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| I have to say I was disappointed with this one. The scenes of Taeko's childhood were engaging (if awkward and sometimes uncomfortable to watch), but I didn't feel it connect to the main story in the way I think the director intended. It came off more like, "City life sure is awful. Hey, you know what? I've been working in the fields for all of a week. I'm practically a professional now, so I'll marry this guy I've spent the week with (kinda). This is a good decision. After all, I sure do have some fond memories of... doing exactly nothing related to this in an environment not at all similar to this." I've seen the argument that she's taking a hold of her life and doing what she wants, but unless the film is secretly about the folly of making impulsive choices without thinking them through because you're blinded by nostalgia (which, again, relates in no way to what she's choosing to do), then I don't feel as though this movie is one of Ghibli's best. Actually, I'm currently going through all the Ghibli movies, and I'm a little saddened to say that this, so far, my least favorite. In terms of structure, character, tone (ESPECIALLY tone), and the overall message of the film, I can't say I'm a fan of this one. 4/10 |
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| Fun fact; this movie has a 100% approval rating on RottenTomatoes. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/only_yesterday_1991/ Safe to say it's not as underrated among critics as it is among the regular audience. |
| Like Citizen Kane, the ending makes the movie. Of course I'll never be able to relate to Taeko in any significant ways, but I still can't help but admire the incredibly empathetic nature of the movie |
| Hoo boy, got a bit emotional there at the end. My eyes were tearing up as Taeko decided to go back to Toshio while being cheered on by her classmates and childhood self. Anyway believe it or not this wasn't the first time I saw this movie. Turner Classic Movies had a month of Studio Ghibli films way back in I wanna say 2006 and I saw it then. I remember it stood out because it was the only movie they showed subtitled instead of dubbed, and at that time I wasn't nearly as used to watching subs as I am now. My memories of it though were understandably vague going into this rewatch considering it had been around 12 years. I definitely remembered the flashbacks with the story narrative, and one in particular with Taeko's father causing her to cry, though didn't recall the specifics. Movies like this are right up my alley though. I loved the flashbacks, the introspection, and the beautiful contrasting countryside scenes. Just the Slice of Life atmosphere, I'm a junkie for it. It was certainly a very beautiful film to look at too, but then Ghibli excels at that. Something else they excel at, and as I mentioned at the start, it could be pretty emotionally powerful as well. Poor Taeko! I found myself feeling sorry for her more than once during those flahbacks, but I guess she turned out alright regardless of any childhood hardships she had to endure. That was nice, a very feel good movie for me. I'm fluctuating between a high 8 and generous 9 for this one....I'll say 9. Well this was just the first of quite a few films I think I'll be checking out in the days ahead, and it was certainly a great start. :) |
| The story is inconsistent, and dramatized in parts. |
| And still, Bill will live on. He will befriend the next inhabitants of the earth, beings of light who revere him as a god. And Bill will outlive them all... for millions and millions of years...exploring, learning, living, until the earth is swallowed beneath his feet. Until the sun is long since gone. Until time loses all meaning and the moment comes that he knows only the positions of the stars and sees them whether his eyes are closed or open. Until he forgets his name and the place where he'd once come from. He lives and he lives until all of the lights go out. |
| This film was a wonderful surprise. I consider it one of the best films made by Studio Ghibli, as far as I'm concerned. I found myself reflecting in the events and thoughts of Taeko and Toshio, it is as if I had passed all my past life, so I felt the joys and sufferings of Taeko. In addition, the final was knitted in treating the story in such a sweet and genuine way. I do not understand why I've never heard of this film around any of the other titles of Sudio Ghibli, but I think it's a duty to make it known to a wider audience. 9/10 |
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| One of my first ghibli films and definitely one of my favourites. Taeko's story just reminds me of being a child again. So much nostalgia. :) |
