Tonari no Yamada-kun

QUICKREVIEW
Story: 10 (Refreshing family story thats not cliche)
Art: 8 (Very unique, take on the comedy style)
Sound: 7 (Average slice of life/comedy effects)
Character: 10 (resembles my family almost perfectly)
Enjoyment: 10 (everything in this movie i can relate to)
Overall: 45/50 = 9.0 (Excellent anime for family time)



...
::Full Review::
I managed to stumble upon this gem of a show simply by walking in the wrong film room at the Anime Expo. Man, if i didn't walk in that room I would have never discovered how great of a show this was. It's not your typical movie style movie, instead, its told in a dozen or so situations all involving one family: the Yamadas.

Theres no deep evolving plot or intriguing storyline to look forward too. It's simply a nice slice of life movie about the daily lives of the five members in this household. It's main highlights of the show is how they tell portray common situations that occur in a majority of average households. Things like how parents use swindle their kids into doing chores, or manage to convince someone going to the store to get things for you because you're too lazy. All these situations are average everyday things that we normally don't find humorous (and they usually piss us off). But when watching it from a different viewpoint, we realize that such things are so ridiculous yet true that we have no choice but to laugh because we know those situations all too well.

The art work is something else as well. In typical ghibli fashion, it goes for its own unique style and manages to make the super simple in to something that one can only call it a masterpiece. You can see the pen strokes, and watercolors and errors everywhere, it almost looks like someone just scratched it together out of someones notebook. But there are some scenes that run amazingly smooth (aka high frame rate). A good example are the TV shows they end up watching. It looks so simple yet, it moves with a fluidity that is only comparable to real TV broadcasts. Of course some people will think the art is the worst they've ever seen and say that they can even do a better job. But theres something about the simplicity that just makes it so wonderful. I just can't pinpoint that exact reason why.

The sound effects are all standard fare. Nothing wrong with them at all. Most of the sound consists of household sound effects and such. But where the sound effects gets its most use is from the voice acting.

Since I was living in a pretty full household (grandparents, mom, her brother and two sisters, and 1 cousin) I can easily relate to how this family interacts with each other. It's comical how exactly their emotions and how they talk to each other emulate my family. Including the grunts and groans and such and backtalk all make it so wonderful and interesting to watch.

Just like any Studio Ghibli film, this is a perfect movie to watch with the whole family. As a matter of fact I highly recommend watching this with the whole family, and point out things that they do just like the Yamada's. This isn't a show to watch just for the sake of watching. After watching it twice its clear that this show has the potential of bringing families together with all the conversation and interaction that can be happening while viewing this movie.

Despite being a fan of Studio Ghibli, this release somehow passed my by. Today, I'm adding it to my "re-watch" list, somewhere near the top. Whatever you may think anime is, throw it out the window, this is not a typical show.

You watch the first few minutes thinking that it's the credits and you wait until you realise, this isn't the credits, it's the story! The unique style of animation throws you in for a loop, but it's not bad. Yes, it's simple, more like a moving comic strip than animation, but simple does not mean sloppy. Each line and curve of the drawings ... is thought out and perfectly placed and the motion smooth. You can't help but like the characters, the director perhaps explores their stereotypical side - the salary-man dad, slightly lazy stay at home wife, reluctant student son, cute as a button younger daughter and grandmother with a sharp tongue - but that's what makes it funny.

The story is told in snippets, sometimes interrupted by metaphors or one of the character's recollection of an event past, all wrapped up neatly by humour: sometimes a great belly laugh and sometimes a gentle smile. The movie leaves you feeling good and, somehow, cuddled. Perfect family viewing; I suspect that one appreciates this movie more as the time goes by.

I hate the visual style but if you're a fan of greeting card illustrations, maybe you'll dig it. There's some traditional family value messages in there but not to the point where it's a big problem. Just a little boring and cheesy.

I think this movie is for the more family-oriented crowd; those of you who like curling up with a big mug of tea and vibing with the very grounded but nostalgia-drenched fuzzy love memories of your own family.

It's got a gentle sort of charm but, like, it's not overly charming. Not a bad film, but, in the end, just kind of... whatever.

I find it refreshing and warm. I have thought of giving it to my friends as gift on their wedding/wedding anniversary since it's about family, being a spouse, being a parent, being a child and grandchild and being an daughter/son in-law.

As a Studio Ghibli fan, I make it a point to watch all their movies, not only because I it's a Studio Ghibli but I get surprised every time I watch one.

And although this is a less popular work of Isao Takahata, as compared to The Grave of Fireflies, and Kaguyahime, I don't agree that this is "lesser" than the other Studio Ghibli works.

