It’s finally time for My Neighbor Totoro!

I am always looking forward to reaching new milestones with my daughter: first steps, first few words, first plane trip,… Hayao Miyazaki is another one of those milestones.

I love Miyazaki’s work. I like his style, his stories, his portrayal of nature, and the strong female characters in all his stories. My Neighbor Totoro was one of the first animes I saw, and to this day it is still one of my favorites, if not my favorite anime. I think it’s good for adults and kids alike. There’s no macho behaviour, no bad guys, no evil to beat, just two kids growing up and letting their imagination run free. The father isn’t repressing that, isn’t trying to portray ghosts or weird little black things as frightening; he only encourages them to be aware of what’s around them, to explore, to learn, to discover.

I would strongly recommend that you watch My Neighbor Totoro if you haven’t yet. I can guarantee you’ll then want to watch other animes from Miyazaki! :) You’ll then go on and enjoy Nausicaa, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle, and others.

Lili and I also watched Ponyo, but I think we’ll come back to My Neighbor Totoro in the future. She loved both animes, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy watching those again and again. :)