Experiencing the Magic of 'Princess Mononoke' for the First Time - Movie Reaction

[@xMondhirsch]

Man I love your Reactions! You are always so calm and kind. Keep up your great work!

[@FrankFreezy_]

Thank you, thank you thank you. For the encouraging words🩵

[@Bulbman123]

Frank: I guess as the story develops I'll find out who is in the right or who is in the wrong Hayao Miyazaki: Haha, no

[@FrankFreezy_]

😂😂😂I was just trying to be optimistic

[@dontwren]

THANK YOU for actually analyzing this film and taking it seriously, most people really don't and just make jokes the whole time. it's so refreshing to see someone actually thinking about and responding to scenes, this movie is so rich.

[@nicolasdubus669]

I felt the same, it's like peoples were brainwashed and heartless. "Look at me !!! I'm funny, I'm cool, nothing touches me anymore, I just believe in myself". This movie is about empathy, the true treasure of life. You're not alone and there is hope, maybe not for mankind but for Life. Take cares and protect your heart, people like me need people like you to breath

[@juliabrouwer1284]

1. They banish Ashitaka also for safety reasons, he's cursed with that mark and they don't know if he will eventually become a demon too. They're already on the verge of extinction, so it's for the safety of the village and the people that he has to leave, even as the prince of their tribe. 2. Even though Kaya calls him brother, onisama doesn't always literally mean brother. In the Emishi tribe, girls carve knives or daggers and gift them to their fiancés or the boy they want to marry. It's a sign of proposal. She's just confessing her feelings, even though she knows nothing can be done. That's why he says "I cannot accept it". But she doesn't care. 3. I just love how Monoke Princess isn't as white and black, but very morally grey. When you said "I don't know who's right or wrong" that's exactly the point. Lady Eboshi is what we could call a pro-human. She doesn't care about animals or the forest, but she deeply cares for people. She goes around saving prostitutes from brothels and give them the chance to jave a job, a house and a family. She saves lepers and treat them with dignity and care. Yes, we think she's evil because she doesn't care about animals and want them to stop being gods and convert into mere dumb beasts for humans benefit, but when you see how much humans suffer I guess you have to choose. At the end of the movie she does realise her mistake and wants to make a good village, a good town for her people to live there too. Same happens with San, she doesn't care about humans, in fact she repeatedly say she hates them. And she's right to do so, considering she was abandoned by her own parents to die and she only see the destruction they cause. Ashitaka is the middle ground. 4. The Deer God is the God of Life and Death, so his steps give life and when he's away, that life dies. It isn't just flowers, it's life.

[@TheSylvirr]

I want to say that Eboshi didn't have a 'change of heart' so much as she didn't fully realize what the consequence of her actions would be. She thought that a Free Forest (no god) meant that San would be free to be a 'human girl' and that the forest itself would no longer pose a threat to her ironworks, and the animals would become normal feral animals. But when she realized--saw, rather-- what it ACTUALLY meant, she decided that wasn't the way to do it. Which is why she said she'd start over. Ashitaka cannot go 'home', he has no home anymore. Him cutting his hair was basically 'You're dead to us now and you can never return' which is why they were forbidden from even watching him leave.

[@FrankFreezy_]

Ahh thanks a lot for this insight. I definitely respect eboshi Way more now. That’s very unfortunate for ashitaka😭

[@katerynaberidukhova2923]

@@FrankFreezy_ Eboshi is a very interesting character; the way she speaks in the original voiceover means that she's descended from very old nobility, and back in the time when the story unfolds (the end of Sengoku period, so late 1200s - early 1300s), noblewomen were absolutely *not* expected to rule or be politically active. Their lives were often cloistered and boring, and they spent most of their time writing diaries, playing games, painting and doing calligraphy. The fact that she not only built a town and an iron mill out of nothing, but also established provision routes and commandeered respect of the townsfolk the same way as if she were a man is awesome!

[@FrankFreezy_]

@katerynaberidukhova2923 I agree. I love it.

