I Actually Rather Liked This

Rating: 7/10 (23 June 2015)

When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.
By going through the IMDb Top 250 for every year since 1996, I have had the opportunity to see just about every major Japanese animation of the last twenty years. Most I simple do not care for, not really understanding how such primitive animation is considered revolutionary. The fantasy elements are good, but we need better animation.
This film seems to be the exception. More than any other anime I have seen, "Howl" looks like a professional job, with a great story, fun characters, and rather decent animation. Some of it is still choppy, but it has a more slick look than the others.