| I find it hard to describe with words just how much this movie moves me. It's so beautiful, so warm; it's an inspiring journey. Taeko goes, for the second time, to the countryside she so longed for when she was a little girl; and this spurs all kinds of memories from that year. Her 10 years old self (with her whole class) just goes along with her. She meets Toshio, and grows closer to him without even realizing it at first. When the family that welcomed her started to urge her to stay and marry him, making her conscious of him, things gets uncomfortable because she didn't even see it as a possibility. But that last sequence, when her child self and her friends are kind of present there to spur her to action, and she decides to go back and stay with him; that was beautiful. Especially with the theme song playing in the background. For some random comments I wanted to say that her father bought a bad pineapple. I mean, people aren't obliged by nature to like pineapples or something, but I can't believe they didn't find it sweet or tasty at all, that couldn't have be a good one *says a pineapple lover*, but well. Taeko was acting like a spoiled girl at that time, but her father didn't have to hit her like that "because" of the shoes. He was also terrible not letting her act in that play. She says herself that she wasn't cut out for it after all, but he let his prejudices and preconceptions cut her wings before she could even try to fly with them, and it wasn't fair. Toshio having watched the same show she did as a kid, and reminiscing about a song from it with her, with his positive view on it, was really cute too. This isn't even all this movie has to offer or touches, but I will leave it at that. As I said, I find it hard to describe, but this is certainly one of my favorites, not only from the studio, but from among every single one I ever watched |
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| It felt extremely natural. Had a few tedious parts but overall nice and reflective, I really liked the childhood parts (except the Abe-kun one, which was kinda okay) |
| Enjoyed the movie though it was quite slow in pace overall, it felt relaxing. My favorite aspect was being able to see Japanese customs and culture. Found the characters interesting- there was quite an array of them and we were able to learn a few things about each of them through short scenes. I feel that you need to be in an specific mindset when watching this movie. It was definitely more slice of life/ veeeeery mellow, not so much feel-good like the Aria series, and more of a coming of age by looking back at your childhood/ nostalgia sort of mood. LOL, anyways, it was definitely something different from the other studio films that I've seen from my Ghibli Film Marathon. But a nice relaxing break since Porco Rosso is next and that seems more action-e xD 7/10 for me |
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| as a Miayazaki fan those creepy smiles and the talk with that country guy dropped the score for me meh movie. Only enjoyed her childhood memories |
Raizel said: as a Miayazaki fan those creepy smiles and the talk with that country guy dropped the score for me meh movie. Only enjoyed her childhood memories This film was directed by Isao Takahata not Miyazaki, and yeah the childhood memories were the only part I remotely enjoyed about this. |
Raizel said: as a Miyazaki fan, those creepy smiles and the talk with that country guy dropped the score for me. What discussion are you referencing here? I am having a hard time trying to guess. (I don't see the link between being a fanatic of Miyazaki's works and punishing a certain depiction of peoples smiling or a particular discussion) |
| What an incredible movie, I loved absolutely everything about it. Music, voice acting, scenery, facial expressions, pacing - superb. There're so many great casual scenes in the film that I can hardly even begin to describe them. I never felt so comfortable at watching slice of life. And this movie has possibly the best pineapple-eating scene ever! It's natural, put in it's cultural context (pineapples were rare back then), and executed perfectly. Though bananas are better, after all! |
| Pretty good film you can say. I'm glad she found herself even though it was late but it's never too late. Also that smile tho lol not a fan of it at all, that was one ugly smile. 7.5/10 |
| That's why I always think Takahata's films are much better than Miyazaki's. Such a legend only appears once in a hundred years. |
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| boring tbh, they could reduce the amount of the duration to 1 hour, and people would still get what it was about |
| “Life is a constant process of dying.” |
