Только вчера (Tol'ko vchera)

1991 Japanese animated film

is a 1991 Japanese animated drama film written and directed by Isao Takahata, based on the 1982 manga of the same title by Hotaru Okamoto and Yuko Tone. It was animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network and Hakuhodo, and distributed by Toho. It was released on July 20, 1991. The ending theme song "Ai wa Hana, Kimi wa sono Tane" is a Japanese translation of Amanda McBroom's composition "The Rose". The film was a surprise box office success, attracting a large adult audience and becoming the highest grossing Japanese film of 1991 in the country. It has also been well received by critics outside of Japan—it has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. To celebrate the film's 25th anniversary, GKIDS released the film for the first time in an English language format on February 26, 2016, featuring the voices of Daisy Ridley, Dev Patel, Alison Fernandez, Laura Bailey and Ashley Eckstein.

In 1982, Taeko Okajima is 27 years old, unmarried, has lived her whole life in Tokyo and now works at a company there. She decides to take another trip to visit the family of her elder sister's in laws in the rural countryside to help with the safflower harvest and get away from city life. While traveling at night on a sleeper train to Yamagata, she begins to recall memories of herself as a schoolgirl in 1966, and her intense desire to go on holiday like her classmates, all of whom have family outside of the big city. At the arrival train station, she is surprised to find out that her brother in law's second cousin Toshio, whom she barely knows, is the one who came to pick her up. During her stay in Yamagata, she finds herself increasingly nostalgic and wistful for her childhood self, while simultaneously wrestling with adult issues of career and love. The trip dredges up forgotten memories (not all of them good ones)—the first stirrings of childish romance, puberty and growing up, the frustrations of math and boys. In lyrical switches between the present and the past, Taeko wonders if she has been true to the dreams of her childhood self. In doing so, she begins to realize that Toshio has helped her along the way. Finally, Taeko faces her own true self, how she views the world and the people around her. Taeko chooses to stay in the countryside instead of returning to Tokyo. It is implied that she and Toshio begin a relationship.

The film released in Japan on July 20, 1991 by Toho in theaters. Despite the movie's success in the Japanese box office, Only Yesterday was not released to other Western countries for over a decade. Germany was the first country to release the film on June 6, 2006, dubbed in the German language. Australia and the United Kingdom would follow suit in 2006 and distribute the film in their region under Madman Entertainment and Optimum Releasing respectively. In North America, the film held the longest distinction of being the only theatrical Studio Ghibli feature not yet released on home video. Walt Disney Studios, which had then owned the North American distribution rights to Studio Ghibli's catalog, refused to release it because of its candid treatment of menstruation in the flashback sequences. A subtitled version of the film was aired on Turner Classic Movies in January 2006, as part of the channel's month long salute to Miyazaki and Ghibli. In 2015, GKIDS announced it would release the film in theaters in North America in 2016 along with an English dub, with actors Daisy Ridley, Dev Patel, Ashley Eckstein and Alison Fernandez confirmed to lend their voices. The film premiered in New York City on January 1, 2016, with a wider North American release on February 26, 2016. It was later relased on Blu Ray and DVD on July 5, 2016 by GKIDS and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, earning $1,780,357 in sales revenue.

Only Yesterday was the highest grossing Japanese film on the domestic market in 1991, grossing at the Japanese box office. The 2016 English language release later earned $525,958, including $453,243 in the United States.

The film received widespread critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 100%, based on 59 reviews, with an average rating of 8.40/10. The critical consensus states "Only Yesterdays long delayed U. S. debut fills a frustrating gap for American Ghibli fans while offering further proof of the studio's incredibly consistent commitment to quality." It has a score 90 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 19 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Roger Ebert gave the film a very favorable review in his essay regarding anime and the other work of Studio Ghibli calling it "a touching, melancholy meditation on the life of the same woman at ages 10 and 27." Nicolas Rapold, of The New York Times, gave the film a positive review, saying, "Mr. Takahata's psychologically acute film, which was based on a manga, seems to grow in impact, too, as the adult Taeko comes to a richer understanding of what she wants and how she wants to live." Glenn Kenny of RogerEbert. com awarded it a similarly positive review, saying "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."