Review of Castle in the Sky (1986) by Thefieldmarshal — 21 Aug 2020

To be completely honest, this is the best movie I have ever seen. I am not exaggerating! It is truly the best of the best. The reason that Studio Ghibli was so successful and is still the "Disney of Japan" is Castle in the Sky. Not only was it the first Ghibli movie, but in my opinion, the absolute best.

There is something about Castle in the Sky that makes it very different from Hayao Miyazaki's other movies. The feeling that flows through you is not the same feeling you get when watching Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, or anything. It is a deep, warm feeling from the inside, that is impossible to put into words. Only after watching it would you understand what I mean. When I first watched this movie, I didn't think it would be anything special at all. That is until I got to the opening credits. The theme song combined with the animation completely blew me away. The first Miyazaki movie I watched was Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, which was amazing but did not impress me nearly as much. A few days later I was scrolling through Netflix and came upon Castle in the Sky (at that point, I did not know that it was a Studio Ghibli movie). I decided to watch it, after all, there was nothing to lose. After some of the best two hours in my life, I went to bed astonished and completely dumbfounded. Even now, it is impossible to explain what it felt like. If I could, I would give this movie a 1 trillion stars. Unfortunately, ten is the max. :( I highly recommend you to watch Castle in the Sky; you won't be disappointed. There is nothing to lose! Hayao Miyazaki's stunningly great directing and Joe Hisaishi's breathtaking music combined makes this the best movie ever in my opinion. What Mr. Miyazaki did well was to directly control the audience's feelings, which he mastered using Mr. Hisaishi's music. Though I am someone who rarely has emotions (people used to call me "stone-face"), much less feelings when watching movies, Castle in the Sky changed everything. Tears welled up in my eyes when I heard the end song, Kimi o Nosete. Though I don't know Japanese, the feelings conveyed by the words and music are universal. Throughout the movie, you could journey alongside the characters; it feels like you are actually there with them. And the only time I cried when watching a movie was during Castle in the Sky. If that's not amazing, I don't know what is.