Mononoke Hime

Title:Mononoke Hime
Princess Mononoke
もののけ姫
Overall:Rent
Keywords: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - Studio Ghibli
MIYAZAKI Hayao
R1 License - GKIDS
A young man, cursed with death for saving his village, leaves home to find where the curse originated from. Doing so takes him into the middle of a conflict between man and nature, an unmoving rock between two unstoppable forces. But can he save those he loves and respects while removing his curse? Will he be forced to side against his friends?

[Movie, 1997, 133 min]

3:48min Music Promo/Trailer - YouTube Video
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Buy 10 10 9 8 10 Ggultra2764 [series:149#1552]
As one of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki's more popular works, Princess Mononoke is a movie that epitomizes many of the the typical themes to be found in a work made by Ghibli and the director associated with it. Set in feudal era Japan, Princess Mononoke is focused on a young prince named Ashitaka who is banished from his village after being cursed by a boar god turned into a demon. As he travels the land, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a hostile conflict between residents of an ironworks village led by their strong woman ruler Eboshi and the animal gods of the nearby forest trying to protect their land from man's expansion of their territory. Among the wolves of the forest is a young woman named San who was orphaned as a baby and raised by the mentioned wolves to defend their land.

Princess Mononoke employs many of the typical themes and story elements you would find within a Ghibli work with environmental themes, strong female characterization and no defined villains. The environmental themes come into effect with the preservation efforts that San and the other animals within the forest are doing against Eboshi and the ironworks village, with the destruction of the forest from the ironworks village being done to preserve its livelihood. This serves as a sort of symbolic clash between the natural environment and humanity's industrialized world that it continues expanding. The ironworks village consists of social outcasts within feudal Japanese society such as prostitutes and lepers that Eboshi had taken to her side to maintain and protect the village she governs, creating the lack of defined villains within this movie as both sides have justifications for what they are doing to preserve their livelihoods.

Female characters such as Eboshi, San and the prostitutes making up the ironworks village consist of the strong female characters that are found throughout Princess Mononoke. While willing to take action to protect the sides they support, these characters also have a good deal of depth to them exploring their mentalities and actions throughout the course of the film. This same focus also extends to Ashitaka who plays the role of neutral party within the conflict as he tries to resolve it without both sides wiping one another out, coming to understand how each group views their situation while trying to cure himself of the curse he sustained at the start of the film.

If it is not apparent from what I have highlighted in the review thus far, Princess Mononoke mixes around historical and supernatural lore with its storytelling. Outside of the animal gods, supernatural creatures like kodama and a daidarabotchi are seen regularly throughout the film. In addition, the historical elements of the film are believably depicted with villages being at war with one another to expand their territory, Ashitaka's Emishi village seen at the start of the film being on the decline and Eboshi's village being an uncommon sight for feudal Japan with its feminist-dominated society and acceptance of social outcasts.

Issues with the movie mostly come down to nitpicking. There are a few characters left rather underdeveloped like those among Ashitaka's village and Jiko-bo. While this would be forgiving for the former since they have no prominent role within Princess Mononoke, the latter only exists to push along the plot and doesn't have many defined characteristics to his character compared to major players like Eboshi and Ashitaka. Also the movie may not be appropriate to show to younger audiences as the violence is greater than average for a typical Ghibli film featuring graphic scenes like the decaying bodies of animal gods, decapitations and dismemberment.

Visually, Princess Mononoke is of Ghibli's typical excellent quality as it sports excellent scenic shots of the forest landscape, detailed character designs and fluid animation. The designs of animals make for the character design highlight with their realistic details and action scenes depict fluid and intense movements consistently throughout its run without any loss of detail or apparent shortcuts. The movie makes some use of CG animation that blends in seamlessly with the normal animation style implemented throughout Mononoke, mainly with Ashitaka utilizing the supernatural power of his curse and one of the final conflicts in the movie.

Overall, Princess Mononoke is among one of Studio Ghibli's best offerings in the execution of its normal themes that are implemented into a feudal Japanese setting with fantasy elements. This is a definite recommendation for any anime fan starting off their fandom with a love for any works made by Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki.