Of all the movies Studio Ghibli has produced, "My Neighbers the Yamadas" could probably be the most unconventional of them all. This family comedy feels like a very jarring change of pace for director Isao Takahata, the man who gave us a heartbreaker in "Grave of the Fireflies" and a docudrama fantasy oddity called "Pom Poko"

For one thing, the feature is not--I repeat, IS NOT--plot-oriented. It comes across as a series of individual skits involving the titular family in their day-to-day life. The lack of a narrative may put off people beforehand, but doing so could very well deprive you of a most delightful--and refreshingly ... original--viewing experience. Watching how the Yamadas interact and go about life is every bit as poignant, funny, and off-the-walls as real family life can be; not only are we treated to disputes on who gets to watch TV, but we get to see stories such as the youngest sister, Nonoko, getting accidentally left behind at a shopping mall and all the trouble her parents go to in order to find her. The movie also relishes in silliness and surrealism--especially in the sequences where Mr. Yamada imagines himself as a superhero rescuing his wife and mother-in-law from crooks and the showclosing "Que Sara Sara", where the family floats through the sky on balloons. All these random events unfold at a roller coaster pace.

What I enjoyed most about the movie was the way it looks and sounds. For "Yamadas", the animation is produced in a newspaper comic strip style, which, given that this is what the movie was based on, is an ingenious match for its nature. Simplistic scribblings straight out of a serial fill the screen with a charm that is utterly irresistible. The catchy, tuneful score adds to the essence of the whimsical atmosphere. Employing bits of famous classical pieces on the soundtrack (such as Mahler's First Symphony, Mendelssohn's Wedding March, and Leopold Mozart's Toy Symphony) is a very inspiring touch.

There was only one thing about the movie that I found very confusing: at the end of most of the "segments" present in the film, we see what appears to be a quote taken from various poets. I was also unclear about the "pachinko" references, and the scene where Mr. Yamada is throwing cards down for his family left me puzzled. This is obviously a film steeped in Japanese culture--and one that is more likely to be understood by a Japanese speaking audience.

Which brings me to the biggest problem I have with the Disney dub: while English script writers Eric Garcia and Leo Chu earn points for attempting to remain as faithful to the original material as possible, they do so in exchange for making any effort in presenting this story to a wider audience who would be otherwise unfamiliar with the heavy references to Japanese culture. That alone makes "My Neighbors the Yamadas" the weakest of the Disney-Ghibli dubs I have heard thus far.

This is not to say that the dub isn't worth watching, however--on the contrary. While the script lacks coherency in places--although the writing is very amusing and very entertaining overall--I have no problems with Disney's selection of actors to record the voices. The incomparable James Belushi takes on the role of Mr. Yamada with exuberance and enthusiasm, and Molly Shannon voices his wife, Mrs. Yamada, with just the right mixture of sweetness and no-nonsense demeanor; the scene where Mr. and Mrs. Yamada argue over who gets to watch the TV is delivered with dead-on comic timing and believability--making this moment one of the dub's best moments. Young child performers Daryl Sabara and Liliana Mumy play the Yamada siblings, Noboru and Nonoko, whose interactions are so natural that you'll swear that they recorded their lines together--which, as a matter of fact, they did!... well, for the cookie scene, anyway. Tress MacNeille, a multi-talented voice actress best known for roles in shows such as "Tiny Toon Adventures" and "Animaniacs", has been cast in many of the Studio Ghibli English productions, and it is a treat to hear her another--she nails the crotchety old Grandma Shige to a T and beyond. David Ogden Stiers makes a brief appearance in the movie as well, narrating the titles of the various "segments" in addition to the verses displayed at the end of each episode.

Steeped in heavy references to Japanese culture and atypical of animated features mainstream viewers are used to, "My Neighbors the Yamadas" may have a hard time finding its audience; the film was not a great success in Japan, and at this point it is hard to tell whether it will suffer the same fate in America. However, it is highly unlikely that folks seeking creativity and something different from the norm will go wrong by discovering this delightfully inventive and charming film.

This is a very different show then what Studio Ghibli has done before, talking more about a regular family and not having a continuing plot. In my mind, this could have been a couple of 15 minute shorts more then a actual movie and it probably would of done a bit better since as I watched, I became very confused. They time skip a lot making it sometimes hard to figure out where we are in the story but then there are things that really don’t need a time too.

The characters really don’t have anything that actually makes them stand out. They are just ... a generalization of a mother, a father, and family. There really isn’t much that goes in the sense of there own personality and that did really bother me. I wanted some substance in them, not grasping at straws to feel closer to the characters. To me, that really felt boring and it became like me trying to force myself to watch the whole thing. Normally I could actually grasp at someone in the story and relate to them like the older sibling but this one just seemed off.

