This is the first official review ive ever done and i am pursuing a career in film i will learn and grow as I develop a stronger passion for the media. So enjoy or not. Sound Let me start off by saying this is the best anime dub i HAVE EVER heard. Look at the cast too Christian Bale and Billy Crystal. Every single character sounded like they were full of life unlike the previous ones where it seemed like there was at least ONE flaw in the voice acting before. But this dub voice acting is better than most western media. Christian Bale captured Howls playfulness and sometimes brash attitude at time. As well as Billy Crystal bringing the comedic relief as he always has with his iconic voice. Now that that point is made let me talk about the OST. There is no possible way you can be in the anime community for longer than a year or 2 and not have heard the main theme. Its iconic. Each song played fit the exact tone and emotions when it needed to and the soundboarding was spot on. Story and characters Ghibli has always had gorgeous themes that make us think. Grave of the Fireflies makes you think about how human vs. human conflict always ruin the lives of a 3rd party and to never take life for granted. Princess Mononoke makes you think about how our actions as humanity has different effects on not only other societies but our planet as a whole. Whisper of the Heart makes you realize that its not an outside influence or ambition that makes us who we are or what we want to be its passion for something. This one follows a timid and boring hat maker who offended an evil witch somehow so she was cursed to be an old woman. She then moves into a famous wizards home to be hired as a cleaning lady and through various events they fall in love and live happily ever after. As cliche as that would sound the way they went about it was amazing. Each and every single character in this was flawed and had their own thing going on. They tried to better themselves or capitalize on things to help them. Even the antagonists had their justifiable motives and reasons. Howl by no means was perfect but was a perfect fit for Sophie and vice versa. He was lazy somewhat brash at times vain and he tended to run away from all of his problems despite being SO powerful. His outward image did not match his actual personality. They learned their lessons and tried to be together eventually. To be honest the reason why i brought up the lessons thing was because i couldnt find one in this story. It wasnt a one dimensional story it was an experience in its own right. Visuals I mean its Ghibli with its highest budget yet. Its so lively and fluid but simple and not over the top. If you have ever seen a Miyazaki film you would understand what i mean. Its the best among its genre. Enjoyability While i did not enjoy it as much as Princess Mononoke on just premise and genre alone i did enjoy the animation characters aside from San music and overall upbeat vibe it gave off. Even in the darkest moments there was still an uplifting aura to the story that i couldnt grasp the concept of. The more i watched the more i was immersed into its lore and story. I wish it never ended. Anything that makes me appreciate the craft more and inspires me to do what i love to do is a once in a lifetime thing. This movie made me want to do reviews on a regular basis from now on instead of discussing it with my friends because i love sharing my opinions and seeing other peoples opinions on certain things even if i disagree. What im trying to say is i guess i have a new favorite movie. Highly recommend to anyone who loves fantasy or just inspirational films in general