An introduction
The latest Anime by Hayao
Miyazaki just released in July of ‘97!
Titled Mononoke Hime in Japanese, the literal translation in English is Monster Princess, although I've seen some English titles of this movie portrayed as The Princess Mononoke and The Spirit Princess.
I haven't had an opportunity to see this movie yet so I cannot write my own brief description or my impression as I do on my other Anime feature pages. So until that time comes I'll leave you with a passage from the book The Art of The Princess Mononoke, published by Studio Ghibli Company.
There was a time, long, long ago, when people killed the Great God of the Forest.
Human face, body of a wild beast. Horns atop his head like the trunks of massive trees. For what reason did the humans take his life?
The human population was large. Much of the primeval forest had been cut. Here and there, bits and pieces of the forest remained, defying the humans' attempt to penetrate it.
These wooded refuges were protected by giant and godlike beasts, animals of the forest, wild boars and wolves, who would give their very lives to preserve the ancient forest. They were the raging gods of the forest who attacked the humans who invaded their sanctuary. They revered the Great God of the Forest. They did as he commanded.
The clan called Tatara were makers of iron, and it was the Tatara who fought battle after savage battle with the raging gods of the forest.
Their leader was a woman, Lady Eboshi. Her lieutenants Gonza, Otoki and Kohroku did the Lady Ebosbi's bidding.
And the mysterious priest, Jiko, who is sworn to defeat the Great God of the Forest whose ally was he really?
Okotonushi, Moro, a giant white wolf, and Nago are the forest gods who follow the Great God of the Forest(And the tiny forest spirits called Kodama).
The girl San was born a human. But she was raised by Moro to be Princess Mononoke, The Spirit Princess. She loathed the humans who invaded the forest and she sought to protect the sacred sanctuaries by killing the invaders.
An orphaned youth, Ashitaka, a warrior of astonishing skill joins the final battle between the Tatara and the raging forest gods. His arm bears a twisted scar: the spell of a strange curse that is slowly killing him. His search for a way to break the spell has led him to the camp of the Tatara.
Ashitaka and San meet in the midst of the carnage and chaos of the battlefield. Fighting on opposite sides, what hope could there be for feelings of love born of a place steeped in hatred and killing?
In the weaving of this epic tapestry, which current will prove stronger-the battle for the forest between human and beast or the love between warrior and princess?
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