why Shawn didn't say i love you to Arietti
why didn't he told her that he love her maybe that would have made her stay how could he let her go like that
shareTwo lifetimes worth of Disney films have taught us to expect true love to be the motivation in our animated features but Ghibli doesn't do that kind of stuff. In Porko Rosso, an American character was admonished for falling in love too easily. I took that as an explanation for their storyline choices. Besides, leaving stuff open for interpretation is what all great stories do.
Finding new friends and personal growth are just great for a story.
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Er, plus she was 4 inches tall....
shareI mean, the main girl and boy in Naussica pretty much fall for each other right away, or at least he certainly falls for her right away. It's just not the focus on the story. The main characters of Castle in the Sky are pretty much "Soul Mates" (obviously meant for each other), and it's quite obvious they fall in love quite quickly, and at the very least are certainly in love and "together" by the end of the tale. While the Wolf Princess acts hostile and like she hates all humans, Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke falls for her basically at first sight, and it's obvious early on that while she tries to deny it, she has feelings for him too. Howl and Sophie clearly fall in love during the course of Howl's Moving Castle. While small children, Ponyo and Sasuke are obviously in love with each other, at least as much as little kids can be.
Point being, there are PLENTY of Ghibli stories where true love pops up, and even some where love is the main character motivation. Though you're right, there are also Ghibili stories where it's not really a focus, or is downplayed.
But yeah, to the OP, the sheer fact is, there's just no way that a human boy and a miniature girl who is only inches tall, could have anything more than friendship, even if her culture wasn't deathly averse to being discovered.