The art style is very different then Ghibli’s work as well, going for pastel colors and artwork that doesn’t really fill up the whole screen most of the time. In fact, most of the border areas feel like the artwork blends off into white. It feels much like a comic strip art piece like in the paper rather then a full film. It stays mostly in the real world instead of going into any crazy ideas yet in the beginning and end has a sort of surreal look about being a family as they talk about a poem that deals with life. That was the most interesting part to me actually and it was pretty cool that they started out that strong and ended in the same manner although it made me feeling like I wanted more of that then the other real life stuff.

The English voices are really well done, adding to the whole feeling of family but I wouldn’t expect less from Disney when they get their hands on a cute little show like this. Nonoko is a very believable 5 year old and sounds so cute. The show itself takes things rather literal and I believe that is because we are in the mind of this little girl and how she sees her life. The English dub really does add to this idea that we are seeing everything from the 5 year olds aspects. Plus the fact that Nanoko does not show up all that often. There are times that it deals with her but then there are many times that it is only the parents, son, and Grandmother.

The show might have been alright but it really isn’t the best Ghibli film in my opinion. It was slow and very slice of life-ish that it was hard to watch.

Biggest Disappointment from the Studio Ghibli.....I just watched this movie and I'm so frustated and disappointed that I can't keep the feeling limited to me. I just have to express my feelings about this movie in this review. I never expected this from Studio Ghibli.

This movie is so pathetic that I have rated it as 4/10. This is the lowest I have ever rated to an anime or movie. Even the OVAs float around 5/10 or 6/10 which are largely junk.

The only thing worth appreciating is the different art style. Though this art style doesn't inspire one to watch the movie/anime but still ... feels refreshing. I am a bit open about the art style and don't complaint much about it.

Apart from that everything feels way below the standards of Ghibli. There is no proper story at all just bunch of random events happening in the life of the Yamadas. The sound effect is quite bad in comparison to Studio Ghibli masterpieces released before and after this movie.

The characters could be said to be somewhat believable but not much. This is another area where I don't complaint about the choice of the storywriter and the production team. But this time around, I am not at all pleased with the characters either.

Well direction doesn't felt to be good either. I know I have no understanding of how direction works and all but what I know is that it is equally important as story. This movie failed in this also. The movie was so relaxing to watch that I was nearly asleep till the mid of story. I felt other tasks like filling up bottles for cold water more interesting than this movie. While watching the movie, I did several such tasks and just was waiting for the movie to end.

One may ask if I was so bored then why continue with this movie. Well its simple, it was the last Studio Ghibli movie that I haven't watched yet. Also, I once stalled the movie for later after watching for first 10 minutes.

Underrated imo. I have seen several Studio Ghibli productions, but Tonari no Yomada-kun (My Neighbors the Yamadas) was much different than other Ghibli films. The sketched or newspaper style of this film was something I hadn't seen from Studio Ghibli before, but I enjoyed watching. I feel like Ghibli does well with almost any animation...other than 3d haha. Regarding the actual story, there wasn't really one. The movie was made up of short clips or little moments, which I typically wouldn't like. However, the movie captured life of a family and I got to know each characters personality. My favorite character was Shige:) Although this ... is not one of my favorite Ghibli movies, it is refreshing to see a different art style introduced.

Side note- If you haven't seen any Ghibli movies yet, I recommend watching Spirited Away first!

Do you like Ghibli movies? Do you love Ghibli's art style? Do you love Ghibli's characters? THEN DON'T WATCH THIS MOVIE

This movie is a series of short stories, so there isn't one story I can talk about. Most of the short stories in this movie are incredibly boring, like, struggling to keep your eyes open boring. There are maybe one or two decent ones, but for the most part, the movie will be making you want to turn it off. If I didn't want to watch all the Ghibli movies all the way through (except Extraordinary Tales, I couldn't ... get through that one), I would have turned this one off very quickly. The only part of this movie I genuinely like is the song at the end, it's a very fun song and the message behind it is good as well... but that's about all.

I'm a big fan of Ghibli's main art style, but this one... I honestly hate. It's not nearly as bad as Extraordinary Tales's animation, but it's still appalling. I don't like looking at it. You might be a fan of this art style, and that's fine everyone has their own opinion on things, but I personally hate it. That's about all I can say about it.

The voice acting was average, nothing threw me off and nothing impressed me. There isn't much I can say about the sound of this movie so I guess I'll leave it at that.

