My favorite work from Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli, as well as one of the first anime I watched when I was a kid and didn't even know what anime was (the first was Pokemon lol). The nostalgia is real but I connect with this film so much more in my late twenties.
When I think of Howl's Moving Castle, I think of love and just how life-changing it can be when you meet someone new who ends up being someone important and special. When people are positive influences on each other and they are for the better from having met and maintaining those bonds. Quite frankly, I live for this shit. This is ofc most evident between the two leads Howl and Sophie, but it's not exclusive to them.
I also think of just how goddamn beautiful and magical this movie is to watch, but that's pretty par for the course when it comes to Miyazaki/Ghibli :)