Only Yesterday

Taeko looks back on her childhood days in distant 1966, sorting through her memories as she struggles to make a difficult decision about her future.

A detailed, exquisitely drawn Studio Ghibli film about the nuances of growing up as a girl — markedly different from the works on similar themes by Takahata’s famous colleague, Hayao Miyazaki.

At the time of its release, the film was considered a pinnacle of Japanese animation for its unprecedented realism in depicting facial expressions — the subtle movements of lips, eyes, and smiles.