Howl's Moving Castle: The first 2004-year anime movie that I watched

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I can't remember that much about the anime I watched when I was a kid. I was born in the year 2000, and I started watching anime and cartoons during my first and second grades of elementary school.

What I just remembered are some scenes from Dragonball Z, Naruto, Inuyasha, Fairytale, and others (I can't remember). The source where I watch them is when they air on Televesion and on the GMA Network and Abs-CBN.

And thinking about the past, I don't remember if I watched some anime that was aired when I was younger (from my age of 4 and below).

When I was scrolling on my Loklok app to find something that I could watch, I saw this anime movie poster on the list. I thought it was a new anime, but when I searched the title of this anime movie, I was shocked because this anime was aired when I was 4 years old. So, I decided to try watching it to see if the anime back then and today are still the same.

The title of this anime is "Howl's Moving Castle." From what I understand, obviously, it was about Howl's moving castle. That's why the title is Howl's Moving Castle. I am really curious what the castle looks like. What I imagined at first was that the castle looked like the royale's in Disney Princess' castles, and it was moving on its own... or not?

Oh well, the first thing that I noticed when I started watching it was that they don't have animated openings, just like in anime nowadays. They just show the title of the movie; that's it, and they start the story.

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Wait...what? Don't tell me that this is the castle. I don't know, but the castle that I imagined was right—a castle that's moving on its own. But! I didn't expect that the castle would look like this.

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When I first saw the feet part of the castle, I didn't expect that it would look like chicken feet. Oh, okay. But still, the castle, for me, looks interesting
and いいね!

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Whoah! It's so cool when I watch it walk and they show what the castle really looks like. It was made of some old things, like junk shops, but I think what's inside is beautiful. Because I have seen some houses whose design is like this too, the difference is that those province houses may look ugly outside because they are made of bamboo, but when you go inside, they are made of tiles and are nice.

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Omg! The draw, the vibes, and the appearance of everything in this anime movie really look kind of old. It's different from how the artist draws some anime characters now. How can I describe the character and the animation here? The characters in the old animes look kind of flat, like when you draw a person when you are still a beginner, and if you look at the other characters, their appearance looks the same, yet it just changed a little because of their vibe and character in the story.

But I like it! because I am still amazed by things from the past, and I like how the artists before drew and animated the characters. It's simple and looks flat, yet still nice.

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Anyway, what I have noticed in this scene is that it is relatable. I mean, here in our country, the buses and other public transport vehicles may have changed, but they're still the same as this. The conductors are still looking for passengers, even though the space inside is crowded and full. Lol

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I laughed at my own joke when I thought that this scene was an old version of the meme "Are you lost, Baby ghoooorl?"

Ahhh! I feel in love with this guy! I don't know who he is—whether he is a protagonist or an evil one. They drew him really nice and handsome, like a prince.

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Sorry for being dramatic and overreacting, because a character like this is my weakness. Haha Anyway, at first, I was confused about his power. Is he a magician?

His character is very confusing and interesting at the beginning. I don't know if he was the deuteragonist in this anime, because the guy that I saw in the poster doesn't look like him.

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What I have noticed in this scene is the protagonist's sister's make-up look. It was very popular on tiktok right now. The 2000s make-up. I also wanted to try that soon.

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When I saw this woman appear, the first thought that came to mind was that she looked like Ursula in "The Little Mermaid." By her appearance, I think she is the antagonist here.

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Oh! Here is the thing that I am most looking forward to while watching. How's Howl's moving castle looking inside? And when they showed us what's inside, I was amazed because that legendary door is so cool! When you switch the color and open the door, different places will show up!

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At this scene, I can feel the relatable emotion. If it's me too, when I see the mess, even if it's not my house, I will clean it. Because I hate an environment with messy surroundings. Lol

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When the guy earlier showed up and entered the castle, I was shocked because he was Howl Jenkins Pendragon. He is the owner of that moving castle! But why, when he is in the poster, does he look different? I thought he was another character

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And here too. Hahaha

How I wish I could own a house like this too. So I can put my house anywhere. Charought!

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Another thing that I like about Howl's moving castle is his room full of jewels. Imagine, even if your house appearance might look ugly, that your room is full of wealth. Omo. I will just lay on my bed and stay in my room.

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One of the best things that I like about Howl is that he is willing to give everything to Sophie to make her happy and comfortable in life. Despite that, they only meet for a short period of time. He is a green-flag guy! When I watch some anime, the male leads are always green, but in real life, I choose the guys who are red. Toinks!


I won't mention anything else. I liked this anime movie's story. There are a lot of things that I like here, and one of them is the moral lesson of the story, but of course, I won't spoil you more, especially the ending of this movie.

I just shared the easiest part of this anime movie's story. Speaking of story, I think this anime's story is like a story in the book, but then, when I searched for more information about this anime movie, I found that this story was made from the 1986 novel of the same name by British author Diana Wynne Jone.

I guess this is all I can share with you about this anime movie that I have watched. Howl's Moving Castle is available to watch in the Loklok app or on Netflix.

THANKS FOR READING!

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PUBLISHED BY: @xanreo
DATE: April 10, 2024



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6 comments
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When I first watched this as a kid, I was mesmerized by the animation, but I couldn't really understand the story that well. Then, I watched it again as an adult and I was able to appreciate it even more. Howl's Moving Castle is indeed one of the best Ghibli anime there is! :D

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I'm jealous because you watched this when you were still a kid. It's really nice when we watch some old anime, right? Ohhh... So you called this kind of movie Ghibli? Now, I have another word that I learned about anime.

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Ghibli is an animation studio which produced several animated films like Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, Totoro and so on... So, we often call them "Ghibli movies". :)