My Neighbors the Yamadas

My Neighbors the Yamadas, directed by Isahao Takahata, is a Studio Ghibli film most known for its unusual animation style, which actually distinguishes it from all the other pictures released by this renowned studio. Based on a famous Japanese cartoon Nono-chan, it presents random and miscellaneous stories from the daily lives of the Yamada family.

This is a great comedy with a twist for people of every age. It's packed with a huge amount of hilarious gags and situational jokes that will certainly make you laugh lots of times.

Apart from that, these are the two main arguments that should be convincing enough to make you see My Neighbors the Yamadas: the computer-generated animations and drawings made in comic strip style are excellent, giving this Ghibli movie an entirely different feel than all their other works; the whole picture is actually presented in an unconventional manner, as the familiar contiguous plot was replaced here by a series of, so-called, vignettes (short impressionistic stories that aren't necessarily connected to one another), each with its own title at the beginning and a smart philosophical proverb at the end.

In the film's first few minutes we meet all the members of this seemingly typical family: Takashi – the father, Matsuko – the mother, Shige – the grandmother, Noboru – the son, and Nonoko – the daughter. Every subsequent episode covers a different theme, some being hilariously funny and heartwarming, other touching and serious. Through all of the mostly humorous, yet truly realistic, sequences the viewer is able to observe the Yamadas as they cope with every day problems, misfortunes, rivalries, or just plainly ridiculous situations (like fighting over a TV remote, or deciding who will get the tea by playing 'rock-paper-scissors'). Through all of their adventures the viewer is able to get in touch with some of the Japanese traditions and customs.

Every person in the family has his or her special role, making the cartoon much more believable. For example, Shige is the word of wisdom, giving advice to others and judging their actions, and Noboru is mostly seen as a selfish and ignorant studying-addict (which in final evaluation doesn't give planned results).

If I will have to pick only one vignette, which made me laugh the hardest, I would have to go with 'Ginger Morning'. I think you will see why.

All in all, My Neighbors the Yamadas is a laughable, yet purposely clever, and lighthearted, yet sometimes deep, anime that will provide great entertainment for the whole family. I guess that by looking at the Yamadas' experiences we can all learn how to live in perfect harmony with our relatives, replacing minor flaws with passionate love.

Note: since the dubbed version is hard to find, I advise you to watch the Japanese version with English subtitles.

My Neighbors the Yamadas is a wonderful series of short stories based around the misadventures of the Yamada family. Varied in length and tone, you never really know what to expect next. However, while it is indeed a great film, it does have its drawbacks. Chiefly that being the fact that the film is probably too long. Since there is no solid narrative to carry the film through, there isn't a normal sense of pacing, and it can be a struggle for some people to make it all the way to the end in one sitting. Aside from this complaint, the film is still a must see.

Some sequences to watch out for:

The family's young daughter, Nonoko, accidentally gets left behind at a shop while on a family excursion, causing the family to panic. Meanwhile, Nonoko simply waits for them, assuming that her family somehow got lost.

A chase scene in which the father imagines himself as Kamen Rider, the hero of a popular Japanese kid's show.

A scene in which some characters are watching a baseball game on television, and the deceptively simple animation style is used to depict scenes from a real game.

While Miyazaki is the best known (and most successful) of the non-demon-fixated/violent-porn anime directors, his sometime producing partner and fellow Studio Ghibli alumni easily equals him in breadth of vision, commitment to art and passionate filmmaking. And although it's Miyazaki who alone seems to possess the Midas touch of his uniquely innocent, melancholic, optimistic, whimsical sensibility, Takahata has arguably pushed the envelope further back in terms of Japan's commercial animation vocabulary. Witness the neo-realism of Grave Of The Fireflies, fearless indictment of globalisation in Pon Poko, and now this utterly charming adaptation of the popular manga, My Neighbours The Yamadas, rendered in a style new to Anime features, but utterly faithful to the original text.

A series of vignettes rather than one overall plot, it is nevertheless easy to find the running time flying past you as you take in the idiosyncratic characters, semi-bizarre situations (although a moment's thought reveals that your family was probably just like this), and beautiful performances (from animators and voice artists alike), finishing with a sense of the family's strength as a unit through a love for each other that's expressed more through their tolerance of each other's peculiarities than in open declarations of affection. And like Grave Of The Fireflies and Whisper Of The Heart, a popular western song that no one of my generation (20s) would ever dream of listening to seriously is made poignant, rousing and brimming with emotion.

Ten out of ten: films this good are rare.

I do not think this is Studio Ghibli's best film, but I liked it because it was different and it still maintained their charm. I do think though out of the English dubs this is one of the weaker ones. Don't get me wrong the voice acting is fine, it's just that the script as has been said before has many references that some mayn't get. That said, it is a very funny and charming film. The animation is excellent, different in a sketchy sort of style but I liked that, and the music is cool. The story is engaging while working at being simple, and the characters are sheer delights, I can never get enough of the grandma. Overall, not their best but I still really liked it. 8/10 Bethany Cox

My Neighbors the Yamadas is a pleasant series of stories that are loosely connected. It's likeable, but it doesn't feel like one cohesive film. I presume this is much like reading the comic strip the movie came from. While I enjoyed the animation and laughed a few times, this probably would have been better suited for a television series.