Many of you, I hope, have heard of Studio Ghibli. And if not, YOU GON' LEARN TODAY.

See this man? This sweet old codger? He's probably the greatest animation director of all time. Since 1963, he's directed and illustrated movies like Spirited Away and Princes Mononoke and his most recent (and sadly his last) The Wind Rises. So much of what he does is beautiful and the fact that less than 10% of his movies are CGI (the rest is hand-drawn animation) is beyond impressive. He's a simple, deeply traditional, and affected individual who garners a lot of respect. But the reason I'm so inspired by him is mainly his movies.

Last summer, I went out and watched every single one of his movies. From Howl's Moving Castle to that weird one with the raccoons, I watched everything he made. I can't express how beautiful and pure every single one of them turned out to be. "Magical" may not be the right word, but it's the first one that comes to mind. I wouldn't mind discussing every movie, but since nobody has time for that, I'll just list a few of my favorites.

Howl's Moving Castle

God,this movie was perfect. It had the perfect romance, themes, setting, everything... The main character is plain and sweet and has an adorable voice and you just fall in love with her in the first 5 minutes. And Howl; I've gotten past the part where I'm ashamed for being attracted to an anime character. He's fine. But more importantly, in the movie, there's a war going on and the monarchy wants all of its magicians to pledge their loyalty to the king, but Howl doesn't want to go. Miyazaki has a brilliant way of illustrating the war, showing just how devastating it is and exaggerating the cold, metallic, terrible nature of war machines. It's simply breath-taking and absolutely adorable.

Grave of the Fireflies

Just sadness. That's it. Beautiful, tragic sadness. Have fun dying inside!!

The Wind Rises

WORDS CAN'T EXPRESS HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS MOVIE. MY INCOMPREHENSIBLE LOVE FOR IT. I saw it in theaters and I happy-cried. It gave me chills. It was simply elegant in everything. It also was really meaningful because it's set in the 1930's in Japan, a time where Japan was dirt poor and struggling to keep up with other countries when it came to technology, weapons, and airplanes.

Kiki's Delivery Service

Adorable and inspiring. Like the main character, Kiki, I recently left home, but I would love to have had her experience. She settles in a beautiful town and meets a sweet pregnant lady, takes up residence in her attic, and helps with the bakery. She soon starts up her own business delivering packages on her broom stick, and, watching this movie, I thought "that's what I want." To be truly free and see a bright future ahead, not being bogged down by college, loans, jobs, and other concerns that normal people face when they're young and on their own. Wherever Kiki went, she was extraordinarily polite and sweet, and when she lost her way, she found it again through discovery and adventure. To me, this is beautiful.

(Of course, there are many more movies I didn't have time to fit in but still have my heart; SPIRITED AWAY - everyone's childhood and a downright masterpiece, Princess Mononoke -badass savage princess, Castle in the Sky - amazing soundtrack, My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo, Up on Poppy Hill, Whispers of the Heart, Only Yesterday, Secret World of Arriety, etc...)

In addition, I admire how Miyazaki makes no attempt to hide his political and social views and uses his films to make people see issues in the world. He addresses pollution, war, tradition, hatred, nature, and many other important topics in a way that turns it into both entertainment and a statement. And as a bonus (and also a main point), most of his protagonists are strong, independent, kind, and female, which is basically everything that I strive to be.

So I don't care if you're one of those people who will avoid something just because it's anime; every minute you go on in life without seeing his movies is a minute wasted. They're the loveliest movies in existence and very important. Now go watch them!