Juliet Gause, Jusang Jeff Lee, Graeme Rock Princess Mononoke: Summary, Author, and Opinion Princess Mononoke

takes place in the Muromachi Period of Japan. The story starts with a demon boar god threatening the home village of the hero, Prince Ashitaka. After Ashitaka shoots the demon god, it inflicts a curse on Ashitaka that will slowly consume and kill him. He is exiled from the village, and goes in search of a cure. He travels to Iron Town, where he meets their leader, Lady Eboshi. San (called Princess Mononoke by the villagers) attempts to assassinate Eboshi that night for her destruction of forest, but fails when Ashitaka stops the fight and returns wounded to the forest with San. San then takes Ashitaka to a place he can recover. Meanwhile, another boar god, Okkoto, prepares to lead an attack on Iron Town. Battle breaks out and Jiko's soldiers wipe out Okkoto's boar troops and poison Okkoto, turning him into a demon, who unwittingly leads Jiko's soldiers to the Forest Spirit's sanctuary. As part of an agreement, Lady Eboshi shoots the Forest Spirit's head off. The enraged Forest Spirit turns into a large headless gelatinous god of death that sucks the life out of everything it touches in search of its head (which Jiko procures and flees with). Ashitaka and San reclaim the head, and present it to the Forest Spirit, who accepts it and ends its reign of death by creating green growth throughout the area and curing the curses of Ashitaka and the lepers. San decides to go back and live it the forest, Ashitaka consents to live in Iron Town and visit San, Lady Eboshi promises to rebuild Iron Town better than before, and Jiko simply says, Well, I give up. You can't win against fools. Princess Mononoke is a sublime piece of art, with a distinct yet not rehashed message. It is almost in man's nature to destroy to survive, although in doing so, man brings the world closer to its ultimate destruction. Nature in Miyazaki's eyes is greater than man, and will always be so. I believe that this movie does a great job showing that nature is worth protecting and that it is humanity's duty to learn to coexist with the planet and other creatures on the planet. The creator of Princess Mononoke, Hayao Miyazaki is well known for many award-winning anime productions inside and outside of Japan and is often compared to Walt Disney due to the success

of his animated films. Born in Tokyo in 1941, he wanted to be a manga artist in high school but decided to pursue animation when he saw Taiji Yabushitas The Tale of the White Serpent. After graduating from Gakushuin University with both political science and economics majors in 1963, he founded Studio Ghibli in 1985, alongside Isao Takahata. Miyazakis works have been influenced by Lewis Carol, manga artist Osamu Tezuka, his mothers open-minded nature, his experiences gained from switching between multiple schools as a child, and many more. Common themes found in his work are environmental awareness, flying, strong female characters, anti-war, and no absolute good or evil characters. Some of his most well known movies include Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Kikis Delivery Service, and Howls Moving Castle.