This film is about the daily lives of the Yamada family: Takashi and Matsuko (the father and mother), Shige (Matsukoās mother), Noboru (aged approximately 13, the son), Nonoko (aged approximately 5, the daughter), and Pochi (the family dog). It has a significantly different āfeelā to it than the other Studio Ghibli films, not only because of its different style of animation, but also because it is not a contiguous plot, but rather a series of vignettes, each preceded by a title such as āFather as Role Modelā, āA Family Torn Apartā or āPatriarchal Supremacy Restoredā.