i think the reason i love studio ghibli as much as i do is because it encompasses everything i love about life. wearing clothes that make you feel young and free that you can run and jump and climb trees in. the sense of peace that only comes from sitting on a train watching scenes move by the in windows, walking through the city at night, reading on a bench. the way there is so much grief and pain and hardship in each movie, and the world being torn apart but in spite of that, there is wholesomeness and warmth in bowls of noodles and dinner with your family and singing loudly without worrying about what your voice sounds like, and if you love someone enough it doesn’t matter that the world is falling apart around you. it’s about romanticising the little things in life, the hot mug of tea, that moment in the streetlight in the rain, the sunrise looking pretty through your little window; and it’s about the quiet, soft, warm moments you share with other people through those. those the things i cling onto in life, the small moments of joy that make life worth living.

I was trying to explain Howl’s Moving Castle to my dad and what I ended up saying was “it’s about a wizard who makes his house walk around to avoid the draft” and that’s simultaneously not what it’s about at all and exactly what it’s about