Coquelicot-zaka kara

Goro Miyazaki returned with his second Ghibli film, which was written by his dad. Instead of doing another fantasy like Earthsea, which didn’t work, he directed a slice of life romance and drama about a high school girl in the 60s. She then met a high school boy who was fighting to restore the school’s clubhouse and fell in love. However, a shocking discovery made the relationship complicated. Even though the story was down to earth, I was interested in it because when the twist hits, the story became almost like a mystery. The plot was definitely unique and made me curious about the relationship between the two main characters. Amidst the main story was the plot about saving the clubhouse. I also like this aspect because it showed the students working together, hoping that their effort would pay off. There were some funny moments, and the end did make me happy because I cared for the students. The two main characters were interesting, although I wished that there would be more interaction between them. There wasn’t a lot of romantic moments, but that’s understandable considering the plot. Their relationship was pretty complicated, even though the story seemed pretty simple and down to earth. The theme, even though not as strong as in other Ghibli movies, was about preservation and importance of the past. I liked to see that the past was what led to the present, and understanding it can have major impact. Overall, a solid and interesting drama. Love to see father and son worked together to make a good movie. 8/10

This movie to me is just so charming. It's really cute and that's about all there is to it. It's a fluff-filled romance, not much drama, and not much action. It's the type of movie you'd watch in bed at night to wash away stress. The story, as well as the characters, are simple, making for a rather short and simple but still cute movie. The art was great and was overall very colorful and pleasant on the eyes. There was one setting in particular, the culture club, that I found very enjoyable. There was so much to look at, similar to the way Howls room from HMC or the bathhouse from Spirited Away were designed. Studio Ghibli once again pulls through with the art. As for how enjoyable it was, I remember the first time I saw this movie, I watched it twice in one night and then twice again the next night, and once more the night after that. Safe to say I enjoyed it ':)

A very solid entry in the Ghibli library. I am a big fan of post war Japan and there isn't a lot of anime out there that cover the 60's, not that i have seen anyway. Even better to have it set in a sleepy bit of Yokohama. If you go into every Ghibli movie expecting the next spirited away or Howls moving castle you are going to be disappointed most times. I went into this knowing very little about it and not really expecting a whole lot bar Ghibl's always present charm and i found it in spades here being set in the real world early 60's Japan a school girl by the name of Umi befriends a boy called Shun. The 2 soon join forces to try and halt a old school clubhouse building from being demolished in the post war rebuilding of the entire country. I really enjoyed the first look at the club house when Umi first enters and it really shows the Ghibli charm and style in a very imaginative way. I also found the cast to be likeable and just the right size as not to get lost at who's who and what is happening. The soundtrack is very catchy and does a great time showing off the time period the scenes around Tokyo also really show the hustle and bustle of a booming city unlike the normal mostly sleepy part of Yokohama they are in. The animation i found wasn't Ghibli's best for a movie made in 2011 i think it looks worse than some of the earlier movies perhaps that was because of the budget but i am not sure that being said it certainly doesn't look just more of a observation. SPOILERS AHEAD! The biggest drawback of this movie for me was when Umi and and Shun think they are related but still confess their love for each other anyway. It's weird no matter what way you look at it and when we learn that Shun was actually adopted . . . . Again before being adopted i found it to be very unnecessary and felt it would have been better just to ditch the story of him being adopted by Umi's father only to be immediately given away. As for the rest of the movie i quite enjoyed the whole thing bar the above paragraph. The club house shows lots of personality and i would have liked to have seen more time spent in it but the sounding world is just as enjoyable. If you want a film that you can just switch off your brain for and just chill out with and enjoy for 90 mins then this one. It's not going to smash any records or become a cult classic but it is certainly worth the watch and i very much enjoyed it 8/10 overall for me

Dig it hard. 60’s slice of life is my favourite underused genre. Holy shit I vibe with the style of this movie so much. Goro Miyazaki took his skills from Earthsea and put it into a realistic but bloody charming little venture. The cool side stores, the vintage uniforms and how people store potatoes in secret trap doors. It’s so cool to watch and I feel the vibe of living in this time and having a sense of ambition and life. The way how (Hayao)Miyazaki has approached his films has always had this sense of focusing on children’s world views and making them act. Goro raises it up so damn much the kids are running a crazy democracy village society all in an old extracurricular building. And the passion is hilarious. The enthusiasm brought from each tiny moment we see of the clubs is so great to watch. And this metaphor of using past skill and using it bring enjoyment into our lives and futures might be similar to what Goro Miyazaki’s experience was. Wanting to preserve and keep the passion of animation alive instead of it being torn down by a flashy consumer lifestyle. And I think it’s reflected well in the main girl. A totally fitting Ghibli girl with her kind and comittied attitudes and wanting to keep everyone around her comforted and stable. The parallels can be seen their and how she raises her flags as a sign of guidance hoping that people of her past will know where to go and see her. But she’s able to find new people she can stick by and walk her own path beside with confidence. I think this actually works better for an animator’s metaphor more so than Mary and The Witches Flower. Instead how this is cemented in a companies future. And the growth of the characters is a progressive step to continue on instead of a strange end to the beginning. I quite enjoyed this film despite having to borrow two scratched dvds to play it. But it was worth the weight.