Now, if you were to ask me which anime has the worst characters in it, I'd most likely choose this movie. They're awful people, they never grow on me, and they never really get any character development. I think I liked one character but I forgot who because the characters aren't memorable. The only character that's memorable is the son, but he's only memorable because he's the worst character in the movie. He's a huge brat, he complains all the time, he does nothing but get angry. I truly hate him. The other characters are "eh" at best.

I guess this was a somewhat short review, but there isn't much to be said about this dreadful movie. I truly hate it and I will never rewatch it. I'm sorry if one of you have seen it and liked it, but in my opinion it's one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I'm really not trying to offend or hurt the feelings of anyone, I just need to get my point across over how much I hate it. If Extraordinary Tales was on this website I would give it an even worse review, but it's not so rip I guess.

Story: 8
Art: 9
Sound: 7
Character: 10
Enjoyment: 9
Overall: 9

My Neighbor the Yamadas is a very interesting film, even by Studio Ghibli standards. While it’s one of the lesser known films by the studio, and takes place in a more “realistic” setting, it was still one of the most magical films I’ve seen in recent memory.

When people think of Studio Ghibli, a few familiar people and films come to mind: Spirited Away, Totoro and of course, Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki’s praise is well-earned - every film of his I’ve seen have become instant classics in my book (fitting to his Walt Disney comparisons, I hope my children have these ... movies on repeat the way I watched Toy Story and The Lion King multiple times a day as a kid). Though Miyazaki lies at the epicenter of Ghibli’s style and success, there are plenty more creative geniuses at the Studio – in particular I speak of director Isao Takahata.
Co-founder of Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki’s right-hand man, Takahata has found his own success directing a handful of Ghibli films. His most notable work as a director was his first film, Grave of the Fireflies, perhaps one of the most powerful and depressing rides I’ve been on. Following Grave of the Fireflies, Studio Ghibli bounced back and forth between Miyazaki directed films and Takahata directed films. After the critical success of Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke in 1997, Takahata was back at the reigns with his next film, My Neighbor the Yamadas.

The transition from Mononoke to the Yamadas represents a key distinction in Miyazaki and Takahata’s styles. We move from a story of immense scale, to one the size of a small house. We leave behind vast and intricately drawn forests, and enter the 12 x 12 tatami floor space of a middle class family. Where Miyazaki shines in telling fantastical tales and creating stunningly imaginative set pieces, Takahata finds his niche in exploring the mundane existence of humanity.

And that is exactly what My Neighbor the Yamadas is.

There isn’t really an overarching story here. My Neighbor the Yamadas is a slice of life in the purest sense of the term. We follow the lives of, you guessed it, the Yamadas, consisting of Takashi (dad), Matsuko (mom), Noboru (older brother), Nonoko (younger sister), and Shige (grandma). This is no chronological narrative of their lives either. The movie entails short 5 to 10 minute scenes, highlighting everything from the classic ‘leave your daughter at the mall’ scenario, to father and son playing catch (as well as growing past such a silly game). Though it isn’t the first time an anime attempted to capture ordinary family life, My Neighbor the Yamadas is impeccably accurate and well-executed. I’ve rarely had nostalgia sensors go off as often as I did watching this movie. Though every scenario doesn’t strike a chord, there are enough representations of daily obstacles that I’d find it hard for someone to find no connection to anything the Yamadas go through.

Miyazaki is known for teaching lessons of reality through fantasy, and the culmination of his magical stories tend to reveal a hidden truth about the world, tucked behind his surreal imagery. My Neighbor the Yamadas does the exact opposite, showing its hand from the get-go.

We begin by introducing the family. But rather than beginning in reality and moving into the bizarre, we open with the bizarre - a metaphorical representation of the Yamadas, their journey through life, and in a sense, the journey of everyone. Rather than build toward some lesson or realization, the film’s intentions are made clear immediately. A monologue at the film’s start perfectly encapsulates and prefaces the rest of the movie, as well as what it expects you to take away from it. Since it’s at the beginning, I don’t really think it’s a spoiler, and I found it too important not to include, so here it is:

“Life, as they say, has its ups and downs. At times, the waves may taunt you, tossing you in their swells. But take heart. It's hard to stick with it and make it on your own. But even a couple of losers can survive most things if they're together. So listen, take some advice and have children as soon as you can. Children are the best reasons for riding out life's storms. Nowadays, people say child-rearing is challenging and difficult, but we've done it from time immemorial. Children grow even without parents. So hold them close to your heart as they crawl, then walk. They'll be fine.”

