My Neighbors the Yamadas

I can't imagine anyone enjoying this very much. Think of a family-based comic strip... say, "Foxtrot". It's like reading a bunch of those. Just barely amusing enough to keep you going, but so empty and trite that you regret the time you spent on it. Noteworthy for its watercolor art (looks a bit like illustrations from a children's book), occasional flights of fancy, and episodic structure. Too bad it's wasted on such uninspired material.

I don't know why anyone would make this a feature-length work. The insufferable tediousness of its everyday insights and occurences grates early on already, but making it an hour and forty minutes is just too, too much.

When I first watched this I already loved the animation style, respected Takahata from doing something different than usual, but found that many jokes didn't land with me, which I than attributed to cultural differences. Now seeing it 8 years later I know it my age/stage in life that kept me from seeing the humor in this charming depiction of the daily grind of a every family's life.

Uh... Didn't get it.

Watchable, and mildly enjoyable, thanks to it's unique animation style, but I'm not sure what kind of audience would like it. It's too simplistic for adults and I can't imagine kids being anything but bored.

Generous, emotionally restrained (but artistically vibrant), gently mocking portrayal of the little heroisms and indignities of regular people. There's definitely some Ozu influence in there, as well as some Tati—and I'm not at all surprised Ghibli's Western audience didn't take to the whimsical and unhurried atmosphere this films exudes, or to its staunch refusal to introduce stakes beyond the ordinary (as opposed to many cinema adaptations of similar source material).

Funny and charming at parts. I just adore anime, especially the good kind.

Easily the worst Studio Ghibli film, FFD's comparison to Foxtrot is exactly on point.

I don't get it...

Rather lovely. Admittedly it absolutely doesn't cope with being feature film length, but watched in a few shorter bursts I found it very enjoyable.

One of my least favorite Studio Ghibli releases. The first half of this loosely connected movie is a blast. It's a fun slightly whimsical look at contemporary Japanese family life. The second part while not horrible just seems to drag.

The line is not worth to be a long-feature animation but the story is whole alternatively showed in a way of japanese life.

Not much of substance going on here - I'd recommend this largely for the unique and interesting animation, and a few highly imaginative sequences. The vignette style means that if a joke doesn't work for you it won't be long until another comes along - but the humor is very gentle, tame, family circus style stuff, and it can't really hold up a film with not much of a developed plot.

Far from what Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke or Kaze no tani no Naushikaa got us used to, this ascetic in form series of short scenes doesn't form a coherent plot. Instead, it's a collection of very accurate minatures from family life. Highly original, but requires a specific mood.

Captures the quotidian of middle class Japanese family life with a breezy comic strip style. Unique and worth watching, but contains no more plot than the interstitial haikus.

As much as I love Studio Ghibli, this movie isn't really my thing. The grandma and the adorable little girl are fun enough characters to make it worth one watch for the staunch Ghibli fanatic, but anybody else can probably skip it without missing much.

Lolcantchooserents+somuchfamcharm+sisleftbehindinmall+otherlostboy+sheleftwithsomeonesheknew+broughthome+remoteblockfightlool+studyharderlool+endingtrailedofflostapoint+lovetheirfamthough

the rough sea / stretching out towards Sado / the Milky Way

Takahata makes dull movies.

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Simple and heartwarming slice-of-life montage, perhaps a little overlong but all the same very enjoyable. The animation is god damn amazing. The comic sketch style, with its rough lines and basic shapes, is pretty unique and completely gorgeous.

neither the stories or the animation are enough interesting to sustain this length. neither of them are interesting at all actually

It takes some time to get used to the structure, but once your acclimatised there's lots here to enjoy even if it's a bit too long. The small narrated sections don't work particuarly well, but when the focus is on the family's dynamic this movie excels. There are moments of charm, slightness and wry whimsy, with a few genuine laugh out loud scenes. The animation is lovely also. It's not substantial or consistant enough to compete with Ghibli's finest, but is a solid addition to the collection.

some of the art is very good but the story kind of put me to sleep

Very unusual work for Studio Ghibli and anime in general. Based on comic strip it retains that visual style and narrative format. These little stories are filled with positive attitude and joy of having a family in both good and bad times. Unlike most other Ghibli works it is not groundbreaking masterpiece, but the warmth it radiates makes it worthwhile and often fun experience.

Basically a series of short vignettes about the everyday life of an ordinary Japanese family. The animation is very simple and sketchlike, but works well in context. I think if they had cut 20 minutes of the lesser scenes it could have been a very tight comedy, but it's still worth watching.

good

The most genuinely amusing comedy I've seen from Japan, Yamadas is a series of little observational sketches, vignettes (because it's based on an episodic manga) about a three-generation family household, adult-oriented but not kid-unfriendly. It's in a scribbly hand-drawn style loyal to the manga, with often a lot of blank paper and stasis, but flourishes of incredible animation reveal Takahata's true skill.

Probably would work better as a selection of short films, but still cute and wryly funny.