SPIRITED AWAY REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

When I was younger, I never used to think anime films were any good, despite not watching any but it wasn't until I watched 'The Secret World of Arrietty' (read review here) that I decided to start watching more anime films.

Spirited Away won an Oscar in 2003 for Best Animated Feature and it beat the likes of Lilo & Stitch, Treasure Planet, Ice Age and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, all of which are great films in their own way, but the animation in Spirited Away was flawless. I've always loved the look of anime films, they aways looked equisite. 

With every anime film comes a plot. The plot for Spirited Away focus on Chihiro, a young girl, who has just moved to a new home with her parents. When they are driving to their new home, her father takes a wrong turn and ends up at a tunnel. Chihiro is frightened at first and doesn't want to go through but her parents insist. They find an empty train station and unused theme park. Chihiro's parents think nothing of this and begin to eat some food that they have found. Chihiro, however, is suspicious and looks around. Suddenly, she bumps into a boy who tells her to leave. Unfortunately, when Chihiro goes to find her parents, they have been turned into pigs and soon, she discovers that she is in a world ruled by Gods, witches and monsters and she must find a way to save her parents and get back to the real world before it's too late.

Before watching Spirited Away, I read some reviews and I honestly didn't see any negative ones and I'm not surprised. It is a truly brilliant film with a great mix of characters. Some people may think that anime films are unusual but that's what I love about it; it's weird and wonderful at the same time. I think anime films are like Marmite, you either like them or don't, and, unlike Marmite which I hate, I loved watching Spirited Away. I felt sympathy for Chihiro from the beginning of the film and throughout. She is only a 10 year old girl and she goes through so much in order to save her parents. 

If you're thinking about watching anime films, I'd suggest watching this first, as this will convince you to watch more anime films.

8/10