Last updated Wednesday, September 16 2015. Created Sunday, July 06 2008.
Buy Violet D [series:149#1393]
This was a movie that had an idea that fasinated me and I liked the character design. A battle between nature and mankind. In the end both sides come to a tie. Their is a bond that starts between the hero and the wolf girl and the movie ends that way. I liked the animation and the art that was done in this movie and I liked the ending. They go their seperate ways but still the village isn't far and they will be able to see each other.

Last updated Friday, April 08 2005. Created Friday, April 08 2005.
Rent 8 9 6 8 5 DillonSOB [series:149#1352]
A lot has been said about Mononoke's profound societal and philosophical commentary/implications, and we all respect Miyazaki's work. But as a piece of anime for fan entertainment, this one falls a bit short. The scenery is stunning and the animation is very realistic, but the whole sense of the artwork is a little too sterile and artificial for me to get into it. It looked like a video game. On the other hand, I thought the music worked well and aptly changed tones from scene to scene. I agree with other reviewers that Mononoke seemed like 1 episode out of a longer series. There was minimal character development and no background (besides our historical understanding of pre-industrial japan). The Princess was one-dimensional, and Ashitaka was too bland to be a memorable hero. It's sad that the animals made the biggest impression as characters. I also thought some of the gratuitous and comical violence was out of place (Ashitaka decapitating/dismembering people with his bow & arrows). The ending and some of the dialogue was way too cheap and Disney-like for me, but it's worth a watch. And please, avoid the dubbed version - even with celebrity voiceovers it's horrible!

Last updated Tuesday, May 11 2004. Created Tuesday, May 11 2004.
Buy 9 8 10 9 10 lost emotions [series:149#1092]
All i can say is WOW! I rented the vcd and now i have to have to buy it. This story shows the conflict between man and nature, and how men aren't evil, but they are too consumed greed and power. This anime outputs alot of hidden messages, and the music is fabolous. Throughout the whole movie, it keeps sending out messages that life is the most important thing in life, and it really changes your perspectives on things. For people looking for an anime you can watch and the plot is hurled towards you, don't watch this. This anime sends out the plot slowly and quietly. Glibli Studios has a way of making the watcher very sad, but not because of people dying.
I loved this movie very much and i think YOU SHOULD ALL BUY IT!

Last updated Sunday, December 07 2003. Created Sunday, December 07 2003.
Buy 9 9 7 7 8 MasterYoshidino [series:149#598]
Just like spirited away , hime is definately worth buying if you are into works by studio ghibli. very good plot and storyline. obviously they know how to present a good storyline and that is what makes me personally purchase anime or anything.
those that are into anything ghibli should also watch hotaru no haka , which is also a miyazaki hayao work. i just wished the disney release was a kept up as the japanese release. feels like disney does as much good as nutech sometimes.

Last updated Saturday, November 01 2003. Created Saturday, November 01 2003.
Rent dhrachth [series:149#962]
I watched this about a year ago and all I can remember is that the heads popping off was really neat. Not a sign of a great anime, especially considering that I can remember entire plots of movies I saw once nearly a decade ago.
It didn't suck, I think I liked it at the time, but it couldn't have been overly impressive.

Last updated Thursday, September 11 2003. Created Thursday, September 11 2003.
Buy 10 10 9 8 Paranoia [series:149#921]
Princess Mononoke is probably my favorite anime movie ever. The animation is excellent and the characters were interesting and very well developed. The only thing about a few of the characters in this movie that I didn't like is that they used no logic or common sense whatsoever.. however, most of the characters who did this were animals, so I suppose that could be expected.
I loved the plot. To add to how great this movie is, there is even some humor.
I suggest watching the subbed version, tho the dubbed version has some well know actors and actresses doing the voices (noteably, Billy Bob Thorton.. and I found that his voice didn't fit his part well.. too western sounding), the original Japanese voices sound better for the characters.
This is one movie that I'd love to see a sequel to.. it would have to be an extremely well done sequel to follow up a movie like that, but I'd still like to see a sequel.

