Outline of the Story

Outline of the Story

Explanation of the Film's Background　09 Jul. 1999

Outline of the Story　09 Jul. 1999

Explanation of the Film's Background

In "My Neighbors The Yamadas", there is no theme which represents the movie. If we dare to look for the theme, it is trifling daily life of an ordinary family. Yamada family does not especially have the target of the life, they do not make an effort to achieve their targets. They merely live rvery day.

It is producer Toshio Suzuki of studio Ghibli to be about to make "My Neighbors The Yamadas" an animation movie. He was a fan of "My Neighbors The Yamadas" which had been serialized to the Asahi newspaper since before. He was wanted to processes the comics to the movie.

No one took notice of the plan first. The reason for "My Neighbors The Yamadas" is to differ from the image of studio Ghibli very much.

However, director Takahata thought that the movie of "My Neighbors The Yamadas" agrees in the age. A present Japanese thinks an awful lot too much. We should live more readily. The Yamada family was a family who embodied the concept.

As a result, Takahata decided "My Neighbors The Yamadas" to be produced as a long movie. However, it was extremely difficult to make a short comics into a long animation movie for the theater. Because, those concepts are quite different. A short comics is not appropriate as the original of a long movie.

Therefore, the director Takahata selected the following techniques that remove the story from "My Neighbors The Yamadas". He tried that the whole of the movie is composed by the accumulation of a short episode.

"The Princess Mononoke" has a complex theme. Therefore, we cannot be understood the theme of "The Princess Mononoke" without see all volumes. However, "My Neighbors The Yamadas" is good only to see a part of the movie. Because, it does not have the theme. If we find the theme in "My Neighbors The Yamadas", it is "Daily life of ordinary family".

Director Takahata indifferently describes daily of such a family through "My Neighbors The Yamadas". The reason is not necessary to understand the movie. All we have to do is we only see suitably generally, rough, broadly it.

