Story: 10 (Outstanding)
It's hard to say that Howl is original when not only does it draw very heavily from established conventions and tropes from high fantasy and nostalgic works but also happens to be the anime adaptation of the British book of the same name, but it manages to be surprisingly original nonetheless. The story begins with Sophie really just minding her business when she happens to cross paths with an ornery witch who curses her with advanced aging. Desperate to find a cure, she later bumps into another magical being, the mysterious magician Howl and his moving castle. Howl quickly reveals his true colors as a friendly and simple nice guy and shelters Sophie while he helps her track down the witch responsible for the curse, who just happens to have been jilted by Howl in the distant past. All of this gets swept aside as Sophie, Howl, the witch and their companions are caught up in a devastating war between two powerful nations and are left to fend for themselves and remain a step ahead of warfare's perils.
Art: 10 (Outstanding0
Nothing more can really be said other than "it's Myazaki". As usual and par for the course for him, the scenery is breathtaking, and is just as much a part of the actual storytelling as the narrative. Myazaki went all out for this one and his imagination went full tilt to give us a world populated by early 20th century European sensibilities with just the right amount of magic thrown in.
Sound: 10 (Outstanding)
Once again, Myazaki is an expert in terms of choosing who to score his work, and the musical score is just as outstanding and breathtaking as the visuals they compliment.
Character: 10 (Outstanding)
The characters are both lovable and deep, from Howl to Sophie to the scrappy little Calcipher (brilliantly voiced by Billy Crystal, perhaps one of his most memorable roles period) to even the mean-spirited but later gentle witch responsible for cursing Sophie, who is also very memorably voiced by none other than Hollywood legend Lauren Bacall.
Enjoyment: 10 (Outstanding)
Anything less would be an outright failure for a Myazaki work, and Howl's Moving Castle is certainly not a failure. It's a solid work through and through, and there's little wonder as to why Zack of Anime News Network's Answerman column would adopt the personality of Howl as his favorite.
Which leads us to an unsurprising final score of:
10: Outstanding