| I watched this film very seriously and based on MAL rating it has I can say that this is most underrated and underappreciated studio Ghibli film. While I understand the ratings some people gave this one , theres no denying that this film isnt for everyone and the fact itself was proven when more adults went to watch it than kids in Japan. Its such a realistic film just like Isao Takahata other works, and it feels like something done so seriously just to have as much realism as possible. I won’t lie and say that there were some parts of movie that I didn’t just enjoy or liked but I feel like all the childhood flashbacks were perfect or near perfect and had a big importance along with stronger meaning behind them. Also the ending was very surprising and felt like pure nostalgia of our pasts as a child. It really reminds me of Erased and how childhood flashbacks carried the whole story and made it amazing till the part flashbacks were over. Maybe this was some inspiration to it but I doubt it. With all that being said, I feel like this is one of the best examples of realism In animation that just needed small adjustments to non flashbacks parts in order to be one of the best animes out there. 8.7/10 |
| i feel like most people who didn't like this went in expecting just a different kind of movie and ended up if not disappointed, just confused by how mundane it is. but it's a nice portrait of the life of a normal woman, who reminisces about her past and is at that point in life where she has to choose what her next step will be but isn't really that sure about it. although i relate to her in almost nothing, i do know what it is to be at that point in life and find it to be very human, it's not hard to relate to her if you think about it this way. the movie is slow, contemplative and almost uneventful, but it's sweet and it warmed my heart. it's not one of ghibli's most memorable, but in any way it makes it a bad movie. |
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| do Japanese people hate pineapple? I love pineapple, so the scene in the movie made me sad seeing that they couldn't enjoy pineapple. dad was kind of jerk. but I can relate, that sort of thing had happened in my household. Considering how realistic the tone and portrayal of the movie is, its bizarre fantasy doses like sky walking and the children appearance at the ending really take me by surprise. The movie was really nice, though some part gets boring. Nevertheless, the most realistic anime I have ever watched (the amount of realism in it is somewhat unbelievable for a anime). Overall a 7/10 for me. |
AdampkJan 28, 2021 2:48 PM
  Click for a anime mashup! Still not gone bandwagon u, keep crying. Here u are welcome to CRINGE at my EXISTENCE |
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| I enjoyed the movie. I liked how mundane it was. There are few questions tho - how does she have such vivid memories from fifth class, why didn't they show much of her city life because it would've shown us why she feels that way about the countryside. |
| I actually enjoyed this, which is surprising because slice-of-life is usually my least favourite genre of anime to watch. I liked all of the childhood scenes, especially the ones where Taeko's interacting with her sisters. I thought her grown-up scenes were also decent but like others have pointed out, I do feel like her relationship with Toshio was a bit rushed. Still a pretty good movie. |
| Good movie. The only thing I didn't like was that lady telling Taeko to think about marrying Toshio. That was kind of random since it is kind of superficial since we don't know that lady's point of view about the two of them. The movie has a good pace, even if it got a little tiring at a certain point. Takeo expressions as a child are too good.     Scenarios is beautiful!     |
| [quote=ProxyLain message=64723053]Good movie. The only thing I didn't like was that lady telling Taeko to think about marrying Toshio. That was kind of random since it is kind of superficial since we don't know that lady's point of view about the two of them. The movie has a good pace, even if it got a little tiring at a certain point. Takeo expressions as a child are too good. Scenarios is beautiful! [/quote)I loved little Takeo's expressions too! I even liked the way she was drawn as a child more than she was drawn as a woman. |
callme_lluviameFeb 13, 2022 4:47 AM
| I liked this movie a lot. Definitely way better than any of the other Ghibli movies I've seen so far. If Grave of the Fireflies is as good or better than this, I wouldn't be surprised |
| Was going to comment on this after watching it earlier but I was quite tired so if my memory on the movie's a little more sketchy, that's why. First things first, I've known of Only Yesterday for the longest time and I had always assumed it was about a mother and daughter from the picture, never thought they'd both be the same person. It took me somewhat embarrassingly long into the movie to make the connection. Specifically the phone call with Nanako, as that's when adult Taeko is first named, and I thought, "Oh the kids a flashback". And since Taeko's mother showed up before that, I had realized they weren't mother & daughter, but I still thought they were different people and I was very curious to how they'd meet up. I'm an idiot and should probably read the plot synopsis before watching a movie. Another reason I should've known is because of the visual