I generally dislike anime, and while I recognize that Hayao Miyazaki's work is very detailed and masterful, I tend to get turned off by his fantasy stories involving bizarre stuff like spirits and talking animals.
But damn, The Wind Rises was absolutely incredible. It's Miyazaki's final film, and you can tell he just poured every ounce of himself into it. I don't want to spoil anything, but I was happy to see that there were no spirits or anthropomorphic animals. It wasn't an adventure or fantasy film, and if you're looking for fight scenes, you'll be disappointed (although there is action).
Really, just go see this film. The main character is voiced by Joseph Gordon Levitt, and his friend is voiced by John Krasinksi (Jim from The Office), so it's got really great voicework. I haven't seen it in subtitles, but I'm sure that's great too.
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I'll need to see it. All of Ghibli's films are great.