I think the reason I enjoy Ghibli so much is it romanticizes the little things. It makes me want to bake, study, clean the house, garden, and more while listening to happy music and occasionally picking wildflowers and lying in the grass. It helps me find joy in day-to-day life and that’s honestly sooo important for my mental health.
Hayao Miyazaki has said on numerous occasions that he wants children to know that even when the world seems harsh and life is hard, it is always still worth living, and there is always something beautiful in it.
That mental health boost is intentional and Miyazaki wants you to believe that you should continue to live, even if just for those little things.
“What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness. Those moments when another human being was there, in front of me, suffering, and I responded…sensibly. Reservedly. Mildly.”
— George Saunders’s advice to Graduates at Syracuse University, 2013