[@Deorman]

I think Eboshi is ok with the end because there's nothing of value to take from her. I think All the movie she's fighting for her freedom, we see she's not actually driven by greed : she Live a modest life amongst her people and they're loyal to her not because she promises them wealth, but because she gave them weapons, and provided a haven for outcasts and lowborns : Means to rule themseves (and that's how she treats them, even letting them die if they can't hold their ground on their own) She wants to rule herself and her life, she refuses bend to either men nor gods. To achieve this she still made a deal with the emperor and the Iron Mines that gave her power also attracted the greeds of other warlords. At the end she honored her mission, the Ironmines are gone, there's no debt to pay anymore nor wealth to steal from her, she's freer. SHe's extreme but she's a very inspiring lady.

[@ChimkenRiceNuggy]

I rewatched this movie in the theatre, and it was a next-level experience.

[@pepereagent7813]

Wow I wish I could watch it like this

[@ChimkenRiceNuggy]

@@pepereagent7813 You should go. it's not that expensive.

[@FrankFreezy_]

I can only imagine

[@pepereagent7813]

@@ChimkenRiceNuggy well I didn's seen Mononoke-hime in my city's cinemas one time for my 27 years :)

[@pepereagent7813]

@@FrankFreezy_ bro I hope you'll see someday other Ghibli studio masterpieces. I''m 99.995% sure you will love Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and other movies

[@FightingTorque411]

Great reaction! Always so good to see someone new react to Ghibli films, especially with such thoughtful engagement. Some points: - The Italian word "Ghibli" (meaning a dry desert wind) is pronounced with a hard "g" sound, BUT when Miyazaki chose it as the name for the studio, he transposed it to Japanese characters that sound like "JIB-uh-ree", so the soft "g" sound is more accurate. - Glad you noted the animation quality - it was absolutely incredible for its time (and still is). The movie took five years to produce; the opening action scene with all the demon worms took six months *alone* to draw. - Ashitaka cannot return to his tribe mostly for their survival. They are based on real Japanese historical races/peoples, who were being persecuted and driven to the brink of dying out. His tribe are safely hidden in the mountains far to the east, but if he is followed back and they are found, they will most likely be wiped out, hence the tradition. - I think you hit on part of what makes the movie so good, that there are no fully good or evil characters. Lady Eboshi cares about her people, empowering the women and humanising the disabled members of her town, but is ignorant to the dangers of meddling with nature and upsetting its order. San fights for the forest, its gods and its animals, but is blinded by hatred of humans to her own humanity, denying their (and her) place in the living world. Ashitaka is the closest to "good" in his efforts to foster peace, but that does leave him compromised any time one side in the conflict goes to attack the other. - There is more back story to Lady Eboshi that Miyazaki has laid out elsewhere, exploring her earlier life and how she came to be so strong-willed and resilient, and eventually the leader of her people. Though it'll never happen, I'd love to see it animated as a mini-prequel to "Mononoke". If you're considering more Ghibli reactions, it depends on what sort of story you're looking for. More environmental-themed adventure = Nausicaä. Rip-roaring chases and action sequences = Castle in the Sky. Sweet slice-of-life coming-of-age romance = Whisper of the Heart. Soul-shattering war drama = Grave of the Fireflies. Soul-restoring kid-friendly fare with more forest spirits = My Neighbour Totoro. I recommend (almost) any Ghibli film tbh, just depends on what genre you feel like that day. Thanks again for this video!

[@FrankFreezy_]

Thanks for the short lesson on the pronunciation. So much time invested for such a short beautiful scene. I love art. I kind of feel sad that Ashitaka can I return back to his tribe. But the reasons are very understandable. You’re absolutely right. I was very curious about the lady Eboshi’s backstory and how she became the woman she is. Is there a manga for this? Thanks for breaking down these movie genres. Helps a lot.

[@hemmojito]

I thnink Okoto saying: "Next time we meet I will have to kill you" is a way of saying: "Ok thank you for giving me closure and all but admittedly you killed my bro so... We're not friends or anything like that. I'm not gonna help you lift your stupid curse. For all I know you deserved it. Anyway I'm a man of my word so I'm not gonna kill you right now like I promised. I let you talk that's it. Next time..."

