Only Yesterday
Reception

Only Yesterday (1991)

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External reception

8.3
5 platform(s) · 7 ratings 154,998 votes
8.6/10 110,570 votes Synced 2026-07-19
7.6/10 42,987 votes Synced 2026-08-20
Audience 8.2/10 152 votes Synced 2026-07-19
Critics 9.0/10 Synced 2026-07-19
Audience 8.3/10 Synced 2026-07-18
Critics 10.0/10 Synced 2026-07-18
7.4/10 1,289 votes Synced 2026-09-12

External reviews

Tom Huddleston · Time Out London 100.00/100.00

[A] calm, reflective, gorgeously uneventful slice of nostalgic romance.

synced 2026-07-19
Bill Goodykoontz · Arizona Republic 90.00/100.00

Only Yesterday is a mature work of art, no matter what the genre, no matter what the format, no matter what.

synced 2026-07-19
Sam Byford · The Verge 90.00/100.00

It might have come out in Japan in 1991, but you could think of it as a new film — Only Yesterday is truly timeless.

synced 2026-07-19
Kenneth Turan · Los Angeles Times 90.00/100.00

Only Yesterday is a realistic, personal story made universal in a delicate way.

synced 2026-07-19
Devan Coggan · Entertainment Weekly 100.00/100.00

Only Yesterday may have been released in 1991 and take place in 1982 and 1966, but Taeko’s reflection on girlhood is truly timeless.

synced 2026-07-19
Noel Murray · The A.V. Club 91.00/100.00

Only Yesterday is animated, but rarely cartoony, in either its design or its storytelling.

synced 2026-07-19
Michael Snydel · The Film Stage 100.00/100.00

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.

synced 2026-07-19
Nicolas Rapold · The New York Times 90.00/100.00

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.

synced 2026-07-19
Glenn Kenny · RogerEbert.com 100.00/100.00

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.

synced 2026-07-19
Sherilyn Connelly · Village Voice 90.00/100.00

It's both an important part of Ghibli's history and a gem in its own right.

synced 2026-07-19

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