Netflix confused me by stating the year of release as 2016. Turns out it was never dubbed in English or distributed in the West until the 25th anniversary. I find this strange, because the story isn't half as foreign to us as in many animes that reached the U.S. faster.
The setting alternates between the mid-'60s and early '80s as 27-year-old Taeko (Daisy Ridley) reminisces about her fifth-grade self (Allison Fernandez). She presently takes a "vacation" doing farmwork with a sister's in-laws, hard-pressed to say what about it reminds her of that particular year of her life. It wasn't especially good or bad, but the various episodes get her dwelling on what could have been -- and what may yet be. Farmhand Toshio (Dev Patel) starts to look promising....
This would not be the first or last time Isao Takahata made an animation with no fantasy premises. OY feels about halfway between the darkness of Grave of the Fireflies and the lightness of My Neighbors the Yamadas. Why not live action? Maybe to mimic the appearance of the manga on which it's based. Or maybe to show off more Studio Ghibli rural scenery.
Ten-year-old Taeko's pretty cute, but her life includes a few PG moments, not least when her class learns about menstruation and the boys act all screwy about it. Some things that were not unusual then would probably not fly in today's world, especially involving her father (Matthew Yang King). He smokes at the dinner table, where he also hides behind a newspaper while everyone else converses. He overrides the votes of the other five family members (all female) without explanation. At one point, he grabs Taeko and slaps her hard just for going outside without shoes. To his credit, he feels bad enough never to do that again, tho in retrospect, Taeko kinda wishes he did so she wouldn't have to wonder what was special about the one occasion.
I won't go into the many plotlines. Suffice it to say that many people have thought Taeko strange, yet she seems normal enough to me. Not that I always relate. At her most troubled, she acts almost too fickle to deal with. I chalk it up to preteen stress, plus two semi-hostile older sisters affecting her perception of her own maturity.
If there's one thing about that period that clearly ties into her adulthood, it's her first inkling of potential romance. Taeko's relatives think 27 is pretty old for singlehood, and now there's finally a decent shot in sight. Other than that, the main connection is a desire to get out of Tokyo for a while. Nice to know she became a lot more industrious.
OY isn't much fun as Ghibli goes, but it does speak to common experience. I can see why it has 100% from critics and 80% from the audience on Rotten Tomatoes.
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