Before this film, the last masterpiece by Takahata Isao at
Studio Ghili is My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999). 7 years later, in 2006, he
began a new animation project which is this film, and everyone had to wait
another 7 years to see his work which was claimed prior to the release date by
Nishimura Yoshiaki (a producer of the film) that this work is "the best
and last" by Takahata. I completely agree with Mr. Nishimura. The film has
a minimalist style taking some resemblance to My Neighbors the Yamadas, but more
colorful, more poetic and picturesque, and more artistically soaring in visual
style. The plot is simple and beautiful. The soundtrack is awesome.
In his career at Ghibli, Takahata has made just 5 animated
feature films for 25 years (including Grave of the Fireflies), roughly a half
as much as Miyazaki Hayao's works (9 films), but as more time went by, the
better and the more creative Takahata has been in making his works. And with
Kaguya, he has reached his highest peak in the life of creation. In my own
opinion, this film is as excellent as Miyazaki's Spirited Away in general: less
symbolic but way visually better than Miyazaki's work.
And like Grave of the Fireflies or Only Yesterday, Kaguya's
ending leaves some melancholy in audiences' mind, though it is so predictable.
Perhaps it's the melancholy not only about the film, but also about a rare gem
in animation which has gone far far away and would never come back, like
Kaguya.