Princess Mononoke (round 2)

“When a man is shooting a handgun, it's just like he is shooting because that's his job, and he has no other choice. It's no good. When a girl is shooting a handgun, it's really something.”
-Hayao Miyazaki

It is pretty clear of what Miyazaki means by this quote. In his films, he always tends to use something amazing and exciting, like shooting a gun, and add something a little special and different to bring it to a whole new level.
It is no wonder Miyazaki tends to put more emphasis on his female characters. He may be considered sort of a mainstream animator due to his popularity and influence through his films, but he definitely incorporates unusual aspects into his film.

Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke is considered to be the remake of Miyazaki's earlier film, Nausicaa. I must say, it equally matches (and at some parts, surpasses) its predecessor. Although in both films, the characters learn to understand one another, Princess Mononoke's understanding leads to a bit more uncertainty. The ending of the film is definitly less of a joyful one as Princess Mononoke is not considered to be that much of a hero as Nausicaa is in her story.
Also, Princess Mononoke does not contain the same level of epicness as Nausicaa does, mainly because the latter is set in a post-apocalyptic world, while the former is set in a pre-industrialized world. Both films, however, contain enormous beings of destructable power.
This does not mean that Princess Mononoke is less of a film, or less entertaining than Nausicaa. On the contrary, I find Princess Mononoke to be a bit more enjoyable, mainly because of its contemporary style, fuller characters (Princess Mononoke shows more of her personality than Nausicaa does), and unsure ending. Nausicaa is much more similar to contemporary Hollywood cinema in that there is a legend, and the hero becomes the savior and everyone lives happily ever after. What's great about Princess Mononoke is that it follows anime/Miyazaki's style with a more floaty ending. It is difficult to side with any of the groups in conflict; they all have their faults. Therefore, in the end, instead of everyone winning, it's more like everyone going back to their own lives, trying to be more cautious of the other groups.
One of the main things that makes Princess Mononoke better than Nausicaa is that while Nausicaa is on the side of her people of the valley, Princess Mononoke is on the side of nature and the forrest. Nausicaa has less of a connection with the forrest and the insects (she is an outsider) compared to Princess Mononoke, who practically was raised by the wolves and grew up in the forrest. The different angle which the main character comes from strengthens the equality of the triangle conflict. Therefore, nature has a much more stronger siding in Princess Mononoke.
Animation, music, and story of this film makes it a must see out of Miyazaki's works.

9.0

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

As I was watching Nausicaa for the first time, I saw many similar characteristics in both story and characters compared to Miyazaki's later work, Princess Mononoke. Both films contain strong female leads and have a very similar conflict between nature loving people, war centered people, and nature itself. I found it very strange how Miyazaki borrowed from his own film, especially to this extent. It reminds me of remakes of films, such as Ocean's 11 and Sherlock Holmes, and how the remakes are generally accepted and enjoyed by the public, mainly because of the time gap between the original and the remake. Despite the similarities, Nausicaa is much more female lead centered than Princess Mononoke is, making it less of a mainstream film.
In Princess Mononoke, Ashitaka, the male lead, got a much bigger part in the story than did the boy in Nausicaa did. So much so, that I could even say to some extent that Princess Mononoke's main protagonist is Ashitaka. You can't really say the same for Nausicaa. Nausicaa is definitely the main character (I even forgot the boy's name). This shift in gender role/power makes Nausicaa so much more interesting.
Nausicaa is very complex, in that it has an animistic, religious, and scientific phase. The Tolmekians are narcisstic and ascribe omnipotence to themselves. The valley people respect the toxic forest and the creatures that live in it, making them religious in a way. Science is shown from what Nausicaa finds out about the Earth. Having all three different views in one film makes the contrast between phases visible. The film is really centered on omnipotence and who should receive it. It turns out that a balance of the three is needed in order to maintain peace. The people in the film should be powerful and work hard themselves in order to grow and thrive. The people should also treat the toxic forest with respect and in doing so, recognize the power which it contains. Science should not have omnipotence, but instead should be practiced and understood, just like how Nausicaa understood how the Earth is trying to save itself and it's inhabitants.
The film gives a lot of emphasis on the ohmu. The ohmu is similar to the forest god in Princess Mononoke, in that they both have their own song which plays whenever they are shown. Upon listening to it, I always get this feeling of a majestic palace or control and power, which is pretty much what the ohmu is. It is amazing how Miyazaki makes something so huge and creepy, into something peaceful and caring.

8.8