Love, According to Studio Ghibli Films

this video is brought to you by mubi a curated streaming service that premieres a new film every day it's a big responsibility but i really love her love is one of cinema's most revisited subjects but most great love stories don't actually model how to love in a healthy way we can emulate enter studio ghibli the famed japanese studios films many of which come from the mind of director hayao miyazaki tell us that true love is based on three things number one a spiritual connection that's really friendship number two the commitment to help each other become better individuals and number three equality if i'm going with you i'm going to help you while in the abstract some of these love goals might sound obvious they're not only difficult to find in real life but also surprisingly absent in a lot of pop culture representations of love and whereas for decades disney movies focused on romantic even sexualized relationships as models for kid viewers hayao miyazaki has spent his career portraying more relevant models for young children's first relationships like deep long-lasting friendships that evoke warmth and security and inspire better bonding techniques whether you're a toddler or an old soul you're a good friend here's how we can all learn to have healthier relationships from a closer look at ghibli love stories [Music] if you're new here be sure to subscribe and click the bell to get notified about all our new videos [Music] ghibli romances focus on a spiritual rather than a physical connection the love stories often center on platonic love and friendships which feels natural since many of the protagonists are children hayao miyazaki wrote in his book starting point i've become skeptical of the unwritten rule that just because a boy and a girl appear in the same feature a romance must ensue rather i want to portray a slightly different relationship one where the two mutually inspire each other to live then perhaps i'll be closer to portraying a true expression of love the great forest spirit is dead now he's not dead son he's here right now trying to tell us something that it's time for both of us to live for miyazaki true love can often be aromantic and the takeaway is spiritual maturity over everything else as one fan put it on twitter studio ghibli romances be like what if we didn't kiss but instead both spiritually matured as people because we met each other in castle in the sky shida and patsu never confess feelings for one another they are simply friends who would do anything for each other connected by their desire to find the lost city of lapida when they finally arrive at lapida it seems for a moment like they might kiss but instead they just start laughing and hugging like real friends would do in kiki's delivery service tombow is set up as kiki's love interest but all kiki wants is to be able to make friends and she ends up finding a true friend in tombow not a boyfriend in ponyo sosuke and ponyo spend the whole movie building their friendship around the idea of loving each other and the major responsibility of caring for each [Music] other i will love you too but this pure life-changing and even world-changing love has the feeling of a bond between two little best friends or siblings spirited away centers on a similarly mystical connection between shihiro and haku who we eventually find out is a river spirit who saved chihiro when she was a child although they've been so deeply connected their whole lives and the word love is used to describe their relationship pure love it broke geneva smell the relationship is based in friendship and it's never stated that the two are romantically attracted to each other only spiritually even in a more truly romantic story like whisper of the heart a love story between teens shizuku and seiji the connection is still cerebral and otherworldly based on the young artist's mutual love of reading i started checking out all sorts of books just so i can get my name on the checkout cards before you i guess that got your attention and similarly in howell's moving castle howell and sophie's romantic relationship is able to grow because it's not focused on physical attraction when the two first meet sophie is timid and nervous because she's insecure about her looks but after she's cursed to be an old woman she's much more confident and forthright with howell because she's no longer worried about how she looks so you think you've got it bad i've never once been beautiful in my entire life in a ghibli love story there is also often some larger cause that unites a couple together in princess mononoke noble prince ashitaka and fierce princess son come from very different worlds but are connected by their desire to protect the forest and the great forest spirit from humans that seek to destroy it their primary goal is to save the forest and the spirits and gods that reside there not end up together and it's interesting to note that in some ghibli romances the couple does not always end up together you mean so much to me but i can't forgive the humans for what they've done i understand you'll live in the forest and i'll go help them rebuild irontown chihiro and haku must separate as chihiro heads back to the human world and haku must stay will we meet again sometime sure we will promise promise now go and don't look back this sends the message that loving someone doesn't always mean giving up your life to be with them and these portraits might inspire us to reconceive of coupledom not as something we seek because of a comforting companionship we get but more in terms of the positive impact we