Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Jxbinha
Only Yesterday was a much quieter and slower movie than I expected. It's not the kind of story with a huge plot or dramatic events happening every few minutes. Instead, it feels like you're simply following someone's life and watching them reflect on the person they were and the person they've become.
I liked the contrast between Taeko's childhood memories and her adult life. There is something very nostalgic about the way the movie portrays growing up and looking back at small moments that probably didn't seem important at the time, but somehow stayed with you for years.
The countryside setting also gives the movie a very calm atmosphere, which fits perfectly with the story's more reflective tone. It's the kind of film that makes you slow down and just watch the characters exist rather th…
Read at the sourceSpider-Mate_MSA
Strolls In Memory Lane
I was debating between a 4.5 or 5 star rating for this movie, but it has 100% earned its 5 stars. I'm a sucker for life story movies, what can I say?
This movie was surprisingly much more existential than I thought it would be, having the main character wander through memories of her past that shaped her as a person for better or worse. Reconciling with her past becomes an unintentional main goal for her as she goes about her vacation in the countryside and it's heartbreaking to see her wonder about what her life could've been if things were different, despite how calmly she shoves aside any conflict she might've felt about it. Her calm nature is her biggest weakness, making even the worst of memories seem so harmless, which is something I've seen get lost on a lot…
Read at the sourcejay_quelin
Isao Takahata never misses when it comes to these SoL Ghibli titles. This is the story of a Tokyo woman who goes on a 10-day vacation in the countryside. 27-year-old Taeko hopes to visit her sisters' in-laws for the Safflower picking season. During that time, memories of her 5th grade self suddenly come back to her. From the time she had her first pineapple, to the time a boy had a crush on her, it seems that Taeko's 10-year-old self is coming along for the ride. The great thing about Isao Takahata movies its groundedness in nostalgia and reality. This film tackles childhood experiences the way many of us did. During her time at Yamagata, Taeko constantly finds herself remininscing about certain experiences she had during 5th grade. It also deals with a lot of sensitive topics surrounding…
Read at the sourcezettai-jin-stray
I get what critics mean when they call this a propaganda film, the very flatly framed shot of Taeko’s workplace in the first scene seems to hint at this directness. Certainly it’s a film with less tact than Miyazaki at theming groundedness, and that’s clear from how little dialectic there is in the adult scenes. There’s a dramatic point reached in the stark rainy scene in the car that perhaps leaves a question with mystery concerning a continuity with Taeko’s behavior in the past and how she will live. But other moments like the Puma girl have a more certain resolution.
It’s a nostalgia film but it is not dominated by memories of childhood cheeriness like Totoro. A time of brattiness and struggle in school studies, of when fathers slapped their children, a culture reserved to facilitate t…
Read at the sourcemaya_kotori
Only Yesterday was a really beautiful film, even if it felt a bit too calm for my usual taste. The pacing is slow and very reflective, which isn’t something I normally go for, but somehow it still managed to pull me in. The atmosphere is soft, nostalgic, and full of quiet moments that make you think about your own life, childhood, and the choices that shape who you become. Even though it wasn’t the most exciting movie for me, I still appreciated how sincere and touching it was. The animation is lovely, the emotions feel real, and the whole story has a peaceful charm. Overall, I’d give it an 8/10 calm, gentle, and surprisingly beautiful.
Read at the sourceelumizu
Only Yesterday presents a reflective slice-of-life drama that explores memory, adulthood, and the quiet process of understanding oneself. The story follows Taeko Okajima, a 27-year-old woman working in Tokyo who decides to take a short vacation in the countryside to help relatives harvest safflower crops. During the train ride and throughout her stay in the rural village, Taeko begins recalling vivid memories from her childhood as a fifth-grade student. These memories gradually surface in fragments such as school friendships, family expectations, awkward moments of growing up intertwining with her present-day experiences in the countryside. The narrative moves between past and present, allowing Taeko’s younger self to coexist with her adult perspective. Her childhood recollections reveal f…
Read at the sourcexmrzS
"This Anime Is Just a Woman Remembering Her Childhood… and Somehow It Shattered My Soul"
Okay listen – if you told me an anime about a 27-year-old woman going to the countryside to pick safflowers (yes, safflowers) would leave me sobbing on my couch like a child who just dropped his ice cream, I’d call you insane. I mean, seriously, what the hell is that premise? Sounds like Ghibli accidentally adapted a diary entry.
But then I watched Only Yesterday (Omoide Poroporo).
And dude. DUDE.
