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Only Yesterday (1991)

★★½ — Only Yesterday (1991)

Isao Takahata had already established himself as the more literary-minded half of Studio Ghibli's founding partnership (the other being Hayao Miyazaki) with the devastating Grave of the Fireflies in 1988, and Only Yesterday represents something of a quieter companion piece to that work. Adapted from Hotaru Okamoto and Yuko Tone's manga of the same name, it follows a 27-year-old office worker whose rural working holiday prompts extended flashbacks to her fifth-grade self in 1960s Tokyo. The film was a substantial domestic hit in Japan on release, though it remained officially unavailable in Western markets for over two decades, partly due to music licensing complications, before Studio Canal released an English-dubbed version in 2016.

A 27 year old reminiscing about being 10 Dont get me wrong, its typical Studio Ghibli in that the animation and soundtrack are some of the best you're likely to see. Where it falls away a little for me is the story. I'm clearly not the target audience though being a man watching a woman's journey through life. As the father of a 10 year old girl it was certainly interesting. I think it's important to understand Japanese culture (at least in the 60s n 70s when this was set) but nevertheless, it's just a slow burning afternoon cup of tea type film Not too good, nothing bad. Just a bit middle of the road.

Rating: ★★½ | Year: 1991 | Watched: 2025-05-04

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Where to watch (UK)

Stream: Netflix · Netflix Standard with Ads
Physical: Amazon UK

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