The forest begins to grow again, Lady Eboshi promises to build a better Irontown with Ashitaka’s help, San leaves because she stills doesn’t like humans, blah blah blah a happy ending had by all (of the survivors). He enlists the help of Lady Eboshi since she too wants the Great Forest Spirit’s head (because she thinks with him gone the forest spirits will become dumb beasts, crippling their resistance). She succeeds in beheading it during it’s transformation into the Nightwalker but unfortunately it goes on a rampage, killing everything until it’s head is returned by San and Ashitaka. Besides threats from the forest factions, Irontown is also frequently besieged by lords who want to take the powerful fort for themselves. Jiko-bō returns with a posse of the most talented hunters he could find because it turns out that the head of the Great Forest Spirit is supposed to grant immortality. The boars also attack Irontown in revenge. Particularly, the wolves and the girl they raised as their own, San (the titular Princess Mononoke) have been very active in attacking the residents of Irontown in an effort to push them out. The townspeople clear-cut the nearby forest in order to get the iron sand and fuel necessary for their ironworks industry but this has caused much conflict with the encroaching humans and the spirits of the wood. The same monk also mentions a rumor that the emperor is obsessed with immortality and is offering a huge reward for anyone who can help him with that.Īshitaka eventually traces the the source of the demon-boar and iron ball to a place called Irontown which was founded by and currently ruled by the charismatic Lady Eboshi. In fact, a monk he encounters on his journey westward (who is named Jiko-bō) is surprised that his clan, the Emishi, still exists. While defending his home, Ashitaka is cursed to die a painful death (but gets a super-powered arm which comes in handy during the meantime) and has to leave his community, which has been dwindling and marginalized ever since they were attacked (and supposedly wiped out) 500 years before. The movie takes place in a fantasty world based off of the historical Muramachi Period in Japan. The basic plot that is relevant to this post is that the protagonist, Ashitaka, and his village are attacked by a rampaging boar-god-turned-demon because of an iron ball shot into its flesh. Princess Mononoke debuted in the United States in 1999 and is among the best known Studio Ghibli films over here along with Spirited Away and Kiki’s Delivery Service.
But as an anime-loving gal with an interest in political ecology who is writing an environmentally focused blog, I couldn’t not review the Studio Ghibli classic, Princess Mononoke. It seems I couldn’t even go two posts without breaking my theme of bringing the hidden to light.
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