With its brilliant storytelling, stunning visuals, and lovable characters, Studio Ghibli has brought fans joy since its beginnings in 1985. However, that's not to say the studio isn't deft at pulling hard on the heartstrings. Themes like war, loss, loneliness grief, depression, hopelessness, and death are no strangers to Ghibli films and can trickle into the happiest of its stories.
Studio Ghibli takes those most challenging and affecting issues in life and portrays them with heartbreaking, gorgeous realism. Grab a tissue, or two, or the entire box, as we're looking at Studio Ghibli's 10 saddest movies. Please be advised, a spoiler warning is in effect.
Updated by Kristy Ambrose on March 18th, 2021: Studio Ghibli always tells a great story. The vintage movies line many people's shelves right next to more recent features, all of them equally timeless whether they're from the Topcraft days of the 1970s or features from the last few years. There are a grand total of 22 Studio Ghibli movies, not counting other features like collaborations and commercials or the pre-Ghibli days. There isn't room for all of them on our list, and we can't go to the Studio Ghibli theme park, so here are four more moments from Hiyao Miyazaki and his crew that hit us right in the feels.
14 The Memory (Howl's Moving Castle)
Sophie is later transported to an early memory of Howl's and discovers the sad truth about Calcifer.
He was originally a falling star, caught by Howl before he could extinguish upon the Earth. In an act of selflessness, Howl gave Calcifer his own heart, allowing him to live through their bond.
13 The Meow (Kiki's Delivery Service)
Witch-in-training Kiki runs her own delivery business with her talking cat, Jiji. At first, Kiki thrives as she delivers wares on her trusty broomstick, but she soon becomes haggard and drained by her work. She falls into a depression and loses grip on her powers, finding that Jiji can no longer speak to her.
When the once wise-cracking cat lets out a simple meow and stalks away, the viewer knows something is terribly wrong. This moment reminds us of how easy it is to get wrapped up in our work and disconnect from those we love.
12 The Fight (My Neighbor Totoro)
On the surface, it seems like it's impossible for a film this colorful and cuddly-creature-filled to be sad at all. However, late into My Neighbor Totoro, sisters Mei and Satsuki get into an argument over a missed visit from their mother.
Mei doesn't understand why her mother isn't able to visit and, ultimately, Satsuki yells at her younger sibling and storms off. Mei begins to cry at Satsuki's harshness. It shows a contrast between a loss of innocence and the stress of adult responsibility for Satsuki as the older sister and the confusion and loneliness for Mei as the younger sister.
11 The Separation (Ponyo)
Ponyo is Ghibli's loose retelling of The Little Mermaid, with the titular oceanic princess, originally named Brunhilde, pining for the world above. Brunhilde meets Sousuke, who vows to protect her and names her Ponyo. They only get a short time together, with Ponyo declaring her proud love for Sousuke before her father, Fujimoto, takes her back under the sea.
Sousuke clamors after Ponyo only to burst into sobs when his mother, Lisa, pulls him out and away from the ocean. At the same time, Sousuke's father stays out on his fishing trawler after promising to come home. Sousuke comforts his mother, and the two cling to each other in their heartache.
10 Bathtub Heartbreak (Ocean Waves)
There are a few contenders for "worst" Studio Ghibli films, and Ocean Waves definitely gets brought up in that discussion frequently— that is, if people even remember in the first place. This unusual entry into the company's lineup was made on the cheap for television broadcast, and as such, it lacks the visual flair and overall polish of much of their work.
That said, Ocean Waves still has a lot of heart for those that are willing to look past its rough-around-the-edges nature, particularly anyone who experience unrequited young love. There is one particular scene where the character Taku is feeling empty after basically being used by his crush, and we see him feeling sorry for himself alone in his hotel bathtub. It's a very small moment, but an extremely relatable one, and those are often even more heartbreaking than the massive tragedies usually associated with tear-jerking movie moments.
9 The Robe (The Tale of Princess Kaguya)
Told gently in watercolor animation, Princess Kaguya is a magical being from the Moon and is destined to return to it, though she has grown fond of her new home on Earth. At the film's end, Kaguya's race arrives to bring her back to the Moon. One of them drapes an enchanted robe around Kaguya which makes her forget her time on Earth, including her human parents.
Kaguya's parents watch, devastated, as the princess departs. Kaguya's expression opens in realization and she looks back to the Earth with tears in her eyes. The Earth gets smaller and smaller, alone in the ink-black sky, as Kaguya turns her face away.
