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Rotten Tomatoes’ current editorial ranking covers 24 Studio Ghibli features, from the hand-drawn wartime tragedy Grave of the Fireflies to the studio’s first fully 3D computer-animated feature, Earwig and the Witch. It uses the Tomatometer as its main guide, but the published order is not a strict highest-to-lowest percentage list: Certified Fresh films are placed ahead of titles without that designation.
That distinction matters. Castle in the Sky and Porco Rosso are both displayed at 96%, yet appear below several films with lower percentages. Scores can also change as Rotten Tomatoes adds or recalculates reviews, so this is a snapshot of the current editorial list rather than a permanent verdict.
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The Studio Ghibli ranking
The Tomatometer is the percentage of approved professional critics whose reviews are positive. The Popcornmeter shows the audience score. Both are included below because the gap between critics and viewers is revealing: My Neighbor Totoro, for example, has a 94% Tomatometer score but a 98% audience score, while Ocean Waves has an 89% Tomatometer score and a considerably lower 63% Popcornmeter.
| Rank | Film | Year | Tomatometer | Popcornmeter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Tale of the Princess Kaguya | 2013 | 100% | 90% |
| 2 | Only Yesterday | 1991 | 100% | 83% |
| 3 | Grave of the Fireflies | 1988 | 100% | 95% |
| 4 | Kiki’s Delivery Service | 1989 | 98% | 89% |
| 5 | Spirited Away | 2001 | 96% | 96% |
| 6 | The Boy and the Heron | 2023 | 96% | 88% |
| 7 | The Secret World of Arrietty | 2010 | 94% | 86% |
| 8 | My Neighbor Totoro | 1988 | 94% | 98% |
| 9 | Princess Mononoke | 1997 | 93% | 94% |
| 10 | When Marnie Was There | 2014 | 92% | 88% |
| 11 | Ponyo | 2008 | 91% | 84% |
| 12 | The Wind Rises | 2013 | 88% | 85% |
| 13 | Howl’s Moving Castle | 2004 | 88% | 93% |
| 14 | From Up on Poppy Hill | 2011 | 87% | 80% |
| 15 | Castle in the Sky | 1986 | 96% | 91% |
| 16 | Porco Rosso | 1992 | 96% | 87% |
| 17 | Whisper of the Heart | 1995 | 95% | 90% |
| 18 | Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind | 1984 | 87% | 91% |
| 19 | Ocean Waves | 1993 | 89% | 63% |
| 20 | The Cat Returns | 2002 | 88% | 82% |
| 21 | Pom Poko | 1994 | 87% | 77% |
| 22 | My Neighbors the Yamadas | 1999 | 78% | 75% |
| 23 | Tales from Earthsea | 2006 | 37% | 46% |
| 24 | Earwig and the Witch | 2020 | 29% | 68% |
What stands out in the list
Three films share a perfect Tomatometer
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, Only Yesterday and Grave of the Fireflies are each listed at 100%. They represent very different sides of the studio. Isao Takahata’s Kaguya turns a traditional folktale into a loose, expressive watercolor-like animation. Only Yesterday is a reflective portrait of adulthood, memory and the compromises of ordinary life. Grave of the Fireflies is a devastating wartime drama about two children trying to survive in Japan during the final months of World War II.
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The scores show why a perfect critical rating does not mean identical audience response. Grave of the Fireflies has a 95% Popcornmeter, while Only Yesterday is at 83%. Its slower pace and intimate subject matter may make Only Yesterday less immediately accessible than the more emotionally direct films around it.
Spirited Away is the strongest broad consensus title
Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away ranks fifth on the editorial list with a 96% Tomatometer and a matching 96% Popcornmeter. It combines a coming-of-age story with folklore, social satire and dream logic, while remaining unusually accessible as a family adventure. Its position is especially notable because the two films above it have perfect critic scores, but lower audience scores.
The most popular films are not always the highest-ranked
My Neighbor Totoro has the list’s highest Popcornmeter at 98%, ahead of Spirited Away and Grave of the Fireflies. Howl’s Moving Castle also performs better with audiences than critics: 93% compared with 88%. These differences reflect the limits of a critics’ aggregate. A film can be technically ambitious or thematically difficult, yet still become a personal favorite for viewers.
