My most recurring thought while reading Howl's Moving Castle was "Ah. Yes, I can see exactly how this could become such a fantastic movie".

The cozy fantasy vibes are super fun and the author does a great job at setting an interesting atmosphere, with great descriptions and visuals.

Sophie, while mostly being taken along by the story with little agency, acts hilarious about it all. Her thought process is frequently "oh well this might as well happen".

The plot itself is very convoluted, which, while builds a charming adventure, felt like could've been trimmed down and resolved more neatly. On the same vein, the romance was kind of out of pocket considering the stage of their relationship with each other by the end.