I wasn’t ready.
"It’s boring!" – said no emotionally developed person ever
Yeah, on paper it’s slow. Painfully slow if you’re used to flashy shounen fights and over-the-top screaming (no judgment, I love those too). But here? Nothing explodes. No demons. No giant robots. Just...a woman. Her memories. A trip…
Read at the source1stDecame4Danime
This movie has a shallow plot about a SoL coming-of-age child's story which thrusts all the worst possible things together. It also presents shallow and cringey kiddy romance to pointlessly parallel the shallow excuse of romance that the mc falls into as an adult. Of course neither plot actually goes anywhere. The lack of plot makes it hard to find any of it interesting, and even the art/music is unremarkable.
In actuality, the movie is an excuse for preaching of city bad, farming good. Follow traditionalism, be good worker, get married, be a stay at home mother like everyone tells you to, etc.
This is among the worst Studio Ghibli movies in my opinion.
1/10 (where 5/10 is average)
Read at the sourceMidniteAndBeyond
I was expecting the pineapple scene to be 10 times longer with how much I've heard it being memed on over the years.
I know a lot of people hate this one, but I thought it was ok. Definitely could've been shorter, but I actually really liked the whole layout of the film; looking back on childhood events, longing for simpler times and mourning the loss of what could have been, however small it may be in retrospect. Sometimes the smallest things take up the biggest space in our hearts, and I could definitely recall moments where I was feeling the exact same way that Takeo was, throughout the film. It's a very simple, quiet film and I can definitely see people being bored with it. I guess it's all just a matter of what you've personally been through with your life. For Ghibli standards, it's…
Read at the sourceTheWiseChampion
It’s touching and heartwarming, but then it ended rather suddenly and left much to be desired. The animation is lovely to look at, but the story and characters were so hollow. It’s got this somber tone like someone died, but really she’s just reflecting for 2 hours on her “horrible” childhood. To be honest it felt rather plain, which may have been the point for her reflection, but there really wasn’t much being conveyed. The flashbacks and the present in how they were stitched together seemed very disconnected. There were parts that I found funny, parts that I cringed at, and parts that I felt something all due to how relatable it was, but there’s also a lot of fluff that made it a total bore. It’s a very inconsistent 2 hours that I thought would lead somewhere but then the credits started…
Read at the sourcebergars
Man, that's the kind of movie I needed from Ghibli.
There's this melancholy about the film, about growing older, with the most founding memories being from your youngest days. A woman reminisces about her life as a bratty kid that didn't know of her fortune, and misfortunes; of her dismissive parents, her educational, and emotional disconnect from people. It feels larger than life, while being just about one person with a common childhood. Life's problems aren't always because of past problems, but the lack of anything else after them. Nothing stood out, nothing has stood out afterward, but then, what's there in the future?
This is a movie that truly explores the harshness of being an adult in cahoots with moving forwards. A small rite of passage, a little holiday to remind her of what s…
Read at the sourcebboy_X
When thinking about the past, we often either exaggerate or ignore certain aspects. Whether that’s dramatizing a petty event, or waxing poetic about receiving a participation trophy. It’s hardly intentional, it’s just a fault of our minds amassing so much information over time that certain life events may get foggy. However Only Yesterday does none of that, it harpoons the most uncomfortable, tragic, and awkward situations of our childhood. And yet it displays the beauty of separating yourself from your trauma and how to utilize it to evolve as a human. So how does ‘Only Yesterday’ manage to portray and vindicate my adolescent self like no other film has before?
The story follows a woman named Taeka who goes on a trip to her extended family's organic food farm and on the way reminisces ov…
Read at the sourceYaroster
Truly no one quite masters Slice of Life like Takahata does, and I believe this is why he is my favorite Ghibli director so far. Great scenery, realistic personalities and movement of characters in a relatable environnement, Omoide Poroporo makes you feel like you're watching while at your grandparents' in the countryside.
In many ways, this is one of the most communicative films from Takahata, although it is consistent with his common themes -- family, the beauty of nature and simple things. It makes you nostalgic of a time long gone although admittedly none of us probably lived through the sixties or understand its references, but even then Takahata manages to make the story simple enough to be understood by all. Let us review all of this in detail.
Story (7): The story isn't anything…
Read at the sourceNyyai030
Man has always been inclined to talk about himself, and personally you will find me talking about myself and what philosophy, art, books, poetry, movies and beauty in general mean to me.