[@cocoapuffpanda]

One of the things I LOVE about this movie is that it shows how complex life is. From the people they show, there isn’t a TRUE villain. Everyone is right and wrong, it just depends on whose side you’re looking at it on. They all have good and bad qualities and they are all doing some bad things for their people essentially. Ashitaka is the only true neutral person who is viewing the good side to everyone around him. He is doing what he was told to do, to “see with eyes unclouded by hate” San and the animals of the forest AND the other humans have too much hate and their eyes are clouded by it. So their fighting only causes more hate and is a vicious cycle. But in the end, both sides are able to come together (as much as they can) to finally live at peace. San and the animals know that the humans have to do things in order to let their town and people survive, so wolves aren’t going to fight them anymore. And Lady Eboshi and her people see how they were destroying the forest and just how beautiful it is, and able to realize that the Gods are not something they have to fear. So Lady Eboshi wants to rebuild a new town but do it better this time, which I read into it as: not with greed and to be able to coexist with nature instead of constantly fighting it. I hope that long ass comment makes sense. I really enjoyed your calm talking throughout the movie. And that you seem to pause the movie when you are trying to explain something rather than having a long sentence over the movie and missing a lot of it. Lol

[@RakeeshJ4]

Eboshi and San are both so fascinating in the ways they approach one another in terms of their methods and their outlook, from their respective sides of the divide of Nature vs Human Civilization. San wishes to be more aggressive, more organized, more pointedly lethal towards Eboshi and Iron Town, and it's implied that she seeks to unite the various intelligent forest creatures against the humans, with limited success (the scene with the apes, her attempts to help the boars and try to help them against the disguised hunters). Eboshi, meanwhile, seeks to protect the weak of humanity and carve out a home for them-the lepers and the 'disgraced' women, protecting them and giving them valuable, meaningful vocations, and trying to shield them from an often hostile world. She's already achieved, among humans, something San wants for the forest creatures: unity across a broad spectrum of different creatures. But the trouble is, where are her people to go and what are they to do, if not work in Iron Town? Should the women go back to the brothels, should the lepers go to leper colonies? Meanwhile, Ashitaka enters the scene-forever exiled from a home he clearly treasured greatly, and cursed, but also-as he was from the very beginning-struggling against hatred.

[@WillWatches]

This movie is an absolute masterpeice! you can really see the influence its had on other films too. I would also offer a word of caution reacting to studio ghibli movies tho, although they're amazing and there's a big market for ghibli reactions, they're pretty notorious when it comes to copyright

[@FrankFreezy_]

Oh I hear you Will. Some people warned me about the copyrights issues before hand. So I was surprised that Princess 😑Mononoke went through without the copyrights on my first try. Good to know that the rest of the movies probably wouldn’t be this easy. I will be cautious for sure. Thanks.

[@L.L.MacRae]

Absolutely brilliant reaction!! Thank you for sharing :D

[@FrankFreezy_]

Gracias. Thanks for being here😌

[@LoneAnimeDude]

This was my introduction to real anime when I was real young, about 8 or so and I love that I just gain more understanding of the movie with each watch now that I'm an adult. I even named one of my past dogs Moro because of this movie. It's definitely one of my favorites and I love that you reacted to it.

[@FrankFreezy_]

That is so beautiful. Thanks for sharing that. Say hi to moro for me.🩵

[@LoneAnimeDude]

Unfortunately he's passed on by now but this is by far my favorite Ghibli movie just because of the the message and the wonderful animation for its time. I actually just came from your "Weathering With You" reaction" I love your reactions man, they feel like my reactions now that I am older and understand more of Japanese customs and anime in general. You're probably my favorite reactor definitely when it comes to movies. You've been hitting all of my favorites and it makes my heart break but in a healthy way so thank you for this.

