As Sophie and Markl (pictured above) make their way back to their home, every time I watch the film Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) I have always felt that I was walking alongside them, heading back into the castle that has become home for me as well.

The film follows Sophie, a young hat-maker, who is cursed by the wicked Witch of the Waste. The curse is cruel and petty, the Witch turning Sophie into an old lady who cannot explain the curse upon her. Sophie then sets out on a quest to find Howl, a wizard who is known for eating the hearts of young beautiful girls, to see if he can undo her curse. Sophie does not fear Howl, even before she was transformed into an old lady, because she had always felt like she was not pretty like her older sister Lettie. Sophie is quiet and reserved, but as an old woman she is bold and unafraid to speak her mind — but like all the other young women of the film, she is not immune to Howl’s charm and good looks. Sophie travels alongside Howl and his young apprentice Markl in the moving castle, powered by a demon named Calcifer, as Howl runs from the magical government that seeks his powers in the war between the unnamed kingdom and the “enemy.” As the film continues, Sophie grows younger and no longer looks like the wizened old lady she was turned into and at the same time, Howl becomes less self-involved and more generous. We soon learn that the reason for Howl’s immature and selfish ways is because his heart was eaten by a demon when he was a child, leaving him to live without a care in the world. Sophie sets out on a mission to get Howl his heart back and the film follows the personal journeys of each character as they come into their own.

Miyazaki’s films, like HMC, have always allowed for escapism for young viewers like me, as a child and even as an adult. These films always have prominent messages of strong characters who go through personal journeys, both physically demanding and mentally, to find themselves. The films are very relatable and both Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle were the most relatable films for me as a child. Sophie’s journey to self confidence and believing in herself has always struck me because, like many young people, I struggled with my self-esteem and confidence while growing up. Sophie’s journey showed me that the less she worried and fussed about her appearance as an old lady, the younger she began to look until she finally looked her own age but was no longer the meek, simple girl from the beginning of the film — she was confident and it showed as Howl compliments her hair that “looks like starlight” and she asks if he likes it and enthusiastically says she does too.

One of my favorite quotes from the film is from the protagonist, Sophie, after she has (spoiler alert) given Howl his heart back. Howl lifts his head, and grunts in pain complaining of a weight in his chest and Sophie tells him, “a heart’s a heavy burden.” This quote has always resonated with me because Howl is one of the most selfish, vain, insufferable male characters I have ever witnessed in a movie but something about him is still so charming and charismatic that draws the viewer in even though he is a cowardly, arrogant young wizard.

The setting of the film takes place in a European themed low-fantasy world with old-timey steampunk vibes; the steam-powered cars drive over cobble stone streets while witches and wizards run rampant selling their magic and spells to humans. While Hayao Miyazaki himself is Japanese, he took on this Euro-themed setting and made it his own that anyone can relate to, and created a world that many dream to live in — such as myself.

While this is a more personal side of how Howl’s Moving Castle feels like home for me, I think that a lot of young Asian Americans (and others) most likely felt the same way I did while watching this movie, and others.