When I was like... 12/13 my mom bought me a collection of Ghibli films, including this one. I saw the cover and was like "Yes, this is the first one I'm gonna watch" (It was a newer edition with Ashitaka defending with his sword on the cover, rather than San covered in blood). I started watching it and my mom walked in during the scene where Moro's head detaches and bites off Eboshi's arm and she was like, "...Maaaybe I should've previewed a few of these before letting you watch them." She asked how far in I was and when I paused it she saw it was nearly over and said, "Oh well. In for a penny, in for a pound."
I was 9 when I watched it. On free tv. At Christmas. Un F*ing cut! And loved it. Those were the early 2000s Television in germany. Fun fact the DVDs are for like 12 year olds or older. So it was fairly normal to Watch this realy early here.
13:24 "how do you work a 4 day shift" Japanese metalworkers legit did this. Essentially they had to leave the metal in the furnace for long periods of time because it was so poor so they'd have a giant mud furnace, put the iron at its heart, and run it for 4-6 days iirc. Essentially you'd have people watching it 24 hours a day and while a couple people slept/ate everyone else was tending the furnace and they'd trade out. So yeah essentially what they mean is for 4 days they work every waking hour until the metal is done, then they get a couple days off then do it again.
The poor quality of their metal is also why they had to fold it to strengthen it in the process. While in Europe where the quality was higher, it was never a neccesary process iirc
a 4 day shift of 6 hours on, 6 hours off, then back to it, is grueling enough, even if it doesn't mean your supposed tyo be up and working all the time.
This movie does what Avatar couldn’t. I poses the conflict between industrialization, nature, and native peoples, in a way that is balanced and unbiased. The Emishi people are considered the actual indigenous people of Japan and lived in the far north. But Ashitaka doesn’t blindly fight industrialization and say environmentalism is the only way. He just wants to peace and everyone around him is fighting for what they believe is right. It’s my favorite Ghlibi movie.
@@NerdyNightly Great anime never preaches, it only opens the conversation. In that I feel like anime often gets it's message across much better. It's not beating you over the head with it like a cinder block, but lets you come to your own conclusion on the themes and does not tell you that you are wrong. Western media could really learn from this, hell western education systems could really learn from it to.
Two points you asked: why can't Ashitaka go back to his people? He killed a god and got cursed. Even if he did it to save the girls and the village, he is forever touched by evil and must leave becouse cursed people attract bad things. He would bring harm to the village in the long run. Why did he choose to live with those who massacred his tribe? He didn't. His people were killed by order of the Emperor and the Shogun. Iron town had nothing to do with it. He chooses to stay to help and teach them to live in harmony with nature.
Both *_Breath of the Wild_* and *_Tears of the Kingdom_* were _HEAVILY_ inspired by this movie, especially since *_Princess Mononoke_* was made just after Miyazaki finished writing the *_Nausicaä_* manga (which ends VERY differently to the film adaptation and has a similar tone to this film, and was even inspired by the same forest region of Japan).
Yep, you have guardians inspired by the robots in laputa, the rito dungeon is obviously inspired by the castle, link and ashitaka's wound, hate emanating from ganon is portrayed as the same hate we see in mononoke, satori mountains god and the deer god... And the list goes on
I like that they left it open ended enough because it leaves room for their relationship to go further. It wasn't ended like they would never see each other again. And on Ashitaka being able to help the very people that nearly wiped out his people, goes to his character. His strength is his ability to observe all sides, seek peaceful resolutions, and, of course, his heart to forgive. These characteristics are what make him so admirable and I can't wait until my son is old enough to watch it. Ashitaka models humility and forgiveness so well.
When Ashitaka killed the demon Nago he committed a sin, it didnt matter if it was in order to protect his sister and tribe, in Miyazaki's own words *"He did something he should of never done."* where in most stories that would of been a coming of age moment where a boy becomes a man, Ashitaka instead changed from a boy into nothing. He could never return home because the Prince Ashitaka of the Emishi died the moment Nago did, through the rest of the movie we follow Ashitaka the Outsider. This is why Ashitaka can take the neutral stance between all the differing factions in this movie, minus the Samurai who were a general problem for everyone but that was more of a historical problem in Japan at this time period.
I won't forgive myself if I don't recommend ''Nausicaa of the valley of the wind'' My all time favorite, I watch it EVERY year. Also it was nice to hear it for the first time in Dub I think they did a pretty good job 👍🏻
I was going to recommend it too. And they also wear those hats he was curious about, in this anime too. Just be sure not to watch the butchered version "Warriors of the Wind".
Maybe it's because I've seen this movie so many times but I always thought it was fairly clear that The reason Ahitaka doesn't go home at the end is because to leave his tribe means he can never return. It's why he cut his hair and why no one could watch him leave. I'd always assumed it was because his tribe is hidden because of their history of being killed and so leaving has such a terrible punishment. I think it's more told through context though which is why you guys maybe didn't pick up on it on the first viewing. I'm really glad you guys liked this, though! It's my favorite Ghibli movie and the dub is soooo good. It always cracks me up that that super chill guy with the crazy sandals is voiced by Billy Bob Thornton!
That's a great reading of the events. It makes a lot of sense in the context of the story also. Perhaps the elders of the tribe thought that even if Ashitaka did heal himself returning would potentially bring outside influences into the tribes untouched culture.
Yup. His people where not simply sad because he had been cursed and was likely to die... He had to Leave to take the curse with him away from the village and possibly find a cure. But no matter what happens to him, once he leaves he cannot return. So whatever he does with his life going forward it cannot involve his home village and people. They are as lost to him as he is to them. But he, like the other survivors of the whole iron-spirit-forest conflict, can move on and build a new life together.
Wasnt the reason he left his home to find a cure for his curse that was about to kill him? So after he found the cure he could have returned but he found a new home and Mononoke so he never did.
@@teongreen5254 No. By the laws of his tribe once he leaves he cannot ever come back. Cure or no cure. The reason he left was so he could try to find a cure and save his life or, failing that, at least make peace with his fate by facing it.
These are the footwear worn by Jiko, which are called "Ippongeta," and were worn by monks and others when they did ascetic training in the mountains. They strengthen the trunk of the body and at the same time prevent slipping on the mountain paths.
One of my favorite things about this movie is that it's hard to pinpoint a real antagonist, outside of Jigo and his greed. When you look at the three main parties - San and the wolves/forest spirits, Ashitaka, and Eboshi/Iron Town - all of them have good reasons for what they're doing, for right or wrong. None of them are "evil" in the way a lot of antagonists are. Eboshi and the residents of Iron Town are trying to survive in a world that hates them - I don't know if you caught this, but Eboshi took all the women from brothels and gave them safety and independence, whereas in a brothel they would have been treated terribly. That's why they're so loyal to her. Eboshi was destroying the forest because it was the easiest/fastest way to protect her people. She wasn't doing it out of maliciousness, just a desire to protect the people who depended on her. She wasn't evil, she was very kind in her own way--she took in the leppers who were shunned by the rest of society, and the brothel women who likewise were treated terribly by society, and wanted to do whatever it took to protect them. Protecting her people outweighed caring about the environment for her, because her people had more immediate needs that required the sacrifice of the environment. All of the main characters were very complex, morally-gray characters who were well-intentioned, whether or not their actions were good or bad.
The real antagonist is hatred and lack of understanding. Its the thing driving everybody's poor decisions. The only person who isn’t letting it consume them is Ashitaka who channels those feeling instead into building that understanding and unity.
The original US release of Nausicaa was heavily edited make it more family friendly and diminish the female protagonist. To prevent that from happening to Princess Mononoke Miyazaki's producer sent Harvey Weinstein a samurai sword. It had a note on it saying "No Cuts".
The work rhing isnt a mistranslation as i understand it. A lot of factories/the military used to/still do it. You live on site for so many days and thats considered their shift. Theyre not necessarily on the bellows the full four days. They nap and eat and trade off, but theyd be assigned to that position for four days.
You guys briefly mentioned it, but its something I adore about these movies. I've yet to come across a 'villain' in Ghibli's movies that isn't relatable or understandable in some setting. Every 'bad guy' is really just someone with opposing ideals and actions to the main protagonist. They're not necessarily bad people, they just make choices based on circumstance and I think that's a wonderful and grounding way of story telling in a fantasy world.
