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Plot Synopsis

Ashitaka, a prince of the Emishi people saved his village from an assault by an angry demon God, Nago. After killing the Boar God, Ashitaka discovers that the demon was under a curse and that he in-turn was cursed by coming into contact with the God. The curse will eventually kill him and in order to find a cure Ashitaka was forced to travel west to where Nago had originally come from, with a lump of metal as his only clue. During his travels, Ashitaka learns and becomes part of the great war between Irontown and the forest spirits. Caught in in the middle of this raging war he learns that both sides fight for good reasons. The humans want to thrive and grow and the forest spirits want to survive.

Written by syeung321.

Story & Characters

Princess Mononoke is another film created by Hayao Miyazaki. This story is about an Emishi prince named Ashitaka who saves his village from being attacked by a demon but gets cursed in the process and also learns that the demon was actually the Boar God Nago suffering under a curse. In order to find a cure for the curse, Ashitaka had to go to the West where Nago had originally come from and "see with eyes unclouded by hate". With his only clue as a lump of metal (which turns out to be and iron bullet), Ashitaka sets out and encounters many places ravaged by injustice. As Ashitaka gets more and more involved, he learned that there was a great war between Irontown and the Mononoke (or the forest spirits) in which both sides fought for good reasons - humans: to thrive and grow and the Mountain Gods: for the right to survive.

Ashitaka gets caught into this war and tries to resolve the conflict but both sides' hatred were so great that their greatest wish was to kill each other. In this war Ashitaka also finds his love, San, the Princess of the Mononoke and takes her side in the war. In this emotional story, we get to see both sides' point of view and unlike other films, this story doesn't have any particular villains and adds to the uniqueness of this film.

Rating

7 (above average)

Art

The artwork of Princess Mononoke is simply stunning. The style is very unique and differetn to the other animes i've seen (not that i've seen many ^-^) and i really like the uniqueness as it stands out individually and demands attention. All the characters' faces really suited their characteristics and personalities because all the characters had their own individual face shapes, eyes, noses, mouths, hair and bodies which appear almost realistic unlike other animes which have pretty much the same character but with different hair colour and stuff. I think that the most beautiful art was the scenery in which it showed the forest with all its vibrance and life which also made it very realistic and makes us appreciate the beauty of the natural environment where we can also share the love the Mononoke has for the forest. Overall, i really loved the artwork in Princess Mononoke because of its style, colours and the design.

Rating

10 (excellent)

Sound

I have only watched this film in Cantonese but i reckon its not much different to the Japanese version in fact, i think it makes more sense. To me, the voices fitted perfectly with their characters and their personalities and they really conveyed their character's own individuality clearly. I reckon that the music was the best part of the sounds because they really fitted with the theme and the concept of the story. The music was really expressive and emotional and contributes a lot to the film because it makes the audience feel what the character is feeling and makes it possible for us to empathise with the character. I think that the music was very Japanese and classical and fitted perfectly with each of the scenes in the film.

Rating

9 (very good)

Presentation

This film is one of my favourite animes of all time and mainly because of the artwork, the story, the music and the realisticness of the characters and the world that they live in. There is plenty of action, emotion, plot, settings and colourful characters who all have their own motives in the great war between Irontown and the Mononoke but there isn't much of humour so if you are looking for a comedy, this is the wrong place to look. I would recommend this film to anyone who is interested in animations, a good story or an emotional plot. Oh, and also i would really recommend this to tree-huggers and animal-lovers! ^-^

Rating

8 (good)

Final Verdict

8.17 (good)

Reviewed by syeung321, 1y 42wk ago