You may also find some people inclined to talk about others, it may be in a positive direction, including talking about politics, economics, currency conditions, studies, clothes, the job market, the mall, or more personal matters and what falls within the scope of gossip.
All films in general and our conversation, as the films translate our speech and thoughts, were centered around the duality of despair and hope, misery and happiness. But have you ever seen a film that does not talk about the above? We always strive to write something that seems noble and purposeful. But why does no one talk about ordina…
Read at the sourceAchillesWarrior
This is a story about a girl's life in the 1980s, where we get flashbacks to her life as a 5th grader, from where we learn her origin and deeper story. The story is 'good,' and the art is also 'good' but the bewitching part that most often is at the start of movies or longer anime series is not present. Therefore it would be somewhat difficult to get attached to it at the start.
This movie was released in 1991, which is impressive for how good it is. But even so, I would still point out the faces in this anime, especially of Taeko Okajima. When the added facial expressions become visible when she smiles, I somewhat become timid of her, because of the fast face shift, it looks like wrinkles appear. Therefore it looks like she aged from a young woman in her late twenties to a 40- or 50-yea…
Read at the sourcekekekeKaj
"Memories Falling Like Tears" - this is a more literal translation of the title of Studio Ghibli's classic anime "Omoide Poro Poro", better known as "Only Yesterday" in English. Having finally got around to watching it, I was left with a couple of burning questions: "why the heck did I take so long to get to this" and "how did they manage to pick such a lacklustre English title?"
While the Japanese title comes off as a tad overdramatic, there are obvious cues that could have been taken from its encapsulation of the narrative structure of the film as well its potential to pain a vivid, poetic image which "Only Yesterday" completely fails to capture.
What this film should have been called is "Memories Falling Like Raindrops".
"Omoide Poro Poro" drops in on the life of Taeko Okajima who…
Read at the sourceErsbon
Despite often being one of Ghibli's less discussed releases, Only Yesterday surprised me with its beautiful insight into how seemingly unimportant childhood experiences can linger well into the age of adulthood. Taeko Okajima is a woman who, much like Spike Spiegel, has her vision split between the past and present. Bright, pastel memories often intrude upon the dark, rich colors surrounding her, constantly drawing parallels between the small moments that have shaped her and the unremarkable city life she now occupies. Much like Taeko, I often look back at my childhood self as a separate person, yet all the same, I can still feel the emotions of years past flood out as if they were fresh in my mind. Only Yesterday is in no way a story of whimsy, excitement, or danger. Rather, it challenges…
Read at the sourcelamaraptor
Minor nitpick to start off is the fact that this is one of those anime where the title was overly localized for seemingly no reason, completely changing it's meaning. It's slightly understandable as "Poroporo" is some Japanese onomatopoeia and doesn't have a direct translation, but I prefer the alternate title "Memories Like Falling Rain Drops" or hell even just "Memories of Yesterday" is more clear than the almost intentional vague "Only Yesterday."
Pointless nitpicks aside I thought this was an awesome movie. Somehow it manages to perfectly encapsulate the feeling of childhood in nearly universal terms. I can say that pretty confidently, because while I've never once been a Japanese elementary school girl I was still able to identify with nearly all of those flashbacks in some way. Obvi…
Read at the sourceKillua55
I should really get used to Ghibli's movies giving you a big twist at the very end of the movie. You would be watching more than one hour of it without any clue to the upcoming excitement. And this is something i truly admire. I feel this is the best portrayal of a slice of life things. You would be doing what you do for a very long time, and then comes that moment out of where that is ought to change a whole lots of things for you.
I watched this movie for the peaceful vibes it gives since i am kinda stressed with my studies.However, it turned out to be a great journey of self-exploration. The flashbacks from childhood, her small talks with Toshi and Rie and her introspection are splendid elements that made this movie a rewatchable gem. Taeko is really a character that gives careful thin…
Read at the sourceDuckielover151
I once described Whisper of the Heart as 'okay, just kind of boring.' Little did I know, Only Yesterday was eyeing me from the corner of the room thinking, "Pfft. You ain't seen nothing yet." Yay, farming.
In all seriousness though, I think this movie is a good example of how sometimes a movie isn't necessarily bad... it's just not interesting. And for some people a bad movie IS a boring one, but there's a lot I can appreciate about Only Yesterday. Everyone's cheeks looked a little off-putting when they smiled, but the artwork was beautiful overall. She grew up in a different culture and a different time, so a lot of things weren't exactly relatable, but Taeko felt very real. I am also someone who has vivid memories of ordinary childhood events that I like to occasionally go back and rev…
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