Muska, the Army intelligence guy in "Castle in the Sky" is about the most 2-dimensional evil character you'll find. At first he seems all duty, but then you find that here's nothing but personal greed & lust for power behind it.
To answer your question at 5:13 , you can see he actually hits the sword, he wasn't even trying to kill or maim the guy, just disarm him, but the force of the arrow tore his arms off, you can see how deeply imbedded in the tree the arrow is, almost to the fletching.
@@Noisetank007 Ah you are one of those people who likes changed lines. Deceive and censorship ftw, right? If I were to choose we would only get originals. So too bad I'm not the one to choose. So lets hope that you will also never be one to choose...
@@teongreen5254 deceive and censor? Bro why are you acting like that 😂 the translation was done by people working with Miyazaki. If you don't like it that's okay but stop acting like it makes you better to like the original you loser
You can still see this in theaters. Every summer Fathom Events plays random studio ghibli movies on select dates in a bunch of different theaters. Really they do cult classics in general, for instance, last week they showed the exorcist. Whenever there's a list of best studio ghibli movies spirited away and this are usually listed 1a and 1b
I love that you're watching this! I have a few things (if people haven't said them already) and to appease the youtube algorithm: -When Ashitaka cuts his hair, he's cutting his ties with the tribe, which is why everyone tries to remain stoic but one of the tribe covers his eyes. This is akin to family member saying, "I'm leaving and I'm never coming back. We will not meet again." This is why he can't go back. -When Kaya gives the crystal dagger (which wasn't part of the reaction, but still) to Ashitaka, it's showing a bond between two people. Kaya is telling Ashitaka she loves him. It could also be seen as a marriage proposal depending on who you ask. It's why giving the crystal dagger to San was so important. -Miyazaki's villains (with a few exceptions) are just people with motivations in opposition to the protagonist. With a few exceptions, they're not just 2-dimensional evil people. -Environmental themes run DEEP in all of Miyazaki's work. Princess Mononoke has some striking similiarties to an earlier work of his, Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind. Eboshi almost seems like a reborn Princess Kushana from Nausicaa. Both of them weren't bad people, just people making hard choices in bad circumstances (though Kushana was more villainous in the animated movie, the manga is almost entirely different). Environmental themes aren't new to Studio Ghibli, they've been a constant staple of the films since the studio's founding, along with anti-war themes. -Not liking the Forest Spirit is totally okay. It's alien, it doesn't think in human terms. It's a force of nature that lives beyonds the bounds of nature. It's not comprehensible by human minds. Studio Ghibli did a great job conveying this through visual cues. -Miyazaki specifically didn't want to tone down the violence in the film because he wanted people to see what war looks like. -The voice of Moro in the dub is Gillian Anderson from the X-Files. She is a huge Studio Ghibli fan and was thrilled to get the role.
"the crystal dagger" - My recollection is that "crystal" was Neil Gaiman's mistranslation of obsidian. And his reaction was, well, what's the difference? _My_ reaction was **big** difference: "crystal" means the dagger is going to turn out to have some magical power, whereas "obsidian" means these people are barely out of the stone age.
@wwoods66 Oh that's neat. I remember watching the fansub before it was released and Gyoku no Kogatana was translated as "jeweled dagger", which is more literal. The first Kanji is "jewel" or "ball", and the latter two are "small knife". It's not explicitly either but could be interpreted as obsidian. I had originally thought it might be black quartz but it would make sense if it was obsidian.
A little late maybe, but I can add something here … The word/kanji is 玉 "tama", which can mean both aforementioned jewel or ball, but also "precious". It is part of the word "tamahagane" (玉鋼) or "jewel steel" and guess what - is the base metal Katanas are forged from. Wikipedia has an entry about it. So the dagger might have been forged from it too, but at least it was a very precious item.
My favorite Ghibli movie! Stellar cast (esp. Gillian Anderson and Minnie Driver, who absolutely nail their roles), and bringing in Neil Gaiman to punch up the script post-translation was a brilliant move. I did see this in theaters and it was jaw-dropping, just absolutely gorgeous.
Ashitaka's tribe is sorta revealed to be a rather secretive one. When he meets the hunter, the hunter knows about them, but even he eludes to the mysteriousness of the tribe and that they're thought to be long gone. It'd suggest that his tribe actually wants to be kept hidden from the world and is perhaps super rigid in tradition. Afterall they call Ashitaka the last prince of their clan but still have to let him go in order to find an answer for his curse. It may not be said explicitly as to why they are like this but it's pretty well implied that it's a big deal and that they cannot go against it for whatever reason. It is sort of symbolic for innocence lost. Ashitaka made a choice in killing the demon and the consequence of it destroys the perception of the world he knew forcing change and an acceptance of responsibility. The movie as a whole does a great job of presenting moral ambiguity. Good and evil exist in everyone, and rarely is it ever so blatantly obvious what side of the coin people rest on. Furthermore, people can do bad things in the pursuit of good, and vice versa, that's what it means to be human.
I saw this for the first time when I was 6 years old - before I was introduced to other anime like DBZ or Sailor Moon - and to say this film had a profound impact on me would be a colossal understatement. Still my favorite animated film ever, and one of my all-time favorite films period.
Oh, y'all should watch Grave of the Fireflies... and stock up on tissues, because it's one of the most moving, deep movies ever made about the effects of war (without being a war movie at all).
So to answer your question, Ashitaka is from an ethnic minority group in Japan that was subjagated and basically exiled and they went into hiding. If I recall correctly, even today they are an ethnic minority and descriminated against. But if you watched Avatar, there is a scene where Zuko and Iroh cut their hair, symbolizing them leaving the fire nation. Same here. Ashitaka cut hsi hair symbolizing exile. He could not leave the tribes lands unless he was exiled to find a cure, but once finding that cure, he was not allowed to return to the tribe. Cutting his hair is basically symbolizing his death to the tribe. That was why his tribeman were crying when he left saying their prince was going to be unable to return.
As a Japanese person, I would like to say that the Emishi are not a specific ethnic group, but rather the inhabitants of a part of eastern Japan who did not submit to the central government. The Emishi are also Japanese people, so there is no discrimination against them. I would like to ask, where are the Emishi people who are discriminated against currently?
I watched this over and over when I was in middle school. It's one of the films that got me into Anime because it showed how original and beautiful it can be.
The world line of Ghibli is connected. Kodama that appears in this work will become "Totoro" after several hundred years. This was written in reverse.😊
This was my introduction to Ghibli, and it was in a movie theater, with no frame.of reference of what it would be about....needless to say I was transported. I'm sure others have already told you, but Neil Gaiman was the one who wrote the English translation for this. 🥰🙏
Oh yea! I forgot Ashitaka's people, the Emishi, are a now gone(or admixed) ancient Indigenous group from Northern Japan that WERE subsumed by the Yamato Empire, so it's based on historical precedent. (And you can look up the history of Japanese Riflewomen, it's an entire thing)
@@adriangaliver it was in jest. but given they seem to like anime, cosplay, and such, I'd think they'd have seen this one by now. Just because they do reaction videos, doesn't mean they've never seen a movie or TV show before in their entire lives.
