I dont know why, but all of the ghibli films make me kind of sad, like something really important has just disappeared from my life

Well, Kiki's delivery service isn't about moving to a new town and trying to find work. It's about the strain of how people with a creative skillset get drained when they're forced to use their skills for things they don't feel passionate about. How they work isn't appreciated and overlooked. How a skill as amazing as flying or painting or sculpting is considered awe inspiring, but becomes straining and mundane when done not for the artist but for clients. that's why Kiki lost her magical abilities, because due to the lack of excitement, challenge and appreciation, she began to wither away and needed to get out of her head and get over her magical block.

I would rather they end the Hayao Miazaki legacy with "a goodbye film" than making sequels that will just ruin the magic

Ghibli is like a beautiful dream, but unfortunately, we always wake up

I'd rather Ghibli not release any "sequels" et al. Honestly, if they have to end, let them end on a high note.

The Miyazaki "Problem" is that there aren't like a hundred more Miyazaki films.

In Miyazaki's defense he didn't exactly say that anime was a mistake, only that the current direction it was heading was a mistake. What he disliked about the industry was that there was no story to tell, no thoughts to the process and how much of anime hits today are essentially "Oh look girls in super short skirts, pantyshots, and fanservice galore! Story? Who needs story when you have beautiful girls/attractive males?!" If you compare the storytelling of classic anime like what Miyazaki did or the anime from the 80s, and even 90 to VERY early 2000's were considered artistic pieces that had thought behind them without relying on skinship. For a good example of anime being a good artistic medium outside of Miyazaki's own works look at Jin-Roh the Wolf Brigade, the original Mobile Suit Gundam, and even the less well known Ys (based off the same games for the Famicom)

I worked in a comic book shop in 1998. I was pregnant with my first child. A customer, whom I love to this day, came in with a gift for my son. It was a basket with an original Totoro VHS, a Totoro plush, and a few other goodies. This movie is so important to us! Our favorites are Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke. All of his works are masterpieces we cherish.

I don't feel like howls moving castle was anything like spirited away. they were both warm and fuzzy feeling, sure, but I just don't see why it got such criticism. It's one of my favourite films of all time, alongside spirited away.

Kiki, for me, was not about the struggles of unemployment and loneliness, though those are definitely things that happened in the film. The deeper point of Kiki is literally about becoming an adult, and metaphorically about re-connecting with what drives your (artistic) passion. In this light, the finale doesn't seem like a neat little bow, but an act of great bravery which demonstrated that Kiki was growing up: doing the hard thing for the right reason even when your passion and motivation have been floundering. Digging deep within yourself and finding a more important motivation for doing what you do. The act of saving Tombo is reminiscent of the parent who goes to work every day even though they do not feel passionate about it, but they do it for the sake of their family, especially for their children, whose lives are entirely dependent on their caretakers. The film ends on a high note, but I don't think that the ending implies in any way that everything is perfect now. Maybe just better. We see highlights from the days and months to come which tells us, "She'll be alright."

“Art for art's sake is an empty phrase. Art for the sake of truth, art for the sake of the good and the beautiful, that is the faith I am searching for.”

Love them or hate them, Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle represent the peak of Miyazaki's career. They're so incredibly complex, layered and nuanced, whilst manage to be overall uplifting - a formidable feat for any film of any genre. They're so densely packed with perspectives and details - you learn new things with every viewing.

What I really love about his films in that they never create giant fandoms despite being overwhelmingly popular. Sometimes it's a good thing because when you get a fandom, you get things like fanart, fanfiction, and fan theories. There's nothing wrong with those, sure, but I feel like those kinds of things draw away from the point of the story. They all sort of break down the plot, the world it was created in, and makes it something everyone tries to dissect differently which it shouldn't

I don't think Ghibli needs to survive. It kinda feels like it's fulfilled it's purpose. I love their movies, but I feel like it'll start going downwards if they continue. Like they'd over compensate

The surprising thing about Miyazaki is, I constantly hear a different movie mentioned when someone tells of their favourite Miyazaki film.

I just love how every single time I see food in a Studio Ghibli film, I just feel so hungry in how delicious everything looks.

Excuse me, you never brought up his misquote "anime was a mistake."