The Art of Princess Mononoke

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On a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest and Tataraba, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime. Mushishi is like Princess Mononoke as it delves into the importance of preserving and cherishing nature. This anime features a likable protagonist who gives off a relaxing vibe, replicating the areas he visits while traveling.

The New York Times review, written by Janet Maslin, called Princess Mononoke a "landmark feat of Japanese animation", with images, such as plants and flowers springing to life beneath the Shishigami’s hooves, that are "simple, meaningful and ravishingly presented". Nowhere is it mentioned that the film is too long. "And all of a sudden," says Gaiman, "the next thing I hear is that the fancy launch and giant marketing roll-out for Princess Mononoke that had been planned was not going to happen. It was going to roll out in 10 cities with no particular advertising push behind it. Harvey didn’t even show up for the premiere in Hollywood.While Nanashi is unwilling to help them further, Kotarou bribes him to become their bodyguard until Tobimaru’s healed. Meanwhile, a deadly swordsman pursues Nanashi, Kotarou, and Tobimaru. This swordsman wants to fulfill his master’s prophecy and capture Kotarou. Accordingly, the anime revolves around their journey through a perilous world. I was very disappointed with this art book. It offered very little insight on the movie and was basically a retelling of the film (though not a very good one) with high quality images taken from the film and storyboards. Every so often you get a few concept sketched for characters, but these are very sparse. With Studio Ghibli," says Napier, "you have a sense that, contrary to the Judeo-Christian Western point of view, humans are not necessarily the dominant creatures in the world." It's an ethos with arguable roots in Japan's history of ecological disasters, and in Shintoism, the animistic folk religion of Japan, based around the faith that there is a spirit in all things. Writing in 2006, in promotional material for a new short film, Miyazaki states that, "I am much more attracted to the idea of preserving the forests… not for the sake of humans, but because they themselves are alive." In the words of Yoshioka, "He believes that we should not protect nature just because it’s useful, or try to control it. Instead, we should respect nature as something which has agency of its own." Additionally, for each anime we’ve reviewed, we’ve included a link that allows you to view our full thoughts about the series to see if it’s worth your time.

Fear not if you’re having trouble finding anime similar to Princess Mononoke! We’ve discovered 10 alternate shows that’ll give you a similar experience as Princess Mononoke.Studio Ghibli is an incredibly influential studio which have (and I have said this many times before) influenced popular culture subtilely inserting their unique style and vision. I remember seeing this film many years ago and being spell bound not only by the scope of the story but also of the sheer beauty of the animation- something I can now stop and linger over with the help of this book. Nausicaä is another anime that emphasizes the importance of protecting living organisms and nature. If this sounds up your alley, give it a watch. This belief is perhaps encapsulated best in a scene in Princess Mononoke described by Napier as "the Sistine Chapel of animation". It is the sequence in which a group of hunters, led by the opportunistic monk Jigo, catch a glimpse of the Shishigami in the huge, translucent form it takes after sunset. Miyazaki's films are invariably beautiful: drawn and animated with an obsessive attention to detail, and painted with the kind of clarity and depth that can make you look at the world with new eyes, like falling in love, or coming close to death. The Shishigami however is quite different. It looms over the forest like a walking night sky; inspiring both awe and terror alike. "It is not cuddly and cute," says Napier. "It looks other and scary. Then it starts to transform and you see these little Kodama creatures [tiny tree spirits, whose faces are fixed with impish smiles] look on in wonder. It is a sublime moment that has nothing to do with human beings."