I got to see this in theater. I feel so lucky. BTW, all of Miyazaki's work has environmentalism in it. - Fun facts. Miyazaki had hand groomed his replacement of head of Studio Ghibli, but he suffered a heart issue and died. So Miyazaki came out of retirement to take over control of this movie and ended up doing something like over 60% of all key frame animations. He worked CRAZY long hours to get it finished in time. This was the first movie to use CGI. while 90% of it is hand drawn cell animation, there is about I think it was 15 minutes of film that utilized CGI. Which was critical in getting the film finished on time. I could be getting these numbers wrong a bit though, This was all in a making of video I watched a decade ago. Miyazaki got his start at Toei animation. Known for pumping out fast and cheaply animated content. He left to start his own projects because he wanted more detail and subtlety in the animation. Facial micro expressions and body language. Those details you appreciate so much are one of his trademarks and it changed animation in Japan. Massively influenced the animation style. You can even find some influences in Western media. For example: Fun fact. Miyazaki was originally one of the key animators for the film Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1989) - He developed a lot of the key frame animations and character designs before leaving over creative differences. No one I have found knows or has said what happened, but it seems to be semi amicable. Watch the film again and you will instantly recognize his infuence. His signature is all over the film. On a more somber note, This film is one of the main reasons Miyazaki strongly opposed his son from making films and an example of his greatest regrets. He spent SO MANY hours grinding to make this and other films happen that he missed out on much of his family and has spoken many times about wishing he would have spent more time at home than at work. Disney bought the exclusive NA Distribution rights to all of Studio Ghibli films back in the day, and while early marketing wasn't always given a fair treatment, Disney does do one thing INCREDIBLY well and that is professional animation Voice work. While I am a very strict purist for Anime, I have no problem watching any of these in English dub because Disney put quality and money into producing the dubs. Many of the NA distribution companies operated on strategy of cheap and quick IP flipping. Buy the rights and do the dub as fast and cheap as possible with no care for creative integrity. Studio Ghibli is the ONE thing that Disney actually improved on and didn't just trash or abandon. I HAVE to give them credit for that. I recommend watching Nausica of the Valley of the Wind. and Porco Rosso. For Extra Fun Watch Porco Rosso in Italian with English subtitles! Whatever you do. Don't watch Grave of the Fireflies without being prepared for emotional Trauma. Most people I know who have watched it swear to never watch it again. You've been warned.
Princess Mononoke is probably one of the more challenging films of Ghibli's repertoire. It doesn't just preach Environmentalism but it also deals with Humanity versus nature, human conflict with humans, the morality of nature vs nurture. The fact that there is no true villain in this film says a lot. We all have our opinions and view points, we just need to find common ground to start over and work together in the end.
Ghibli is well knowed for NOT been preaching about Morality and avoid to be machinean. Miyazaki always hated how western children's movies only see things in Black or White, when life and the world i more nuanced.
@@Mugthraka Yeah a lot of Miyazaki's influences were his times as a child during WW2 and the after years if i remember correctly. You can see a TON of references about his life and point of view about the war in nearly all of his films. His family Rose in wealth during the war and they lost a lot after the bombings. He then grew up poor and starving with his family but they strived through. He saw the best and worst of humanity and you can see it all in his films.
Laby Eboshi isn't wirh the emperor. As the movie made it very clear in the beginning, she founded Irontown to give a home to those whom society deemed "undesirables": prostitutes and lepers. Judging from her attire, she was probably someone from the upper echelon, possibly once a mistress of someone powerful, and likely an exile herself. Lady Eboshi is not a villain in the traditional sense. She symbolizes the two sides of industrialization: it helps ppl tremendously, especially ppl less advantaged. But it also destroys nature. She isn't out the destroy nature, but her means of helping her ppl thru industrialization will inevitably destroy nature. She views the animal gods as just any other animals, She thinks the animal gods will eventually become as dumb as regular animals and humans will rule the land. She represents modern human's own sense of superiority. She's killing the forest spirit only because she's in debt to Jiko. Her sense of superiority over animals is what led her to believe that she could do the job of killing the forest spirit. She isn't evil pe se, but certainly callous towards nature. Jiko is the truly amoral character. All of this moral complexity regarding man vs nature is central to the film, as the film is an evolution of Nausicaa's (the film version) simplistic moral views. The manga version of Nausicaa went on for another decade after the film's release and it also evolved into something more morally complex.
Re: why Ashitaka doesn't just go back to his tribe at the end Once he left he could never go back. Presumably the only reason his tribe survived is because they hid in secret. Going back would put his tribe in danger and potentially lead the samurai warlords to discover their existence. Re: why Ashitaka couldn't just go live in the forest with San Because San made it very clear that she couldn't forgive the humans. Ashitaka is still human. She can't just let Ashitaka come live with her full time. It'll take time for her to accept having human relationships, romantic or otherwise.
11:34 Environmental movements have existed in their modern form as far back as the 1950s, even earlier in other forms. Miyazaki's films have always drawn from themes of environmentalism, pacifism, and feminism, but these ideas didn't spring up in a vacuum. Like other industrializing economies, Japan suffered ecological disasters and preventable habitat loss that people like Miyazaki were influenced by.
To understand this movie better, you need to learn about the history of Japan and the ideas of animism, the primitive religion of Japan. Also, presumably the main character is a survivor of a minority tribe called Emishi and is a member of the royal family. They live in hiding in a small village because they were persecuted by the government of the time. He was expelled from the village by village law. Therefore, he cannot return to the village. It is said that there are several reasons for this. It was to prevent the location of the village from being known. Because he killed God. It was because they was afraid that he become a cursed god.
Hayao Miyazaki's films (the beloved and revered head of Studio Ghibli) have always showed a love of our pristine earth, and concern of human's depradations upon it. Nausicaä and the Valley of the Wind was also stunning, and a good 5+ years before this. Welcome to the world of Studio Ghibli! I hope you do more: Would still love to see reactions to Spirited Away and my favorite, Howl's Moving Castle.
Studio Ghibli is always fantastic! Both for the attention to detail and their love for the simple things. Whether its chores or food or just the landscapes. They really, especially with Hayao Miyazaki's films bring magic to the most simple things.
This is not just my favorite Ghibli movie, it is my favorite movie full stop. Speaking of Blockbuster days, this was my go-to recommendation for regulars that asked me for a movie back in the day. I told people that if they came back and honestly didn't like it, I'd comp them some candy on their next rental. Never had to comp candy.
You two are going to love 90% of the Ghibli movies. In Ponyo the hero action crisis is aimed at 3 and 4 year olds, but the scenes and scenery is SO adult beautiful.
Fun bit the Kodama are visually designed to resembled Edvard Munch's, The Scream. Which Edvard Munch claims was inspired by "an infinite scream passing through nature"
"The veil is up. The Aiel go to war." I had to go back and listen to that again to make sure I heard it. I never hear anyone reference The Wheel of Time, let alone the dance of spears
2:37 Actually I think the monster's curse wigglies were one of the first times Ghibli used computer graphics to enhance the shading on their existing cell animation. But hey it looked real enough in 1997 to fool you guys!
Only now watching this I noticed the difference in the sound the bow makes when the mc shoots an arrow compared to other soldiers. Shout out to Tsurune for teaching me to appreciate it!
Laputa often gets overlooked by western audiences but it's probably the more culturally significant in Japan than any other Miyazaki films. It defined the steampunk aesthetic before the term "steampunk" existed. And its art design elements and themes had enormous influences on '80s/'90s anime and JRPG.
While there were exceptions in history, usually exile is permanent. It rarely matters that the circumstances changed or even the reason for the exile. When you were exiled, you were out. As I said, there were exceptions, but if you listen to the wording. If he had returned they would ignore his presence. In some cultures it wasn't even considered murder if you killed someone that returned from exile. As for the ending, Ashitaka is still human. He needs a community. San accepts this, but she can't forgive the humans. She can accept their presence, but she can't forgive them. So even if she learned how to live as a human, it would go against her nature. So they will meet whenever they can and Ashitaka helps the new town with his unique point of view while San keeps watch over the forest. You could say that just as the two balance each other out, they create a balance between humanity and the wild.
I highly recommend watching all of Miyazaki's films, the man is incapable of making a bad movie! From, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and the birth of Studio Ghibli, to his latest film, The Wind Rises, and everything in between are all fantastic and the range of stories he tells is incredible. Even the ones you're tempted to skip, DON'T, there were a few I waited on, just ended up kicking myself for waiting so long.
Ashitaka stayed with iron town to help them rebuild and to learn from their mistakes. Saan has to help the forest regrow since all the gods are dead, forest spirit might still be alive though. And Ashitaka doesnt hold a grudge for the history of his people because the ones guilty of those crimes no longer live. Why hate those who live now and never committed any crimes against his people?
A small bunch of us dressed up in various cosplay (I went as Cloud and my future-ex-wife was Tifa), and drove down to Boston to see this when it came to American theaters in '99. Love this movie.