can make by joining forces with someone who shares our deepest motivations speaking of romance here at the take our great love is cinema that's why we're such fans of this video's sponsor mubi do you ever wish you could attend a european film festival this month mubi is offering the next best thing an incredible venice film festival retrospective that you can enjoy from home this virtual celebration features standouts from one of the most distinguished film institutions in the world several of which are exclusive streaming premieres if you're anything like me these days you may be totally uninspired and stuck when it comes to figuring out what to watch next subscribing to mubi completely fixes that their team of curators handpicks every film they show so there's always something new to discover they seriously love movies as much as we do so their recommendations are always top-notch as a special gift to our viewers mubi is offering 30 days free so click the link in the description below to start streaming now ghibli also emphasizes a love that transforms the characters into the best versions of themselves you're the one who inspired me seiji according to aristotle there are three forms of friendship friendships of pleasure friendships of utility and friendships of virtue friendship of virtue is when both parties desire each other's good and are even willing to sacrifice for their friends good likewise whether ghibli connections are more platonic like haku's into heroes or more romantic like howls and sophies they're rooted in wanting good things for each other or to help each other self-actualize when shihiro first arrives scared and alone in the spirit world haku tells her what she needs to do to get by tell him you want to work here if you don't get a job you baba will turn you into an animal once she starts working she becomes a confident outspoken fearlessly resolute young woman so haku has helped her not by coming to her rescue as in some other kinds of love stories but through giving her the tools and knowledge she needs in order to grow and thrive in this strange environment whisper of the heart illustrates how artistic personalities can help each other self-actualize as individuals in a similar way writers suzuku and violin maker seiji admire each other's work but degrade their own i wrote some lyrics for our graduation ceremony but i'm pretty sure that they stink reflecting how artistic types often can be held back by intense self-criticism i'm not close to being good enough shizuku and seji are able to give each other the encouragement and confidence that they're not able to summon alone within themselves you carve the entire thing yourself by hand that is amazing you're a very talented writer when seji gets the opportunity to study in italy shizuku's first instinct is to again feel inadequate but ultimately she takes heart from the fact that seiji whose artistry she respects also feels insecure he isn't sure that he has any talent either i should test myself like he is and in the end as much as they're united as a couple they thrive because each retains their own individuality and independence for the last third of the movie shizuku and seiji are separated physically while their bond only grows deeper because they are inspiring each other i promise i'll be a professional violin maker and you can be a professional writer in princess mononoke the way that ashitaka and son help each other be their best selves is through overcoming the dangers of hatred at first son's hate for humans blinds her from her feelings for ashitaka he helps her realize that humans can be good despite their destructive tendencies and that we have to let go of hatred because it blinds us from truth prevents progress and only breeds more hatred this is what hatred looks like this is what it does when it catches hold of you fear and anger only make it grow faster meanwhile son helps ashitaka fight the hatred that is spreading inside him by showing him kindness and bringing him to be healed by the forest spirit whether it's a physical or emotional change or both love pushes ghibli characters to be braver more confident and realize their full potential in life in ponyo love feels like a superpower sasuke's antonio's pure love helps ponyo be brave and fearless as she physically morphs from a fish into a girl with more agency on land and she's able to permanently become a human in the end thanks to sosuke's promise to love her as she truly is could you love her if she moved between two worlds i love all the ponios this final moment of transformation is positioned not as ponyo changing who she is but becoming what she was always meant to be loving and accepting someone as they are allows them to truly be their authentic self we might need to be accepted by someone who loves us before we can fully understand or remember who we are when shihiro comes to the bathhouse haku tells her not to forget her name while haku himself is a prisoner of the witch hubba because she's stolen his name representing that he's lost access to the most fundamental part of his nature i've tried everything to remember mine he's only able to transform back into his true self when chihiro remembers haku's real name and sees him for who he really is the river's name was the kohaku river i think that was you and your real name is kohaku river likewise in howell's moving castle sophie is equipped to help howell recover himself in a way he can't on his own in part because they've been connected since his childhood when she saw his heart get taken another tenet in some of these love stories is that it's important to trust