Momo e no Tegami

Before watching 'When Marnie Was There', I would have described 'A Letter To Momo' as the Ghibli film that Ghibli would never create: a film grounded in reality by the relatable social anxiety / awkwardness of a young girl, with a fantasy aspect in the background. Not a magical adventure with Miyazaki's trademark lack of characterisation-reality attentiveness--a film with a very real emotional undercurrent people can relate to. And although Marnie is most certainly not a Miyazaki film (which I am eternally grateful for after enduring 'The Wind Rises'...), it most certainly is a Ghibli film. A nice way for Ghibli to end their anime love affair, if it is indeed to be their last. Both films involve heroines you could describe as anti-social moving to rural settings, with family difficulties being a key theme. Then, a supernatural aspect in Momo and more of an imaginary aspect in Marnie gets used to develop the characters and resolve the respective family issues. Momo was more cohesive in terms of blending the social woes with fantasy, where as Marnie was more of a tug of war between social anxiety and imaginary friendship; with an artificial seeming end. But one listen of Marnie's beautiful end credit music, when paired with how it started, and I can't help but link the two. read more 

They both have the same kind of idea; a young girl moving to a new town against her own will while befriending spirits along the way. Both involve saving parent(s). 

Both are summer stories taking place in the Japanese countryside centering a young girl with the ability to speak with spirits and both are really lighthearted and touching. 

The other day, I was reading an article about Miyazaki. If I'm recalling correctly, it was mentioned how a member of his staff had argued with him during the production of Spirited Away about how its heroine should've acted more hesitant and fearful when confronted with monsters. I'm mentioning this because I think this disagreement touches upon my biggest gripe with Miyazaki's 'kiddy flicks': they lack a relatable human edge that would've allowed me to become involved. For example, I was re-watching Laputa a week or so back and it struck me how, in real life, a girl would be left SOMEWHAT traumatised by falling from an airship and being pursued by a group of military nasties. But, in Miyazaki's world, everyone is all happy-happy, smiley-smiley, and while that might work when viewed through children's eyes, it doesn't cut it with me. And this brings me to Momo. If memory serves, the person that disagreed with Miyazaki during Spirited Away also worked on Momo. Maybe that's a coincidence and is entirely irrelevant but, regardless, Momo is a lot closer to my ideal take on the 'girl meets magical creatures after moving to the middle of nowhere' premise. To be human is to be troubled and troubled is an apt way to describe Momo's titular heroine. She avoids social contact, rarely displays emotion, is uptight, unhappy to find herself relocated and deeply regrets the last words she aimed at her father before his death. Her struggles with life also went hand-in-hand with her reaction to finding herself housed with monsters; first running as far away as possible before attacking them when confronted. And, for me, her realistic behaviour both better relates to modern life than Ghibli's older, more child friendly offerings and works better as a consequence. As for Totoro and why I'm linking it to Momo: it shares the most similar premise out of Miyazaki's films.  read more 

Although not too alike in terms of story, both anime involve a main character who is able to see beings that others cannot. In fact, they make connections with these beings and throughout the anime, both good and bad fortune comes along with it. Both movies also follow a somewhat slice of life style type of story with a gentle touch of soft rhythm. Yes, there is also the theme of youkai involved in both anime which are present. They are the supernatural beings from the anime that other people cannot see while the main character can; supernatural addition. Both anime have a slow pacing but are enjoyable by the way it is presented through its backgrounds.  read more 

Both centre around the supernatural and children who befriend supernatural creatures and become friends. They are both light-hearted and fun and have a bit of adventure as well. 

Both are great slice of life stories with supernatural/fantasy twist, in both main character has to deal with the loss of someone and has to change her way of living to move forward, both have very good mix of drama & cute moments. 

Momo e no Tegami (A Letter to Momo) and Colorful are both movies that invite drama with their setting and atmosphere. Throughout both movies, there is an inspirational tone that moves the story with its characters along with its similar themes. Both movies have supernatural elements that fuse a bit of reality and fantasy as the characters interact with others. They also deal with the idea of death/or its aftermath. 

Human beings that interact with japanese ghost monsters more than they do humans, some drama jokes and laughs tears 

Both hearth-warming, for-all-family movies. Just pure enjoyable, with nice (but not special) plot, filled with some magic (one "technological", another spiritual). Perfect to watch given plenty of time, or just to rest from something hard.  

Both are highly undervalued and adorable family movies for all ages with a superb level of detail and splendid quality in general, however their plots and environments are much different. 

The landscape and lifestyle of countryside are well depicted in both. 

Very (too) well trodden themes of a teen who as lost and/or become somewhat estranged from parent(s) - even if very well done in both these cases. MANY visual similarities as well, character design and some of the scenes in 'Your Name' - particularly for Mitsuha - could have been lifted straight from A Letter to Momo....maybe not so surprising given a very large overlap of animators given Production IG and Masashi Ando's involvement in both, as well as 'Momo' director Hiroyuki Okiura Key Animating on Your Name as well. 

Both are movie's whose stories in plot synopsis and set up sound very like a ghibli film, but then have distinctive animation styles that are associated with their respective directors. Amusingly Momo's director is known for his realistic rotoscoped style, while Lu's director is know for his exaggerated colorful style. The main character in both in a gloomy kid who has moved a small seaside town from the city and then has an experience with yokai.  

Ride Your Wave and A Letter to Momo are two movies that use supernatural elements to explore grief. Despite their heavy theme, they knows how to integrate humour in their scenes to balance the stories. This speaks to the quality of the stories as they could have easily been heavy, dramatic films that appeal to a more limited audience. Any movie lovers should have these titles on their radar.  

Kanna (Child of Kamiari Month) and Momo (A Letter to Momo) are two middle school girls experiencing grief after the loss of their parent. During the movie, the girls confront their emotions with the help of some supernatural creatures. A Letter to Momo is definitely the better movie, but Child of Kamiari Month is still a worthy movie to watch.  

Two summer stories about the life of a child/children in the Japanese countryside. Both with small supernatural twists, but very light hearted. 

Grief is a difficult experience at any age, but a child who loses a parent has trouble understanding their feelings and coping. A Letter to Momo and Tamayura explore this situation through the lives of two young girls - Momo and Potte. Luckily, they aren't alone. Potte has an incredible group of friends to support her as she copes with the loss of her father through photography. Momo has three yokai following her around as she copes with the loss of her father through trying to solve the mystery of an unfinished letter from her father. Both anime have well-written stories (when including the sequels for Tamayura), but note that Tamayura is an iyashikei anime. read more 

Everyone deals with loss in their own way, but children often have more trouble dealing with these emotions. Drifting Home and A Letter to Momo deals with this subjects, and include supernatural elements into their storylines. You will surely enjoy these movies, but A Letter to Momo is the better movie. 

Both films deal with a young girl dealing with the death of loved ones and adapting to life in a new place. Both protagonists interact with mischievous but helpful supernatural companions (ghosts in Okko's Inn and Yokai in A Letter to Momo). 

Both are about children dealing with the death of a relative with supernatural/fantasy twist