[@LoneAnimeDude]

Also to add my dog Moro saved me in a lot of ways that I won't get into on youtube but I do miss him dearly and he is always on my mind everyday

[@FrankFreezy_]

I’m so sorry to hear about Moro. “all dogs go to Heaven”🩵 I feel you on that. This movie definitely makes a statement that is relevant to the world we live in. Thanks for saying that man I’m in the lot. Makes me happy to know that I am making connections with people mentally and emotionally through these reactions.

[@FrankFreezy_]

I hear you. I hear you. I’m glad you had Moro, even if it was brief🩵

[@derpolcu]

This was a really nice and thoughtful reaction! Hope more people find it and watch it :)

[@FrankFreezy_]

I’m glad you think so. Thanks for saying that😌

[@rinkairiozuki7245]

Princess Mononoke was my first Anime when i was around 10. Interesting how "It's Cartoon, so it must be for kids" mentality there was. They used to show this movie in middle of the day on Easter day with other Kid's shows lol I live in Post-Soviet Country. And this was something new from Russian cartoons and i loved it. Watched it like 10 times ever since and it does Age super well. Also it's Interesting how Miyazaki tried to make us more into Nature aware individuals

[@m3rrys0ngstr3ss]

The animation and music and story are all phenomenal, but the voice cast absolutely ties it all together. It's easy for celebrity voice casts, especially in dubs, to coast a bit, but everyone was firing on all cylinders here.

[@FrankFreezy_]

I agree with every word. Simply masterful

[@genghispecan]

Yes, it's an apocalypse - literally the end of an age and the beginning of another. In this instance, the twilight of the gods and the dawn of man as the respective rulers of the world and by extension - the one who bear responsibility for its wellbeing.

[@FrankFreezy_]

Love this comment 🥇

[@arahard25017]

Princess Mononoke takes place in Japan between 1336 and 1573. It seems like a happy ending, but after that, Japan entered the Sengoku period, and wars raged for about 140 years (1467 to 1615). After that, the Tokugawa clan began their reign for about 260 years, leading to a period of relative peace. After that, the Tokugawa clan's reign collapsed, and the Japanese Empire began, leading to the Russo-Japanese War, the Japan-American War, and modern Japan.

[@LoneAnimeDude]

I definitely recommend watching Nausicaa as it has a similar message but was done earlier. It's another great Miyazaki film though there's not many that he made that wasn't masterpieces in my opinion. The story is more black in white with morals but it still is great and an early example of Ghibli greatness.

[@FrankFreezy_]

I feel you. Thanks.

[@lauraarodriguez224]

Highly recommend Castle in the Sky and Ponyo from studio ghibli, seeing you liked this one (: and of course the two big ones, that I dont know if youve watched or not, Howls Moving Castle and Spirited Away!!

[@FrankFreezy_]

Thanks for the recommendations. I have seen spirited away, but the others are very highly rated. I’ll check them out. Gracias.

[@yahho7048]

This is my favorite ghibli movie✨ I sometimes check if someone uploaded a review video of princess mononoke and I just found your video✨ Thank you for sharing your video😊 it is always fun for me to see how people from the world react Japanese Anime movie🤭

[@FrankFreezy_]

I can see why is your favorite Ghibli movie. Such a wonderful one. I’m glad you found my channel and enjoyed the video😁

[@serenitytoepper]

I agree with you. everything you've said especially about the world, the ocean and forest and what we are doing, we are hurting the earth.

[@FrankFreezy_]

Yep. And this movie represents that perfectly. It's pretty sad actually

[@serenitytoepper]

@@FrankFreezy_ this is actually one of my favorite animated movies alongside Castle in her sky. That as a lot of meaningful things to that tried to teach us messages too.

