Only Yesterday (1991)
GKIDS | Release Date: January 1, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
90
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonMay 31, 2016
[A] calm, reflective, gorgeously uneventful slice of nostalgic romance. Read full review
100
Entertainment WeeklyDevan CogganFeb 25, 2016
Only Yesterday may have been released in 1991 and take place in 1982 and 1966, but Taeko’s reflection on girlhood is truly timeless. Read full review
100
The Film StageMichael SnydelFeb 23, 2016
Only Yesterday is unabashedly modest, but in its twin dialogues between the past and the present, and the undying lure of the country and the city, it’s a singularly specific story whose message echoes decades later. Read full review
100
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyJan 1, 2016
Like “Kaguya,” it functions as a highly sensitive and empathetic consideration of the situation of women in Japanese society—but it’s also a breathtaking work of art on its own. Read full review
91
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayFeb 24, 2016
Only Yesterday is animated, but rarely cartoony, in either its design or its storytelling. Read full review
90
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMar 10, 2016
Only Yesterday is a mature work of art, no matter what the genre, no matter what the format, no matter what. Read full review
90
The VergeSam ByfordFeb 26, 2016
It might have come out in Japan in 1991, but you could think of it as a new film — Only Yesterday is truly timeless. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranFeb 25, 2016
Only Yesterday is a realistic, personal story made universal in a delicate way. Read full review
90
The New York TimesNicolas RapoldJan 1, 2016
Mr. Takahata’s psychologically acute film, which was based on a manga, seems to grow in impact, too, as the adult Takao comes to a richer understanding of what she wants and how she wants to live. Read full review
90
Village VoiceSherilyn ConnellyDec 30, 2015
It's both an important part of Ghibli's history and a gem in its own right. Read full review
88
The Seattle TimesTom KeoghFeb 25, 2016
It is another sumptuous visual feast from the studio, full of endless images finely detailed and often lavish. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaFeb 25, 2016
It's transformative. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter TraversFeb 25, 2016
Only Yesterday comes from a quieter, less demonstrative place. As he did in his most recent and reportedly final film, "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya," Takahata has built Only Yesterday to go gently and to last. Mission accomplished. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy BurrFeb 25, 2016
Takahata and his animators balance aspects of nostalgia and the present day, urban modernity and rural timelessness, love and regret with a visual and aural sensitivity that draws a viewer in from the first frames. Read full review
88
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanFeb 25, 2016
Small moments take on larger meaning in this exquisite memoir. That’s as true of the plot — in which nothing terribly significant happens, except life — as it is of the visuals. Read full review
88
Slant MagazineOleg IvanovDec 28, 2015
It uses the trappings of the family melodrama to reveal the subtle social constraints that inhibit people, particularly women, from attaining full self-realization. Read full review
83
The PlaylistKevin JagernauthFeb 25, 2016
With Only Yesterday, Takahata not only succeeds in transmitting how years can flash by, but also the way that passage of time makes clearer the moments that define our character, and go on to influence how we choose to live later. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovFeb 24, 2016
Only Yesterday is a little-seen gem in the crown of Japanese animation powerhouse Studio Ghibli. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerFeb 25, 2016
A butterfly metaphor is employed by the time-flipping Takahata, a filmmaker whose delightful Only Yesterday took 25 years to arrive right on time. Read full review
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