It's usually like that with good movies to be honest. I rarely find the time to watch a movie at all. :b
I tend to fall in love with soundtracks and relive the movies through listening to that instead.
Either My Neighbor Totoro or Kiki's Delivery Service, I can't remember which.
And the first I got to see in theaters was Ponyo
I believe it was Kiki's Delivery Service.
I think I saw it at my grandmother's house at one point, and from there I simply got curious about what other stuff this studio had made!
Pom Poko is still my absolute favorite of them all, though.
It's utterly underrated, it's a lovely and fairly bittersweet story of nature and humans and mythology. I can sort of see why it's not as popular in the West, because the Japanese raccoon dog doesn't have nearly the same significance in folklore outside of Japan, but.. it's still worth a look.
Kiki's Delivery Service was my first, too. I'd watch it nonstop as a toddler.
And then Spirited Away when I was quite a bit older.
Think it was "Spirited Away"... that or "Howl's Moving Castle". It's been so many years ago I can no longer be precise but I remember watching both in the same week or so.
I can't pick just one D:
But i guess i can say my personal favs are, Porco Rosso, Spirited Away, the moving castle or whatever the title is in english, and Kiki delivery service
My first was Ponyo. I watched it with no expectations on Netflix, when they still had an arrangement with Starz. But I was hooked after that. Spirited Away has to be my favorite.