[@BigGator5]

"Even if all the trees grow back, it won't be his forest anymore. The Forest Spirit is dead." "Never. He is life itself. He isn't dead, San. He is here with us now, telling us, it's time for both of us to live." Fun Fact: Director Hayao Miyazaki personally corrected or redrew more than 80,000 of the film's 144,000 animation cells. Mythology Fact: Japanese mythology tells that dogs/wolves are always male-voiced and cats are always female-voiced, regardless of sex. For this reason, a man, Akihiro Miwa provides the voice of Moro the mother wolf in the Japanese version. His casting is perhaps an in-joke to his career as a female impersonator. In the English dub, however, Moro is voiced by Gillian Anderson. Censorship Hacks Fact: When Harvey Weinstein obtained the North-American distribution rights to Princess Mononoke (1997), he approached director Hayao Miyazaki and insisted on a shorter version of the film that would be better attuned to American audiences. However, Miyazaki was still so upset by the heavily cut version of his Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind (1984) that he angrily left the meeting. Several days later, Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki sent a katana sword to Weinstein's office with 'NO CUTS' embedded into its blade. The film was later released in the USA in its uncut version.

[@FrankFreezy_]

That is so interesting that the director had to redo a lot of it. I guess he was a great artist himself. Thanks for that fact. I was wondering why the mother was male voiced. I didn’t have a problem with it but this clarifies a lot. That censorship fact, sounds like fiction, but I’m so glad that actually happened in real life. Oh my God😂🔥

[@BigGator5]

You're welcome. Go in Peace and Walk with God. 😎 👍

[@BigGator5]

​Highly recommend reacting to the following overlooked animated movies: Charlotte's Web (1973) Wizards (1977) The Hobbit (1977) Heavy Metal (1981) The Last Unicorn (1982) The Flight Of Dragons (1982) The Secret Of NIMH (1982) Fire & Ice (1983) An American Tail (1986) All are available on KZbin Movies channel to rent or buy, so no excuses about finding them. I suggest turning on subtitles, since you might have mute all the music.

[@shawtystrange7531]

Mononoke tried to cleanse her mothers (Moro the wolfgod) wounds by sucking the blood and dirty water out.

[@FrankFreezy_]

That’s so dope

[@brandonfeltman7429]

the eng dub of this film is very well done and cast also

[@FrankFreezy_]

I keep hearing this. Kinda wish I watched the dub

[@brandonfeltman7429]

@@FrankFreezy_ i mean watching the original sub first was probably a good choice. but the dub is just also good mostly bc of the people they got to voice the characters and how much time they took to get it right each time. they clearly put a lot of thought into how they wanted the characters to sound, and then picking voice actors to match that as closely as possible. you should check it out one night.

[@FrankFreezy_]

Gotcha. I feel that.

[@LighthouseGoblin]

Really thoughtful and engaging reaction! Tysm! Happy new subscriber ☺️

[@FrankFreezy_]

I try. I appreciate that a lot. Thank you.

[@robertseitner8640]

I enjoyed your commentary. If you enjoyed the serious side of Ghibli, I would recommend Pom Poko and The wind Rises for your next films. Thanks again. You noticed points that I missed when I saw the movie.

[@FrankFreezy_]

Thanks. I appreciate that, will do! I eventually plan on watching all the ghibli movies

[@achi3460]

Lets go brotha one of my first Anime ever, was waiting for the vid thanks

[@FrankFreezy_]

You’re very welcome man. I had a lot of fun with it.

[@MarkFVanGelder]

I saw this movie in theaters when it was first released. This is the movie that made me fall in love with Ghibli

[@FrankFreezy_]

That’s nice. Such a great movie.

[@むむ-t2x]

小学3年生の時もののけ姫を初めて見て怖くて泣いてしまった でも今はとても大好きで20回以上は見ました笑

[@FrankFreezy_]

I can absolutely understand why this movie would be terrifying for a 3rd grader. I would’ve cried too if I watched it that young

[@w.s6124]

The worms are actually the first time CGI was used in a Ghibli movie if i remember correctly. Rest is all hand drawn.

[@FrankFreezy_]

That is crazy impressive

[@2grown4]

That arm I’m sorry I can’t take it 😂😂😂 it make’s me itch 😂😂😂

[@manku-chan]

Nerd time ! Althroug most of the movie is indeed hand drawn, it is also the first Ghibli film to integrate computer generated visuals. Miyazaki was very against computer animation but it was used to create the "worm" effect of the demon. But it is so well blended that you don't even see a difference in the style.

