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The Yamadas are an ordinary suburban family that enjoy shopping together, watching TV together, and sharing meals just like anyone else. Or so we think! With grumpy grandma Shige wisecracking at the worst times, and Mummy and Daddy Yamada testing each other’s patience at every turn, no family moment ends without a fascinating mishap. But nobody chooses their family, so the Yamadas must learn to savor the joys, forgive each other’s mistakes and, above all, learn lessons that only make them stronger.
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Meet the Ghiblies. Designed from the ground up to reflect the wonderful and talented people behind the famous Studio Ghibli, they have volunteered to let the light shine on the behind-the-scenes workings of their work and personal lives. Follow them as they decide where to eat lunch! Laugh with them as they reveal their inside jokes! Feel their pain as they remember their first love! Witness their many hidden talents! Be shocked as they perform hedonistic dances in their underwear! Find solace in their good deeds! And through it all, remember that these are the minds that have changed the face of anime as we know it!
These two Ghibli works have a similarly cutesy animation style. They also posess the same combination of humour and classically Ghibli slice-of-life. I found Yamadas to be a wonderful mix of both while Ghiblies is mediocre in its comedy yet shines in its slice-of-life elements; but if you liked one you may well enjoy the other.
Both Ghiblies and my Neighbours the Yamadas are slice-of-life tales about what happens within a certain environment. While both are somewhat different, Ghiblies being set in the workplace and consisting of two shorts, and Yamadas about family life and a full-length movie, both share a similar tone. Both anime make the most of comedic situations of everyday life. Try one if you like the other.
Ghiblies and My Neighbor the Yamadas both utilize an episodic structures and simple animation style in order to explore the life of its characters. Both are rather humorous works that tackles somewhat serious issues with a lighthearted nature and are good for an easy viewing.
Taeko Okajima lives a nondescript life in Tokyo performing office duties in the day and then coming home in the evening to listen to her mother’s remarks on the phone about her unmarried status. In a bid to escape the monotony, Taeko decides to visit the countryside she once loved as a child and spend time on a safflower farm run by relations of hers. But her journey awakens memories she thought she had long abandoned, and Taeko must once again decide the kind of person she truly wants to be.
Each of these films involve themselves in charming slice-of-life involving an ordinary Japanese family, complete with the rather distant father who reads the newspaper over the table - with occasional bursts of animated ingenuity. Both My Neighbors The Yamadas and Only Yesterday were produced by Studio Ghibli and directed by Isao Takahata, and have a strikingly similar feel. Only Yesterday actually has a plot, and ultimately focuses on one character - while Yamadas is a plot-less anthology about the whole family - but fans of the quiet pace of one will much appreciate the other.
My Neithbours the Yamadas has far more comedy and an eccentric watercolour picture book concept, while Only Yesterday is a stunning composition of hand-drawn cels, but they tend to leave the viewer with the same wistful and uplifted feeling. Both are directed by Isao Takahata so expect the same attention to detail in characterisation and equally realistic anecdotes. Generally, if it’s more homely and cute slice-of-life you’re looking for, then try one after the other.
Rumic's Theater is a collection of 13 stories by Rumiko Takahashi, who is also responsible for such things as Inuyasha, Kimagure Orange Road, and Mermaid's Forest. While each story has its own tone, the focus tends to be based upon marriage, death, apartments, or general quirky situations and experiences. Sarcasm and mixups abound in this entertaining series.
Both of these anime deal with (mostly) normal situations that the average person should be able to identify with. Some are funny, some are sad, some are very heartwarming. I believe if you liked those qualities watching the Yamadas, you should definitely give Rumic Theater a try.
In the future, all facets of society are tied into OZ, a virtual world inhabited by millions of users. Kenji, one of OZ’s moderators, was set to begin another typical summer when the lovely Natsuki asked him to accompany her to her hometown as a job. However, little did Kenji know that the 'job' entailed pretending to be Natsuki’s fiancé in front of her eccentric family! Now on display and feeling like a fish out of water, Kenji tries his best to fit in with Natsuki and her relatives, until one day he receives a mysterious math problem through a text message. As an avid math fanatic Kenji can’t help but try to solve it, unaware that his actions may jeopardize not only OZ, but also the entire world...
My Neighbors the Yamadas and Summer Wars are both family friendly films, showcasing the humorous oddities of modern-day Japanese kin. While Summer Wars, an epic sci-fi adventure, gained much commercial success, My Neighbors the Yamadas was a box office flop that took a much quieter pace on family themes. Both shows focus on the complex relationships of a traditional Japanese clan/family, and the often dysfunctional, chaotic lives they lead. There are subtle, entertaining interactions between these shows’ down-to-earth characters (each with their own quirks and personalities). If you liked the heartwarming, charming appeal of either film, check out the other.
The family dynamic viewed in a humourous and quirky manner. If you like Summer Wars for its characters and the interplay between them, then you'll like Tonari no Yamada-kun (and vice versa).
This is the story of a typical family in Japan and their typical lives. Made up of a father, a mother, a brother, and sister Mikan, the Tachibanas always find themselves in the midst of various and wacky misadventures. Whether it's Mikan and her mother going on a frustrating shopping trip, debating the merits of a high-class bento, trying out new exercise devices or convincing mother to buy a new air conditioner, there's never a dull day in the life of the Tachibanas!
My Neighbor the Yamadas and Atashinchi are two peas in a pod. Both revolve around a chibified family's daily life, and all of the cute, sweet, and whimsical things that happen throughout each day. I have no doubt that if you liked one, you'd like the other.
