Howl no Ugoku Shiro

That jumbled piece of architecture, that cacophony of hissing steam and creaking joints, with smoke billowing from it as it moves on its own... That castle is home to the magnificent wizard Howl, infamous for both his magical prowess and for being a womanizer—or so the rumor goes in Sophie Hatter's small town. Sophie, as the plain daughter of a hatmaker, does not expect much from her future and is content with working hard in the shop.

However, Sophie's simple life takes a turn for the exciting when she is ensnared in a disturbing situation, and the mysterious wizard appears to rescue her. Unfortunately, this encounter, brief as it may be, spurs the vain and vengeful Witch of the Waste—in a fit of jealousy caused by a past discord with Howl—to put a curse on the maiden, turning her into an old woman.

In an endeavor to return to normal, Sophie must accompany Howl and a myriad of eccentric companions—ranging from a powerful fire demon to a hopping scarecrow—in his living castle, on a dangerous adventure as a raging war tears their kingdom apart.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Howl Main

Kimura, Takuya Japanese

Hatter, Sophie Main

Baishou, Chieko Japanese

Calcifer Supporting

Gashuin, Tatsuya Japanese

Turnip Head Supporting

Oizumi, Yo Japanese

Heen Supporting

Harada, Daijiro Japanese

Markl Supporting

Kamiki, Ryunosuke Japanese

Witch of the Waste Supporting

Miwa, Akihiro Japanese

Suliman Supporting

Katou, Haruko Japanese

Hatter, Lettie Supporting

Kazuki, Yayoi Japanese

Hatter, Honey Supporting

Yasokawa, Mayuno Japanese

Suzuki, Toshio Producer

Ishii, Tomohiko Assistant Producer

Miyazaki, Hayao Director, Script, Executive Producer, Screenplay

Toba, Yousuke Episode Director

Reviews

Nov 19, 2024

dogydoomsdays

Recommended

most heart throbbing
Every anime has something special that sets it apart. Whether it’s the incredible world-building, the relatable characters, the beautiful art style, or the deep themes that stick with you, each one has its own unique charm. Every time I watch, I’m transported to a new place, meet unforgettable characters, and experience stories that stay with me long after the episode ends. Anime has a way of making me feel everything from excitement to inspiration, and I love how each series leaves a lasting impression on my heart. Here’s to all the anime that’s made an impact on my life and to discovering ... even more amazing series that will continue to inspire and entertain.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Sep 5, 2022

Resting_Bonfire

Mixed Feelings

Howl's Moving Castle


I watched this movie only once in my childhood and had hardly any memory left, so I just had to watch it again. Nostalgia feeling is not present in me, therefore I could watch the film practically for the first time without being prejudiced. Unfortunately, I have to say that all the hype about this film could hardly be more wrong.

Moving Castle is a tale of how an ordinary hatmaker gets cursed, involved in a little adventure story and a war. The majority of the film turns to present various spells and concepts of her magical world, and the second half revolves around ... the war and the relationship between the two protagonists.

I must admit that the animations are beautiful, as are the visuals of many scenes. Unfortunately, there is little else for me to say about this film.

The film suffers from typical problems, too little time, too little build-up, and a weak finale. It's always the same, due to the short length.


[Story 4]

The concept of this magical world is nothing earth-shattering, even though it was beautifully presented. The world itself had little buildup and accompanying explanations, you were just thrown into it.

And the whole aspect of the war felt really "out of context". The transition to it wasn't particularly good, let alone the tension and execution.

The overall chemistry and composition of this film felt tremendously questionable and unfinished.

[Characters 5]

I liked the characters, they were likable, especially Sophie in her grandma's guise was fascinatingly accurate. But aside from sympathy and light backgrounds, there was little to mention. Many characters were just left lying around without any particular build-up or relevance, in the end, I hardly cared.

The scarecrow alone whose plot was just resolved at the end like it was a joke was... odd. What was especially odd was that it wasn't outlandish for the film.

