It's hard to explain why I love it so much. I enjoyed that it wasn't so interested in plot machinery, it was more like the story of her summer. No one's season

It's hard to explain why I love it so much. I enjoyed that it wasn't so interested in plot machinery, it was more like the story of her summer. No one's season follows a strict rising action to a climax in the third act/month, but taken as a sum, you get a story about Chihiro learning about friendship, courage, love, and forgiveness. It's kind and gentle in a way that's never cloying or saccharine. I'm thinking specifically of the scene where she gets some rice from Haku and bursts into tears. It's a simple and moving depiction of sadness, homesickness, and fear being chipped away by a small gesture of kindness. But I don't think it's bad at all to have not enjoyed it.