This is a gentle and sometimes slightly dull movie, but it's beautifully animated throughout and has some touching scenes. I wasn't absolutely in love with it, but found a decent amount to like throughout its runtime.
It was directed by Isao Takahata, who's probably the best-known director at Studio Ghibli who's not Hayao Miyazaki. Takahata's best remembered for directing Grave of the Fireflies, which is an entirely different kind of film to Only Yesterday, though it's interesting that both play out without any fantasy elements, and fantasy is the genre Miyazaki's movies most often belong to.
Only Yesterday really stands out for how ordinary it is, feeling like a slice-of-life kind of story about a young woman who travels to the countryside, and reminisces about various parts of her childhood along the way. It's a very introspective movie, and that means there's not a ton of forward momentum when it comes to the plot, but that's arguably the point of the movie.
It's also a love letter of sorts to the idea of slowing down one's lifestyle, and spending time thinking about your past and where you're going in life. As such, even if the pace is slow, it mostly strengthens the movie instead of hindering it. I'd say it works pretty well overall, and is worth watching for those who don't mind animated films that take their time.
It was directed by Isao Takahata, who's probably the best-known director at Studio Ghibli who's not Hayao Miyazaki. Takahata's best remembered for directing Grave of the Fireflies, which is an entirely different kind of film to Only Yesterday, though it's interesting that both play out without any fantasy elements, and fantasy is the genre Miyazaki's movies most often belong to.
Only Yesterday really stands out for how ordinary it is, feeling like a slice-of-life kind of story about a young woman who travels to the countryside, and reminisces about various parts of her childhood along the way. It's a very introspective movie, and that means there's not a ton of forward momentum when it comes to the plot, but that's arguably the point of the movie.
It's also a love letter of sorts to the idea of slowing down one's lifestyle, and spending time thinking about your past and where you're going in life. As such, even if the pace is slow, it mostly strengthens the movie instead of hindering it. I'd say it works pretty well overall, and is worth watching for those who don't mind animated films that take their time.