[Animation 9/ Music 6]

The animations were beautiful and captivating, making them carry half the movie for me. The beautiful and fluid scene changes made the flow of the film better lubricated and offered a beautiful visual work of art. However, the animations were a step behind those of "Spirited Away" for me.

The music was fitting and provided satisfying background to the scenes. Personally, though, I would say that I have heard better Osts.


[Conclusion 5]

For many, this movie is an unprecedented childhood experience, but for me, it is just another movie. Since I didn't grow up watching these films, I'll have to settle for what I received here.

Howl's Moving Castle is a film that had an interesting concept, but unfortunately didn't really do much with it. If I had to call one movie "The Most Average Movie", this would be it.

[Enjoyment 5]

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Oct 11, 2024

ArturiaP3ndrag0n

Not Recommended

All spectacle and whimsy, with no plot or notion of development. There is no proper build up for anything, and consequently no proper pay off for anything. Everything is incredibly contrived. It is the perfect kid's movie because you just turn off you brain and enjoy the flashy colors and fun things unfolding.

Rubric 1: Entertainment and Artistic Value = 2/2
This is the only saving grace of this movie, its a masterpiece of animation that is truly the pinnacle of artistic achievement in the medium of film. Even 20 years later the art and soundtrack is better than most works. Eye candy and eye catching. ... The first half was kinda enjoyable, seeing Sophie wrestle with the dynamic of being an old lady, her antics and funny jokes as well as bantering and calm approach to everything. The first half was fun which I'd say salvaged it somewhat. Also because my baby girl was enjoying it a lot too so I'm inclined to find it fun too.

Rubric 2: Would I recommend this? = 0/2
Absolutely not. Maybe if you are curious about what this movie meant, you could watch it for the incredibly Sakuga. But narrative and art is much more than pretty paint and colors. We have narrative storytelling, world building, multifaceted character development, exploration of complex thematic discourse and of course the core tenant of the movie being a complication, building with set up to set up until its a lock in that leads to a climax where you get your pay off all the way to resolution. None of that here.

Rubric 3: Narrative Consistency = 0/2
I define narrative consistency as the quality that allows you to determine at any point in the film how easily you can ask What are we doing? Why are we doing this? When is this in the entire story and Where are we headed? Through out the entire film, I was unable to answer any of these questions. We start with questions and are left with nothing but more questions. Nothing is resolved and complications after complications spring up out of nowhere with no build up. Frankly, I had no idea what was going on in the film anymore after the half way mark.

Rubric 4: Emotional Moments = 0/2
Any moment that sticks in your mind be it due to heavy emotions of Sadness, Anger, Joy or Cerebral. Some examples are United States of Smash from BNHA, Operation Arclight in Steins;Gate, CHOOSE ME BEATRICE from ReZero S2, Tokai Teio in Uma Musume S2 etc. Moments that stick with you long after the show has ended. Unfortunately there is nothing here that I find remotely memorable, aside from the splash of colors everywhere.

Rubric 5: Caters to Personal Preferences? = 1/2
My preferences are as follows:

Historical = The plot, world building or power systems are based on real history or inspired strongly by history.

Power Systems = Magic Systems, Power Mechanics, basically the plot devices and means of influencing the plot or other things. This could be FMAB's Law of Equivalent Exchange, Avatar's Airbending, or even the Rules of Time Travel in Steins;Gate. Brandon Sanderson's 3 laws of magic apply here.

Idealogue = Deep themes, and philosophical discourse. My favorite theme is the theme of Kingship, so stuff like Fate where we have King Arthur in Arturia Pendragon, Iskander as Alexander the Great and Gilgamesh the King of Heroes clashing with each having their own ideals of being a Great King.