That right there is what this film intends to sell you on. The idea that life is hard, but we persevere through the strongest bond we have – our family. It’s a rather simple idea at play, but with each scene we’re reminded of the small hurdles we face every day, and the importance of family in times of struggle both big and small. Oh, also, the context of the monologue in the story is very clever, but I won’t tell you about it here 

Though it remains one of the least fantasy-oriented films in Ghibli’s collection, the art style used is one of the most abstract. The transition between Mononoke and the Yamadas is also very significant on the production end of things. Following the meticulously hand-drawn process of Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor the Yamadas became the first ever Ghibli film to be created 100 percent through digital means.

Besides the new digital process, the art style itself is a big departure from the instantly recognizable style developed by Miyazaki over the years. It takes a turn for minimalism rather than hyper-detail. Characters and backgrounds retain a muted water-color aesthetic, complementing the light, simplicity of the narrative, as well as conveying a sense of hazy remembrance, as if we were taking a trip down memory lane with the Yamadas. Though not as immediately beautiful as the lush and vibrantly colors of previous Ghibli works, the basic art style used for the Yamadas is very fitting.

The rather loose style carried throughout the film also allows for some exploration. A specific scene comes to mind in which Takashi has to deal with a loud biker gang parked outside his house. I won’t go into detail, but the sudden switch in style during that part was exceptionally cool.

Mind you, this is not the most memorable Studio Ghibli movie. Especially when we have scenes like Chihiro entering the bathhouse in Spirited Away, riding the Catbus in My Neighbor Totoro, or Kiki flying along the countryside in Kiki’s Delivery Service. These scenes are a spectacle for the eyes, and perfect examples of the incredible talent at works behind the industry’s most magical studio. No, My Neighbor the Yamadas isn’t like that. The magic found in this film is of a different variety.

For Miyazaki, anime’s potential to explore the depths of our imagination is the fuel that drives his creative ventures. Bridging the gap between reality and fantasy is what makes Miyazaki’s films so enchanting, while also being so relatable. But for Takahata to take a medium like anime and restrict it to the bounds of ordinary life – there’s magic in that too.
To suddenly throw us into the lives of the Yamadas and create bonds with them is no easy feat, but humanity’s struggle is a familiar one across all places and within all people. There are low points and there are high points. Sometimes it feels like the burden of the world rests upon your shoulders, and sometimes you’re as light as air, losing track of the days as they drift by. One day you’re on top of the world, and the next it might seem like there’s no hope, but humanity has proven that we can keep going, generation after generation, struggle after struggle.

My Neighbor the Yamadas is just a little snippet of the struggles we face every day – some you’ve conquered effortlessly, some that have challenged every part of you, some that have broken you, and some that have built you up. Takahata shows us that the little details are as important as the big ones, and the most magical piece of humanity is its ability to move forward. As long as we persevere, we’ll be fine.

It's nice to see movies that just chill down, and take you into a silly slice of life. I ran into this movie when I saw that the dub had just came out on the website I watch anime on, and I was intrigued by the synopsis, but I watched the sub.

Story: 7
Tonari no Yamada-kun is a movie that is filled with a whole lot of shorts, that range from short to long, that show the Yamada family experiencing all of the wonders in life. One of the first long shorts deals with the Yamada's accidental leaving of their daughter, Nonoko, all alone at a ... mall, and their quest to go get her back. The humor in it was nice, and it showed how the family acted with each other pretty well. One of my favorite parts of the film, which is the short where there is a biker gang causing a ruckus outside, and Shige and Matsuko comically force Takashi to go outside and tell them to stop. Here we then see a change in art style, and a tense moment, albeit comically stopped as Shige and Matsuko come outside and make the biker gang go away by banging pots. We then see a daydream of Takashi's where some criminals kidnap Nonoko and Noboru, but he then saves them with his heroic powers. It then shows him on a swing where he was most likely thinking about what we just saw, ending the scene in a dramatized way.

Art: 7
The art style of Tonari no Yamada-kun is like comic strips, which fits in with the style of shorts. The only time we see the characters look realistic, is the scene I just explained above with Takashi and the bikers, which was refreshing before it went back to the original style. The style fits in with the movie, as it feels like you're watching an animated collection of comic strips throughout, which was nice to see a change of style from Ghibli. There wasn't a lot of detail in everything though, and backgrounds were just white adding to the comic style which kinda disappointing me, as I wanted to see the backgrounds in a comic like style.

Sound: 8
The sound is crisp, clear, all good. The voice actors did a great job, and made the movie very enjoyable. The music wasn't really pronounced to me though, I wasn't really feeling the music at times, and was like, "Meh". There also some weird sound cuts, but they weren't that bad.

Characters: 7
I liked the characters in this movie. It showed them interacting with their family, and growing as they did. They went through fun, silly experiences, and showed their strengths a lot. It was enjoyable to watch them, and I wasn't annoyed by any of them or dislike any of them. They were great.

