I don’t know why you’re getting downvoted for your opinion.
Personally, I don’t think you’re wrong, but that’s also not really the point of the movie. It’s not trying to make a spiritual world with hard rules per se. It’s more about growth and uses the spirits to set the stage for conflicts for the main character to overcome (with the consistent stake of losing herself/her identity)
Like many studio ghibli films, it’s about facing pivotal times in our lives and overcoming fears so we can better face the challenges of everyday life.
My neighbor Totoro has the kids moving to a new place and dealing with a sick parent, spirited away is about moving to a new city, whispers of the heart is about first love and how to decide what to do with your life, Kikis delivery service is about heading out into the world. In many of these movies, the fantastical is used to present these challenges in a more approachable way, but the “stakes” are almost always internal and personal.
I don’t get his criticism for inconsistent world building. Like you said, it lacks hard rules because it is based on Japanese folklore that is mostly mysterious in its inner workings, but it doesn’t mean it is inconsistent.
Like many any media tied to a specific culture, it assumes a familiarity with the culture - in this case shinto beliefs and japanese folklore. If you’re unfamiliar with those things then a lot of the rules and situations seem to be random and come out of nowhere.
A similar scenario would be like watching Scream or Scary Movie without having seen the movies they make references to. You might still enjoy the movie, but without the context of the films they satrize/parodize you won’t fully appreciate what the movie is doing.
It makes it an understandable criticisim, accesibility of a movie is a valid complaint. However, I don’t think it’s one that necessarily reflects on the quality of the movie, but rather is a warning about who will appreciate it.
I think familiarity affects how much it meets your expectations, not necessarily how consistent the world building is. Saying it is inconsistent either means the guy doesn’t understand what inconsistent means or they think only things that meet their expectations can be considered consistent.
I don’t know why you’re getting downvoted for your opinion.
Personally, I don’t think you’re wrong, but that’s also not really the point of the movie. It’s not trying to make a spiritual world with hard rules per se. It’s more about growth and uses the spirits to set the stage for conflicts for the main character to overcome (with the consistent stake of losing herself/her identity)
Like many studio ghibli films, it’s about facing pivotal times in our lives and overcoming fears so we can better face the challenges of everyday life.
My neighbor Totoro has the kids moving to a new place and dealing with a sick parent, spirited away is about moving to a new city, whispers of the heart is about first love and how to decide what to do with your life, Kikis delivery service is about heading out into the world. In many of these movies, the fantastical is used to present these challenges in a more approachable way, but the “stakes” are almost always internal and personal.
I don’t get his criticism for inconsistent world building. Like you said, it lacks hard rules because it is based on Japanese folklore that is mostly mysterious in its inner workings, but it doesn’t mean it is inconsistent.
Like many any media tied to a specific culture, it assumes a familiarity with the culture - in this case shinto beliefs and japanese folklore. If you’re unfamiliar with those things then a lot of the rules and situations seem to be random and come out of nowhere.
A similar scenario would be like watching Scream or Scary Movie without having seen the movies they make references to. You might still enjoy the movie, but without the context of the films they satrize/parodize you won’t fully appreciate what the movie is doing.
It makes it an understandable criticisim, accesibility of a movie is a valid complaint. However, I don’t think it’s one that necessarily reflects on the quality of the movie, but rather is a warning about who will appreciate it.
I think familiarity affects how much it meets your expectations, not necessarily how consistent the world building is. Saying it is inconsistent either means the guy doesn’t understand what inconsistent means or they think only things that meet their expectations can be considered consistent.