## 2025-04-06 Recently caught the 4K viewing of this at my theater and. Wow. What a phenomenal film. This was my first rewatch as like, a conscious human being, and it really impacted my experience. My brain had tricked itself into believe it had watched this movie before because of **Tumblr** gifsets that coopted the movie for aesthetic reblog clout. I mean that happens with every Ghibli movie but it's particularly egregious to me when it comes to **Princess Mononoke** because of the depth and complexity of its plot. It feels like Ghibli's most intricate work, and potentially its best. What makes **Mononoke** such a marvel to me is the way that it creates a world with no real antagonist or protagonist. Every character's actions are justifiable to some extent, with each of them being sympathetic. It isn't really about who's "good" or "evil," but rather about how the humans, animals and gods have to get along during Japan's Muromachi period, before so much of it was deforested and rice agriculture began to take place in the country. What feels at first like a pretty simple environmentalist theme ends up being more complex. It doesn't present nature and humanity as complete opposites, instead questioning what humanity's role must be in maintaining harmony as technology advances. It's all very fascinating, and I wondered why Miyazaki made something after *checks notes* fucking **Porco Rosso**!? Don't get me wrong, that movie is an absolute banger, but you know, it's more [[Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark|Indiana Jones]] than anything else. I looked into it and it seems like Miyazaki's jump to this type of film was very intentional, with him wanting to get away from the escapism of his previous movies. > [!Quote] Miyazaki on Princess Mononoke > No matter how messy things get, we have no choice but to go on living. Wonderful movie, to the point that it almost makes me want to rewatch other Ghibli movies again. 7/7 no notes.