I can't believe you had not watched Princess Mononoke until now, but I'm happy to see you guys react to it. Funnily enough, it's made me realize it came out the same year Final Fantasy VII did, and both of them have a strong plot about looking after the planet and its ecosystem. I was 11 back then so I don't remember the context, hah.
Princess Mononoke takes place in Japan between 1336 to 1573. Although it appears to be a happy ending, Japan then enters the Sengoku period, and wars ensue for approximately 140 years (1467 to 1615).
I don’t know where you live but they always do Studio Ghibli Fest in theaters. They have a few Ghibli movies out for a couple of days or so. Princess Mononoke is one of them. I’m looking at the schedule on Fathom Events and it’s in theater 8/5-8/9.
The climate change themes are often important in Studio Ghibli/Miyazaki's films, and so well done. So many other animated films struggled to not make it so heavy handed or over the top (looking at you, Fern Gully), but it really works in Miyazaki's films.
i would really recommend PomPoko as a another studio ghibli work! its incredibly beautiful and has a simmilar message but includes more modern elements. It is definitely one of my favs though it may be slightly weird!!
I think the idea on them working in the forge is they live for 4 days inside the forge switching between groups to keep the fire going and then they will be off for a period of time where a new group of women will be working in the forge.
Sometimes it's better that way. Every film is different, just depends. I'm not Japanese so maybe I'm biased (I saw this film in the dubbed English and in Japanese and I prefer the dubbed version).
Saw this movie in the theater WAYYY back in the day in a massive IMAX theater in Seattle. And it was fucking GLORIOUS Also, if you've played Zelda Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom it will not be hard for you guys to see the parallels with this movie(and other Miyazaki films, particularly "Nausicaa" and "Castle in the Sky")
I find it interesting that your perception is that climate change and environmentalism didn't gain ground until after 1997. The Kyoto protocol was signed in 1997, and it was seen as too little too late. Climate change had been a big deal throughout the 90s and the scientific consensus was well established by that point. Captain planet was saying a lot of this stuff by the start of the 90s. The environmentalist message in this movie was very much not ahead of it's time; it's only due to political inaction that it remains as relevant as it does.
Omg I’ve been here since book club and I have loved Studio Ghibli movies since before I could read they have been a part of my life for so long and I just know they would love these movies this makes me so happy yayayay
I like the action advetures (Porco Rosso, Laputa, Nausicaa, this movie) more than the dreamy, meandering, character studies (Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle, Kiki's Delivery, Spirited Away) I think Spirited Away has become his most popular one over time, but I prefer this one.
When this first released in theaters, I was shocked my city in ND got the film! It blew me away and has been a favorite of mine since. Such a beautiful and powerful anime.
This was also my first Ghibli movie. And my introduction to serious anime. Needless to say, it immediately became a personal favorite, and I went to see it twenty times in theaters.
If you haven't already seen them, I hope you do reactions to My Neighbor Totoro, and Spirited Away (and other Ghibli films!). So many interesting, non-standard storylines paired with fascinating visuals.
Ashitaka is a different person with a new purpose of building a new more modern society that respects nature. The theme of traditionalism vs modernity is a constant in Monoke Hime and Ashitaka's character and journey represents the possibility of the two coexisting. If Ashitaka went back home back to the status quo what was the purpose of his journey? His journey has changed him so much that returning to his old life isn't possible. Plus he has his cool chad wolf girlfriend now.
Miyazaki originally titled this movie THE LEGEND OF ASHITAKA, but his producer thought it would attract audiences more to name it after the female lead (although PRINCESS MONOKONE basically means "Beast Princess"). However, this change had many people complaining how unlikable San is, since the film's named for her as the Main Lead.
I am genuinely surprised that you guys have not seen the Ghibli movies. Even if you don't get the chance to review them on the channel because of copyright, I highly recommend watching all of them. Except for grave of the fireflies...
People are saying how Across the Spiderverse is the best animated movie of all time, and here I'm saying, they haven't seen a Studio Ghibli masterpiece.
It’s not a Ghibli movie per se, but shares some people - Grave of the Fireflies is a must see if you haven’t yet. I recommend seeing it exactly once. It’s an excellent movie, but it’s… difficult. Watch it with Totoro as a double feature (the way it was originally released) if you can - one has a happy ending, one does… not.
5:38, it is not the arrows, didn't you see the curse making strange noises and movements on his arms when he bends the arc ? Was pretty obvious the first time I see this, that it was a surnatural power because of the curse ... As for the violence, Disney buying rights for foreign distribution of Ghibli movies was in the air, and Miyazaki didn't want any alteration without his consent, and lot of people think that make him go as much as possible away from classic Disney policies regarding violence on this one ... didn't see much since Nausicaa (for the graphical aspect at least)
One of the finest films from Studio Ghibli, beloved by animation fans and detractors, and you havent seen it? Im sorry for you. I saw this film as a small child, it was the start of my intense fear of parasites. Yo, I hate the boars with the worms, too. Thats what did me in, lmao. This is in theater this year for Ghibli Fest. I hope you get to see it.
This was my first "anime". I had watched sailor moon and dbz but thought of them as cartoons. I saw this in theaters when it came out and it blew my little mind. Been an anime addict ever since.
When I was like... 12/13 my mom bought me a collection of Ghibli films, including this one. I saw the cover and was like "Yes, this is the first one I'm gonna watch" (It was a newer edition with Ashitaka defending with his sword on the cover, rather than San covered in blood). I started watching it and my mom walked in during the scene where Moro's head detaches and bites off Eboshi's arm and she was like, "...Maaaybe I should've previewed a few of these before letting you watch them." She asked how far in I was and when I paused it she saw it was nearly over and said, "Oh well. In for a penny, in for a pound."
I was 9 when I watched it. On free tv. At Christmas. Un F*ing cut! And loved it. Those were the early 2000s Television in germany. Fun fact the DVDs are for like 12 year olds or older. So it was fairly normal to Watch this realy early here.
13:24 "how do you work a 4 day shift" Japanese metalworkers legit did this. Essentially they had to leave the metal in the furnace for long periods of time because it was so poor so they'd have a giant mud furnace, put the iron at its heart, and run it for 4-6 days iirc. Essentially you'd have people watching it 24 hours a day and while a couple people slept/ate everyone else was tending the furnace and they'd trade out. So yeah essentially what they mean is for 4 days they work every waking hour until the metal is done, then they get a couple days off then do it again.
The poor quality of their metal is also why they had to fold it to strengthen it in the process.
While in Europe where the quality was higher, it was never a neccesary process iirc
Bro ppl still works like that, or even worse. :D I personally work 4\2 and i'm not even complaining about that. It's not that hard.
a 4 day shift of 6 hours on, 6 hours off, then back to it, is grueling enough, even if it doesn't mean your supposed tyo be up and working all the time.
This movie does what Avatar couldn’t. I poses the conflict between industrialization, nature, and native peoples, in a way that is balanced and unbiased. The Emishi people are considered the actual indigenous people of Japan and lived in the far north. But Ashitaka doesn’t blindly fight industrialization and say environmentalism is the only way. He just wants to peace and everyone around him is fighting for what they believe is right. It’s my favorite Ghlibi movie.
Love this comment. This movie is so much deeper than we were able to get into with a reaction but you're so right
"See with eyes unclouded by hate."
@@NerdyNightly Great anime never preaches, it only opens the conversation. In that I feel like anime often gets it's message across much better. It's not beating you over the head with it like a cinder block, but lets you come to your own conclusion on the themes and does not tell you that you are wrong. Western media could really learn from this, hell western education systems could really learn from it to.
Also it feels like the end of the movie is the end of magic in the world but nature and life finds a way
@Snowsc
Your very ignorant
Two points you asked: why can't Ashitaka go back to his people? He killed a god and got cursed. Even if he did it to save the girls and the village, he is forever touched by evil and must leave becouse cursed people attract bad things. He would bring harm to the village in the long run.
Why did he choose to live with those who massacred his tribe? He didn't. His people were killed by order of the Emperor and the Shogun. Iron town had nothing to do with it. He chooses to stay to help and teach them to live in harmony with nature.
