The story is simple but masterfully managed, it revolves around Chihiro, Ogino a naive, spoiled and stubborn 10-year-old girl that is traveling with her parents and discovers an abandoned amusement park on the way to their new house, she is less than pleased when her parents stop by to visit the area, venturing inside she realizes that there is more to this place than what can be seen as strange things happen once dusk falls. Things start to change when goshtly apparitions and food that turns her parents into pigs occurs and those events are just the start of a journey that will take her to things she had never experienced before. Chihiro unwittingly crossed into the spirit world.
The art of this show is amazing in the literal sense of the word, the ghost have a design that can be found in our dreams and every character has a design that just shows how beautiful is the spirit world. Every character has his own movements and dynamic with the world, the atmosphere feels lively and every part of the world has a coordination and a sense of harmony that gives a new dimension to everything that it has to offer.
The music is special, every piece is art in it's purest form and are interpreted with majesty and with a sense of purpose and mission, the opening theme Day of the River/Ano hi no kawa" by Joe Hisaishi is the most apt choice that could have been made for opening the show and the ending theme Itsumo Nando demo (Always with Me)" by Yumi Kimura
Is really special and gives the taste that the final part of the series left in you a bigger feel of nostalgia and thoughtful memory.
The characters are what drive this story, they are the most complex and meaningful part of the entire show, they all have a fealing of familiarity and magic that just makes your heart melt in an ocean of joy and happy memories that makes the experience that the show gives you all the more graceful and meaningul that gives a new meaning to the story.
Ogino, Chihiro is a complex person for her age and is capable of driving the story and holding the weight of the events that happen in it, seeing her behaving and working in order to save her parents is one of the best fealings a series has given me, Haku is also a great companion and makes a great couple with her, seeing the relationship between Chihiro and Haku grow is one of the most exciting parts of the story.
The rest of the cast of characters also do their work as well as they could have ever done it, Lin is a likable character that works in the hotel, Kamaji behaves like a grandfather would and constitutes one of the most important workers in the facility, Yubaba and Zeniba are like complete opposites eventhough they were born successively. Yubaba is a grumpy old lady and Zeniba behaves like a lovely grandma would do.
This series is an enjoyable experience that is considered a classic for a reason, it does a lot of things well and is an all-around masterful work of animation and one of the reasons as to why i love this medium so much.