Last updated Sunday, August 17 2003. Created Sunday, August 17 2003.
Buy 10 10 8 10 9 Miss Cleo [series:149#861]
Wow! This was by far one of the best anime movies I've seen so far! The artwork is stunning and the music is some of the best that I've ever heard in an anime. I love the story too. It reminded me of a Navajo myth that read about a long time ago, and I think that helped me to understand and truely appreciate this movie. Reading some of the other reviews I think some people didn't get what Miyazaki was trying to get across. Some parts of the movie are sort of symbolic and shouldn't be taken literally. For example, the arrow severing off body parts was just to emphasize how powerful the hatred was that was infecting and spreading through him.
I like the way the characters are a little good and a little evil in this movie, because that's the way people really are. But I felt sorry for Ashitaka because it seemed like he was just caught in the middle. He was the one truely decent character who was trying to be good to everyone equally, and it seemed as if he got crapped on the most.
Definately see this movie!!! Even if the story isn't your style the animation alone is worth watching it for.

Last updated Wednesday, July 30 2003. Created Wednesday, July 30 2003.
Watch 8 10 7 9 5 0 Devil Doll [series:149#752]
[Score: 72%]
  • Drama: Med/High (an epic conflict that will cost some casualties)
  • Comedy: None (knowing that you're slowly dying isn't all that funny)
  • Action: High (including chopped-off body pieces)
  • SciFi: High (including gods as characters)
  • Ecchi: None (wouldn't fit into this movie anyway)
It is a difference whether you have 133 minutes of one movie or six 22 minute OVA parts with commercial breaks. This anime is a movie - it doesn't try to introduce characters or show individual episodes, it just follows its story line. Whether this worked or not, whether this is a political message or just a fairy tale, has to be decided by those who watch this show.
The presentation stunned me. The Art is great, the Animation is outstanding with lots of high-speed movement. The Music instantly reminded me of a fantasy movie I love, "Willow" (score by James Horner), and helped a lot to create a fantastic mood for me. There are not many movies that have me watch them excitedly when I see them the first time, but this one did.
Not a single one of the Characters is just plain good or bad, they all have credible motivations for what they are going after. Despite doing certain great things, Ashitaka isn't the glorious hero to me, but more of a catalyst who makes things happen instead of doing them himself (which would be difficult anyway, being surrounded by mighty powers like this). I respect many of the characters; on the other hand, I didn't manage to love any one of them (my favorite being the wife of the wounded man brought back by Ashitaka to the town of Lady Eboshi). There are just too many of them, and two of the most promising ones (San and Eboshi) don't really progress, they just turn around at some point. Anyway, the film seems to focus more on its message than on the characters.
Which leaves the Story to be the element which I have a problem with. And I'm not just talking about political messages here. But things progress so absolutely into a direction where nothing but a huge miracle can save the day, and... that miracle is going to happen. In the end many things turn out different from what they might have been, just to provide some happy ending that I wouldn't have asked for (does Kyuuketsuki Miyu (TV) need one?). The individual sections of the story are nicely performed, but the "solution" of this conflict is rather a Cntrl-Alt-Del reboot: "Problems!? What problems?? Were there any problems?", thus smashing my rating of this otherwise powerful movie.
Anyway, this is a movie that I will use to introduce people not knowing better than "toons are for kids" to the world of anime, so that they may at least feel the atmosphere.

Footnote: This is the first anime that I watched with a great dub in my native language! Not only was the language believable and appropriate to the cultural background, the voice actors sounded even motivated and added to the fantastic and dramatic atmosphere. Yes, it can be done if you really try!
Another footnote: This movie is actually popular enough now (i. e. in 2006) to run in German free TV on Christmas Eve - at prime time!