Both *_Breath of the Wild_* and *_Tears of the Kingdom_* were _HEAVILY_ inspired by this movie, especially since *_Princess Mononoke_* was made just after Miyazaki finished writing the *_Nausicaä_* manga (which ends VERY differently to the film adaptation and has a similar tone to this film, and was even inspired by the same forest region of Japan).
If you watch the opening sequence of this movie and the first teaser trailer for breath of the wild, the inspiration is obvious.
And dont forget laputa, castle in the sky
Yep, you have guardians inspired by the robots in laputa, the rito dungeon is obviously inspired by the castle, link and ashitaka's wound, hate emanating from ganon is portrayed as the same hate we see in mononoke, satori mountains god and the deer god... And the list goes on
5:13, The arrow didn't pierce through the samurai's arms. If you look closely, the arrow hit the sword and the force pulled his arms right off.
Make pause perfectly at 5:13 and you can actually see the arrow go trought the samurai’s arms
I like that they left it open ended enough because it leaves room for their relationship to go further. It wasn't ended like they would never see each other again.
And on Ashitaka being able to help the very people that nearly wiped out his people, goes to his character. His strength is his ability to observe all sides, seek peaceful resolutions, and, of course, his heart to forgive. These characteristics are what make him so admirable and I can't wait until my son is old enough to watch it. Ashitaka models humility and forgiveness so well.
When Ashitaka killed the demon Nago he committed a sin, it didnt matter if it was in order to protect his sister and tribe, in Miyazaki's own words *"He did something he should of never done."* where in most stories that would of been a coming of age moment where a boy becomes a man, Ashitaka instead changed from a boy into nothing. He could never return home because the Prince Ashitaka of the Emishi died the moment Nago did, through the rest of the movie we follow Ashitaka the Outsider. This is why Ashitaka can take the neutral stance between all the differing factions in this movie, minus the Samurai who were a general problem for everyone but that was more of a historical problem in Japan at this time period.
I won't forgive myself if I don't recommend ''Nausicaa of the valley of the wind'' My all time favorite, I watch it EVERY year. Also it was nice to hear it for the first time in Dub I think they did a pretty good job 👍🏻
I was going to recommend it too. And they also wear those hats he was curious about, in this anime too. Just be sure not to watch the butchered version "Warriors of the Wind".
This. The first ghibli movie I saw as a kid, and still my fave.
I concur
I concur... It is so good! But idk how it is dubbed if they don't like anime subbed?
@@angelusdemorte3 The dub's not great... they throw a lot of talent at it... but the talent seems misplaced.
Maybe it's because I've seen this movie so many times but I always thought it was fairly clear that The reason Ahitaka doesn't go home at the end is because to leave his tribe means he can never return. It's why he cut his hair and why no one could watch him leave. I'd always assumed it was because his tribe is hidden because of their history of being killed and so leaving has such a terrible punishment. I think it's more told through context though which is why you guys maybe didn't pick up on it on the first viewing. I'm really glad you guys liked this, though! It's my favorite Ghibli movie and the dub is soooo good. It always cracks me up that that super chill guy with the crazy sandals is voiced by Billy Bob Thornton!
that has always been my reasoning too.
That's a great reading of the events. It makes a lot of sense in the context of the story also. Perhaps the elders of the tribe thought that even if Ashitaka did heal himself returning would potentially bring outside influences into the tribes untouched culture.
Yup. His people where not simply sad because he had been cursed and was likely to die... He had to Leave to take the curse with him away from the village and possibly find a cure. But no matter what happens to him, once he leaves he cannot return. So whatever he does with his life going forward it cannot involve his home village and people. They are as lost to him as he is to them. But he, like the other survivors of the whole iron-spirit-forest conflict, can move on and build a new life together.
Wasnt the reason he left his home to find a cure for his curse that was about to kill him? So after he found the cure he could have returned but he found a new home and Mononoke so he never did.
@@teongreen5254 No. By the laws of his tribe once he leaves he cannot ever come back. Cure or no cure. The reason he left was so he could try to find a cure and save his life or, failing that, at least make peace with his fate by facing it.
These are the footwear worn by Jiko, which are called "Ippongeta," and were worn by monks and others when they did ascetic training in the mountains. They strengthen the trunk of the body and at the same time prevent slipping on the mountain paths.
One of my favorite things about this movie is that it's hard to pinpoint a real antagonist, outside of Jigo and his greed. When you look at the three main parties - San and the wolves/forest spirits, Ashitaka, and Eboshi/Iron Town - all of them have good reasons for what they're doing, for right or wrong. None of them are "evil" in the way a lot of antagonists are.
Eboshi and the residents of Iron Town are trying to survive in a world that hates them - I don't know if you caught this, but Eboshi took all the women from brothels and gave them safety and independence, whereas in a brothel they would have been treated terribly. That's why they're so loyal to her. Eboshi was destroying the forest because it was the easiest/fastest way to protect her people. She wasn't doing it out of maliciousness, just a desire to protect the people who depended on her. She wasn't evil, she was very kind in her own way--she took in the leppers who were shunned by the rest of society, and the brothel women who likewise were treated terribly by society, and wanted to do whatever it took to protect them. Protecting her people outweighed caring about the environment for her, because her people had more immediate needs that required the sacrifice of the environment.
All of the main characters were very complex, morally-gray characters who were well-intentioned, whether or not their actions were good or bad.
It's one of the great things about all Ghibli films. There is no "bad guy", just people with conflicting interests.
The real antagonist is hatred and lack of understanding. Its the thing driving everybody's poor decisions. The only person who isn’t letting it consume them is Ashitaka who channels those feeling instead into building that understanding and unity.
A good guy would sacrifice there love for the world as a whole. A bad selfish person would sacrifice the world for those they love’s prosperity.
The original US release of Nausicaa was heavily edited make it more family friendly and diminish the female protagonist. To prevent that from happening to Princess Mononoke Miyazaki's producer sent Harvey Weinstein a samurai sword. It had a note on it saying "No Cuts".
If that ain’t a power move, I don’t know what is
Badass. And completely justified 😂.
"Why is he still saving them?" He has no enemies.
The work rhing isnt a mistranslation as i understand it. A lot of factories/the military used to/still do it. You live on site for so many days and thats considered their shift. Theyre not necessarily on the bellows the full four days. They nap and eat and trade off, but theyd be assigned to that position for four days.
You guys briefly mentioned it, but its something I adore about these movies. I've yet to come across a 'villain' in Ghibli's movies that isn't relatable or understandable in some setting. Every 'bad guy' is really just someone with opposing ideals and actions to the main protagonist. They're not necessarily bad people, they just make choices based on circumstance and I think that's a wonderful and grounding way of story telling in a fantasy world.
Muska, the Army intelligence guy in "Castle in the Sky" is about the most 2-dimensional evil character you'll find.
At first he seems all duty, but then you find that here's nothing but personal greed & lust for power behind it.
To answer your question at 5:13 , you can see he actually hits the sword, he wasn't even trying to kill or maim the guy, just disarm him, but the force of the arrow tore his arms off, you can see how deeply imbedded in the tree the arrow is, almost to the fletching.
Nausicaa is my absolute favorite Miyazaki film. Grew up watching it and have only appreciated more as I got older.
Fun fact: Neil Gaiman wrote the English dub (= edited the English Translation) of the Movie. Which is also a reason the dub is so great in this
The dub sounds terrible
Great huh? They changed some dub lines for the worse. So no
@@teongreen5254good thing you don't choose what other people like
@@Noisetank007
Ah you are one of those people who likes changed lines. Deceive and censorship ftw, right? If I were to choose we would only get originals. So too bad I'm not the one to choose. So lets hope that you will also never be one to choose...
@@teongreen5254 deceive and censor? Bro why are you acting like that 😂 the translation was done by people working with Miyazaki. If you don't like it that's okay but stop acting like it makes you better to like the original you loser
Surely someone in her live must have told her, but she looks a lot like Anya taylor joy😂😊
You can still see this in theaters. Every summer Fathom Events plays random studio ghibli movies on select dates in a bunch of different theaters. Really they do cult classics in general, for instance, last week they showed the exorcist.