From Up on Poppy Hill is about the people left at home after a war. There is rebuilding and housekeeping to do, and is set in a time where the youth began to demand a voice. Students having a big voice proved to be one of the big cultural errors of the 20th century, but this movie justifies its perspective well. The Latin Quarter is a beautiful building and setting so much in that location added to the atmosphere. I enjoyed this movie and the gentle story it was telling until it gave us an incest scare, which though defused later left a sour taste for the rest of the movie. Other than the narrative blunder and the unsavoury premise, this was a charming movie worth a watch.

Ehh, I'll give it a 7/10 for the music. It's a decent movie by Gorou Miyazaki but the plot isn't anything profound. The setting takes place in 1960s Yokohama at a small manor atop Poppy Hill. Umi lost her Dad during the Korean War. So while her Mom is abroad, Umi needs to cook, clean, and manage the house for her siblings and her grandmother. That, and the boarders they're renting it out to. Meanwhile, the boys at her school are facing a serious dilemma. As it turns out, the school board plans to demolish this old building called "The Latin House," which the students use for their school clubs. After meeting Shun from the Literature Club, Umi decides to help everyone restore the building, and to convince the board to stop the demolition. Aside from the demolition issue, the main conflict in this movie felt like a non-problem. It's not something that'll make you cry or worry. It's just a plot device that you know will resolve itself in the end. The main problem the MCs are facing doesn't pose any serious stakes. Throughout the movie, you'll just be sitting there thinking "Oh yeah, there is no way they're..." You can sorta predict that there's gonna be a plot twist towards the end. This movie would have been more entertaining if they just focused on Sachiko and the rest of the boarders, since they're more interesting than whatever's going at school, or whatever's going on with Umi and Shun. It's an okay Ghibli movie that uses a lot of student-led movement tropes, or students working together to solve a problem. However, the romance isn't anything worth writing about.

This movie was cute and kept me interested throughout the whole screening. I was trying to find a cute romance anime movie and stumbled across this one. Even though the plot was not super complex, I would say I still enjoyed watching and felt I stayed engaged throughout. I enjoyed both MC’s and how they were portrayed. I was not expecting anything crazy for the romance in this movie because the characters are kids but its nice to see the cute little romance spark up between the characters. With that said, this movie was like walking through a park on a spring day and then randomly being hit by a biker and you are like Where the Hell did that come from?! When I tell you this PLOT TWIST came out of left field and through me for a whirlwind, it did. After this, it made it hard for me to root for the characters relationship the end. No spice or butterflies here but still adorable.

It may not have been the best of the best, but I enjoyed watching this movie. It was completely predictable for me also in terms of the plot twist that the creator wanted to introduce into the characters' relationship. In fact, this movie didn't make me very emotional, but it wasn't too long so it kept me interested until the end. I feel that the purpose of this film was very specific. Everything was interconnected - the students wanted to save the clubhouse, which led to a stronger relationship between the main characters, and this revealed the stories of both families. It was quite a simple yet interesting storyline. And even though it wasn't very emotional, I have really warm feelings about this story.

Poppy Hill is a straight up slice of life romance with no fantasy elements at all, except perhaps the fantasy that a Japanese high school student finding out the girl he likes is his blood-related sister would somehow turn him off from pursuing a romantic relationship with her. Have they never seen anime before? If anything it'd make him more willing to go after her, the pervert. Okay so perhaps I've watched one too many modern light novel adaptations where brother x sister romance is treated less like an obstacle and more like the main goal, and perhaps Miyazaki was right that anime was a mistake (he never really said that, but something pretty close.) I think it would have been more dramatic to have to see these two learn to deal with the fact that they're siblings than the cop-out ending we got. Only time I've ever seen a story try to tackle something like that was Xenocide, and nobody wants to remember reading Xenocide. The cleaning of the old school building was fun and I like all the tertiary cast and various club leaders. There's a real sense of camaraderie and history permeates the school scenes and it almost makes you feel like part of that group. Overall I had a fun time watching this, and while I said a minute ago that the ending was lame it's still fine. I like happy endings even when I think something a little more mature would have been more interesting. So I give this an 8/10 overall.