Last updated Sunday, August 14 2011. Created Thursday, July 24 2003.
Rent 8 9 7 8 8 Conardo [series:149#663]
A great movie. You should rent this right away but I think after seeing it 4 times...It's getting quite boring. A very good story. For once there's no ecchi-ness in this anime!
The music is great also. Some very good instrumental comes at the right time and flows well with the ambiance. It's easily on my Top 10 favorite Anime Movies.

Last updated Tuesday, July 22 2003. Created Tuesday, July 22 2003.
Buy 10 10 10 10 10 10 Anonymous #864 [series:149#864]
It's Studio Ghibli, enough said.

Last updated Sunday, July 20 2003. Created Sunday, July 20 2003.
Rent 8 9 8 9 9 bekku [series:149#816]
i rented this at my local video place and it was a wonderful movie to view. the basic storyline was well written and the art was pretty good except for a few parts that were just EXTREMELY exaggerated. i mean...an arrow can't possibly remove a whole limb from a human body unless it's a pretty damn huge arrow. that part was kind of funny, yet a like over done to me ^__^;
well, the interesting creatures in the movie were quite delightful, like the little woodland creatures that often click their little heads were so addictive to watch. they must make a bobblehead thing of those for personal enjoyment ^____^;

Last updated Sunday, June 29 2003. Created Sunday, June 29 2003.
Watch 9 7 4 8 3 3 Mallow_Toxicant [series:149#757]
Hmm, what can I say... I was disappointed. It tried very hard to be a drama, but lost most of its impact to its weak cast; it may have tried to make a point, but failed to make much of a point other than that some things are bad, some things are good, and some things may even have both. How very profound.
Even though the art was impressive and the art of the animation was better than that of most anime, the characters were some of the most annoying I've encountered in an anime, and often their vaious designs seemed to be incongrous. The protagonist is a very interesting and likable guy, and I wanted to be swept up into his personal quest. However, I loathed most of the other characters. From the boggly-headed villagers to the annoyingly choleric Mononoke, they all grated on my nerves untill I hoped that Mononoke would get eaten by the spirit of the forest. The plot, which wasn't that astounding anyway, seemed at times to be secondary to characters yelling angrily at each other. But hey, the art is pretty darn good, if not amazing. And you'll probably like it; almost everyone seems to. I don't know why...
NOTE: If you understand Japanese, I envy you. The English cast was awful, and I don't know enough Japanese to go with original dialogue (and couldn't make myself watch it *again* with subtitles).

Last updated Sunday, June 15 2003. Created Monday, June 09 2003.
Buy 10 10 10 10 8 poneru [series:149#638]
This was a wonderful movie. It was beautiful in every aspect. I think anyone with any sort of inclination toward anime should go aout and by this exeptional piece of work.

Last updated Friday, June 06 2003. Created Friday, June 06 2003.
Buy 10 9 10 10 8 8 ford4ever [series:149#661]
princess mononoke is good movie. but giving it a perfect 10 is a little much. the animation is amazing yet im not a huge fan of miyazakes style. the story is where this movie kind of faulters. the tale of animals vrs. humans fuels a plot about the dangers of hatred. it's not really all that complicated and thats what i don't like. i like plot twists and intrigue which this has some of. it really gets interesting with the monk. but i could do with out the constant referance to ahitakas curse. over all this movie is a very good movie thats worth a buy. however the blockbuster cast, excellence yet different in animation and the awsome battle scenes got bogged down by the story. i liked it alot but a perfect 10? no. theres alot better anime out there. princess mononoke's candle flickers in the devine wind of the rurouni kenshin ova. good but not spectacular.

Last updated Wednesday, April 30 2003. Created Wednesday, April 30 2003.
Buy 10 10 9 9 9 AstroNerdBoy [series:149#436]
I think this is the first anime title that I would have loved to have seen on the big screen in theaters. As usual, Miyazaki's attention to detail are just awesome, however, of the movies I've seen thus far, this one takes the cake (so far). The beauty of some of the landscapes was increadible and even Iron Town was given a certain dark beauty to it. Very impressive!