Outline of the Story

Paragraph	time	Outline of episode
Prologue	1-2	Nonoko introduces her family.
	3	Appearance the credit title of "My Neighbors The Yamadas"
	4-13	4-5	Noboru is talked about Matsuko. Noboru insists, "If I had been born from a different parent, I might have been more splendid". Matsuko objects, "If I do not marry Takashi, you might be not born. "
		6	Takashi and Matsuko face their wedding. The grandmother of Kikuchi is making a speech.
		7	Scene of bobsledding. This scene is used the high developed technology of Ghibli's animation.
		8-9	Noboru was born, and Nonoko was born. They are based on the legend of Japan.
		10	Takashi built the residence. However, Shige has land. So sometimes they quarrel, but Noboru arbitrates them. "The land and the residence were destineted to succeed to me. "
		11-13	The grandmother of Kikuchi makes a speech. Life is compared to navigation.
	14	Takashi and Matsuko play a video games. They fail greatly.
Nonoko is lost at the department store.	15-24	15-17	The Yamada family goes shopping to the department store. They lost Nonoko in the department store.
		18-19	However, Nonoko did not think that she got lost. Oppositely, she thought that her father, mother, grandmother, and elder brother were get lost.
		20-22	Nonoko left the department store with another stray child.
		23-24	The Yamada family comes home. Matsuko receives the telephone that Nonoko was found. She stay in the house of another stray child.
	25	Matsuko dozes in the bus. Though she gets up panicking......
Genius of housework	26	Matsuko forgets to dry laundry.
	26	When Shige goes out, Matsuko asks her perchace something. But Matsuko forgot what to buy.
	27	Noboru made the Japanese noodle. It was a strategy by Matsuko.
	27	A fluorescent light broke down. It should replenish soon.
	28	Noboru is pressed the job washing tableware.
	28	The guest visits the Yamada family. It was impossible to clean the room in a hurry. Matsuko hit on the good idea.
The Married couple	29	Takashi calls from his company to own house. He let Matsuko to looke for the document. But it document in his company.
	29	Episode of newspaper
	30	Matsuko ask Takashi to purchace something. But Takashi forgets it.
	30	They challenge the restaurant menu.
	31	Takashi is in the house on holiday. He interferes in the housework of Matsuko. Matsuko got angry and.....
	32-33	Takashi fights against Matsuko fot the channel right of television.
Conversation of parent and child	34-35	Takashi plays catch with Noboru. However, they come round in setting the situation and fight.
	36	Takashi attempts an English lesson to repeat. Noboru said it is useless the repetition and hearing.
	37	Takashi recommends liquor to Noboru. Noboru does a saucy comment.
	38	Takashi try to play catch with Noboru, but......
Recovery of paternal rights	39	Takashi scolds manners of the meal of Noboru. But Takashi's manners is not so great differences.
	39	Takashi scolds manners of the meal of Noboru again, but......
	40	Noboru is hesitant how to choice about his problem of a free research. Takashi said, "A free theme perplexes us."
Father's back	41-43	The first snow of the season falls. Takashi hopes to take the photograph with his family. However, all members except Takashi were crazy about the television.
Family's bonds	43	Takashi sorts family's New Year card.
	44	A lot of business is asked for to Takashi.
	45-46	Takashi calls Matsuko at the station. Because it is raining, he want them to meet with an umbrella. However, all members of the family disliked to meet him. *This episode faces a very Japanese like.
	47	Scene of washing
Matsuko and Shige	48	Shige challenges the cooking of beef stroganoff.
Negligent housework	49	The meal of Takashi was a surplus thing.
	49	Matsuko forgot when she ate.
	50	The menu, which saves the cooking, happens frequently.
	50	The menu of the meal is the same every day.
Jaoanese ginger	50-53	It is said that Jaoanese ginger will promote forgetting. Because the Yamada family had taken Jaoanese ginger, they all left behind.
Doze	54	Matsuko dozes while listening in to the radio.
The Great Shige	55	Sgige saw cherry blossoms and said, "I have little chance to see cherry blossoms." Matsuko said,"That sort of faint-heartendness won't do. You will live long ." Shige respond,"You are right. I will see cherry blossoms 30 times for the rest of my life."
	56	Shige posted the tax by mistake.
	57-58	Shige goes to the hospital. Her friend is being hospitalized there. She had very vigorous curiosity.
	59	Shige is crazy about reading.
Noboru's study	60	Noboru becomes sleepy when he starts studying.
	61	Noboru takes the examination at the school. The time of the examination ended, Noboru asked to the teacher, "Cannot we have injury time?".
	61	Noboru studies hard. Because, he failed in the examination. He studies immediately after the examination. However, he does not study immediately before the examination.
	62	A family conference was hold to employ the home teacher for Noboru. However, the home teacher needs a large sum of monthly fee......
	62	Noboru got the chocolate from the girlfriend on the St. Valentine's day. However, Nonoko does not believe in it.
Adolescence	63	Noboru bought the cookie as a present for the girlfriend. However, it was eaten by his mother and his younger sister.
	64	Noboru forgot the umbrella. So he could not go out of the school. His female classmate(Kikuchi Mami?) lends him the umbrella, but......
	65	The senior of Noboru comes to the school.
	66	Noboru looks for a book in the bookstore. His female classmate came there.
	66	Noboru bought the reference book.
	67-68	Noboru receives the telephone from his girlfriend. Matsuko and Shige teaste him. He seemed to have been angry, but he was a rapture.
a glossary of seasonal terms for haiku composers	69-70	Takashi gets drunk and comes home. He hoped something to eat. However, there were only a banana and dorayaki=a kind of Japanese pan......
	71	Matsuko caught a cold, so nobody cooks. Takashi, Shige, Noboru, and Nonoko take the delivery. Matsuko also hoped.
The Great Shige again	72	Shige pasted the poster of the gate ball rally. However, the place where she pasted it was not so appropriate.
	73	Shige cleans the park in the volunteer. There was her male childhood friend there,too. He said to Shige,"Let's mutually clean here." However, Shige insisted on her rope -lined.
	73	Matsuko hits on her idea how to throw away garbage.
Ally of justice	74	The ball jumped into the garden of the Yamada family. The ball was dirty. Shige said to children," Which is youe ball, this dirty one or new one?" Children answered, "Our ball is dirty one." Shige admired honest children. And, She gave them both a dirty ball and a new ball. However......
	75	Matsuko and Shige saw signs of the traffic accident. Who is the most poor?
	76-87	76	The motercycle gang is running on the road ahead of the Yamada family. Shige hoped to warn them. However, it was a dangerous act. Because had come, he went to persuade of them to stop the reckless driving act.
		77-79	Takashi noted the motercycle gang. However, Takashi was shouted from them. He shrinked.
		80-84	Shige and Matsuko came to assist. Shige try to persuade the motercycle gang. After all, they left. Takashi was not able to take an active.
		85‐87	Takashi imagined in the park at night. The scene of which he replies to the hero of the justice. He saved the Yamada family from their crisis......
	88	Takashi frequently loses the umbrella. One day Takashi did not lose the umbrella on the day, but he had gone out without the umbrella.
Takashi as a father	89	Takashi has bought the cakes for the family. However, Matsuko suspected him. She thought that Takashi did something to guilty, cakes means his amends for his sin. He bought the pudding, too. The doubt has extended further.
	90-91	Matsuko overslept, so she delayed causing Takashi. He was late to work.
	92	Takashi became feverish. He decided to be absent from the company. But......
	94-96	Takashi, Matsuko, and Shige were invited to acquaintance's wedding. Takashi was supposed to make a speech for the bridegroom bride. He was preparing the manuscript of the speech beforehand. However, Matsuko passed him a different manuscript. So he made a speech by the improvisation.
Epilogue	97	Matsuko and Takashi sing. Que sera, sera, We need not worry about anything! Sometimes you worry, you doubt or you fear, but those thoughts disappear........
	98	Noboru said, "The reason why the Yamada family is peaceful is that all members are odd fellow."
	99	Miss. Fujiwara, who is the charge of Nonoko's class. Her policy is Suitability, generally, rough, broadly.
	100	They takes the PRIKURA, a kind of commemoration photograph. in the family. At last, father's dignity is demonstrated.
	101- 104	Ending

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