In the end, Anna’s outsider status telegraphs the ultimate connection between her and Marnie, but also adds a cultural dimension rarely seen in mainstream Japanese movies. Marnie appears non-Japanese in appearance and name, but Anna is more ambiguous in both regards she has a particularly strong reaction when another girl compliments her on her pretty, 'foreign' blue eyes, reinforcing her sense of isolation despite the kind intent.

Unlike many Ghibli movies, however, Yonebayashi grounds the movie firmly in real-world Japan, making some interesting decisions in adapting the characters’ ethnicity.

When Marnie Was There is based on the book of the same name, which was written by British author Joan G. Less successful are the occasional gaudy CGI embellishments and depth-of-field effects, which don’t do anything but distract from the artwork. Whether it’s Anna slightly quickening her pace to avoid having to talk to a stranger, or the way her eyes fall and shoulders drop slightly when a relative joins her on a solo errand, Yonebayashi’s direction nails what it feels like to be a kid who just wants to be left alone - making Anna’s eventual happiness at building a friendship with Marnie all the more moving. Studio Ghibli’s unparalleled artistry and attention to detail are in full effect here, as the animators’ painstaking efforts to capture the nuance and emotion in simple human actions pays off once again. But the connection between them proves so strong that Anna is loath to break it over her uncertainty whether Marnie actually exists. There’s something otherworldly about Marnie - Anna has seen a girl like her in dreams before, and at first doubts whether she’s a real person at all. Marnie takes a deep interest in Anna right from their first meeting, and her non-judgmental nature helps Anna open up to someone for the first time. That all changes when Anna comes across Marnie, an ethereal blonde girl living in a strange mansion across a marsh.

Studio Ghibli’s unparalleled artistry is in full effect The seaside setting is beautiful, but Anna doesn’t get along with the locals any better than she did in Sapporo, preferring to sit by herself and draw. Anna is a troubled 12-year-old girl living in Sapporo, and after she suffers an asthma attack, her foster parents send her away to breathe clean air with relatives in rural Hokkaido. When Marnie Was There opens in the tradition of similarly subdued Ghibli movies like Only Yesterday and Whisper of the Heart, placing its main character in a hyper-detailed, authentic depiction of a modern Japanese city.

When marnie was there house