Welcome to Astral Animations, where we'll examine the imports of Japanese animation currently available in the United States.

This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the movie.

That said, on to the review!

500 years ago, the Emishi fled the expansion of the Japanese emperor and his shoguns. Now, though the Mikado has weakened, so too have the Emishi. And in a twist of fate, the young man, Ashitaka, who had been destined to lead them, has been cursed unto death. It all happens on the day that a strange, monstrous creature erupted from the woods, killing the vegetation as it passed like a blight on the land. Desperate to save his village and his people, Ashitaka succeeds in killing the monster, but not before its touch curses him with a scar that will seep into him until he dies. But the monster is not a monster at all, but a giant boar god poisoned and tormented by something made by men. And now, Ashitaka's one and only chance to lift the curse lies to the west...where the boar came from.

Accompanied only by his faithful red elk steed, Yakul, Ashitaka begins his journey west. But along the way, he learns that his curse comes with a nasty, if somewhat beneficial, side-effect. When he chances upon a village being attacked by samurai, he finds himself dragged into the conflict when warriors attack him. Anxious to escape, he fires two arrows with deadly accuracy and power. One severs a man's arms before he can kill a villager. Another slices through the neck of a mounted samurai, leaving his headless body to topple from his horse. Stunned and scared by his aim, the others let him go in peace.

Soon Ashitaka learns that there is a grave and terrible conflict going on in the west. One noblewoman seeks to mine iron from the land, but her ironworks needs the iron sand that can only be obtained by clearing away the forest. And in the woods there are other gods who, like Nago the boar who was transformed into a demon by the poison eating away at him, will do all they can to stop the humans who are ravaging their forest. Chief among these is Moro, the wolf god, and her three children: two wolves, and San, a human girl who knows nothing but the ways of the wolves...although she can understand Japanese.

Now, Ashitaka--who values the woods but also values human life--must make a choice. Should he side with the people living in the ironworks, whom he has met and spoken with and dined with, whom he has helped and saved, who do what they must do to survive? Or should he side with San, the wolf-princess, and the gods of the forest, who are a part of the land which he so cherishes? Or is there another path he can take, one that will let all sides lose, but will also let all sides win? And, ultimately, is it his choice, or will there be another that forces his hand in another, unexpected direction?

Despite its name, Princess Mononoke seems to actually be more a story about Ashitaka than San. On the other hand, San is the one who must face the greater change in her existence over the course of the movie. And overpowering the roles each plays are the overwhelming themes that run throughout the plot, some of them never reaching a culmination even by the ending of the movie.

I could go off on a religious diatribe and talk about what the whole thing means from a philosophical and religious standpoint, but I won't. If I did, I'd probably be offending half the viewing audience of the movie. On the other hand, there's no denying that the corruption and destruction of the forest gods does make a significant point in the overall theme of the movie. Remember, if you will, that the general conflict is the forest against the ironworks, or nature against humans. What do you think it means when a forest god dies? To be sure, though, this message might well be felt among the Japanese, who are limited in the arable land they can dwell upon and use and who must promote industry and commerce in order to keep up with the world. On the other hand, this message might well be felt among viewers around the world whose nations are sacrificing the natural world for the sake of human expansion and industrial, commercial, and economic growth.

There's a great deal of violence in this movie, and very little of it--if any--is what could be called "natural" violence, or violence that grows out of the natural world. Even though about half the story takes place in the forest, the violence there is also from the human world. So, the squeamish should probably avoid watching this movie in an unedited form, as the site of severed arms or decapitated bodies or heads rolling down the hill will likely turn your stomach. On the other hand, there is also a great deal of emotional drama playing out, so even if the violent scenes turn your stomach, I doubt you'd want to miss a moment of it.

As I said, Ashitaka seems to be the more prominent of the main characters, and his seiyuu, Matsuda Yoji, does a good job of giving him maturity and quiet strength. I often wonder how voice actors know what emotions to express as they perform their roles, but in the long run I guess I don't really care, as long as they do give their characters appropriate emotions. When we see Ashitaka in pain or conflicted, we hear it in his voice. When he's wounded and weary, we can hear it in his voice. The same goes for San, whose seiyuu is Ishida Yuriko. She, too, gives her character the confusion and conflict that San is feeling when we see her confronted by the two sides of her heritage, wolf and human. We hear her anger at that confusion, as well as her desperation to reaffirm that she is a wolf and not a human.

I watched Princess Mononoke on DVD, though I haven't yet watched it in English. The opportunity is there for me, though, so it's no big rush. Unlike some other anime, Princess Mononoke is a release from Miramax and Buena Vista Home Entertainment. You can try their websites for information on ordering it, but it would probably be easier for you to just go to the video store and buy it there. Because it was released in theaters, it is more likely to be available than some other anime.

Interested in buying this video? You can! Just follow the links to order the DVD or English dubbed VHS versions. You can also visit the Stellar Video Store for other titles.

You are the th visitor to this page since April 16, 2001.

Back Home Sign Guestbook View Guestbook

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page