Art and OST: I never start my reviews talking about art, but let's get this out of the way. The art is beautiful, and the art direction is awesome. Like other Miyazaki works, it is ahead of its time. The OST fits the narrative. It's not memorable, but it's good.
Story and Characters: Here is the massive problem of Mononoke Hime. Almost nothing has a good explanation, and all the characters are absurdly uninteresting. I am not kidding when I say 9 out of 10 motives are: "just because. The end." The movie leaves you with that sensation of "Wait, that's it?" The so many "twists" the story takes are forced by reasons ranging from "just because" and "hey, that's what I want" to "Why not?". Ultimately, I was assimilating that all I saw made no sense. Here are some more examples of what I mean:
1) The main protagonist, Ashitaka (not Mononoke Hime), is assigned a personal mission. Why? Because it is how it is. Will his journey be pleasant to see? Nope, he is clueless. Here, I must highlight that Mononoke Hime is a tertiary character. If you remove her from the story, nothing will change except that Ashitaka will not be horny. I am dead serious. Ashitaka is so lame and confused that THE ANTAGONIST HIMSELF says, "Where is this guy's allegiance?" at some point in the movie. Think about that.
2) He ends up in the middle of a massive conflict. Will this get developed and concluded? Barely. If you remove this conflict, nothing changes. The story could be done without it. It is there to raise questions that are answered with "Well because I want it" at the end.
3) Then, he ends up in a place where he meets one of the antagonists. The antagonist will go to war with humans and spirits. Why? Because she must and f*** them. Will this get developed and concluded? Yes, in a dumb way. There were 100 ways this antagonist could have concluded this conflict peacefully (based on the story) or, at least, in a better way, but the script goes with the explanation, "F*** them, why not." You might think this is necessary for plot reasons, but it is not satisfactory to understand the antagonist, the character's reasons, and the story's conclusion. This character is the classic "Asshole that is doing a massive evil in this world but treats some people well, so try to get emotionally attached, OK?" This is just terrible in terms of narrative. The story tries to make you empathize with this character because the character helps some people while trying to make you ignore that he/she kills hundreds and is willing to DESTROY NATURE ITSELF.
4) The other antagonist takes advantage of this conflict for his/her mission. What's the antagonist's mission? Emperor's orders. Why did the emperor want such an absurd thing? Because he wants it. That's it; nothing else gets developed. I can not say more without spoiling something, but imagine the Dai Kaiōshin in Dragon Ball Z asking Yamcha to get some dudes and slay Beerus. Just because. It's like Yamamoto from Bleach asking a random shinigami to get some dudes and invade Hueco Mundo. Just because.
5) Mononoke Hime is the only human fighting on the side of the spirits. Why? Because of reasons. WILL YOU KNOW MORE OF MONONOKE HIME? NO, YOU WILL NOT. This is the worst of all. The movie is called Mononoke Hime, and she is a tertiary character with barely any relevance to the plot. She is not the plot's protagonist or the source of change and action. She is there to make Ashitaka fall in love. Man... talk about deception. She is just there. Again, let me repeat it: SHE IS JUST THERE. NO POWERS, NO BIG SKILL, NO STRATEGY, NO MOTIVES. J-U-S-T T-H-E-R-E.
6) Some plot points disappear or are concluded out of nowhere. You think that some open questions will be answered, but they vanish.
7) Finally, I am not kidding when I say that one of the significant story conclusions hints that the protagonist learned nothing from all the events. All you saw was for nothing. It is like seeing Frieren, and after all her journeys and adventures, she concludes, "I should buy a boat. "
Overall: This movie could be watched because of its legacy, especially for anime fans. It is good in terms of mythology and Japanese culture. But, in terms of narrative and characters, it is just way (way) below average. Characters are not charismatic, make awful decisions, and provide even more awful explanations for their actions. The plot is conducted in a "because it is" way, with numerous aspects that are just forgotten and overlooked. Hence, be aware that you might feel exactly like me.