Whenever there's a list of best studio ghibli movies spirited away and this are usually listed 1a and 1b
I love that you're watching this! I have a few things (if people haven't said them already) and to appease the youtube algorithm:
-When Ashitaka cuts his hair, he's cutting his ties with the tribe, which is why everyone tries to remain stoic but one of the tribe covers his eyes. This is akin to family member saying, "I'm leaving and I'm never coming back. We will not meet again." This is why he can't go back.
-When Kaya gives the crystal dagger (which wasn't part of the reaction, but still) to Ashitaka, it's showing a bond between two people. Kaya is telling Ashitaka she loves him. It could also be seen as a marriage proposal depending on who you ask. It's why giving the crystal dagger to San was so important.
-Miyazaki's villains (with a few exceptions) are just people with motivations in opposition to the protagonist. With a few exceptions, they're not just 2-dimensional evil people.
-Environmental themes run DEEP in all of Miyazaki's work. Princess Mononoke has some striking similiarties to an earlier work of his, Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind. Eboshi almost seems like a reborn Princess Kushana from Nausicaa. Both of them weren't bad people, just people making hard choices in bad circumstances (though Kushana was more villainous in the animated movie, the manga is almost entirely different). Environmental themes aren't new to Studio Ghibli, they've been a constant staple of the films since the studio's founding, along with anti-war themes.
-Not liking the Forest Spirit is totally okay. It's alien, it doesn't think in human terms. It's a force of nature that lives beyonds the bounds of nature. It's not comprehensible by human minds. Studio Ghibli did a great job conveying this through visual cues.
-Miyazaki specifically didn't want to tone down the violence in the film because he wanted people to see what war looks like.
-The voice of Moro in the dub is Gillian Anderson from the X-Files. She is a huge Studio Ghibli fan and was thrilled to get the role.
"the crystal dagger" - My recollection is that "crystal" was Neil Gaiman's mistranslation of obsidian. And his reaction was, well, what's the difference?
_My_ reaction was **big** difference: "crystal" means the dagger is going to turn out to have some magical power, whereas "obsidian" means these people are barely out of the stone age.
@wwoods66 Oh that's neat. I remember watching the fansub before it was released and Gyoku no Kogatana was translated as "jeweled dagger", which is more literal. The first Kanji is "jewel" or "ball", and the latter two are "small knife". It's not explicitly either but could be interpreted as obsidian. I had originally thought it might be black quartz but it would make sense if it was obsidian.
A little late maybe, but I can add something here … The word/kanji is 玉 "tama", which can mean both aforementioned jewel or ball, but also "precious".
It is part of the word "tamahagane" (玉鋼) or "jewel steel" and guess what - is the base metal Katanas are forged from.
Wikipedia has an entry about it.
So the dagger might have been forged from it too, but at least it was a very precious item.
The old leader of Japan was polygamy.
(Ashitaka)😅
My favorite Ghibli movie! Stellar cast (esp. Gillian Anderson and Minnie Driver, who absolutely nail their roles), and bringing in Neil Gaiman to punch up the script post-translation was a brilliant move.
I did see this in theaters and it was jaw-dropping, just absolutely gorgeous.
Ashitaka's tribe is sorta revealed to be a rather secretive one. When he meets the hunter, the hunter knows about them, but even he eludes to the mysteriousness of the tribe and that they're thought to be long gone. It'd suggest that his tribe actually wants to be kept hidden from the world and is perhaps super rigid in tradition. Afterall they call Ashitaka the last prince of their clan but still have to let him go in order to find an answer for his curse. It may not be said explicitly as to why they are like this but it's pretty well implied that it's a big deal and that they cannot go against it for whatever reason.
It is sort of symbolic for innocence lost. Ashitaka made a choice in killing the demon and the consequence of it destroys the perception of the world he knew forcing change and an acceptance of responsibility. The movie as a whole does a great job of presenting moral ambiguity. Good and evil exist in everyone, and rarely is it ever so blatantly obvious what side of the coin people rest on. Furthermore, people can do bad things in the pursuit of good, and vice versa, that's what it means to be human.
I saw this for the first time when I was 6 years old - before I was introduced to other anime like DBZ or Sailor Moon - and to say this film had a profound impact on me would be a colossal understatement. Still my favorite animated film ever, and one of my all-time favorite films period.
Oh, y'all should watch Grave of the Fireflies... and stock up on tissues, because it's one of the most moving, deep movies ever made about the effects of war (without being a war movie at all).
So to answer your question, Ashitaka is from an ethnic minority group in Japan that was subjagated and basically exiled and they went into hiding. If I recall correctly, even today they are an ethnic minority and descriminated against. But if you watched Avatar, there is a scene where Zuko and Iroh cut their hair, symbolizing them leaving the fire nation. Same here. Ashitaka cut hsi hair symbolizing exile. He could not leave the tribes lands unless he was exiled to find a cure, but once finding that cure, he was not allowed to return to the tribe. Cutting his hair is basically symbolizing his death to the tribe. That was why his tribeman were crying when he left saying their prince was going to be unable to return.
As a Japanese person, I would like to say that the Emishi are not a specific ethnic group, but rather the inhabitants of a part of eastern Japan who did not submit to the central government. The Emishi are also Japanese people, so there is no discrimination against them. I would like to ask, where are the Emishi people who are discriminated against currently?
One of the greatest films (anime or live action) of all time.
If you haven't seen it, I also highly recommend every ghibli movie, especially _Castle in the Sky, Howl's Moving Castle_ and _Spirited Away._
I watched this over and over when I was in middle school. It's one of the films that got me into Anime because it showed how original and beautiful it can be.
The world line of Ghibli is connected. Kodama that appears in this work will become "Totoro" after several hundred years. This was written in reverse.😊
This was my introduction to Ghibli, and it was in a movie theater, with no frame.of reference of what it would be about....needless to say I was transported.
I'm sure others have already told you, but Neil Gaiman was the one who wrote the English translation for this. 🥰🙏
Oh yea! I forgot Ashitaka's people, the Emishi, are a now gone(or admixed) ancient Indigenous group from Northern Japan that WERE subsumed by the Yamato Empire, so it's based on historical precedent. (And you can look up the history of Japanese Riflewomen, it's an entire thing)
The female wolf was voiced by gillian anderson for the english dub
"How Haven't We Seen This?!?"
my first reaction to seeing this video appear was, "How have they not seen this?!"
Same
It's my exact reaction to almost every "first time watching"-titled videos. I mean, how dare you?!
@@adriangaliver it was in jest. but given they seem to like anime, cosplay, and such, I'd think they'd have seen this one by now. Just because they do reaction videos, doesn't mean they've never seen a movie or TV show before in their entire lives.
I got to see this in theater. I feel so lucky. BTW, all of Miyazaki's work has environmentalism in it. - Fun facts. Miyazaki had hand groomed his replacement of head of Studio Ghibli, but he suffered a heart issue and died. So Miyazaki came out of retirement to take over control of this movie and ended up doing something like over 60% of all key frame animations. He worked CRAZY long hours to get it finished in time. This was the first movie to use CGI. while 90% of it is hand drawn cell animation, there is about I think it was 15 minutes of film that utilized CGI. Which was critical in getting the film finished on time. I could be getting these numbers wrong a bit though, This was all in a making of video I watched a decade ago.
Miyazaki got his start at Toei animation. Known for pumping out fast and cheaply animated content. He left to start his own projects because he wanted more detail and subtlety in the animation. Facial micro expressions and body language. Those details you appreciate so much are one of his trademarks and it changed animation in Japan. Massively influenced the animation style. You can even find some influences in Western media. For example:
Fun fact. Miyazaki was originally one of the key animators for the film Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1989) - He developed a lot of the key frame animations and character designs before leaving over creative differences. No one I have found knows or has said what happened, but it seems to be semi amicable. Watch the film again and you will instantly recognize his infuence. His signature is all over the film.
On a more somber note, This film is one of the main reasons Miyazaki strongly opposed his son from making films and an example of his greatest regrets. He spent SO MANY hours grinding to make this and other films happen that he missed out on much of his family and has spoken many times about wishing he would have spent more time at home than at work.