Story-wise, the title may be Princess Mononoke, but she's not the central character. She's (also known as San) a very important part of the story as she represents nature. However, the main character is a young prince named Ashitaka. He sets out on a journey to discover what turned a god boar into a demon creature after he was infected with a curse. The other central character is Lady Eboshi who runs Iron Town.

As is typcical in most of Miyazaki's films, this one is preachy and contains a lot of leftist views. The movie started of seeming like an anti-capitallist/anti-industry film. But where Miyazaki succeeds is in showing the residents of Iron town and making their leader Lady Eboshi not an evil monster but a kind, compassionate humanitarian. She rescued many women from a life in brothels as well as many lepers. These people aren't charity cases but help her in her quest to make rifles and advance them technologically. On the other hand, San is not evil despite all of their attacks because the wolves and stuff are defending their way of life -- which doesn't appear to include humans (San excluded of course).

There is a slight romantic element between San and Ashitaka, but nothing deep or mushy. It plays off naturally and it made me smile at the end. Also, Ashitaka's decision at the end of the movie surprised me to a degree as I keep expecting a hard-left political statement. However, Miyazaki's conclusion is that both sides are neither wrong nor right and he doesn't slam capitalism, industrialism, or the advancement of humans technologically.

Bottom line: Beautiful art and animation combined with a very interesting story and nicely developed characters make this a worthy addition to anyones movie (or anime) collection.

Last updated Wednesday, March 19 2003. Created Wednesday, March 19 2003.
Buy 9 9 9 9 9 9 AntitrustSpider [series:149#542]
I heard about this movie from a friend. I bought it without really knowing anything about it and I wasn't disappointed. I thought it was a great movie, with great animation, and a great nature based story.

Last updated Sunday, February 16 2003. Created Sunday, February 16 2003.
Buy 9 9 9 10 9 8 Sesen Kelader [series:149#471]
As usual, Mononokehime's music is made by Joe (this is a Japanese name) and as usual is great. As usual, the main actress still has the similar-feature face. As usual, the humans and the nature interact with one each other greatly.
The inharmony between humans and the nature is frequently the object in Miyazaki's animes. Mononokehime brings it to another level. The cause of the evil is made by man, yet the evil origins from the nature. Implicitly it expresses the idea that humans and the nature are one, are inseparable. While humans try to live better and seize resources so much that it greatly harms other life, the Nature on the other hand repels and tries to get the resources that do not only belong to humans back. Between this negative interaction, "evilness" comes out as the result of greed, desire, violence, pride, and selfishness. Mononokehime includes these kind of senses in its scenes. Neither sides of the Nature and humans are right or wrong. The wrong is that each does not respects the other and causes catastrophic devasation. Miyazaki's anime often expresses the idea that to live in harmony is the best and vital way for men and the Nature and also gives the idea that there is always hope and solution for the wrongdoing, as long as one wants to and tries to find.

Last updated Thursday, January 02 2003. Created Thursday, January 02 2003.
Rent 8 9 78 8 6 8 Ðå kïÐ [series:149#464]
The movie was one of the best i've seen give it watch it is really ok, this was the first anime i've watched (just started watching) and its and ok flick to watch here and there if u want a good i mean a really good anime check out vampire hunter D: bloodlust and ghost in the shell.

Last updated Monday, December 23 2002. Created Monday, December 23 2002.
Rent Barry [series:149#122]
This is a pretty darn good film whose shining virtues have been extolled at great length in the above reviews, but it just didn't quite hit the mark for me. Sure, it looked great and had some interesting plot concepts and characters, but overall, the film piles on Miyazaki's opinions on environmentalism a little thick. Too much for me, at least. Don't get me wrong: it's good to see a movie with some brains every now and then, but, if you're like me, you want to be entertained by a flick and not beaten about the head and neck with its "message." However, I still love Mr. Miyazaki (Kariosutoro no Shiro makes my list of Top Ten Greatest Movies Ever Made, Animated or Otherwise) and, even thought I disagree with some of his opinions, I will fight to the death in order preserve his right to share them with others. So, with that in mind, I implore you to go rent Princess Mononoke and, hopefully, you'll enjoy it more than I did.

