Kiki’s Delivery Service.

Ponyo is the cutest movie to ever exist. Having movies that center around children is probably my favorite thing as a nanny and swim teacher. I really love spending time around kids so these movies are so perfect.

My Neighbor Totoro, honestly these first 3 are all probably tied in reality. I love the magic and imagination of this movie. The little girls' relationship is great and there is nothing I want more than a giant Totoro stuffed pillow.

Nausicaa Valley of the Wind was probably one of my favorite stories so far. It was also so unbelievably beautiful visually. I think this is one that I would show people to show them what Studio Ghibli is. Narratively it is definitely one of my favorites.

Princess Mononoke is fully tied with Nausicaa Valley of the Wind, they are both amazing stories. This was one I had seen pre-my husband but I really didn’t pay attention to it because I didn’t care about the person I was with. But once this movie had my full attention I fell in love with it.

Castle in the Sky is a stunningly beautiful movie. And really I could say that about all of them. Miyazaki’s art style is unmatched and I am so glad I got to catch his exhibit at the Academy museum while it was up. I love this movie as well and honestly in a tiered ranking system a lot of these films are tied.

Spirited Away is in the same spot as Castle in the Sky for me, I think this one took a little longer to hook me. But once it did I was completely bought into the story. Spirited Away also has more going on at once then some of the other movies. With most of the movies mentioned they are nice and slow, watching them is like meditating. They are super relaxing but with Spirited Away, Princess Monoke, Nausicaa Valley of the Wind and Castle in the Sky the plots move so fast that you are alert and attentive.

Howl’s Moving Castle is my husband's favorite so it's really unfortunate that it's last on my list. Again I didn’t think it was by any means bad, I did think that it had less of a plot then all of the other movies. And story is what keeps me engaged, I love Calcifer but overall there wasn’t really a story to me, at least not one that was clear.

Honestly my husband has turned me into the biggest Studio Ghibli fan, he knows I can’t enjoy things in a chill way so here we are with me being super obsessed with something I didn’t discover until I was 25.