It would be cool of all this stuff you would cover something on the IASTE situtation

preach it! girl!

Honestly there's nothing wrong with the romantic love in disney films. Apart from maybe Snow White and Sleeping Beauty where they kiss the princesses while they sleep, they're all purely healthy and harmonious.

Snow White and Sleeping Beauty story is actually a metaphor for human life time in general, they do not focus on love, so comparing them to Studios Ghibli movies is kind of a little bit stup!d, you know.

@Alexandra Kane How love is presented in Studio Ghibli film certainly have more nuance and depth than what you see in a Disney movie (no offense to Disney as I think too many people take Disney fairytales too literally). However, some criticize Ghibli for being too aromanic and too asexual in it's presentation of love. Although, love is spiritual, it shouldn't be competition between spiritual love and physical love. To think otherwise suggest that there is something wrong with physical love or attraction. Without undermining the prominence of spiritual love, we aren't just our souls or just our minds we are also our bodies.

Disney’s had a good chunk of healthy couples.

As an asexual but not aromatic person, I really feel this. Getting to see an example of what you want that's also true to who you are is powerful.

I'm a Cupioromantic (under the aromatic umbrella) And I love studio Ghibli movies for this reason as well

Nice to see a fellow aromantic in the comments✌️ totally agree with everything you said

Can totally relate 💛 Amatonormativity can be too much at times

@@AnonymousOnimous as a fellow asexual who is not aromantic, same.

Tbh, this is iro ically something Disney only gets right half the time Cinderella 3, Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Mulan, and Tangled get this right when it comes to Disney But the other half feels like they just won it rather than took the trip together

I always figured it meant she loved him in a non romantic way

I think it's more people aren't always going to return your feelings and that's okay. What's important is you respect that and let them go. Because there was never a chance for him to be with her as Howl was her real true love and he saw that and decided to move on.

@@sophieamandaleiton-toomey8469 exactly. I read a story today about unrequited love and fanatic possession ending in death for a very young girl. This is a very important lesson for today.

I think that it's said in the film that you can have more than one true love. I think Turniphead accepted that Sophie chose Howl and knew that there would likely be someone else for him. I like that he didn't get jealous or try to fight Howl, he respected them both.

Sophie was turnip head's true love but not vice versa. Sophie loved him as a friend which is why the prince was accommodating because he understood and was willing to wait. Miyazaki's films are not about 1 soul mate but the possibilities of soul mates on different levels. And they are the best compared with Disney or Hollywood

Dude the Japanese are miles ahead of us when it comes to spirituality

@@greyLeicester agreed

@@greyLeicester Hayao Miyazaki is a legend.

Yes! He is pretty much the embodiment of the most-cliché cliché of japan ever: "between tradition and modernity". He comes from the first generation of post-war manga and anime authors who never gave on the counter-cultural marxist ideals, while paying great respect to his countries traditions, folklore and spirituality. That's why his way to tell stories is so powerful on western audiences, the storytelling is entirely materialist, no inner evil and toxic hierarchic thinking, so what's left of folklore and tradition is the peaceful, respectful, equal, magical and melancholic part.

So true! He also has a very multicultural pov. He incorporates symbolism that is prevalent through various cultures across the world. So genius and beautiful. Just wow.

Yeah, likely he won't.

He didn't write the stories of most movies, though. His most famous ones are all based on novels, although some adaptations are pretty liberal. (Howls moving castle got him in trouble with the author who didn't like the adaptation at all.) Not saying Hayao Miyazaki isn't great at what he does, but it's often not HIS story.

@@ladyofshallott5005 According to Wikipedia Hayao Miyazaki himself wrote many of the scripts of his movies: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Ponyo. So it seems to me that Howls moving castle is more the exception. Unless you can show me that more of his movies are strongly based on other people's original writing, I stay with my original post: The Nobel Prize for Literature for Hayao Miyazaki.

YASSSSS

If Bob Dylan can, not to say he isn't an amazing poet, Miyazaki should too

Male writers always have a hard time writing solid female characters. They’re usually just a male but as a woman if that makes sense. Not much femininity. The archetypal female badass. That, or they’re The Mother, The Wife, The Daughter, The Sister, etc. just to have stakes for the protagonists. For me, Miyazaki is the only male writer that gets female characters right!

Honestly my love for his movies goes far beyond it is so beautiful ❤️❤️❤️

@@cocob0l0 not to mention they're also usually very sexualized

I saw that Bly Manor reference lol

@@joyc.e.7511 meep meep

Miyazaki Miyazaki-ed him up 🤣

Hell, these characters having chemistry at all (whether it be romantic or not) is fantastic. Everyone should appreciate chemistry without romance rather than romance without chemistry in fiction.

