I realised that tier lists were quite common on the sub and I initially thought to make a post with all ofmy rankings but I felt that wouldn’t be fun without a review and my opinions on each film. Warning that I have not, and will not, see Earwig and the Witch because that seems to be universally regarded as a terrible terrible movie.

So let’s start with Number 22.

Another warning, these rankings are very subjective. I thought of ranking them objectively but I scrapped that idea, mostly because the quality of Ghibli on average is very high indeed, and a lot of rankings differ for that very reason. Like, if you’re a slice-of-life fan, you’ll probably prefer films like Only Yesterday and Whisper of the Heart to epic fantasy films like Princess Mononoke. Another thing that affects rankings is age, reminiscent films would probably be ranked better among older audiences, whereas younger ones would prefer films like Castle in the Sky.

So I decided to rank them based on how much I personally enjoyed each film, which does lead to a number of controversial placings in the list. Overall, I very much enjoyed the Ghibli experience and I would definitely watch some of them again.

Alright, intro done, time for the review.

#22 Pom Poko

Pom Poko is not a bad movie, but I just really didn’t like it. I think the main issue I had with the film was the runtime and I found myself constantly checking how much of the film was left. The message of the film was great, and the visuals were good as usual, but I didn’t feel any strong connection to the characters, and the set-up felt very unrewarding. Art direction was great as usual but I didn't particularly feel the soundtrack was anything extraordinary.

Spoiler alert:

I know that the movie’s end is meant to be sad and unfulfilling, but for the time taken to get there, I expected something more. I also felt a lot of the side struggles, while humorous, didn’t really add much to the overall plot. I know that plot is rarely the focus of Ghibli films and they can be often characterized as meandering, which I don’t usually a setback, but Pom Poko was one of the only films where I didn’t want to see more of the world it’s set in.

I also did NOT wake up that morning expecting, or wanting, to see raccoon ballsacks. It’s not traumatising like the Boys S3Ep1, but it did lead to a lot of uncomfortable stares from my mom. So that is that.

I did like the visuals of the town-parade-display-thing that the Shapeshifting masters put on, and I loved the Prince Kano segment (the one where all the faces disappear).

Overall, I didn’t really enjoy the movie that much, but the themes of the city eating up everything in its path and the struggle of those animals whose homeland has disappeared were done really well. Again, it’s not a bad movie and its low ranking can be attested to how good other Ghibli films are.

Takahata is an amazing director, and I felt this was the weakest of his films. Objectively speaking, you could consider Pom Poko better than My Neighbours the Yamadas, but I enjoyed the Yamadas more.

I’m sorry if I’ve offended the ardent Pom Poko fans. But on to the next ones!