Enjoyment: 8
All of the shorts had something fun in them, and a lot of them made me laugh or chuckle, but some of them left me kinda bored, and as I said before the music wasn't really adding that much to my enjoyment. The main enjoyment factor comes from the interactions with the family, and the results they get from doing certain things.

Overall: 7
Tonari no Yamada-kun is a nice movie, but it isn't the best movie that Ghibli ever made. There are funny moments, but there are some trips along the way. Some sequences are funny, others are semi-serious, others are both. People that don't really interact with their families probably won't find a lot of this stuff enjoyable, and people who want to be rolling in laughter the whole entire movie will be left disappointed, as it delivers the humor in jabs, mainly at the end of the short. The music isn't OMG I MUST JAM TO IT EVERYDAY, it does it's job, it fills the scene, makes it more relaxed, and chilled. The characters chemistry's with each other fit well, and the style of the art fits well enough. It's an enjoyable film to see, but it's definitely not an anime film that you must watch to be praised by the anime lords. I recommend seeing it on KissAnime, and if you like it enough, then you can buy it if you would so desire that.

This wonderful and visually stunning movie by Isao Takahata is easily Studio Ghibli's funniest movie.

A series of segments showing the life of a family, this is a sweet, funny and moving films that stills manages to touch on some of the darker apects of life, like death and self-doubt.

The visuals are incredible.
The pencil lines and watercolor look is one that Takahata would come back to in The Tale of Princess Kaguya (Princess Kaguya herself makes an appearance in a segment that references the original story "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter").

What a wonderful movie. I think this might be Studio Ghibli's most underrated movie. I ... rarely hear people talking about this one, which didn't prepare for how much I ended up loving it.

My Neighbors The Yamadas (1999)
Director: Isao Takahata
Produced By: Toshio Suzuki
Production Company: Studio Ghibli

"A film that broke Studio Ghibli", quoted by some website I founded.

This anime was released between Hayao's most beloved and acclaimed anime which is Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. This anime was not beloved like the ones I mentioned, this was considered a disappointed to many people. I don't know why, but, it's their opinion I guess.

The art style grabbed my attention and I was edgered to watch it because of it. So I opened Netflix and watched it, and if I got to be honest, its one of my top 10 favourite ... Studio Ghibli movies.

The film is set as a vignettes, it shows the daily life of the family. Each of the vignettes covers a daily dose of the family's life, like losing someone, relationship between a member, and more. I like some of it, I think some of them I can relate, like the granny giving advices, father and son bonding. I think this anime should be TV Show, a good one, combining two or three vignettes into one episode. This feels like a TV Movie but it's mashed up with the best episodes from the show, like that Bugs Bunny movie. Each of the vingnettes are funny and are backed up with some of the humours, and it also feels like a family in real life. There were good ideas that were brought into it, very funny, funnier than other Ghibli films. My biggest letdown was the ending tho, the part when the whole town starts singing, it was so awkward to look at that I looked away from it and hoped to god it ended. The film is also too long, they should get rid off some of the vignettes. Anyways, Love the story tho.

Characters are also funny. I think Shige (the elderly) is probably the standout, such a savage. Other characters such as Noboru, Takashi and Matsuko are enjoyable, everything they do just make me laugh my ass off. But Nonoko, not really, probably because she hasn't got herself a role in some segments (except the beginning and the shopping part). Pochi, no wants talk about that dog, so let's move on lol.
I'm glad Takahata didn't use the art that is presented in the manga, but instead used watercolour style and I think it looks wonderful, better than other Ghibli films (in my opinion), and it doesn't feel like a Ghibli film. He would then use this style in his next film which is so magnificent and beautiful. That's for another review.

Overall, I like this film, probably the funniest Ghibi film I've seen so far.
My Neighbors The Yamadas is a delightful and wonderful anime that shows us a daily life of the family's situtations while the conclusion being positive; and the art style being hard to hate with those wonderful vibrant colours

Fun Fact: This anime is based on a manga Nono-Chan, looks fairly similar to Shin-Chan. Then years later, there's a show based on the manga. It's considered lost media tho, but there are in youtube, one in Jap and four in Malaysian.

Pros: Watercolour Art Style, Funny Vignettes and Characters

Cons: Too Long, and Awkward Ending

8/10

This is just my opinion you know :)

Now we completely changed anime style. This is a story about the daily life of the Yamada family, told in multiple skits.

I’m pretty sure this is the funniest Ghibli movies ever made. Also, it’s probably the only one with simple hand-drawn comic-style animation, unlike the typical beautiful Ghibli animation style. I was surprised at first, but then I saw how effective this style to the tone of the movie.

