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When things get a little too much to handle, spending a few hours watching Studio Ghibli films isn’t a bad way to soothe the mind. Even just a few minutes of Hayao Miyazaki’s mesmerising animations – think abundant visuals of lush greenery and fanciful landscapes – can make the difference between a good day and a bad one.
This YouTube video, uploaded by HBO Max, gives you all the benefits of revisiting your Studio Ghibli favourites, with calming scenes from films like ‘My Neighbour Totoro’, ‘Spirited Away’, Howl’s Moving Castle’ and ‘Castle in the Sky’.
The visuals are accompanied by sounds of rustling leaves in the wind, babbling brooks and birds chirping, to match the natural scenery. The soothing sounds of nature bring you closer to the Ghibli universe by blurring the lines between fantasy and reality as you watch clouds floating over train tracks submerged in water and Howl’s castle sauntering through the alps.
Some of the same clips reappear in the duration of the 30-minute video, but the scenes are so spellbinding that you could hit the replay button multiple times without ever getting tired of the peaceful segments.
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