Last updated Monday, January 14 2002. Created Monday, January 14 2002.
Buy Atsumi_Yamaki [series:149#259]
This was so great I couldn't even rate it. I loved it. It is an anime master peice. There is action a very tiny bit of romance violence a little bit of every thing.

Last updated Friday, January 11 2002. Created Friday, January 11 2002.
Rent 6 7 7 7 8 8 V-babe [series:149#237]
Mononoke Hime was an OK anime. It definatly could have been better if they went into the relationships and personalities more. I didn't really enjoy it, and it wasn't entertaining. The animation and art could have definatly been better. If you're looking for a drama with a teensy bit of romance and some action check it out. Otherwise, this one is better left alone.
P.S. I agree with The Coyote about it being politically centered.

Last updated Sunday, November 11 2001. Created Sunday, November 11 2001.
Avoid 1 1 1 1 1 Kaneda [series:149#87]
I heard so much about this anime how it was so great and how its one of the most inspired anime of all time. Frankly I was quite dissapointed.
since everyone here seems to love it I'll give it more try, stay tuned .. i guess.

Last updated Wednesday, September 05 2001. Created Wednesday, September 05 2001.
Buy 10 10 10 10 10 X [series:149#157]
WOW. I don't know why rent is the overall score but this is an exceptional movie. The characters are so well done you feel for them and a part of them represents you. I really love how there are no bad guys whatsoever. Everyone has their flaws and bad side. The music was amazing, really giving that spiritual edge. And the animation, Miyazaki has really outdone himself and could not have done it better. So smooth, so detailed, so beautiful. The theme is amazing, the ambiguity of the theme is amazing. It just adds more to the movie. Is the movie about man vs. nature, is it about pride, is it about man losing their spriritual sense, violence and its consequences, politics? The list goes on and on, and as you watch more, there are more things revealed each time. This makes sense why this has been #1 on the list in Japan. It was plain amazing. So sad America had to endure anime in the form of Pokemon instead of the way true anime was meant to be. I suggest buying this right... NOW.

Last updated Monday, March 26 2001. Created Monday, March 26 2001.
Buy 10 10 5 8 10 Midnighter [series:149#94]
OK, first off, to everyone who says I'm not a true Otaku cuz I call it "Princess Mononoke" instead of "Mononoke Hime":Screw you.
Princess Mononoke is truly an inpired and awe-inspiring work of art.
State of the art animation, great characters, and a great, environmentalist story make this a really enjoyable anime.
I'm not a big fan of Miyazaki's character design style, and Mononoke is no exception. The characters all look like Miyazaki's other characters and they all look as though they could come from any of his films, just change the names. I suppose it's merely a matter of preference.
The beautiful animation sucks the viewer right into the story so that one can almost smell the wet, lush forest. The painted backgrounds match anything Disney has put out, and the CG is usually unnoticable. Beautiful, subdued orchestrated music prompted me to buy the soundtrack. An intricate, intelligent story follows characters that are neither distinctly "good" or "bad" and this interesting lack of a true villian was so much better than the usual good and evil battles. All sides have their reasons, and the audience can, if not sympathize, at least see where everyone is coming from.
What's wrong with being political? Mononoke has a great political message about coexistance with the natural world, more power to 'em. (Then again, I AM a bleeding heart, tree hugging liberal, so it tended to agree with my views)
People seem to be a bit harsh on Mononoke, I guess because of all the hype surrounding it. I feel that for the most part, because of the reasons stated above, Mononoke deserves the hype.
The ending was a little disappointing at first, as it's a tiny bit anti-climactic and rather emotionally detached. But I still loved this film.
And I'm still gonna call it Princess Mononoke. Just because it pisses so many American "otaku" off.

Last updated Monday, December 03 2001. Created Monday, March 05 2001.
Rent 8 8 7 Black Panther [series:149#142]
I was not to suprised with this anime, I found it entertaining, but not something i would watch over and over. It did have some entertaining value dont get me wrong, but coyote is right all the way, when he states it was more political then anything else. It has a lot to do with Gods being animals and the war between "mother nature" and man. So if you go for this sort of thing, by all means get it. I would not rate this as a show for kids.