Possibly Ghibli's most underrated movie. Honestly, Whisper of the Heart shifted my whole paradigm about what love should look like. No fantastical elements, no life or death situations, nothing. Just two people who find someone that inspires them and realize they want the best for each other and want to be a team in life. It's easily and consistently in my Top 3 for favorite Ghibli movies.

Whisper of the Heart is my second favorite Studio Ghibli movie (spirited away is my first)

I wonder why western culture often tends to depict relationships so negatively though. Does it have something to do with western history, culture, or religion?

@@user-cx6lq8mt5g That is actually a valid question. Maybe its has to do with the different perceptions people have about themselves. Eastern cultures usually follow a more esoteric view in contrast with western culture which follow a more self-preservative view. (hence capitalism 😕). I'm just guessing here. I don't really know the answer...

@@HobanProduction Well said!!! I agree 😀👏

Sammeee 👍👍 I was sure I’d find someone like me in the comments. It was reassuring that I had movies that portrayed love like this beautifully as a child.

What the hell is even an aroace person? Always labelling!

@@greyLeicester asexual aromantic 👍

As someone who is also notably aro, I’ve always wanted that deep bond with someone that makes us both better. A love that makes me a better person on all levels, not even physical. I don’t even care about the physical. Ghibli movies definitely made my standards too high for this fucked world.

Same!!

Can you list the others please?

yes!!! i think it's because of the anniversary

It’s my favorite movie for a reason

Same

Agreed.

I totally agree 🥰

Yes.

It's sad that we have to state this and teach ourselves what healthy relationships are and look like and how to have them when it should be the cultural norm, not just a welcome exception. One thing I like about Studio Ghibli movies' relationships is that they're not always defined explicitly, which leaves it open to interpretation about whether or not they're romantic. In a culture where so many (but not all) movies and TV shows must eventually have the main male and female characters become romantically involved, it's a breath of fresh air, especially as they don't depend on physicality to show intimacy and affection or as "proof of their love".

yes!!!

I feel like realistic isn’t quite the word to use. More like authentic. There’s an authenticity to the emotions being portrayed specifically _because_ there’s this dream-like quality to the storytelling. Cuts through all the bs of our preconceived notions about life and has us experience the story and its moments of fear, confusion, love, joy, catharsis at the level of a child.

LOL you honestly think people don't ship characters in Japanese media either? Or that American media never has positive portrayals of friendship?

@@andieallison6792 I do think that American animated media has positive examples of friendship BUT alot of the times they are not as explored or as fleshed out as friendships in Japanese animated media/manga. Take "Koe No Katachi" for example. Its an anime movie that became popular in america because it got put on Netflix. In the manga, the main male protagonist bullied the female protagonist when they were children and basically spends the ENTIRE series trying to build a solid friendship bond with her, but never truly feels he has the right to call her a friend until the end. And in his mind, a romantic relationship isn't even a possibility. Throughout the series, they slowly accumulate more friends who each have their own story lines/relationships relating to our main two protagonists. HOWEVER, in the beginning most of them still had unresolved issues regarding the past and so they ended up having a huge fall out, everyone's feelings got hurt, and the main guy even got punched in the face by one of his new friends. However, over time they all came to move past their issues even though it took alot of forgiveness and one of the "new friends" ended up physically fighting our female main protagonists MOTHER😂. (I'll never get over that part😭) The storylines and character building runs so deep I can hardly give you an accurate description in summary, but just know that all of these characters we're written with mental illness or trauma of some kind. At some point our female protagonist even falls for the male protagonist, even though he was her bully in the past (but we hardly explore that. All of the details of this story weren't even fit into the movie, but it captured a good amount. And I say ALL of this to say... American CARTOONS could NEVER. The ways I've seen Japanese media flesh out characters and friendships throughout a series is EONS ahead of how American cartoons typically do it. In American animated media, everything is fast paced and we hardly ever see bonds formed over time, or issues that take time to resolve, or the role emotions play in them. They're pretty limited. Also, Im not saying that the Japanese don't make ships, but I was saying WHY I personally think Americans create these ships. Because they havent seen true friendships/closeness/bonds being displayed or explored transparently. Meanwhile these things are probably normal in Japan. In theory.

