The Tale of Princess Kaguya

Despite being a huge fan of Studio Ghibli, their more recent films are ones that I had never had the opportunity to see before. I really loved what I had seen of the movie in class, and took note to take an opportunity to try watching it on my own sometime. When Isao Takahata’s passing had been announced, there was no excuse for me not to watch it. The Tale of Princess Kaguya was the Ghibli co-founder’s last film as a director and I wanted to honor him in some way. The movie was beautifully done with the narrative and the choice of having the film appear watercolor-esque. I have a strong bias towards older Studio Ghibli films that I had grown up with, especially Spirited Away, but after fully watching Princess Kaguya I can confidently say that it’s one of my all time favorite Ghibli films. It was such a bittersweet and beautiful film, and I love it despite its unhappy ending. The absence of a happy ending was another surprise to me, but I don’t think I’d have the story any other way. It conveyed serious themes and messages that audiences of all ages could learn to understand.