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Post by Lyss on Oct 2, 2010 1:04:38 GMT -5
Princess Mononoke Anime Movie Review Princess Mononoke, or Mononoke-Hime as in the original Japanese, is an anime movie written and directed by Miyazaki Hayao of Studio Ghibli. The movie was released in Japan on July 12th, 1997, and later released in the United States and Canada on October 29th and November 16th, 1999 respectively. Studio Ghibli has produced such movie masterpieces as Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and the Cat Returns.
Princess Mononoke is a nice movie, definitely, but not the best one as everyone makes it out to be. The plot is fairly simple; Ashitaka, the last Emishi prince, battles a gigantic, sickly boar named Nago in order to save his village, during which his arm is wounded. He finds out that a curse will spread throughout his body from his arm, and will eventually kill him. The only way for him to get a cure is to go to the land where the boar came from. He journeys west, and comes across Iron Town. Along the way, he discovers he has super strength, and that the god of the forest of the mountains in the west should be able to help him. At Iron Town, he meets Lady Eboshi, the head of Iron Town, which is a town that clears nearby forests in order to make charcoal to smelt for ironsand. Soon thereafter, a mysterious girl in wolf’s skin enters the village, causing a ruckus that really gets the story started. Ultimately, the plot and the movie itself seem to promote caring for the environment, and the animals that live there. (San, the wolf girl, has two wolf “brothers” that surround her, and loathes humans with a passion.) However, beyond that, there is a deeper meaning. All the characters have a reason to act as they do – they each have their own perception of what is right. Eboshi is simply doing what she believes is best for her village, and for the women that work at the smelters. Nearly all the women were formerly prostitutes that worked at the brothel – Lady Eboshi freed them by giving them healthy, normal work. San acts like a wolf, an animal (like most humans, really) – she does what she needs to survive, and help her pack and the rest of the animals.
The movie keeps you engaged, combining Japanese mythology with a simple but original plot. Every single character’s actions can be justified based on the view point you look at them, which makes them well-developed and well-fleshed out. For me, though San steals the show – she’s just such an interesting character, although I may be biased because of the wolf aspect. Wanting to know what will happen to Ashitaka keeps you want to keep watching regardless if you find it really interesting or not, which I guarantee you will. There is not too much action per se, but each of the characters push the others into different situations that force them to react. Cause and effect – another thing the movie exemplifies. Ashitaka kills a boar because it is attacking his village – he needs to save his home. The boar was, in fact, a god that was berserk, and in pain. The boar cursed Ashitaka, in defence of his own life. Cause and effect – the boar caused Ashitaka to attack it, which in turn caused the boar to harm him, which is the entire basis of the plot. Had Ashitaka not attacked the boar, the plot, the meaning behind the story most likely wouldn’t exist.
Bottom line, it is a movie with a message: don’t destroy the environment, care for the animals, too. I like animals, so I like this message. Summarizing, the movie is a good one and worth watching. However, it is not the most amazing movie ever.
8/10 stars
Credits This review was written by me, Lyss. Please do not redistribute without my permission, or claim as your own. Criticism and suggestions are welcome. Thank you. Princess Mononoke is the property of Miyazaki Hayao-sensei and Studio Ghibli.
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Post by Deko on Oct 2, 2010 1:26:49 GMT -5
Good review Lyss it's been a while since I've seen this one, I'm definitely gonna have to give it another viewing. Also, I tweeted this via the Kai-Kanji twitter account
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Post by Lyss on Oct 2, 2010 2:00:43 GMT -5
Thanks Deko~. And awesome! x3 I'm on Twitter! xDD /waves to Twitter-ers [/sup]
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Post by edenwax on Oct 3, 2010 15:23:17 GMT -5
Great Review Lyss! I agree, it wasnt the best movie, but it was pretty gosh darn amazing.
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Post by Kronos on Oct 4, 2010 21:59:37 GMT -5
Wew! Great review so I just downloaded it, but I probably won't get a chance to watch it until This coming weekend. Homework is crazy! And Midterms are coming up! First movie is Du Barry Was A Lady, then Princess Mononoke!
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Post by Lyss on Oct 5, 2010 12:07:38 GMT -5
That's great, Kronos! I hope you enjoy it!
And yeah, school's been killing all my free time too. x: [/sup]
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Post by Selekah on Oct 12, 2010 10:55:07 GMT -5
Nice review. I wanna be on Twitter!!!!
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Post by Lyss on Oct 14, 2010 16:53:46 GMT -5
Thank you~.
You'll get on Twitter someday, Reso! Believe it!
...
I didn't intend that to be a Naruto pun. 'ttebayo. [/sup]
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