1 word to describe this Movie, Youth. From Up on Poppy Hill is a heart warming story and lovely characters as well as a wonderful display of complications within families & friends post-World War. -spoiler- The story focuses on a young girl who has grown to be independant due to the absence of her parents. While living with not just her main family there are other members living under the same roof, which she has taken up the responsibility of helping out with daily house chores. A very typical high school MC whose independant and hardworking. A faithful encouter with a bold ML whose trying to fight for their high school clubhouse in order to prevent it from being demolished. The 2 then began their journey of self-discovery despite the complications of both their families, the demolision of clubhouse and their feelings for one another. One setback i must say about the whole story development was how the misunderstanding of the parents which leads to the complications of both ML and MC. But thanks to the return of the MC's mother (THANK GOD), which helped cleared everything up between the 2. Eventhough i felt that was kinda extra by making the whole story going one big circle, but nonetheless i truly enjoyed it as it all worked out in the end. Another unforgettable scene in the Movie was truly how all the student body came together to help refurbished the ClubHouse. I must say the use of soundtrack in this whole movie and this particular scene truly make me reminisce my days in High School. It really is a movie which shouts "Youth" whole-heartedly to me. I think i might have found my new favorite Studio Ghibli film. Thank you.

From Up On Poppy Hill actually has a really simple story, an ancient building at school is going to be demolished and a student movement rallies against it, following a boy-meets-girl trope, the story ensues to be a light melodrama and overall cute and sweet romance-- with a sudden twist ! This film was not that great, it lacked the magic and the nostalgic aspects that are usually present in Ghibli Animation movies. It felt very flat and the colors were also very dull. The really simple and short story is not carried out very well because you probably won't care very much about the rickety, gross building the students are fighting for. It's just very bland and lackluster. But, a saving element in this story that makes it quite unique are probably the main characters. Umi and Shun are one of my favorite couples in the Ghibli world due to their strength and simplicity. Both are mature for their age and are active in their households, carrying a lot of responsibilities in their shoulders and still up for more challenges. I liked their dynamic together and I rooted for them to be together, I guess the film centered so much on their relationship that the plot isn't as important. Then the film takes an odd detour that forces you to rethink whatever you were probably thinking. Anyway, this movie wasn't at all spectacular, just another one off my list to watch but I did enjoy the characters in the end. I think I would recommend this for people who enjoys watching a sweet slowburn. v cute.

From Up on Poppy Hill was a very good movie, with modern Ghibli style and typical attention to detail. The characters were fairly charming, the music and art were lovely, and the story was enjoyable. There was very little of the whimsical side of Ghibli works that I like to see, but that didn't really take away from my enjoyment. As my partner and I move up through the movies, we're starting to see much more expressiveness in the character animations, which makes me very excited to continue watching the Ghibli filmography even more. If this movie is in the studio's lowest-rated third, that speaks immeasurable volumes about how phenomenal Ghibli is overall. Story: 6/10. The story is fairly uninteresting, to be honest. It's a romance that follows the heroine and her love interest through a little self-discovery, with an attempt to save a school club building in the background. There isn't anything particularly novel to the story, other than the lead characters' continued interest in each other after they find out something that really should be putting them off, of course. It all ends up okay in the end, though, so whatever. The cleaning scenes were really nice but short-lived. There just wasn't really anything in the story that caught my attention, although my partner and I were incredibly worried about how little the school staff cared about what the students did on school property haha Art: 9/10. With gorgeous backgrounds and expressive animation, this movie is a delight for the eyes. The character designs were simple but clean, and the whole visual side of the movie was just lovely. Sound: 9/10. The sound is also wonderful, with lovely music throughout. The voice acting was really good and the foley work was impeccable. I was never jarred out of the movie at any point by the sound and I commented multiple times through the viewing on the lovely soundtrack. Character: 7/10. The characters were nice, with some really tragic stories. However, That's all they really were, nice. They didn't stand out, really, and I can't say I'll be pointing to any of them as being among my favorite Ghibli characters. They weren't unlikeable but they never truly made me *love* them. The biggest compliment I ever gave the cast was that the main character was very hard-working (and pretty). Overall: 8/10. An enjoyable film well worth the time investment, if only for the audio/visual spectacle. I can't speak for the romance as I'm not really into most romance in anime, but everything else came together quite well. I would recommend this movie to those who want a nice story with some complex situations, beautiful art, and a very enjoyable soundtrack.

