W5

W5

What genre or genres is Princess Mononoke? How does it relate to its ‘prequel,’ Nausicaā ?

Princess Mononoke is a Japanese anime in 1997 with an epic, fantasy, war film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is animated by Studio Ghibli.

Princess Mononoke inspires a vast number of viewers to look at the movie more critically at some of the myths and modern Japan because Princess Mononoke works to fight and face the public stereotypes (Napier, 2001). Princess Mononoke includes a good scene of the great woodland god is a nature creature to bring independent power that embodied in the movie (Napier, 2001). It presents the power of hope and renewal. The same things happen in the final scene in Nausicaa, pure power of love, Sheeta’s and Pauza’s willingness to die together for the sake of the world in Laputa (Napier, 2001). Mononoke is a broken intricating world focus on anime prominent under their demonstration. The movie is an archetype and icon of the feminine to create a new vision of Japan at the crossroad of history. In some way in the anime include violent, indeed apocalyptic, this lament for a lost Japan alternative, heterogeneous, and female-centred vision of Japanese identity for the future (Napier, 2001). Mononoke is not based on an actual historical event, but it bases on the central myth of Japanese culture and society. Princess Mononoke makes it strange with icon and Japanese culture; the tale of the feminine as long-suffering and supporting; Japanese’s myth as living in harmony and nature often demonstrate the union of the feminine and nature. Mononoke ruins the traditional history, aesthetic, and gender relationship of Japanese society. Princess Mononoke’s use of fantasy to make a concept of clarifying the problem or interruption in real contemporary life. 

Nausicaa takes the traditional epic and makes it new and fresh through the character of its eponymous heroine. Nausicaa is first presented as a mystery. Nausicaa, the teenage protagonist, has a plot of motivation to save her village (Shamoon, 2015). Nausicaa is brave by her “feminine” willingness to scarify her life for the sake of world harmony. Mononoke link to Nausicaa because they have the same meaning in the anime about human and nature. 

“Mononoke is intended as a sequel to Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds (1984) which depicts a post-apocalyptic world composed of expanding dead-zones” (Mountfort, 2020). The Princess Mononoke is set in the ancient past, where Nausicaa is set in a post-apocalyptic future (Cavallaro, 2015). In Nausicaa, the relationship between human and nature is a divide of good and evil in much criticism. The Princess Mononoke uses to address the situation Nausicaa is continuing in this movie has been treated in the theme. The director defined the relationship between human and nature in the film, whether in a good or evil, but both sides should have better in relation.  

When human is development, the environment is inevitable to not to be damaged. But the human should think of the ways of their happiness without destroying nature, and it won’t bring them a real pleasure. Therefore, in these two movies, the directors want to give a message to the audience to see how they should help and live together in a better state. 

References:

Mountfort, P. (2020). Pop Genres_2020_Week5_Anime #2 [PowerPoint slide]. Retrieved from http://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/

Napier, S. (2001). Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: experiencing contemporary Japanese animation. Springer.

Shamoon, D. (2015). The superflat space of Japanese anime. Asian Cinema and the Use of Space: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 93-108.

Cavallaro, D. (2015). The anime art of Hayao Miyazaki. McFarland.

Napier, S. (2001). Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: experiencing contemporary Japanese animation. Springer.