“I reckon the main reason why Ghibli anime heroines aren’t very popular with otaku is because they’re strong and independent.”
However, there’s one particular type of audience that’s been known to regularly watch other types of local anime over those created by internationally lauded Studio Ghibli, and that’s anime otaku, or anime “geeks”, in Japan.
Unlike a lot of other locally produced anime, the ones produced by Studio Ghibli appear to have a universal appeal that resonates with even non-anime fans in other countries.
One particular subset of anime, however, is so revered it appears to stand in a genre all of its own, and that’s the roster of films produced by internationally acclaimed Studio Ghibli.