Disney bought the exclusive NA Distribution rights to all of Studio Ghibli films back in the day, and while early marketing wasn't always given a fair treatment, Disney does do one thing INCREDIBLY well and that is professional animation Voice work. While I am a very strict purist for Anime, I have no problem watching any of these in English dub because Disney put quality and money into producing the dubs. Many of the NA distribution companies operated on strategy of cheap and quick IP flipping. Buy the rights and do the dub as fast and cheap as possible with no care for creative integrity. Studio Ghibli is the ONE thing that Disney actually improved on and didn't just trash or abandon. I HAVE to give them credit for that.
I recommend watching Nausica of the Valley of the Wind. and Porco Rosso. For Extra Fun Watch Porco Rosso in Italian with English subtitles!
Whatever you do. Don't watch Grave of the Fireflies without being prepared for emotional Trauma. Most people I know who have watched it swear to never watch it again. You've been warned.
Princess Mononoke is probably one of the more challenging films of Ghibli's repertoire. It doesn't just preach Environmentalism but it also deals with Humanity versus nature, human conflict with humans, the morality of nature vs nurture. The fact that there is no true villain in this film says a lot. We all have our opinions and view points, we just need to find common ground to start over and work together in the end.
Ghibli is well knowed for NOT been preaching about Morality and avoid to be machinean.
Miyazaki always hated how western children's movies only see things in Black or White, when life and the world i more nuanced.
@@Mugthraka Yeah a lot of Miyazaki's influences were his times as a child during WW2 and the after years if i remember correctly. You can see a TON of references about his life and point of view about the war in nearly all of his films. His family Rose in wealth during the war and they lost a lot after the bombings. He then grew up poor and starving with his family but they strived through. He saw the best and worst of humanity and you can see it all in his films.
Laby Eboshi isn't wirh the emperor. As the movie made it very clear in the beginning, she founded Irontown to give a home to those whom society deemed "undesirables": prostitutes and lepers. Judging from her attire, she was probably someone from the upper echelon, possibly once a mistress of someone powerful, and likely an exile herself.
Lady Eboshi is not a villain in the traditional sense. She symbolizes the two sides of industrialization: it helps ppl tremendously, especially ppl less advantaged. But it also destroys nature.
She isn't out the destroy nature, but her means of helping her ppl thru industrialization will inevitably destroy nature. She views the animal gods as just any other animals, She thinks the animal gods will eventually become as dumb as regular animals and humans will rule the land. She represents modern human's own sense of superiority.
She's killing the forest spirit only because she's in debt to Jiko. Her sense of superiority over animals is what led her to believe that she could do the job of killing the forest spirit. She isn't evil pe se, but certainly callous towards nature. Jiko is the truly amoral character.
All of this moral complexity regarding man vs nature is central to the film, as the film is an evolution of Nausicaa's (the film version) simplistic moral views. The manga version of Nausicaa went on for another decade after the film's release and it also evolved into something more morally complex.
Re: why Ashitaka doesn't just go back to his tribe at the end
Once he left he could never go back. Presumably the only reason his tribe survived is because they hid in secret. Going back would put his tribe in danger and potentially lead the samurai warlords to discover their existence.
Re: why Ashitaka couldn't just go live in the forest with San
Because San made it very clear that she couldn't forgive the humans. Ashitaka is still human. She can't just let Ashitaka come live with her full time. It'll take time for her to accept having human relationships, romantic or otherwise.
エボシが精霊を殺しているのは、彼女が現代人を表現したキャラクターだからです。
科学が発展していない時代に、人々は分からないものを呪いやkamiやmononokeと呼んで恐れていた。例えば、日本では皆既日蝕も太陽の女神が洞窟に隠れたとして神話に残っています。しかし現代人は日蝕を恐れません。
エボシには現代人の感覚があり、革命家として古いkamiを恐れず殺すことが出来た。ジコは理由ではありません。
その証拠としてエボシは現代人のように、ハンセン病は呪いではなく感染力の弱い病気だと知っている。人権意識もある。侍が刀を振り回す中で彼女だけが扱う銃も、とてもアイコニックです。
このストーリーのテーマはkamiへの恐れが支配した古い時代の終焉と近代化なので、彼女は物語のマスターピースとしてkamiを殺します。
11:34 Environmental movements have existed in their modern form as far back as the 1950s, even earlier in other forms. Miyazaki's films have always drawn from themes of environmentalism, pacifism, and feminism, but these ideas didn't spring up in a vacuum. Like other industrializing economies, Japan suffered ecological disasters and preventable habitat loss that people like Miyazaki were influenced by.
To understand this movie better, you need to learn about the history of Japan and the ideas of animism, the primitive religion of Japan.
Also, presumably the main character is a survivor of a minority tribe called Emishi and is a member of the royal family. They live in hiding in a small village because they were persecuted by the government of the time.
He was expelled from the village by village law. Therefore, he cannot return to the village. It is said that there are several reasons for this. It was to prevent the location of the village from being known. Because he killed God. It was because they was afraid that he become a cursed god.
Hayao Miyazaki's films (the beloved and revered head of Studio Ghibli) have always showed a love of our pristine earth, and concern of human's depradations upon it. Nausicaä and the Valley of the Wind was also stunning, and a good 5+ years before this.
Welcome to the world of Studio Ghibli! I hope you do more: Would still love to see reactions to Spirited Away and my favorite, Howl's Moving Castle.
Studio Ghibli is always fantastic! Both for the attention to detail and their love for the simple things. Whether its chores or food or just the landscapes. They really, especially with Hayao Miyazaki's films bring magic to the most simple things.
This is not just my favorite Ghibli movie, it is my favorite movie full stop. Speaking of Blockbuster days, this was my go-to recommendation for regulars that asked me for a movie back in the day. I told people that if they came back and honestly didn't like it, I'd comp them some candy on their next rental. Never had to comp candy.
You two are going to love 90% of the Ghibli movies. In Ponyo the hero action crisis is aimed at 3 and 4 year olds, but the scenes and scenery is SO adult beautiful.
Fun bit the Kodama are visually designed to resembled Edvard Munch's, The Scream. Which Edvard Munch claims was inspired by "an infinite scream passing through nature"
"The veil is up. The Aiel go to war."
I had to go back and listen to that again to make sure I heard it. I never hear anyone reference The Wheel of Time, let alone the dance of spears
2:37 Actually I think the monster's curse wigglies were one of the first times Ghibli used computer graphics to enhance the shading on their existing cell animation. But hey it looked real enough in 1997 to fool you guys!
If you pause at 3:13 you can see some cell shaded 3d animation
This was my first Ghibli film. Definitely one of their top films ever.
Only now watching this I noticed the difference in the sound the bow makes when the mc shoots an arrow compared to other soldiers. Shout out to Tsurune for teaching me to appreciate it!
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and Princess Mononoke are tied as my favorite Ghibli movies probably followed by Castle in the Sky.
Nausicaa is awesome!! Castle in the Sky ties with Whisper of the Heart in third place for me.
Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle are always way up there for me too, but I adore Mononoke and Nausicaa as well
Mononoke and Nausicaa are tied for me.
Laputa often gets overlooked by western audiences but it's probably the more culturally significant in Japan than any other Miyazaki films. It defined the steampunk aesthetic before the term "steampunk" existed. And its art design elements and themes had enormous influences on '80s/'90s anime and JRPG.
スタジオジブリの中でも
上位の名作と信じている作品
これが日本の心であると断言できます
ご視聴くださりありがとうございました
While there were exceptions in history, usually exile is permanent. It rarely matters that the circumstances changed or even the reason for the exile. When you were exiled, you were out. As I said, there were exceptions, but if you listen to the wording. If he had returned they would ignore his presence. In some cultures it wasn't even considered murder if you killed someone that returned from exile.
