Week 5 Question

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

Hayao Miyazaki is an esteemed Japanese animation director, responsible for creating many of the most influential animated films of all time. Miyazaki’s big breakthrough into the animation industry came with the release of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in 1984. This animated film established many of Miyazaki’s trademark themes that he has continuously explored throughout his filmography (Mountfort, 2020).

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) is an eco-fable set in a post-apocalyptic world. The film investigates the relationship between humanity and nature, while also delving into themes of war, environmental degradation and self-development (Cavallaro, 2006; Mountfort, 2020). While Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) received universal praise from fans, Miyazaki felt unsatisfied by the simplification of its themes. Notably, the relationship between humanity and nature.

Years later Miyazaki would address this simplification with the release of Princess Mononoke in 1997, an eco-fable set in Japan during the Muromachi period (1392 – 1572). Just like Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), Princess Mononoke (1997) contains themes of war, environmental degradation and self-development. However, this time Miyazaki would not shy away from presenting these themes with all of their moral complexity (Cavallaro, 2006).

Throughout Princess Mononoke (1997), neither humanity nor nature is entirely good or evil, unlike Nausicaä in which good and evil are well defined. Cavallaro (2006) elaborates that “the coexistence of ostensibly incompatible features in Miyazaki’s protagonists is echoed by the nature of its topographies” (p. 12). Therefore, the moral complexity in Princess Mononoke (1997) would help to expand on many of the themes established in Nausicaä.

While Princess Mononoke (1997) does not share any characters or settings in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), the film recontextualises many of the themes first present in Nausicaä and examines them in greater depth. As a result, enthusiasts of Princess Mononoke (1997) often cite the film as a spiritual sequel to Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984).

References.

Cavallaro, D. (2006). Introduction. In The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki. London: McFarland & Company.

Miyazaki, H (1984). Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

Miyazaki, H (1997). Princess Mononoke.

Mountfort, P. (2020). Pop genres week 5 anime 2 part 1 [PowerPoint Slides]. Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/

Mountfort, P. (2020). Pop genres week 5 anime 2 part 2 [PowerPoint Slides]. Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/