disparity between the two sides. I noticed that immediately obviously, and questioned why the change, I should've pieced it together then but I refer you back to my "I'm an idiot" point. Regardless, I do really love that touch, that Taeko's memories are painted with a softer stroke, there's a lightness and child-like quality to the memories presentation in contrast to the adult life. And I think that really helps foster the nostalgic fondness in these ruminations throughout the films, even if all the memories aren't necessarily positive experiences. I did largely find myself enjoying the memories more than the present day events. I find there to be an undeniable charm to these sequences, I like the character dynamics of Taeko's family a lot more too than what we get in the present day. Also, really never expected to see a story about dealing with periods in anime, even if Taeko never got her first one in the story itself. It was a gag plot point in Slayers, but can't really think of any other anime to touch it. The boys here were such dicks lol, periods suck and one of the reasons I'm glad I was born a guy but it's cool to see a part of that experience covered here. That's not to say the present segments are bad though, they just feel more grounded and adult. Taeko never swims in the air is what I'm saying. But I think probably the most important way I could describe these segments as realistic. This is quite possibly the most realistic anime I've ever seen, and that's not just because of the slice of nature, but because of the character acting. Just the way Taeko and Toshio laugh in the adult segments, it feels a bit more natural and individual. I did some research and this is because unlike 99% of all anime, for the present day sequences they actually recorded the audio first, and at times together, with their performances actually being used as a guide for the animation. The childhood sequences were done more like the norm, with the animation completed first with the seiyuus having to record using the animation as a guide. So watching this feel is like the best way to get a direct comparison over the different strengths of both methods. I love the natural facial expressions and character movements the adult sequences provided, but I do think it wouldn't necessarily fit with the flashbacks, which still had good character acting (I loved the scene about Taeko acting where they have a conversation with their eyes all leading to the father [side-note: I ended up really hating this guy lol]) but there was some more over the top reactions or styles here I remember, like Taeko getting anime girl eyes to illustrate her star power. Another way I think this movie just feels more realistic is the direction just staying with a scene. This is true and both parts, like I think back to the pineapple eating scene where we just linger with Taeko eating the pineapple as the family watches on. And for the adult, when Toshio first drives Taeko to the farm, there's a lot of focus on smaller details like watching them put on there seatbelts, or cuts of them just driving the car there with no interaction going on between the leads, just driving to the location. Part of this is for scenery I'm sure, establishing the Countryside but what it really accomplishes to me is making the film feel a lot more intimate. Like there's no plot reason we need to spend as much time on certain processes or whatever, but every little touch they add makes this feel like a more real lived-in experience. The risk is that it can make the movie feel dry at points, I'm not surprised that the takeaway from several in this thread that the movie was dull. While I don't agree with that sentiment, there were certain points, almost exclusively in the present day, where my interest did wane. They always got it back but it's worth noting. Back to my research, it was not surprising at all to learn that the source material was only the segments during Taeko's childhood. I'm rather upset that the manga was never made available in English, or even any fan scanlations because I'm definitely interested in reading more of the story, since I'm certain this didn't adapt ever story. I'm also curious if in the original anything comes from the Hirota story. To be clear, I don't think it needed to in the film itself, I think a lot of the stories selected are chosen to build to the stuff in present day. I think a story about her first experience with "love/romance" helps builds to the ending with Toshio as we see from adult Taeko there's still a giddiness when thinking about romance, just like I think a story about her potential missed acting career ends up working with showcasing her preference to the Countryside as we learn from adult Taeko afterward she did act a bit later and was fun but not for her (and really, you can get much different from life as an actor than countryside farmer). Which is why I think this is probably one of the best adaptions in anime. It's hard to say that