Princess Mononoke

While protecting his village from a demon, Ashitaka is cursed by it. Told that this will soon kill him, he rides off into the west, to find the Spirit of the Forest, and beg for a cure. On the way he meets Jigo, a wily monk who isn't what he seems, Lady Eboshi, ruler of Irontown, who might be a villain to the forest dwellers, but is doing a lot of good for her people, and Mononoke, a feral human raised up by wolf-gods. His quest for a cure leads him to mediate the battle brewing between the spirits of the forest, the guns of Irontown, and several other factions.

Lots of action, a complex (and, given that it's anime, sometimes incomprehensible to me) plot, and great animation. (But the crystal dagger necklace seems to violate Chekov's law .)

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, also known for Nausicaa , Spirited Away , and Howl's Moving Castle ,

Rating: 3.5

[ unmissable | great stuff | worth watching | mind candy | waste of time | unfinishable ]

reviewed 19 March 2011