Give Princess Mononoke and/or Howl's Moving Castle a shot. On average, Ghibli movies are slow-paced and mostly slice-of-life, but those two have more action in them.
Howls Moving Castle for whimsy, Princess Mononoke for nightmares.
I say this as a massive fan who grew up watching a couple of cool anime films that I later learned were Ghibli. I watched Princess Mononoke at like 25years old and there were a few “holy shit” moments.
Grave of the fireflies (followed by My Neighbor Totoro as it was originally released as a double feature)
I'm not sure why Spirited away seems to be the go to Ghibli film (maybe it is less offensive) but it's probably one of my least favorites from the studio.
True, but some are more so than others. Like in spirited away. It's kinda more just hinted at and it's not central to the plot of the film. Which is why I think it's more popular of a film in countries that rely on war and exploitation.