Turner Classic Movies have come up with their list of “Top movies not currently available on dvd in the United States”, wherein Studio Ghibli’s film Only Yesterday features at no 14. The list which is the result of TCM’s ongoing poll of the most requested classic movies not currently on dvd, is used to encourage studios to release their most requested films not currently available in any format on dvd. Directed by Isao Takahata, Only Yesterday tells the story of a single woman Taeko, who, on a countryside vacation, starts re-evaluating her life, as memories from her childhood unfold. Only yesterday, which was a surprise box-office success in Japan in 1991, remains the only film of the Disney-Tokuma Deal that has not seen a dvd release in US. There have been speculations over the years that the dvd release of Only Yesterday has been shelved indefinitely due to the mature content of the film which, Disney officials felt, was incompatible with their family-friendly image. In an old Nausicaa.net interview, Cindy and Don Hewitt, the duo behind the English adaptations of Ghibli films, had confirmed that Only Yesterday was not scheduled to be dubbed or released. Nevertheless, there have been many petitions and campaigns over the years to release the film in US.

Only Yesterday was released in UK and Australia in 2006 and has been available as a subtitled-only dvd, featuring a “Making-of” and “Complete Storyboards” as extra features.