your instincts about a person and not listen to other people who might try to turn you against them due to ulterior motives chihiro doesn't pay attention to other suspicions of haku he's yuba's henchman don't trust anything he says because she can feel on a deeper level that he's her ally don't be afraid i just want to help you similarly sophie doesn't listen to the rumors about howl and trusts that deep down he has the potential to care for others and be good his intentions are good he doesn't need your help he can fix his problem with his demon on his own now i understand you're in love with hell and the focus of their love relationship is ultimately bringing out the goodness in each other howell is selfish and cowardly at the beginning but sophie's believing in his goodness inspires him to become selfless and brave as he takes a stand in the war because he has someone other than himself to care for let's run don't fight them how sorry i've had enough of running away sophie and now i've got something i want to protect it's you likewise being with howell makes sophie more daring so because their love is based in a desire to help one another reach their full potential in the end they both transform into the best version of themselves which is what true love is all about [Music] ghibli also highlights that relationships only work when they're equal just as aristotle emphasized that the truest form of friendship is all about equality for a relationship to be balanced and equal in practice this requires trust respect and shared responsibility whereas in much of pop culture we've seen a man coming to a woman's rescue or a woman being tasked with managing the man's life and ghibli love stories both parties are equally capable of and responsible for protecting each other from physical spiritual or emotional harm don't worry upon you no matter what i will protect you you even made the candle bigger this is fantastic the male characters aren't afraid to take on typically feminine roles of caretaking and showing their emotions and as miyazaki says many of my movies have strong female leads brave self-sufficient girls that don't think twice about fighting for what they believe with all their heart they'll need a friend or a supporter but never a savior any woman is just as capable of being a hero as any man in these stories the partners in the relationship tend to take turns coming to each other's aid as we saw haku helps chihiro as she enters the spirit world and she in turn saves him in the end you did it shihiro i remember i was the spirit of the kohaku river likewise how will rescue sophie in the beginning and then sophie protects howell from getting his magic stolen and ultimately returns his heart to him ponyo and sosuke each save and protect each other and throughout princess mononoke ashitaka and son work as a team to save not only each other but also the forest spirit iron town and everyone while most of these examples are about heightened life or death situations whisper of the heart shows how this balanced love works in everyday life through give and take the reciprocity of protecting and looking out for one another lays the foundation for trust and support in the relationship this could even manifest as something as simple as sharing a jacket in the cold oh wait a minute you'll be cold like that come here it's getting cold all these stories reflect the reality that in any long-term relationship the balance frequently shifts as each helps the other in different times but when one person freaks out sometimes it weirdly makes the other one calmer and each partner needs to be willing to adapt their individual roles as the circumstances change whereas so many textbook happily ever afters have long suggested to us that love is a prize to be one studio ghibli movies are essentially tutorials for love as a process that needs careful attention and nurturing these healthy romances involve the work of cultivating and maintaining relationships that make both partners into strong and beautiful souls these movies teach us that love is more complicated and harder than attraction at first sight or grand romantic gestures but also more satisfying and sustaining most of all they drive home that love is precious and deserves to be treated as such a heart's a heavy burden this is the take on your favorite movie shows and culture thank you so much for watching and for supporting us please subscribe and never miss a take [Music] you

Channel: The Take

Views: 121,648

Keywords: spirited away, howl's moving castle, castle in the sky, princess mononoke, ponyo, whisper of the heart, seiji, shizuku, sosuke, haku, chihiro, sophie, howl, kiki's delivery service, kiki, tombo, hayao miyazaki, ashitaka, san, turning point, starting point, studio ghibli, ghibli, sheeta, pazu, the wind rises, the tale of princess kaguya, grave of the fireflies, only yesterday, THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY, porco rosso, my neighbor totoro, the cat returns, when marie was there, ocean waves

Id: cIb6WjCl6ys

Length: 16min 1sec (961 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 25 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/patricktercot]

I seriously love Miyazaki. I don’t find the romantic themes overly saccharine or off-putting when they are there, and of course some of his movies have no romance at all. But even movies like Whisper of the Heart and The Wind Rises which have romances as a prominent part of the plot are more focused on self-actualization and supporting each other’s dreams. So there’s a lot to like about them even if you can’t relate to the romance.