Only Yesterday
Only Yesterday
A twenty-seven-year-old office worker travels to the countryside while reminiscing about her childhood in Tokyo.
Matthew Adams reviewedAugust 21, 2025
8/10
I have to say, this is one of Studio Ghibli's more unique films. Not because it's fantastical or anything but the complete opposite. This film is relatively slow and completely grounded with zero fantastical elements. You follow a twenty seven year old on a trip to the country side, who on the way has memories of her fifth grade school year flood back to her. Throughout the film it goes back and forth between the present and her memories of fifth grade. When it's the memories the animation is slightly different with a dream like white hue to it to distinguish it from the present. I think it's a small detail that works great. Also this is based off of a book and it really shows. There's stretches in this film of two characters talking for ten minutes straight or a character narrating their work in a field. There's not a single other Ghibli film with this amount of dialogue and narration. It's exclusively reliant on its characters and dialogue instead of the typical fantastical elements of other Ghibli films. With all those factors at play they make this feel like the most mature Ghibli film.