without reading the original of course, but I'm glad that Takahata found an interesting framing device to feature these stories, and used them as the building block to the story of Taeko's eventually decision to do what she wants to. I can't claim that every memory here has some clear cut connection to the present day events, I think a lot of them just help paint a picture of her life growing up but there is a clear effort to connect the two in a meaningful way and think that comes through in the last act. I love that the final memory is present through conversation between Taeko & Toshio with supplementary visuals than just witnessing the event itself, as it allows more direct rumination from Taeko and I think helps sell her relationship with Toshio well. And the credits sequence, where she gets off the train with the memories of her youth, Taeko/Toshio walking with the kids putting them under that umbrella thing the girls wrote Hirota/Taeko's names in earlier, absolutely brilliant. This sequence at the end during the credits while "Ai wa Hana, Kimi wa Sono Tane" plays, is the best part of the film, had to fight a bit of tears there. That's a 10/10 ending there I think, though overall I'd probably lean closer to an 8/10 so I'll go with that. |
| Instead of the finely wrought dead end of 'Yes-terday, all my trouble seemed so far away', this anime is in fact Yesterday, and Today. |
Help! I need somebody. Help! Not just anybody. Help! You know I need someone. Helpppppp!  |
| Did the father really slap her because she forgot to put shut her shoes on? |
CantfindUsername said: Why is her father such a cunt? I know he's supposed to be a stern japanese dude but he is so damn unlikable. NO SHOES??? *slaps her* The movie was very grounded but that scene stood out as weird. A normal person just says to go get shoes. It would've been nice to have known the reason for his rejection at the end, too. |
TheFlyingOrangeJul 8, 2022 10:59 PM
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| Just a solid film all around but do feel it suffers from pacing issues. |
| I haven't updated in years but now I have changed that. I'll be free soon. |
| The anime handles a woman who has not forgotten her childhood, confronting her memories well. |
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| Can't say it resonated with me all too much and the facial features coupled with the dialogue, was a little off-putting. Felt very Japanese lol, go figure. Amazing script, a script that feels anything other than anime, plus lovely visuals. Thought the sound was pretty average unfortunately. 7/10 |
| I liked the film, but Taeko's family made me enjoy it less than I think I would. All of them, except her grandma, were a bunch of assholes. Now there's nothing wrong with potraying that in a film, but I didn't like her attitude towards them either. Like she just downplays it as some funny memories which they are not. |
| I'm kinda conflicted on this one, on one hand it's definitely underrated on here and doesn't deserve to be outside top 2000, the animation is beautiful, the story is more subtle and deals with more mature themes of growing up and self-actualization, on the other I found it a bit boring and could not really relate to the main character and her struggles. I felt Kiki and Porco Rosso were too short while this was too long. It's also weird to see a Ghibli movie that's just slice of life with no fantasy or adventure elements. Very well made movie but I guess I'm not the target audience, I'm split between a 7 and 8. |
PorcupineHeadJan 12, 12:48 PM
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| I loved this film. I teared up at the end montage when her younger self pushes her to finally change and go back to the farm. Also I knew this would happen but a lot of shitty western people have big problems with the father. That's how people were back in the day. My grandfather was like that, super authoritarian. But he was a good man. He used to punish my mom and her siblings harshly (beatings and all). But they still wept bitterly when he died. This movie is not for the western audience. Its it for older Japanese audience. And while I am not Japanese, being an older person from the continental Asia who spent his childhood in rural areas, this movie was special to me. 9/10. |
| honestly, it got quite good after the memory of when her dad slapped her. but that was half way through the film and boy it draaaaaaaagged up at that point, plus it was mostly memories of the school so it didn't have the beautiful visuals to carry it either. have to imagine that was by design since that's the point where she began to sort of claw her way up out of her spiritual funk which she'd been in for 22 friggin years good grief. moral of the story don't bury everything and bottle things up for your whole life, though her parents were largely to blame for her ending up that way. but yeah, great ending. |
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