What is special about Ghibli's work is that the storyline does not use a long-form plot structure that is carried out from beginning to end, but instead collects multiple short-story units, and then combines them into several large paragraphs according to the plot relevance of each short story. Although the chapters in each large paragraph are independent of each other, one or more of the Yamada family characters will be the central protagonist of the large paragraph. "My Neighbors the Yamadas" features the current affairs, but for Chinese audiences, a work from the end of the 20th century may have a different kind of intimacy. The social problems and phenomena in Japan at that time were highly similar to those around China. Thousands of families like Yamada-kun may be right next door to the audience, and they also form this society. Through the small stories of Yamada-kun's family, the audience can experience the true meaning of life and gain insight into life. As far as the style of painting is concerned, this work is the first time that スタジオジブリ has used digital production in its entirety. The director Takahata Isao also specified the style of sketching and coloring with watercolors. In contrast to the previous ones, スタジオジブリ used more realistic screen techniques. 's practice. All in all, for this work with a very shallow style and a heavy painting, what is given to everyone is a bowl of "green onion mixed with tofu", which is light but has a unique charm.
"My Neighbors the Yamadas" is a casual and funny family comedy. Just as there are four seasons in a year, and there are sunny and rainy days, there are different days in the family. There is laughter, there is crying, there is anger - "My Neighbors the Yamadas" is a work that describes the daily life of a three-generation family named Yamada who is very ordinary in Japan. At 1 hour and 44 minutes, there are no big chunks of story structure. Instead, it shows the comical and hilarious plot of the original four-panel comic in the form of fragments. Sometimes the rhythm is connected, sometimes it is a separate story, always making people can't help clapping their hands and applauding. In the production of this work, Supervisor Takada Isao abandoned the usual transparent animation, and tried to use pencil lines and watercolor tones to draw a sketch-like work. The supervisor focuses on the faint life that is not left in memory and the recurring but unfeeling things. This pencil drawing of the Yamada family is exactly the sketch of a Japanese family.
