Throwback Thursday| Studio Ghibli and Soundtracks

May 17, 2018

Hello loves~ I’m in charge of this week’s Throwback Thursday post~ For once, I kind of put it off to the last minute. The thing is I just had a hard time deciding what I wanted to do my post on. I originally have a schedule and kind of have an outline of my plans for my BAYOG posts. But I just didn’t feel like going with what I originally planned. So I sat on it for a few days trying to come up with something. It wasn’t until I was listening to some music that the idea struck me. So today I’ll be talking about some of my favorite soundtracks from the Studio Ghibli films.

I’m a huge fan of Studio Ghibli. It’s a good chunk of my childhood as well as how I connected with some of my closest friends. I’m sure you’ve all heard of Studio Ghibli and at least one of their films or characters. Studio Ghibli was founded back in 1985 by film directors Miyazaki Hayao, Takahata Isao, and Suzuki Toshio. Miyazaki’s name is probably the most famous and he’s basically highly respected in the animation industry. The animation studio has cranked out some of the most notable and iconic animation films. Their film roster has so many incredible titles that it’d be hard to name them all. Some of their most iconic films (and some of my personal favorites) include: My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, Grave of the Fireflies, and Ponyo. You may also recognize one of their most iconic characters Totoro. He’s basically the studio’s mascot and appears on their logo. Fun fact: He makes a short appearance in Pixar’s Toy Story 3.

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Studio Ghibli’s films are always incredibly beautiful. For me, I really enjoy seeing and appreciating the beautiful art. They always do such a fantastic job with the landscapes and atmosphere.

Studio Ghibli is also amazing at animating food and making you hella hungry. Seriously, there’s always yummy looking food in their films. I always get hella hungry…

However, one of the things I enjoy most about Studio Ghibli films are the soundtracks. The soundtracks are incredibly beautiful as well. To be honest, I typically don’t care for orchestra music. However, I really enjoy and appreciate the music from the Studio Ghibli films. They’re beautiful, whimsical, and are great in drawing you into the world of the film you’re watching. There are so many wonderful music pieces, but here are some of my favorite soundtracks from the Studio Ghibli films.

魔女の宅急便 (Witch’s Delivery Service) /Kiki’s Delivery Service | 1989
海の見える街 (A Town With an Ocean View)

千と千尋の神隠し (Sen and Chihiro’s Spiriting Away)/ Spirited Away | 2001
いのちの名前 (Life Has No Name)

となりのトトロ/My Neighbor Totoro | 1988
風の通り道 (Path of the Wind)

となりのトトロ (“My Neighbor Totoro”)/My Neighbor Totoro | 1988
となりのトトロ (My Neighbor Totoro)

ハウルの動く城/Howl’s Moving Castle | 2004
人生のメリーゴーランド (The Merry-Go-Round of Life)

Also, if you didn’t know, there’s the Ghibli Museum located in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan! I was fortunate enough to go for a bit. It’s really beautiful and a fun way to get lost into the works that Studio Ghibli created. Another fun thing is that they show special shorts that you typically do not get to see. The best thing is that they give you a special “ticket” which has a film strip of one of their movies. But I’ll go more into the Ghibli Museum another time. What are your favorite Ghibli movies?~ My top three would be My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Kiki’s Delivery Service~