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Only Yesterday

Play trailer Poster for Only Yesterday PG 1995 1h 58m Drama Anime Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
100% Tomatometer 63 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
A put-upon 27-year-old Japanese office worker travels to the countryside and reminisces about her childhood in Tokyo and what life could have been.
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Only Yesterday

Only Yesterday

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Critics Consensus

Only Yesterday's long-delayed U.S. debut fills a frustrating gap for American Ghibli fans while offering further proof of the studio's incredibly consistent commitment to quality.

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Critics Reviews

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Roxana Hadadi Chesapeake Family Magazine 08/02/2016
3.5/5
Only Yesterday is one of Studio Ghibli's films aimed primarily at female viewers ... an intentional story that is emotionally honest. Go to Full Review
Peter Bradshaw Guardian 06/02/2016
5/5
There is real artistry here: it is a must. Go to Full Review
David Jenkins Little White Lies 06/01/2016
4/5
A(nother) animated marvel from one of cinema's unsung maestros. Go to Full Review
Josh Larsen LarsenOnFilm 07/04/2025
3.5/4
... gently, but profoundly, explores questions of memory, identity, and purpose. Go to Full Review
Diana Tuova Spotlight on Film 08/12/2024
4.5/5
Only Yesterday is a beautiful, bitter-sweet animation which touches upon such...topics as the “grip” of persistent childhood memories...the benefit of re-discovering oneself in a different setting...and the imperative of letting go. Go to Full Review
JD Duran InSession Film 08/02/2024
A-
Only Yesterday is absolutely beautiful and further showcases the prowess of Studio Ghibli. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Stephen 1h What a beautiful movie. A lot of meaning and different lessons can be found in this movie. I will be rewatching this many times in the future. The artwork was amazing as well. See more Grady 19h Really good movie, was hard to understand the message and follow along with the movie at first, but once you got a bit further in, it started to make more sense. Really liked how this one was more about life and growing up/learning new lessons/realizing new things about oneself, and not all magic like other Ghibli films. See more Roy 2d Awesome story as always from Studio Ghibli See more Jia 2d Beautiful film 10/10 See more Alexander 2d It is very boring. i knew 20 minutes in that this was going to be awful and wanted to leave but i powered through. I can only imagine 2 types of people like this film, some women who really just deeply connect to it emotionally, and film snobs. Most people will be bored I think. Voice acting from the adult characters is really flat. The story is essentially a woman on a vacation thinking about stuff that happened to her in 2nd grade. It is one of those movies that gets praised cause its supposed to be mundane, boring, and realistic. im sure a critique has said something like "it shows the beauty of life through the mundane goings of a girl reminiscing about her simple past". It has several long segments with someone talking about organic farming, so if youre into that then maybe its your movie. See more Nancy P 2d Love Ghibli studios. Love to watch any time on the big screen. See more Read all reviews
Only Yesterday

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Movie Info

Synopsis A put-upon 27-year-old Japanese office worker travels to the countryside and reminisces about her childhood in Tokyo and what life could have been.
Director
Isao Takahata
Producer
Toshio Suzuki
Screenwriter
Isao Takahata
Distributor
GKIDS
Rating
PG
Genre
Drama, Anime
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 23, 1995, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Aug 9, 2026
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 17, 2019
Runtime
1h 58m
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