My list and I’ll explain more/update later.

1. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
2. Spirited Away
3. Ponyo
4. Pom Poko

Here is the full list of Studio Ghibli movies:

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind – March 11, 1984 | Hayao Miyazaki

Castle in the Sky – August 2, 1986 | Hayao Miyazaki

Grave of the Fireflies – April 16, 1988 | Isao Takahata

My Neighbour Totoro – April 16, 1988 | Hayao Miyazaki

Kiki’s Delivery Service – July 29, 1989 | Hayao Miyazaki

Only Yesterday – July 20, 1991 | Isao Takahata

Porco Rosso – July 18, 1992 | Hayao Miyazaki

Ocean Waves – May 3, 1993 | Tomomi Mochizuki

Pom Poko – July 16, 1994 | Isao Takahata

Whisper of the Heart – July 15, 1995 | Yoshifumi Kondo

Princess Mononoke – July 12, 1997 | Hayao Miyazaki

My Neighbours the Yamadas – July 17, 1999 | Isao Takahata

Spirited Away – July 27, 2001 | Hayao Miyazaki

The Cat Returns – July 19, 2002 | Hiroyuki Morita

Howl’s Moving Castle – November 20, 2004 | Hayao Miyazaki

Tales from Earthsea – July 29, 2006 | Gorō Miyazaki

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea – July 19, 2008 | Hayao Miyazaki

The Borrower Arrietty – July 17, 2010 | Hiromasa Yonebayashi

The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter – Unknown | Isao Takahata

Nausicaa will always be first and favorite in my heart. I saw it when I was 5 or 6. And while I didn’t quite understand it fully it made me profoundly sad. I think it was the first time I felt anything profoundly.

I Love Spirited Away because of how it romanticizes the arbitrary rules of a child’s world. It’s also the first time I really noticed Miyazaki’s attention to detail.

And finally, there is the great love of my life, Howl’s Moving Castle. Of all of the Ghibli characters I identify most with Howl. Mostly his bad qualities.

@nekophilia Cool another Nausicaa fan! Here is my Nausicaa story ..

I actually lived in Japan from the age of about 3 – 5. My parents recorded Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind for me on VHS. I watched it a lot off and on growing up. But I had no subtitles and didn’t speak Japanese but I still loved the movie.

Around they year 2000 I finally got a subtitled VHS tape off eBay and watched it again for the “first time”. It’s a amazing story, amazing art, still holds up to this day very well! I bought the full manga for Nausicaa as well. It’s a very interesting story, I’d recommend it if you want to know more about the world of Nausicaa. A couple years ago my wife got me a Ohmu model kit and I put it together, it’s pretty cool. Comes with Nausicaa and Teto as well. It’s to recreate the sad moment of the movie where the baby Ohmu is put in front of the raging Ohmu herd. I didn’t put the harpoons in though and I made the Ohmu happy instead of filled with rage

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xberserker/2424753945/in/set-72157603384980598/

I’d love to have a bigger one made out of resin or metal for the garden!

As a side note, my wife made this Kodama’s from Clay herself! This was a Christmas present back in 2007.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xberserker/2135332923/in/set-72157603384980598/

I would have made the little Ohmu happy too. I’d probably cry if I saw it hanging out around my house with a harpoon in it.

Your wife sounds pretty cool.