The naivety and development of the main couple is good. The scenery is beautiful and the club building is interesting. Even all dirty and filthy, the way in which students work in harmony and are interested in different things is really cool. They enjoy studying and value the culture. And speaking of culture, the story is also about the consequences of the world war, in addition to portraying the navy (although these are not the focus). The soundtrack is beautiful and we can count on "Sukiyaki", wonderful song made by Kyu Sakamoto, who sadly died in a plane crash. There are many small details that go unnoticed. The secondary characters may not have much potential, but they do have the ideal screen time. I've seen a lot of movies where there seem to be only the main characters, and this one managed to show that there is a world beyond them, which is great. Finally, the unfolding of the novel is full of twists and turns. I watched it with my parents and I confess that I was "no... it can't be, this is so wrong!". The script certainly doesn't look like a Studio Ghibli movie. It doesn't have magic, it doesn't have the fascination that usually enchants us. It's basically an everyday romance movie from that time. Which, by the way, the characters are good but not deep. Far from it.

This review contains *SPOILERS*. Watched in Sub/Dub: Sub Story: 7/10 From Up On Poppy Hill follows Umi, a high school girl who’s still grieving her late father and simultaneously doing housework for her sisters and grandmother as her mother is away studying in the United States. At the high school, the boys at the school are deeply upset that their clubhouse is to be demolished in order to make way for a new building. In a grand demonstration, Shun jumps off the roof of the high school into a small pool. Shun subsequently meets Umi and catches the attention of all the girls at school. Umi and her sister visit Shun at the clubhouse, only to find that the beloved building is in dire need of a cleanup/makeover. Determined to help her new friend, Umi gathers up the girls at school to help the boys clean up their clubhouse and win over those who want to demolish it. Whew, now this plot seems like enough on its own, but to add even more to the story, Umi and Shun have started a little romance. Upon visiting Umi’s house though, Shun discovers that they have the same father. Tensions are strained as the two teens attempt to fix up the clubhouse and navigate their confusing relationship. Unable to overcome their passion, Umi and Shun confess their love to each other while still thinking they’re related. *pukes in mouth*. When Umi’s mother returns from the United States, she works with Shun’s adopted father in order to uncover the mystery behind Shun’s biological father. The film is resolved by having a mutual friend of both Umi and Shun’s fathers explain that they aren’t related. Yikes… Well I definitely can’t describe this film as boring. Overall the plot is pretty interesting, if not extremely stereotypical. Most anime fanatics have most likely seen a “Oh no our club is going to be disbanded, we must save it!” anime, they’re pretty hard to miss considering that it’s most plots to any sports, school, or slice-of-life anime. They must’ve been shutting down clubs like crazy back in the day because these writers are obviously scarred. The seemingly incestuous plot is also an unfortunate anime trope as well. While From Up On Poppy Hill does take a significantly more tame approach to it than most other anime, it’s still a not-totally-uncommon route to take. So while people who don’t watch a lot of anime will see this as a shocking turn of events, this plot ends up being pretty generic in terms of anime tropes. Art: 8/10 I appreciate that Goro Miyazaki stuck with his father’s style in his sophomore film. It’s well executed, and overall pleasing to the eye. 8/10 because it doesn’t strike me as particularly beautiful or extraordinary compared to other Studio Ghibli works. Sound/Soundtrack: 8/10 The soundtrack to From Up On Poppy Hill is charming and well-done. “The Breakfast Song” is especially cute. Not to be redundant in all of my reviews, but this soundtrack also does not carry it’s own character to it. The music is obviously meant to be pleasant background music to whatever is happening on screen. I would give a higher score if it had its own character and story to tell as the soundtrack to Princess Mononoke does. This being said, it’s still good and I will be listening to it the next time I clean. Character: 9/10 I think the characters in From Up On Poppy Hill are overall better written and more substantial than a lot of Studio Ghibli works. I apologize for not being able to articulate what exactly is different about these characters than say, the ones in The Secret World of Arrietty, but they just seem much more “real”. I have no experience in writing/developing characters. Shun and Umi’s separate reactions to finding out they’re related, for example, feel genuine. The embarrassment and shame they carry, in my view, makes for well-developed and realistic characters rather than having them both shout, “Nani?!” or the Ghibli equivalent to that. Studio Ghibli often creates characters that have over dramatic reactions, which works for many of Hayao Miyazaki’s works, but makes the characters feel empty in other directors’ works like Isao Takahata. From Up On Poppy Hill strikes a nice balance between realistic reactions and overdramatic fun. Overall, I enjoyed watching the characters interact and at least sort-of cared about many of them. Enjoyment: 7/10 I really enjoyed the scenes of the students cleaning up their clubhouse and bonding over that shared experience. If the plot hadn’t turned from siblings to incest so quickly, I think I would’ve also found the sibling scare interesting as well. For instance, if Umi and Shun had just been really good friends and had found out they’d been related this whole time. But alas, we instead got a love confession when they still thought they were related which really just sullies the whole work for me. Overall: 7/10 If it wasn’t a cringe-worthy lovers to siblings to lovers plot I would give it a higher score. Honestly, it’s a pretty good film but I think we could’ve all lived without ever needing to see a taboo romance story from Studio Ghibli.