Mononoke Hime

When an Emishi village is attacked by a fierce demon boar, the young prince Ashitaka puts his life at stake to defend his tribe. With its dying breath, the beast curses the prince's arm, granting him demonic powers while gradually siphoning his life away. Instructed by the village elders to travel westward for a cure, Ashitaka arrives at Tatara, the Iron Town, where he finds himself embroiled in a fierce conflict: Lady Eboshi of Tatara, promoting constant deforestation, stands against Princess San and the sacred spirits of the forest, who are furious at the destruction brought by the humans. As the opposing forces of nature and mankind begin to clash in a desperate struggle for survival, Ashitaka attempts to seek harmony between the two, all the while battling the latent demon inside of him. Princess Mononoke is a tale depicting the connection of technology and nature, while showing the path to harmony that could be achieved by mutual acceptance.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

San Main

Ishida, Yuriko Japanese

Ashitaka Main

Matsuda, Youji Japanese

Gozen, Eboshi Supporting

Tanaka, Yuko Japanese

Kodama Supporting

Yakul Supporting

Moro Supporting

Miwa, Akihiro Japanese

The Forest Spirit Supporting

Iinuma, Kei Japanese

Toki Supporting

Shimamoto, Sumi Japanese

Jiko, Bou Supporting

Kobayashi, Kaoru Japanese

Okkoto Supporting

Morishige, Hisaya Japanese

Suzuki, Toshio Producer

Miyazaki, Hayao Director, Theme Song Lyrics, Screenplay, Creator

Gaiman, Neil Script

Hisaishi, Joe Theme Song Arrangement, Theme Song Composition, Music

Reviews

Nov 10, 2025

SirBunting

Recommended

This is an exciting and well-paced movie full of poignant creative designs. The themes build a network of contrasts, with nature contrasting industry, wild animals and spirits contrasting mankind, and peace contrasting war. However there is very little peace in the movie. It is almost entirely centered on conflict. Brief moments of respite and healing are included but they are overwhelmed by the continuous conflicts. That's why despite the movie's wonderful creativity, it's still overtly unhappy. I can still recommend it fully but this is why I can't go with a 9 or 10; the trend towards unhappiness is, well, a dire thing.

Positives include spirit ... designs, fluid animation (particularly the "frazzled / shaking" and "gooey tendrils" concepts), and striking memorable scenes and stills. The apes that speak in muffled, low tones are striking. So is the forest spirit's silence and its humanoid face. San's face is striking too when Ashitaka is saving her, and the brutality of the war is fully realized. Wherever the characters are standing and whatever they are doing, it feels deliberate and artful. The craftsmanship here is just marvelous, and no mistake. The plot is solid on the whole.

Negatives, for me, include Ashitaka's stone-faced duty and idealism, which gets to a point of uncanniness; it almost feels designed out of spite for how the world is and what you have to do to turn things around... rather than to make him a genuine hero with feelings you can read on his face. He is less a character and more a steady force of plot advancement. The abuses he suffers, even from San who he loves, are dire, to be quite plain about it, so the plot is held together by him like one wire. I'm just left feeling a sense of indignation, which is likely intentional given the whole point of the movie in general. It's not a major detractor, just how I feel about it.

The next point is that I find the repeated dismemberments and decapitations to be too violent; some are presented with a comical look on the mens' faces which makes it both uncanny and too violent, which doesn't really help. When I think of Princess Mononoke, the first thing I envision is the first battle's dismemberment scene. It got engrained in my memory in a bad way. I've seen the medical dummies used for assisting dismemberment injuries in person, and even the dummies are so gruesome. I just don't want that in the movie, even if it's a cautionary tale. Furthermore the movie conflicts with my personal faith, so I don't really know how to feel about "forest spirits" beyond appreciating the cool designs. It doesn't make me want to revere nature, if that's what the creator was trying to make me do. I think My Neighbor Totoro, which depicts them as gentle friends, does it with a little more tact.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jul 4, 2025

ATP_Synthase

Mixed Feelings

Gonna be honest - I don’t really click with most Ghibli movies, and Princess Mononoke was no exception. I know it’s a classic, and I can appreciate the stunning backgrounds, the amazing score, and the unique world-building. Visually, it’s beautiful. But character-wise? It kind of fell flat for me.

The main character didn’t do much for me. He felt really stiff and distant, like he’s just there to be the perfect, righteous guy in the middle of everyone else’s conflict. He never really felt like a person, and I had a hard time understanding what was driving him. The movie just kind of pushes forward without ... giving us much insight into who he is or what he’s feeling.

That said, I did like the way the side characters were handled. San (the princess) and Lady Eboshi were way more interesting and complex. Their motives were clear, their personalities were strong, and they had real emotional weight behind their actions. I wish the main character had that same level of depth.

I get why people love this movie, and I respect the themes it tries to explore, but overall… it just didn’t land for me.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Oct 3, 2024

Yaboisire

Not Recommended

You know when an anime has a high review you're expecting something that's gonna blow you away therefore when i started this anime my expectations were set really high.The intro of the movie really starts off interesting and pulls you in making you anticipate mystery and soo much more.Sure it has beautiful visuals but what else does it do that makes it worth such a high review?Is it because its a Studio Ghilbi film?
Man cause was I thoroughly disappointed every time i got closer to the end. Tbh i wish I never even watched it cause there is really nothing you get out of watching ... it but saying hey, i watched this Studio Ghilbi Film doesn't that make me cultured?

In conclusion this movie is not really worth the time investment at all.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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