Yesterday I had the good fortune of watching Princess Mononoke, a rather well-known Anime title from Hayao Miyazaki and the creators at Studio Ghibli. When I first showed it to my mother, she expressed surprise the I had not viewed it before, as I had not known that it was rather famous. However, my friend Joyce who loaned it to me referred it to me with good reviews, so I was sure it was going to be a good movie. Boy was I right. It was an excellent thing to wake up to…nothing better than waking up to Anime.

Princess Mononoke follows the adventures of a young warrior named Ashitaka. Inflicted with a deadly curse contracted from a battle with a Boar God turned demon, Ashitaka must find a cure for his curse before it destroys him. All he has to go on is a small iron orb that was found lodged in the Boar god’s corpse. Along the way, he meets Chigo, a traveling monk who mentions something abut the emperor’s quest for immortality. He reaches Iron town, a fortress-like village where the ruler of the town, Lady Eboshi, manufactures primitive rifles, which use, you guessed it, the small iron balls as ammo. Backing up his suspicions is the Eboshi’s tale of wounding and chasing off a boar god from a forest with one of her rifles. Caught in the middle is Princess Mononoke, a girl raised by the wolf god of the forest, who lives as one of the beasts of the forests. Ashitaka must now learn how to cleanse himself of the curse and appease the Boar God’s spirit before he is consumed by the mark on his arm.

A beautiful movie, Princess Mononoke is a wonderful tale that has some excellent storytelling, a good plot movement rate, and wonderful characters. This story captivated me and kept me interested for all 131 minutes of this amazing piece. I would highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys a good fantasy tale.

Once again, feel free to leave comments. Until next time…