Grim, long, and an utterly complex epic. This is arguably Miyazaki's most striking work both visually and thematically and for someone who's mainly known for creating soft, comfy films it's understandable to see why.
It's easy to look at Princess Mononoke as an allegory of naturalism vs industrialism, and to an extent it seems that is what Miyazaki had in his mind while he was creating the film. But I'd like to think that Miyazaki rather wanted this to explicitly be a film about how human beings collectively look at nature and the blatant lack of gratitude we have towards it. Rather than solely being a clash of opposing ideologies between two extremes with a centrist protagonist, to me it's like giving the voiceless nature a voice. Manifesting ideas like life and death and giving them literal forms in a world that very much like our own would still be driven to gain from it. Our lack of empathy doesn't necessarily come from the lack of visualization, it's from a lack of knowledge of consequences. Perhaps that is why Miyazaki allows Lady Eboshi to live. To serve as an example that even perpetrators of said rampage sometimes do so without knowing the full picture, rather than pure malice as we would often associate them with and maybe they too, can learn to heed and grow.
I also love how Miyazaki writes his female characters. They're not written to belittle their male counterparts as most modern "feminist" works would tend to depict. "Equity" and "equality" are often conflated and Miyazaki perfectly illustrates how women can also be an active part of different societies whether it's physical work or not. It's a great subversion of how we expect "strong" female characters to be written as male supersedes rather than their own individual characters. San, Eboshi, Kaya, and Toki are all part of various archetypes that work harmoniously well to colour the full female spectrum (at least it comes somewhat close to it). The cast in general is filled with definitive characters, which is one thing you can never deny about Miyazaki's films.
Technically, this film is perfection. Almost everything about it from the gorgeously animated sequences and backdrops to the incredible score is just immaculate.
The ending is what truly sells this. This isn't a film with answers. You're not going to leave with a profound realisation about nature or reality or whatever. It's more so a seeping thought that swells from within. The more you think about it, the more it sticks with you.
Miyazaki is truly a fascinating mind. Undeniably one of the great artists of all time, ever.
