I continue to see benefit from my recent efforts to branch out and try new media. I went into Spirited Away (to clarify, I watched the English dub) expecting a masterpiece, and it absolutely met my expectations. The protagonist is a girl named Chihiro, who’s reluctantly moving to a new house with her parents. The family makes a wrong turn and accidentally ends up near a bathhouse for spirits after travelling through a tunnel; with Chihiro’s parents being turned into pigs for eating the food set out for said spirits. The rest of the story centers on Chihiro trying to turn her parents back and get home safely, meeting all sorts of interesting characters along the way.
The first thing that struck me about Spirited Away was the unbelievably good animation; from the very first scene, the movie looks absolutely amazing. The art style is gorgeous, and the characters all have incredibly creative, unique designs that fit their personalities to a tee while helping to convey the bizarreness of Chihiro’s situation. The story itself was also stellar, I got a bit confused at times (eg: why did Lyn mock Chihiro for being human while she looks human herself, what did the river spirit actually give her, and who exactly is no-face?); but I feel it helps put the audience in the same boat as Chihiro, scared and uncertain of what’s going on around her. She also goes through a really compelling arc throughout the film, being kinda annoying and overly timid at the start, but slowly gaining confidence and respect for others throughout; not the most groundbreaking concept, but the execution is top-notch. The movie also seemed to embed some critiques of consumerism; Chihiro’s parents are turned into literal pigs after gorging themselves on food that’s been set out, and she gets on no-face’s good side by rejecting the tags and gold it tries to give her. Overall, it was an unforgettable experience and easily the best movie I’ve watched in 2025 so far (though to be fair, the competition isn’t exactly stiff).