The story is told in multiple skits, and man they were so funny. There were some particular ones that cracked me up hard as they were so unexpected. Most of the comedy came from the ... adults: the parents and the grandma. I loved that director Takahata made many creative jokes through these characters’ interactions with each other.

The theme of the movie, although not so direct, was to remind viewers about their own family, and the small, random things that they did with their family. I’m sure that audience will see at least some aspects of their family life through the skits. Even more, the director wanted viewers to accept their families through any ups and downs, and be grateful that they can have these memories with their families.

Even though it’s entertaining, this movie was not perfect. The movie unfortunately did not focus a lot on the two kids, and almost not at all on the dog. There could be more creative jokes from these characters. Also, the skits together did not create a single, overarching story, but this is not necessarily a negative thing. I think this movie could be instead a short TV show, with each episode comprising of multiple skits. Lastly, they often added haiku poems at the end of each skit, and I did not really understand the point of using those poems.

Overall, an entertaining, funny, yet surprising wholesome movie about family. 8/10

i loved it. i watched it like 3 or 4 times. i love anime that shows slice of life. it was a good comedy too. i watched it dubbed in english and dubs were super too. i give 10 points.

This review contains *SPOILERS*.
Watched in Sub/Dub: Dub

Story: 5/10
My Neighbors the Yamadas follows the Yamada family through short stories and skits. The stories themselves are all fine in concept but they don’t make for a great film.

Art: 5/10
This art style is okay but it’s not the Ghibli standard at all. Some of the scenes are very beautiful, like when the parents are traveling through the sea. But many of the scenes carry an empty quality to them because there’s just so much white space.

Sound/Soundtrack: 5/10
The background music in this film is pleasant and enjoyable but I wouldn’t personally consider it a true soundtrack. The English dub ... voice actors were great.

Character: 5/10
The characters are just standard caricatures. It’s like if the Simpson family were only contained in one movie of short stories. The structure doesn’t allow for any character development or empathy for the characters from the viewer.

Enjoyment: 4/10
I think My Neighbors the Yamadas would work better as a short film, children’s book, or comic strip. It’s definitely an interesting way to tackle a film but it’s not something I enjoy watching or even want to see.

Overall: 5/10
I could see someone enjoy My Neighbors the Yamadas and think it's cute. However, as a full length film from Studio Ghibli, it’s a bit of a letdown.

My Neighbours the Yamadas is not what I expected when I watched a family movie. Instead of having content appropriate for a family, it's about a family living their life, getting into trouble and doing regular family things. I don't understand who this movie is targeted towards. I don't find it enjoyable watching a family do what families do. If I wanted that, I would look back on everything I've done with my family. The art style is very unique for this project and looks like it belongs in a children's picture book. Perhaps that would be a better format for it than this. It ... is not a bad movie because it tells its story well, but the story is boring and there's not many reasons to check this out.
My Neighbours the Yamadas is an overlooked movie which you should keep tradition and also overlook.

My review will be a little bit biased, as I don't typically enjoy this type of slice-of-life. I did not particularly enjoy this film, but I recognize that a lot of that is because I just don't like the genre in general.

Tonari no Yamada-kun was a mish-mash of random small storylines presenting a family environment some might enjoy, but that I found rather annoying. The humor may have worked better in the context of the time it was made, but nowadays it just feels like "Boomer Humor", the same tired types of jokes that you often see in Facebook posts your parents like.

Story: ... 6/10. There is no real story to speak of, as this is a 4-koma-style Slice of Life. The individual small stories that are presented are mildly amusing at best and downright frustrating to watch the rest of the time. Several stories presented take far longer than they deserve and feel like a waste of time, and other stories are mildly interesting but not developed at all.

Art: 7/10. The art was very simplistic, which is the style they decided to go with. That's not a negative - it suits the format and was a very informed choice. There are small moments where the art style changes to be more fluid and dramatic, and those small moments absolutely shine. At one point a small portion of a baseball game is shown, and I commented aloud to my partner that the animation looked really good there. The art does not drag this movie down, simple though it is most of the time.

Sound: 5/10. The sound was mediocre, nothing really stood out to me. There was a song at the end that I didn't really enjoy, and the background music was unintrusive. Other than that, I can't really say much. It was just competent.