[@FrankFreezy_]

That's a really nice fun fact. Thanks for sharing

[@汪醬]

Eboshi had sold to pirates and became their wife before. Later, she killed her cruel pirate husband and returned to Japan to build her town with Gonza. That's why she became a gentle and cruel woman now.

[@zegh8578]

KUDOS for watching the Japanese audio version - not to harp on it too much, but the English dub *adds* dialog to scenes, where the characters turn away, in order to over-explain story elements and concepts, it's bordering on obnoxious - if a story chooses to not be overly verbose - then let it! :D I'm just saying, because watching it dubbed (and over-explained) vs original audio (being much more verbally subtle) is a big difference, and you got to experience the film as intended! Also, this movie does include CGI! That's not to diminish, but just to point out that the CGI is so gently applied, you don't really experience it as such; but the worms on the demon-boar, and the transparent forest god were both examples of CGI, as well as examples of pioneering that subtle combination, where CG is used to enhance hand-drawn animation. The vast majority of the film is animated by hand.

[@jameskozy7254]

Princess mononoke is the correct way to write a civilization vs. Nature story. Unlike avatar.

[@FrankFreezy_]

Ouuuuuuu!!! 100%

[@Stick-a-fork-in-Gmorks-tort]

Prince Ashitaka was based on the Ainu (indigenous people of northern japan). They followed a religion which was based on natural phenomena. Ainu translates into Human in the Ainu language, as opposed to Kamui (divine beings). I'm not sure if the wolf princess is Ainu but she wears their ceremonial mask. Active contact between the Wa-jin (the ethnically Japanese, also known as Yamato-jin) and the Ainu of Ezogashima (now known as Hokkaidō) began in the 13th century. I believe this story takes place around the 14th century. Industrialization set the world on a crash course with old norms and mores.

[@FrankFreezy_]

Wow, thanks for that amazing insight

[@katerynaberidukhova2923]

@@FrankFreezy_ that, and his people (Emishi) were another indigenous people that used to live on the territory of Japan a long, long time ago. Then, Yamato (the ancestors of modern Japanese) came, and drove them northward. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emishi

[@FrankFreezy_]

Thanks for sending that wiki link🙌🏾

[@katerynaberidukhova2923]

@@FrankFreezy_ this movie is really about the end of two eras. It's among my favorite Ghibli films; the amount of insight that went into it is astonishing.

[@FrankFreezy_]

@katerynaberidukhova2923 indeed. And I believe that’s why the movie is evergreen. It’s relevant and timeless.

[@johankaewberg8162]

Not that easy to kill a God. The bullet just reconfigured the situation.

[@nicolasdubus669]

Ashitaka is part of the Native people of North Japan which was chased away and deported by the Japaneses (like Natives Nations in US). They still exist, a few thousands of them, trying to save the part of their culture which was not already destroyed for ever

[@Razzy1312]

One of the few animes where I actually prefer the English dub over the Japanese audio.

[@FrankFreezy_]

I hear you. Some of the dub voice acting is also top-tier.

[@cosmiccanine9186]

Unfortunately he is permanently exiled... that's why he cut his topknot in the start of the film . From what I Understand It was/is a huge deal in Japanese culture to cut, or worse have your hair cut by an enemy, while being a prisoner of war. I don't know, is this true?

[@johankaewberg8162]

A tale of two women, nature and technology. The prince is incedental.

[@achi3460]

fun fact : This forest is based on a real forest

[@FrankFreezy_]

That’s a very fun fact

[@2grown4]

That arm must hurt like crazy it twist turns and pulsate like a beat then on top of it all parasites come’s out wrapping around that arm when he gets upset and that side of body. That’s gross and make’s my skin itch 😂😂

[@Donsposts]

4:47 at first long time ago I kinda laughed at that ponytail cutting thing, but only years later I started to appreciate it as how long and hard it takes to form hair into certain positions or keeping it growing, so in a way he is casting off years of his life or something like that.

[@Donsposts]

Yea most older Ghibli movies were way darker, only later they became more family friendly. As I don't remember that later movies having any really dark themes.