To All The (Ghibli) Boys I’ve Loved Before

Men, what’s stopping you from becoming 2D characters? I must know.

Published in

NYU Local

5 min readSep 10, 2020

After getting kicked out of NYU Paris in March, I’ve spent the past six months rotting away at home and doing nothing but watching movies. More particularly, I’ve been watching a lot of Studio Ghibli films and, unfortunately for me, I think I’ve ruined my taste in men forever as I’ve realized that real men can’t compare to the 2D ones of the Studio Ghibli canon.

Without further ado, here are my top ten Ghibli boys.

10. Jiro: The Wind Rises (2013)

Oh Jiro. The kindest boy. All he wants to do is make planes and be with the woman he loves. He seriously deserves more vacations. And he’s dubbed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the English version, so more points for him.

9. Sho: The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)

Poor Sho. He has heart conditions that make it difficult for him to do what other boys his age can do. He spends his time in bed resting up for his surgery, which he’s very cynical about. Enter Arrietty, the Ghibli version of Thumbelina who inspires him to keep living. I’m so proud of him.

Plus, he lays in flower fields all day, reading while petting his cat. A literal cottagecore dream.

8. Tombo: Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)

All Tombo wants to do is fly with Kiki and I think we should let him! His obsession with aviation is so cute (and so valid). And look at the country club sweater he has over his shoulders. It’s a serious fit and I’m not mad at it.

7. Pazu: Castle in the Sky (1986)

Arguably the best hero in all the Ghibli movies. Pazu takes in Sheeta almost immediately after she falls out of the sky and essentially dedicates himself to protecting her. Both of them are orphans so they bond over that. Hello? Shared trauma? Sign me the HECK up.

6. Seiji Amasawa: Whisper of the Heart (1995)

Men, what’s stopping you from checking out every single book at the library to make sure your name is on the cards before your crush’s, thus causing them to constantly wonder who you are; and then when you finally meet them in person it’s only to tease them (because who doesn’t love it when enemies become lovers?), but you quickly become friends after you encourage each other to follow your dreams, and then – to top it all off – you propose to them at the age of thirteen? Quickly.

5. Shun Kazama: From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)

If you ignore the whole part where he’s basically ready to risk it all and commit incest, he’s actually really sweet.

4. Prince Ashitaka: Princess Mononoke (1997)

Princess Mononoke is my favorite Ghibli film for a number of reasons. Prince Ashitaka is about 70% of those reasons. He just wants to maintain peace between humans and nature, making sure that neither side will bring even more blood and destruction to the world. He also just wants to save the environment. He really does it all.

And when he says “you’re beautiful” after San threatens to cut his throat? Poetic cinema.

3. Howl Jenkins Pendragon: Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)

Oh my god. The second his hair turned black my brain short-circuited. I spent the rest of the movie crying over how beautiful he was. Oh my god. He is the most dramatic and romantic of all the Ghibli boys. A literal dreamboat.

2. Haku: Spirited Away (2001)

The first time I watched Spirited Away was in fourth grade and I had nightmares over it. I hated it. I have since changed my opinion. This movie is the best. Haku is the best. He is so emo and does magic and can turn into a DRAGON. What more do you need?

1. Sosuke: Ponyo (2008)

MY SWEET FIVE-YEAR-OLD SON. I want nothing more than to squish his cheeks and give him a hug. Every time Sosuke cries I can feel myself lose years off of my life. He loves Ponyo so much. He is my literal world. I wish him nothing but the best.