Out of these, due to the blatant inspiration from the Great War (WW1) era as well as an attempted inspection of the theme of War and Peace. This show gets the Historical point there.. barely.
The magic systems make 0 sense, everything is contrived and nothing seems to make sense. Aside from only 1 limitation about Howl, which even then didn't make sense either. Too much contrivance.
Sanderson stated in his laws of Magic,
1 = The capability of a magic system to solve a plot complication must be directly proportional to the audience's understanding of it. If we don't understand how any of this works, or have any idea of the limitations. We don't know what is the magic system capable of, as such plot complications carry no significance or stakes. If a demonic curse can be solved by a kiss or true love? thats fine but communicate that first and then make the stakes the logistical problem of getting there, i.e the beast has gone mad and his beloved needs to reach them but is impeded by baddies etc. None of that here.
2 = Magic Systems are known not by their capabilities, but their limitations. Its magic, its literally the do anything i want plot device. If we don't know what are the limitations or costs in a concrete transactional manner, then it is not interesting. We never did learn what were the limits of power for many people here, only that they suddenly lose powers for some reason. It also doesnt seem to justify alot of motivations, are they powerless? if so how? if not why don't they just do what they want? (assuming we even know what the characters want in the first place), magic is party tricks here. it is flashy and does alot, but we don't know what it is not capable of doing and why. We never did see Sophie actually resolve the matter of being cursed.
3 = Before you expand on your magic system, make sure its consistent with existing rules. This is probably the most blatantly abused against here. So many things happened and so many developments with endless more magic stuff happens which we never understand. The more you watch, the more confusing, frustrating and ridiculous it gets.

Lastly is idealogue. I do like the theme of War and Peace here which was completely neglected and put in the background sadly. They could have gone somewhere. But the most infuriating thing in this entire show.. is nobody is willing to die for anything. Everyone has PAPER THIN MOTIVATIONS. What does the witch want? idk, is it the king? 50 years? nope apparently. She wants hearts? Okay then why is she suddenly the good guy here right until the moment where they want her to throw a wrench in the works? What about Howl? What does he want? He wants to be free? Then why is he held down by anything? Why does he go out and risk his life like he does? For what purpose? Does he want to be free? or does he see a duty to stop the war? If he wants to stop the war enough to risk his life why doesnt he go face the king? Hes a coward? Then why is he risking his life? Wait he got courage? He needed one old grandma stranger to give him the courage to risk his life like that? I could keep going, but by far the most ridiculous assertion out of everything. Was the fact the two actually somehow fell in love with each other. I could somewhat get Howl, a man can catch feelings if he is helped by someone at their lowest. But Sophie? If she never met howl, she would never have gotten cursed and would have lived a normal life. Its his fault she got dragged into all this. Maybe she wanted an adventure? and she fell for this whimsical mess of a man? Why? I find it rather degrading for a girl to simply get the hots for a guy for no apparent reason like that.. or maybe im out of touch or taking this too seriously. Either way, it is infuriating. Nobody stands for anything, so i found no reason to care about anything either.


The first half was still bearable, the 2nd one went south super fast. The entire world building went nowhere, the entire war thing was pointless. tldr 3/10 this stuff sits alongside Queens Blade. That balatant Fan Service fest atleast had potential, consistent characterization and world building. This show has nothing but fancy sakuga thats it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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	Poll: Howl no Ugoku Shiro Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Cele - Dec 3, 2009	173 replies	by sir-slav »» Dec 11, 2:05 AM
	Im so confused _txhsin__ - Apr 3, 2023	6 replies	by monceeef »» Aug 23, 8:13 PM
	Can someone explain why Sophie felt the need to destroy Howl's Castle? Golden_Cheese - May 29, 2023	9 replies	by voltaxx123 »» Jan 22, 11:21 AM
	How was Sophie able to venture into Howl's past? Why did that black door appear? Golden_Cheese - May 30, 2023	5 replies	by namazuFish »» Jun 3, 2023 1:29 AM
	Is it because of the animation? Bogenvilia - Jan 12, 2022	31 replies	by Asudox »» Oct 7, 2022 1:51 PM

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