Last updated Tuesday, February 20 2001. Created Tuesday, February 20 2001.
Watch 6 6 7 CatWoman [series:149#65]
This was an O.k. movie. It's plot was not profound in anyway! The Charicters were...diffrent. I would not sujest buying it or really even renting it. If its on T.V. by all means watch it, if there isn't anything better on.

Last updated Friday, February 09 2001. Created Friday, February 09 2001.
Rent 8 8 7 9 8 The Coyote [series:149#64]
This was an enjoyable epic but perhaps I was expecting to much. I didn't see so much a spiritual show as a political show. Now I certianly agree with the message perhaps I just prefer my movies to just entertain me not sway my politcal veiws. This is an envormentalist show, heavly so if you ask me. so I found it disapointing. that is not to say that its not worth seeing it was still entertaining and griping definatly worth seeing I do recomend it.

Last updated Wednesday, December 27 2000. Created Wednesday, December 27 2000.
Buy 10 10 10 8 9 Dr.Yoshi [series:149#110]
I got this DVD for Christmas. And I have to say that this is a must for all anime lovers. This is a must for anyone who just likes great movies. With some of the best animation I've seen, a wonderful story line, and great characters (Ashitaka, and Mononoke rule!) this movie will go down in history.
There is a spiritual feeling to this movie that is not seen in most films today, much less most anime. If I had to recommend one anime to watch this would be it.
I think one thing I liked about this story was that there (well to me) was really no set villain. Many people I know tend to think that Lady Eboshi is the main villain of the movie. However I don't believe that to be true. This movie speaks on many leaves of many different people, and the lines of what is right or wrong, are blurred.
This movie also opens up other doors if you know and understand many religious beliefs of many Japanese people. However I am not a Shinto priest so I shouldn't go on about it.
But a side from all of that Mononoke Hime is just plain great film making. Don't miss this one folks.

Last updated Sunday, December 31 2000. Created Monday, December 18 2000.
Buy 10 10 9 9 10 Courtney [series:149#80]
TOTAL GRADE: 96% A
Animation doesn't get more breathtaking than this. PRINCESS MONONOKE reshapes our perception of things around us in a visual and spiritual way and I feel nothing but pity for a soul who isn't moved by at least SOMETHING in this epic. This is a film that spans so many genres of anime that it makes it near impossible for someone not to appricate it. The action is not overblown or drawn out, rather needed and expected from the story. None the less, most anime fans will be hard pressed to find conflicts as beautiful, tragic, and impressive as those in PRINCESS MONONOKE . The characters are masterfully developed and have a breath of life to them. Each have their own struggle and agenda which blurs the lines between who is "Good" and who is "Evil" if there is such a thing in this story since all seem to be working for an end that sounds reasonable enough (Well...maybe not the monk). The animation itself is reason enough to at least rent the movie and I promise it won't disappoint. PRINCESS MONONOKE is and will remain one of the universal examples of anime. If only more animes (hell movies) could be as beautiful and well-written as this.
Anyone who knows that there's more to anime than Sailor Moon, Pokemon, and Draganball Z (no insult intended for any of those titles)will be moved somewhere deeply by this movie, if not by the story, then by the divine visual affect or stunning bouts of action. See PRINCESS MONONOKE by any means you can.
Other tales of the human spirit:
GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES

Last updated Tuesday, December 04 2001. Created Wednesday, September 27 2000.
Buy 10 10 7 8 9 9 skyknyt [series:149#29]
One of the single best anime features I have seen. This movie EASILY rivals the excitement and epic adventure of a hollywood movie, but actually has a beautiful story and characters behind it. A must watch feature, too bad such a great film was practically thrown away in favor of the Pokemon movie, it could have been the biggest film of the year.

Last updated Saturday, April 29 2000. Created Saturday, April 29 2000.

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