Yeah.. an annoying example of this is Reina and Kumiko from Hibike Euphonium. A lot of people have dismissed that show as queerbait which is honestly very upsetting because Hibike Euphonium isn’t about love of another person but rather the love of yourself and your passions. Reina and Kumiko’s friendship is displayed as this very close and intimate one and Western fans always force the ship down other fan’s throats. As an aromantic person, I see Reina and Kumiko’s relationship as a very positive and close platonic friendship and it doesn’t matter to me whether they get together in the end because what truly matters is that they inspired each other. The mindset of “oh they’re so close they must be in love” is super shallow and I hate it.

the weird gon/killua and etc. shippers are bc they're fetishists, i totally agree.

Agreed with everything you said

Mulan yes , is a perfect representation. I have doughts about Rapunzel.

Their understanding of love is one of the best

Exactly this. I loved both studios' movies growing up (and Pixar) and I think too many people turn it into a competition and feel the need to claim one as superior over another (it's alright to have an opinion on that obviously, but there's still an attitude of "you can only like/pick/appreciate one" and it can feel like people are claiming superior taste by bragging that they watch "better" things). Instead of simply finding the value in the stories told by all different groups and people, thereby getting the best of both worlds. The more positive and good quality media we watch, the more examples we have and the more diverse our range of stories/characters/worlds becomes. Why limit and restrict that by only consuming one type? Also, a lot of people nowadays are retroactively going back and reviewing older, more traditional media like Disney classics that have been "condemned" and labelled or dismissed as cliché or regressive and looking at them in a new light (or giving them a "fair trial" lol) such as the original Cinderella. We need to keep creating new media, developing, adapting and questioning it, but there's also a lot of overlooked things from the past that we're sitting on as well.

its good to have both the perspectives

Your comment is really underated

They made a video about Cinderella, in her defense.

To be fair to Cinderella, all she wanted was a night off.

@@mcxo2774 !!! thank you!!

@@mcxo2774 Wasn't their "in defense of" video on Cinderella about the original animated one though? I think OP is referring to the version that came out recently (with Camila Cabello) that tried to "girlbossify" the story to make it more empowering. A lot of people didn't like this precisely because attitudes towards the original have changed in recent years and more people recognise that it was empowering in its own right and its own way. The new one went and changed the ending, not appreciating what made it so.

@@tinyblueunicorn7807 Sorry, I maybe misunderstood which one they meant.

Eyy SEA gang!

There are a lot of movies and shows that aren't that provicative......they just aren't as popular.

What glorifications?

Fellow south east asian here. Same.

This is so well-put and I resonate a 100% with you. Often times I find my best friend and I discussing the same. I would love to do it with you as well if you don't mind. It has surprisingly become very difficult these days to find and connect with like-minded people. So if you don't mind, could you please just write back to me? I would love to discuss more about this with you :)

When I was young. I thought that was so deep.

Damn, those cookies!

Same. I had always felt like it was the right choice and my teen has already proven she is much more emotionally intelligent than I was (being raised on Disney princesses and damsels in distress) but it's still nice to be validated like this.

@@lmc689 yup, although I now have a tween obsessed with all things Japanese….

*brought

I think people doesn't give enough credit to disney's. When I ear people complain it always feel like they dismiss everything that came after the sleeping beauty or beauty and the beast. There is a lot of okay or good characters and relationships in Disney movies or disney/pixar ones.

@@greyLeicester I think we’re all allowed the occasional typo….

I Always liked more the original little mermaid than Disney because it tells so much more: the fact that the prince didnt end up loving her but still she cared about him and didnt want to bring him harm, that her sisters were disposed to save her till the end and that the little mermaid ends up not dead but as a spirit working to have what she really wanted a soul

Ghibli films take inspiration from so many sources and are such a creative mishmash, but not the same for older Disney works. nowadays they do better though i agree w u

Didn't know that

@@Passions5555 oh yeah there is a documentary about it ite pretty Bad

I think it's more or less a tragedy though. In order to pursue his career he kinda had to left Goro on his own. I mean if you put it in context, animation industry in japan have quite outrageous working hours, even back then in Miyazaki years as director. That toppled with japanese etiquette and attitude towards work, in a way it's much challenging to be a present parents given by the circumstances. Also, I don't know if you noticed, but that clip that people spread around with Miyazaki left the cinema after watching his son first movie was taken out of the context. Most people didn't quite understand where he's coming from nor watch the documentary.

@@reisatsuki5891 it's kinda like when people who's life is a mess give very good advice you just tell people what you would have liked to be told

@@rabsaque that's right, it's pretty sad to be honest.

They already have

Wolf Children kinda goes into that direction as well , but yet there is still yearning for the other special one.

Very good take! And yeah, I've always disliked toxic romances, and I especially detest the "bad boy" romance because in real life, no, an evil person will not automatically change if you love them.

That makes me feel emotional .