Characters: 2/10. This is where the movie falls completely flat for me. The entire movie is meant to focus on this family, and yet most of the time I just thought the family was full of awful people. The husband and wife constantly fight and find each other irritating and incompetent, but the movie ends with some "It's worth it for the kids!" type of message that just doesn't hit. The grandmother has some good moments and some bad moments, but mostly just feels antagonistic for the sake of being antagonistic. The son is rude and a bit of a loser, and the daughter is barely in the film, so her moments were few and far between. At one moment the parents lose their daughter in a mall and don't even realize she's not with them until they're well on their way down the highway away from the building. They have enough time to get completely stuck in traffic on their way back, so they were very far away and never noticed their daughter wasn't with them. To me, this just makes them bad parents. The women in the family were incredibly nosy and bothersome to the son, not believing that he could have a girlfriend, which was very mean-spirited. The father was angry and grumpy most of the time, and it just seemed like he was only there because that's what he was supposed to do and didn't enjoy being around the family members at all. None of the people in the family were enjoyable and there were very few characters besides.

Overall: 5/10. I just did not enjoy this movie at all. I'm giving it a five because it has some saving graces and because I know that someone who is more into this genre may enjoy it, but family dynamic slice of life stories just do not do it for me and I was miserable most of the time watching this, just waiting for it to be over.

Realism has always been a difficult genre for me to wrap my head around. In my eyes, the power of storytelling is that it need not be bound by the limitations of everyday life. It can communicate truth in so many vastly different ways, from the eccentric to the sincere, from the operatic to the artistic, that settling for “what if just normalcy with no diversions” always feels like a missed opportunity to me. Hell, that’s part of the reason I came to anime in the first place; it embraces that kind of anything-goes ethos where even the simplest of stories can be told as ... bizarrely and uniquely as the imagination allows. That being said, I am not immune to the pull of a story that is able to weaponize realism to its genuine benefit; just ask me my opinion on the second season of Rakugo one of these days. So while I’m not as over the moon for My Neighbors the Yamadas as I’ve been for most of Studio Ghibli’s other works, that shouldn’t be taken as anything less than a very biased opinion from someone who is nevertheless impressed that such a simple, understated movie managed to work on him at all. Even if it’s not my favorite, I can appreciate craft when I see it.

Set over a series of disconnected vignettes, My Neighbors the Yamadas follows the titular Yamada family, your average suburban middle-class nuclear Japanese family, through all of life’s ups and downs. It’s the kind of story where the lack of an overarching plot is the entire point. We’re not here to experience some kind of grand, life-changing journey; we’re here to have a mirror held up to our own normal life with our own normal family, to see ourselves in the Yamadas and chuckle in amusement in recognition at how well director Isao Takahata captures the eccentricities and goofy little moments of everyday life. It plays broad with its scenarios and characters, but that’s obviously intentional; you may not exactly fit into any of the archetypical roles the Yamadas embody- the gruff but doofy dad, the beleaguered but caring mother, the crotchety but badass grandma, the precocious little sister or the sarcastic but stupid older brother- but you can see yourself in the familiar scenarios they play out. You’ll remember what it was like to lose a kid in the supermarket, to develop a crush on a friend at school, to be late for work on an important day, to have awkward parent-child bonding time, to study hard for a test yet not seem to retain any information, to deal with pesky neighbors, and a million other little moments brought to life here.

It’s in those moments, as with the best slice-of-life vignette anime, that My Neighbor the Yamadas finds its meaning. It’s all about the spaces in between, the silly little parts of life that stick out when you think back years in the future. In this particular case, the focus is firmly on the family dynamic, how these vastly different people live together over the course of an ordinary life. Family is a weird, wobbly institution, and there’s often a lot of conflict even between people who so clearly care deeply for each other. But you find ways to make it work, piece by piece, taking the good with the bad every step of the way. That undercurrent informs the movie’s entire ethos, and it’s there that its greatest charms come through. The Yamadas’ life is idyllic but not rosy, pleasant but not perfect, full of love and compassion but also friction and frustration. It’s a warmly realized portrait of normalcy elevated by an expressive, pencil-watercolor art style that calls back to traditional Japanese brush painting while still allowing for moments of incredible whimsy during a handful of bookend wedding speeches where the animation is allowed to go full literalized metaphor. Special props must also go to the uniformly terrific dub cast, who strike the perfect balance between 50′s family idealism and a touch of welcome irony to bring the Yamadas to life. This is a very, very simple movie, but its charms are anything but.

In the end, the only real criticism I have for My Neighbor the Yamadas is that it’s only as good as it was ever going to be for me. There’s a limit to how interesting I will find faithful depictions of reality, and this movie exists pretty much right at that limit. But I still have a lot of respect for what it was able to accomplish with such humble intentions, and I get the feeling I’ll find myself enjoying it more and more as time goes on and I’m able to empathize with a broader spectrum of the family experience it presents. I’m only a college student, after all; I have no idea what it’s like to be married. But regardless, I had a very enjoyable time with the Yamadas, and I doubt I'll be forgetting it anytime soon.