8 The Politics of Love (Porco Rosso)
"I'd rather be a pig than a fascist." This is the line that reveals our main character isn't some careless hotshot. He's got some deeply held convictions and something to prove. That could be the theme of the whole movie, regret, and guilt along with the hope of redemption, which is inspirational.
Just because we're beautiful and interesting people having a great time doesn't mean that we're going to let the authoritarian governments of WWI Europe keep us down. Even if it means flying into battle and meeting certain death to save our friend, just so he can go home to his lady love and live happily ever after.
7 The Reveal (When Marnie Was There)
Anna Sasaki is a withdrawn, somber girl in a great deal of pain over the deaths of her parents. She has a strained relationship with her foster parents, whom she believes care for her only because of their government paycheck. Over the course of the film, Anna meets and develops a close relationship with the mysterious Marnie.
In the closing act, it is revealed that Anna is Marnie's granddaughter and that Marnie raised Anna after her parents' deaths until her own death. This revelation causes Anna to realize that her parents, grandmother, and foster parents did what was best for her out of love.
6 The Forest Guardians (Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind)
A toxic fungus and legions of hostile insects threaten to destroy the human population, and the main character and her companion end up deep in the forest and accidentally discover the secret of the bugs.
It's not only deeply touching to weep with Nausicaa but at the beauty of this revelation, which is somehow also one of the most beautiful animated scenes you've ever seen using so few colors. The success of Nausicaa was what prompted Topcraft to reorganize and give itself a new name, and we now know them as Studio Ghibli.
5 The Corruption (Princess Mononoke)
Princess Mononoke takes place in an ancient world ruled by animal gods. The gods are at constant war with the greedy humans. In their quest to drive the Deer God out of the forest and take his land, the humans kill three animal gods: the Wolf God, the Boar God, and the Deer God.
It is awful to watch the corruption the iron bullets forged by the humans have caused, killing off the forests and distorting the graceful, majestic animal gods. This moment shows the reality of how far humans are willing to follow the path of their avarice, even if it means the destruction of the pure, the innocent, and the natural.
4 The Rice Balls (Spirited Away)
Perhaps Ghibli's most famous masterpiece, Spirited Away centers on immature, spoiled Chihiro, who is swept into the spirit world while moving to a new home. Chihiro's parents are turned into pigs by the witch Yubaba for breaking the rules of the spirit world, and Chihiro is forced to earn back her freedom.
Haku, a kind but mysterious boy, comforts Chihiro with rice balls and his company. Huge tears begin to roll down Chihiro's face as she eats, realizing that she must be independent, brave, and strong if she is ever to overcome her circumstances. Feelings of inspiration and uncertainty clash together in this scene and paint a sentiment that everyone has felt at least once in their lives.
3 Amalthea Saves the Unicorns (The Last Unicorn)
The Last Unicorn actually predates the formation of the studio by about a year. This was during the Topcraft era but it's still Miyazaki and his Ghibli team behind this Rankin/Bass production that adapted this modern fairy tale for the screen.
There are a few scenes in the third act that reduces us to ugly crying, but the one that makes the list is the one where the Red Bull disappears into the ocean, releasing the imprisoned unicorns. Molly and Shmendrick saw every unicorn in the world at that moment, something that would make them unique from all other human beings for all eternity.
2 The Lost Dream (The Wind Rises)
Based on a true story, Jiro Horikoshi dreams of becoming a pilot, but his nearsightedness prevents him from achieving his goal. Jiro decides that, if he cannot fly planes, then he will design them, becoming the chief designer of many fighter aircraft used by the Japanese in World War II.
In a gritty, dark scene, we see Jiro's designs he had worked so meticulously on have become twisted into weapons of war. The camera pans across a graveyard of fallen planes as Jiro walks among them, his dream laid to waste by the very different ambitions of his fellow man.
1 The Last Meal (Grave Of The Fireflies)
Grave of the Fireflies details the powerful bond between siblings Seita and Setsuko in the last throes of World War II. As the children struggle to survive, Setsuko becomes emaciated and delirious with hunger: sucking on a marble, thinking it is hard candy and rolling rocks, believing she has just prepared rice balls.
Seita hurries to prepare a meal for Setsuko, only to discover that he is too late. After Setsuko has died, Seita clutches her body in his arms as night falls, completely alone in a brutal and very real existence no child should ever have to live through.