I have noticed that most people outside of Japan, such as film critics and cinephiles, tend to think that My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away are the two masterpieces Miyazaki made (indeed, these were the two movies he made that managed to get into the top 250 greatest films of all time list from the 2012 Sign and Sound poll). While the third highest ranking Miyazaki film at that poll was Princess Mononoke at 377th place. These same three movies are his highest ranked films in the IMDB and generally show up in any pool, including many internet polls.

Notice that out of the 10 films Miyazaki made, only 4 are set in Japan and the first three ones are the favorites of international film critics and cinephiles.

While in Japan, the favorites among film critics, cinephiles and anime fans are Lupin, Nausicaa, Castle in the Sky and Totoro. This is his earlier work and besides Totoro they are all set in Europe or European-like settings (Nausicaa looks like a post-apocalyptic version of the west).

I noticed a similar difference in perceptions regarding the work of other Japanese film makers. Mizoguchi, for instance, is more popular in the West than in Japan: his period dramas such as Ugetsu and Sansho Dayu show up regularly in lists of ten best films ever made, but in Japan Mizoguchi's work is not as respected: in the 2009 Kinema Jumpo poll of the top 200 Japanese movies, no Mizoguchi made the top 20 and Sansho Dayu didn't make the list. Even an anime film such as Nausicaa ranked higher than Ugetsu (considering that anime is not as respected as live action by most film critics, even in japan, that's incredible).

I think that western film critics and fans tend to like the "exotic factor" of films set in Japan, which is not exotic for the Japanese themselves, so westerners tend to be biased when looking at Miyazaki's work. Though the Japanese tend to be more nostalgic: rating Miyazaki's earlier films higher.

What do you think?

My reasons for liking films such as Totoro, Spirited Away, Only Yesterday, Whisper of the Heart, etc. is that it reminds me of the Japan that I knew when I was stationed there in the mid 1960's. Unlike most young men stationed there at the time, I actually lived in a house out in the Hayama Kokusai District of Yokosuka with my parents and sister. From that I went on to all of the Ghibli Films... and then to other anime...

My preferences in non-Ghibli films are coming of age type comedy like Azumanga Daioh; Chobits; I, My, Me, Strawberry Egg; Fruits Basket and Kimi ni Todoke, etc.

__________________

Personally, I don't know why exactly I like Miyazaki's films, I never lived in Japan nor I never knew any Japanese. In the same way I never knew any American while living in my country but I like many American movies.

I think that I like his films because they are near perfectly executed. Nausicaa, for example, is easily the best science fiction epic I ever watched. It flows perfectly: the soundtrack and the images are mixed perfectly in the most awesome opening ever and the rest of the movie continues on with perfect execution. I remember that I watched Nausicaa about 5-6 times just after I discovered it. Differently from other movies, the plot wasn't the reason why I liked it, but just the experience of watching it.