The characters at the end are no longer in a place where they can go back to “the way things were” but somehow it’s okay. So there is this pain but in the end it’s ultimately cathartic and you feel joy and hope.
i liked mononoke, but it felt heavy-handed in comparison, so it doesn't rate as highly in my book. it would have rated way worse had disney gotten its way with it.
edit: totoro would be #2, kaguya and grave of the fireflies would be tied for #3/4, then howl's moving castle at #5, then ponyo, mononoke, and kiki's delivery service would be among the remaining top 10 spots for me.
next to Mononoke and Nausicaä, sure
grave of the fireflies is heartwrenching for sure, and absolutely worth watching again (when you have tissues and a loved one to hug nearby).
Ponyo or Totoro would rank much higher for me. Ponyo is really smart in many aspects. The Tomb of fireflies is a terrible and depressing black hole, but maybe a necessary experience. Porco rosso is the opposite, light and very enjoyable.
In any case this article is related clearly with the fact that Mononoke is again broadcasted in the movie theaters just this week.
Here's my list:
1. Nausicaa (Valley of the wind)
2. Luputa (Castle in the sky)
3. Mononokee
4. Porco Rosso (Awesome aviation themed adventure).
i haven't seen nausicaä yet, but all the ghibli films are great (except perhaps arrietty, as noted in a nearby comment). porco rosso was fun and more action oriented than most ghibli films. it's been a while since i've seen castle in the sky but it sits storywise between mononoke and howl's moving castle in my head.
A spoiled young girl must enter as a slave worker in a bath/massage club to repay their parents debt. She must work hard doing difficult and dirt chores while trying to find a way out. He cleans the body of a client plagued from a nasty contamination, and as reward receives a small gift that could help her to be free.
Meanwhile, she treats nicely a shy client and allow him in the building. The client soon gets obsessed with the girl and starts spending a lot of gold to pass more and more time with her.
Yep, is a film for children.
When the rich weirdo realizes is being blocked and distracted by the greedy staff, he has a tantrum, turns in a violent monster and starts destroying the place and eating alive anybody that stands in the path to her.
The girl flees, but finally decides to return to help him, the monster is appeased, they travel together and the character is finally rehabilitated far away from the bathhouse.
After a last chore, finally the girl befriends the madamme and is allowed to go and quit the bathhouse in good terms, see their parents again and keep with their former life. She is ordered to never tell anybody, never look back and forget all about the sordid place. Happy end.
Moral of the history: the solution to child abuse is hide it, never tell to anybody and pretend that nothing happened.
Powerful message for children, yep.