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Several entries have a strong historical-documentary dimension even though they are fictional animated features. Grave of the Fireflies confronts civilian suffering during wartime. The Wind Rises examines the life and work of aircraft designer Jiro Horikoshi against the rise of militarism and the destruction of World War II. Porco Rosso places its fantastical pilot in the political atmosphere of interwar Europe, while Princess Mononoke uses a mythic medieval setting to explore industrialization, forests and competing forms of survival.
For viewers who usually watch documentaries, these films are useful reminders that animation can investigate history, memory, ecology and social change without presenting itself as a conventional historical record.
Why the numbers do not run in order
At first glance, the ranking appears inconsistent. From Up on Poppy Hill is listed at number 14 with 87%, while Castle in the Sky appears at number 15 despite having 96%. Porco Rosso follows at number 16 with the same 96% score. The explanation is Rotten Tomatoes’ ordering system: its editorial page places Certified Fresh films first, then other films, rather than simply sorting every title by the displayed percentage.
That means the numbered list should be read as Rotten Tomatoes’ editorial ranking, not as a mathematical league table. If the films were sorted only by the displayed Tomatometer percentages, the order would change substantially. The certification also depends on factors beyond the headline percentage, including the number and status of reviews, so equal scores do not necessarily mean equal placement.
A note about Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Nausicaä was released in 1984, before Studio Ghibli was formally founded. It is nevertheless commonly treated as part of the studio’s filmography because Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata and producer Toshio Suzuki’s work on the film directly led to Ghibli’s creation. Rotten Tomatoes includes it in this 24-film list, where it has an 87% Tomatometer score and a 91% Popcornmeter.
The newest update mentioned by Rotten Tomatoes
The editorial page currently highlights Studio Ghibli’s PONYO, an exhibition at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures scheduled to run from February 14, 2026, through March 21, 2027. The exhibition focuses on the hand-drawn animation process and original materials behind Ponyo. It offers useful context for understanding why Ghibli films continue to attract attention not only as stories, but also as meticulously made works of animation.
How to use this ranking
- Use the Tomatometer for critical consensus. It indicates how often approved professional critics responded positively, not how much they liked a film or how profound it is.
- Check the Popcornmeter for audience response. A large gap between the two scores can identify films that are more divisive with viewers or that have developed strong fan followings.
- Read the film’s reviews before treating the number as a recommendation. A 100% score can describe a small, highly consistent review sample, while a lower score may still represent a film with passionate supporters.
- Remember that the scores move. Rotten Tomatoes can change its displayed percentages as review totals and classifications are updated.
FAQ
Which Studio Ghibli movie is ranked highest by Rotten Tomatoes?
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is listed at number one on Rotten Tomatoes’ current editorial ranking. It has a 100% Tomatometer score and a 90% Popcornmeter.
Which Studio Ghibli films have a 100% Tomatometer score?
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, Only Yesterday and Grave of the Fireflies are each displayed at 100% on the current list.
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Why is Castle in the Sky below films with lower scores?
Rotten Tomatoes says the editorial list places Certified Fresh films first. It is therefore not a simple highest-to-lowest sort of the displayed Tomatometer percentages. Castle in the Sky and Porco Rosso are both shown at 96% but appear below some lower-scoring titles.
Is Nausicaä a Studio Ghibli movie?
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind predates Ghibli’s formal founding, but it is widely included in the studio’s filmography because its production team and success led directly to the creation of Studio Ghibli. Rotten Tomatoes includes it in this ranking.
The Bottom Line
Rotten Tomatoes’ list puts The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, Only Yesterday and Grave of the Fireflies at the top with perfect critic scores, while Spirited Away offers the clearest high-scoring agreement between critics and audiences. But the ranking is best treated as an editorial guide: certification status affects the order, the Popcornmeter tells a different story, and every percentage can change as Rotten Tomatoes updates its review data.
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