Sightlines · reception
How From Up on Poppy Hill was received
2011 · Goro Miyazaki · From Up on Poppy Hill on Sightlines
The arc
Arriving after the drubbing Goro Miyazaki took for Tales from Earthsea, this was widely read as his redemption film — and it's since settled into 'quietly lovely, unfairly overlooked' status among Ghibli fans who champion the studio's non-fantasy side.
What’s debated
Fans still argue over the mid-film soap-opera turn — some find it derails a gentle nostalgia piece, others insist the film handles it with grace — alongside the eternal 'can Goro escape his father's shadow?' debate.
Its footprint
It's the Ghibli film that sends people down a Kyu Sakamoto rabbit hole — 'Ue o Muite Arukō' (aka 'Sukiyaki') is woven through it — and the students' ramshackle clubhouse, the Quartier Latin, has become a beloved cozy-cinema image.
Where it stands
A fixture of 'underrated Ghibli' lists and comfort-movie rankings — the deep cut people recommend once you've exhausted the Hayao classics.
Did you know? Production was disrupted by the March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and its rolling blackouts — the crew worked nights to finish — and the film still ended up the highest-grossing Japanese film at Japan's 2011 box office, with a screenplay co-written by Goro's father, Hayao Miyazaki.