As for the ending, Ashitaka is still human. He needs a community. San accepts this, but she can't forgive the humans. She can accept their presence, but she can't forgive them. So even if she learned how to live as a human, it would go against her nature. So they will meet whenever they can and Ashitaka helps the new town with his unique point of view while San keeps watch over the forest. You could say that just as the two balance each other out, they create a balance between humanity and the wild.
worms in mononoke were the first time cgi was used in a ghibli movie if i remember correctly
I highly recommend watching all of Miyazaki's films, the man is incapable of making a bad movie! From, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and the birth of Studio Ghibli, to his latest film, The Wind Rises, and everything in between are all fantastic and the range of stories he tells is incredible. Even the ones you're tempted to skip, DON'T, there were a few I waited on, just ended up kicking myself for waiting so long.
Ashitaka stayed with iron town to help them rebuild and to learn from their mistakes. Saan has to help the forest regrow since all the gods are dead, forest spirit might still be alive though. And Ashitaka doesnt hold a grudge for the history of his people because the ones guilty of those crimes no longer live. Why hate those who live now and never committed any crimes against his people?
This is in theater this year for Ghibli Fest. I hope you get to see it.
Wow, thanks for letting me know. I totally would have missed that!
A small bunch of us dressed up in various cosplay (I went as Cloud and my future-ex-wife was Tifa), and drove down to Boston to see this when it came to American theaters in '99. Love this movie.
I can't believe you had not watched Princess Mononoke until now, but I'm happy to see you guys react to it. Funnily enough, it's made me realize it came out the same year Final Fantasy VII did, and both of them have a strong plot about looking after the planet and its ecosystem. I was 11 back then so I don't remember the context, hah.
THIS IS MY FAVOURITE MOVIE! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Princess Mononoke takes place in Japan between 1336 to 1573.
Although it appears to be a happy ending, Japan then enters the Sengoku period, and wars ensue for approximately 140 years (1467 to 1615).
Ghibli movies have this weird sense of wonder...its indescribable sometimes
I don’t know where you live but they always do Studio Ghibli Fest in theaters. They have a few Ghibli movies out for a couple of days or so. Princess Mononoke is one of them. I’m looking at the schedule on Fathom Events and it’s in theater 8/5-8/9.
The climate change themes are often important in Studio Ghibli/Miyazaki's films, and so well done. So many other animated films struggled to not make it so heavy handed or over the top (looking at you, Fern Gully), but it really works in Miyazaki's films.
i would really recommend PomPoko as a another studio ghibli work! its incredibly beautiful and has a simmilar message but includes more modern elements. It is definitely one of my favs though it may be slightly weird!!
I think the idea on them working in the forge is they live for 4 days inside the forge switching between groups to keep the fire going and then they will be off for a period of time where a new group of women will be working in the forge.
なんで海外の作品を見るときに自分の国の言語の吹き替えで見てしまうんだ.............
Sometimes it's better that way. Every film is different, just depends. I'm not Japanese so maybe I'm biased (I saw this film in the dubbed English and in Japanese and I prefer the dubbed version).
Saw this movie in the theater WAYYY back in the day in a massive IMAX theater in Seattle. And it was fucking GLORIOUS
Also, if you've played Zelda Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom it will not be hard for you guys to see the parallels with this movie(and other Miyazaki films, particularly "Nausicaa" and "Castle in the Sky")
I find it interesting that your perception is that climate change and environmentalism didn't gain ground until after 1997. The Kyoto protocol was signed in 1997, and it was seen as too little too late. Climate change had been a big deal throughout the 90s and the scientific consensus was well established by that point. Captain planet was saying a lot of this stuff by the start of the 90s. The environmentalist message in this movie was very much not ahead of it's time; it's only due to political inaction that it remains as relevant as it does.
In case it gets taken down. It’s a great movie and needs more reactions.
Wow thank you so much!
My favorite Ghibli movie.
Omg I’ve been here since book club and I have loved Studio Ghibli movies since before I could read they have been a part of my life for so long and I just know they would love these movies this makes me so happy yayayay
Wow what a coincidence, I’m literally watching Princess Mononoke right now!
Studio Ghibli makes some of the best animated movies of all time. I can never decide on my absolute favourite from them, but this is way up there.
mononoke, and spirited away are on my top. The one that ruined me the hardest was grave of the fireflies, but it fcks everyone up.
I like the action advetures (Porco Rosso, Laputa, Nausicaa, this movie) more than the dreamy, meandering, character studies (Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle, Kiki's Delivery, Spirited Away)
I think Spirited Away has become his most popular one over time, but I prefer this one.
When this first released in theaters, I was shocked my city in ND got the film! It blew me away and has been a favorite of mine since. Such a beautiful and powerful anime.
have a nearby AMC you can still see it in theaters for Ghibli Fest
Baby-birding is how people used to kiss in the olden days. It's just efficient that way.
If not recommended yet : Nausicaä of the valley of the wind.
This was also my first Ghibli movie. And my introduction to serious anime. Needless to say, it immediately became a personal favorite, and I went to see it twenty times in theaters.
If you haven't already seen them, I hope you do reactions to My Neighbor Totoro, and Spirited Away (and other Ghibli films!). So many interesting, non-standard storylines paired with fascinating visuals.
Ashitaka is a different person with a new purpose of building a new more modern society that respects nature. The theme of traditionalism vs modernity is a constant in Monoke Hime and Ashitaka's character and journey represents the possibility of the two coexisting. If Ashitaka went back home back to the status quo what was the purpose of his journey? His journey has changed him so much that returning to his old life isn't possible. Plus he has his cool chad wolf girlfriend now.
Miyazaki originally titled this movie THE LEGEND OF ASHITAKA, but his producer thought it would attract audiences more to name it after the female lead (although PRINCESS MONOKONE basically means "Beast Princess"). However, this change had many people complaining how unlikable San is, since the film's named for her as the Main Lead.
I am genuinely surprised that you guys have not seen the Ghibli movies.
Even if you don't get the chance to review them on the channel because of copyright, I highly recommend watching all of them. Except for grave of the fireflies...
YES! Something to watch later after my errands!
Enjoy "BotW a la Ghibli!"
Surprised you were able to post this on YT. I know that’s touch and go with studio Ghibli films.
She’s the spitting image of Anya Taylor joy
I love this movie, it goes HARD from the very first minute and doesn’t let up. 🐺🐺
People have been talking about climate change (and governments have been ignoring them) since at least the 1970s.
This was my very first anything anime related when I was younger and I loved this movie ever since then
People are saying how Across the Spiderverse is the best animated movie of all time, and here I'm saying, they haven't seen a Studio Ghibli masterpiece.
I showed this movie to my class and they were bored and complained they couldn't watch Casino Royal instead.
Your class is shallow then sadly
And to think this was in the theaters alongside Titanic.
It’s not a Ghibli movie per se, but shares some people - Grave of the Fireflies is a must see if you haven’t yet.
I recommend seeing it exactly once. It’s an excellent movie, but it’s… difficult.
Watch it with Totoro as a double feature (the way it was originally released) if you can - one has a happy ending, one does… not.
5:38, it is not the arrows, didn't you see the curse making strange noises and movements on his arms when he bends the arc ? Was pretty obvious the first time I see this, that it was a surnatural power because of the curse ...
As for the violence, Disney buying rights for foreign distribution of Ghibli movies was in the air, and Miyazaki didn't want any alteration without his consent, and lot of people think that make him go as much as possible away from classic Disney policies regarding violence on this one ... didn't see much since Nausicaa (for the graphical aspect at least)
My favorite Miyazaki flick is Castle in the Sky. That 1986 flim is a wild action-adventure film that still looks gorgeous today.
One of the finest films from Studio Ghibli, beloved by animation fans and detractors, and you havent seen it? Im sorry for you. I saw this film as a small child, it was the start of my intense fear of parasites.
Yo, I hate the boars with the worms, too. Thats what did me in, lmao.
This is in theater this year for Ghibli Fest. I hope you get to see it.
This was my first "anime". I had watched sailor moon and dbz but thought of them as cartoons. I saw this in theaters when it came out and it blew my little mind. Been an anime addict ever since.
I don't like anime in general....but I love this movie.
So glad you watched the Dub!
28:55 "Where does it come from, where did it go"- "No!" I am sad Cotton Eyed Joe reference was shot dead in its track. ^o^
Castle in the Sky was the reaction was what I was looking for when I found this! Please do that after Spirited Away!