The Wind Rises

“the wind rises! we must try to live!”  i LOVE studio ghibli, but i’ve been avoiding this film for a while because i knew that it was going to tug at my heartstrings… and boy, was i right.  the score was phenomenal, as well as the animation. this may possibly be my favorite score in a ghibli film yet (out of the ones i’ve seen, at least). each time music played it was so incredibly beautiful… i can’t even put it into words. chills all around.  i love the way that this film explores the morality of love, creativeness, and war. it was beautifully done in my opinion.  i also enjoyed the slow pace of the first half of the film and how it really focused on jiro and his character. we saw him go through many stages and change, but at the core, he stayed the same. the second half hit like a bag of bricks, as nahoko was reintroduced. nahoko brought the life back into jiros life as the life faded from hers. however, her illness didn’t stop her from loving jiro, and it didn’t stop him from loving her. i think that they saved each other, really, and that she taught jiro how to live again, and he gave her a reason to live for as long as she possibly could. truly heartbreaking. the ending really got me whenever he realized all of the terrible things that his creation was used for… yet he focused on the bright side of it, and continued to live, despite the horrors. it was a bittersweet breath of fresh air at the end.  i can’t believed i waited so long to watch this film. :,) i’m going to go on a deep dive of the real life of jiro horikoshi now